The Indianapolis Colts didn’t waste any time to add depth to their team.
The free agency period started yesterday and within the first few hours, the Colts announced five signings.
The most important of those signings is former first-round pick Gosdar Cherilus. He is slated to replaced Winston Justice at right tackle.
The Colts know they have to protect quarterback Andrew Luck if they plan on having success.
Who else did the Colts sign? We fill you in after the jump… Continue reading
There is one theme that stands out early in the 2012-13 off-season…NBA GMs are spending a lot of money on guys who may end up as deadweight. Free agents are not able to sign with teams until July 11th, but the confirmed agreements have been rolling in already.
Middle-of-the-road teams are offering inflated contracts to restricted free agents who are tied to teams that lack salary cap space. Due to the new collective-bargaining agreement, the luxury tax raises to a point where it will cost owners a lot of money to go over. Players will still need to sign those offer sheets, but talent could find the money too difficult to resist.
Which players have already been overpaid this off-season? Here are the top ten most overpaid free agents so far this off-season.
Jeremy Lin: Knicks/Rockets – 4 years / $29 million
The Houston Rockets offered Lin this contract and the New York Knicks can match it. ESPN’s Marc Stein tweeted that the Knicks will match any deal he is offered. Darren Rovell would say that this contract is a bargain. The sheer merchandise sales should exceed $29 million dollars. I agree that the Asian market will support Lin, should the Rockets or Knicks be worried about giving this much money to a guy who had a nice three week run last season? If he doesn’t play well or gets injured, he won’t earn the team anything. Yao Ming was injured for most of the last three seasons he played and I doubt Houston got their money’s worth.
Omer Asik: Bulls/Rockets – 3 years / $25.1 million
The Rockets are really trying to piss off teams near the luxury tax. The Chicago Bulls aren’t in a position to match Houston’s offer of three years for $25.1 and shouldn’t. He played some key minutes for the Eastern Conference champions, but paying Asik $8 million a year for 3.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game is very steep. Rockets GM Daryl Morey is a smart guy, but he is making some questionable offers early this off-season.
Jeff Green: Boston Celtics – 4 years / $36 million
Green is coming back from major heart surgery. His health is a major concern, but he never meshed with the team when he came over in the Kendrick Perkins trade. He doesn’t have a set position, plays defense poorly, and doesn’t rebound well at any position. Boston is taking a huge gamble by giving him a four-year deal. I worry that this will be a regrettable contract by this time next year.
Michael Beasley: Phoenix Suns – 3 years / $18 million
At first glance, $18 million dollars isn’t much money for three years in the NBA. Beasley has had limited success in the league, but he has yet to live up to his college hype. He is undersized for his position with off the court issues. The Suns aren’t going anywhere as an organization and Beasley is known to disappear in games. I don’t see this signing working out for either party.
Nicolas Batum: Trail Blazers/Timberwolves – 4 years / $45 million
Before I go on a rant on how this contract is bad, I just want to add that this deal could be worth as much as $50 with bonuses. Batum has as much potential as any young free agent available this off-season. Minnesota is offering him ridiculous money knowing that there is a small chance that Portland will/can match it. Portland is currently in the hunt for Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert and can’t overspend to keep Batum. Minnesota’s offer for Batum assures they have little faith in former #2 overall Derrick Williams. They are currently trying to trade him, but has yet found a suitor. I hope Batum lives up to the deal, but he may never live up to this big deal.
Steve Nash: Los Angeles Lakers – 3 years / $27 million
The Lakers had to trade two first-round picks and two second-round picks for the opportunity to overpay the 38-year old Steve Nash. The lauded Suns training staff has resurrected the careers of Shaquille O’Neal, Great Hill and has kept Nash looking fresh. Unless the Lakers have another move in line, say a trade for Dwight Howard, I don’t get this contract. They played well with Ramon Sessions and they could have re-signed him for half of Nash’s contract and wouldn’t have needed to trade draft picks. It will be interesting to see how Kobe and Nash will handle the last five minutes of a close game. Both players need the ball in their hands to be effective.
Landry Fields: Toronto Raptors – 3 years / $20 million
The Raptors couldn’t sign Nash, so they made a hasty decision and offered Fields an inflated contract. If Nash broke up with them, Fields is their rebound. Fields was a second-round pick and exceeded expectations. $20 million is a lot of money to offer a guy who has yet to score more than 9.7 points per game and saw a drop in every major offensive category in 2011-12.
George Hill: Indiana Pacers – 5 years / $40 million
As a Pacers fan, writing Hill’s name in this column stings a little. I think Hill is a good player and believe that he deserves to be the starting point guard over Darren Collison, but this deal feels bad. He is a local Indianapolis product and even went to college at IUPUI (Indiana-Purdue Indianapolis), but he doesn’t put butts in the seats. The Pacers had the second-worst attendance in the NBA for a team who had the #3 seed in the Eastern Conference. If they lose Roy Hibbert to Portland, this money can’t be used to sign a marquee player to fill the hole in the frontcourt.
Gerald Wallace: Brooklyn Nets – 4 years / $40 million
The (then) New Jersey Nets got themselves in trouble by shipping a lottery pick to Portland for 20+ games with Gerald Wallace. If they didn’t re-sign him, the trade would have went down as one of the most lopsided deals this decade. He had all of the cards and the Nets had to overpay him in order to not look like fools. Money will be tight for Brooklyn since they also re-signed Deron Williams and acquired Joe Johnson from the Atlanta Hawks in a trade.
O.J. Mayo: Unknown – Too Much Money
Mayo has yet to sign with a team and he has plenty of suitors. The Pacers, Bulls, Suns, and Celtics are among the favorites to land him. They will have to pay a premium price for a player who hasn’t lived up to his potential (see: Michael Beasley). NBA GMs believe that he has yet to be pushed and would respond positively. Mayo did improve his numbers last season, but if he were to go to, let’s say the Pacers, he would be coming off the bench. Paul George should be entrenched as the starting shooting guard. Mayo will be receiving starter’s money this off-season.
Others candidates rumored to be overpaid
Courtney Lee
Chris Kaman
J.J. Hickson
Shannon Brown
Marcus Camby
Boris Diaw
Raymond Felton
Randy Foye
Lou Williams
Gerald Green
Jordan Hill
Josh Howard
Kris Humphries
Carl Landry
JaVale McGee
Anthony Randolph
DeShawn Stevenson
I’m sure there will be other free agents signing outrageous contracts during the 2012-13 off-season. The GMs will slowly bankrupt teams with dumb contracts on teams whose amnesty clause has already been used. There is nothing the fans can do to stop them from spending the salary cap money so freely even though we’re the ones who pay for it in the end with higher ticket prices.
Yay!
It’s been a busy week in the NFL. The free agency period started on friday and after the first few days, a lot of activity has happened. The NFL doesn’t waste any time in signing prized players, since only a portion of their contracts are guaranteed, unlike the MLB and NBA. The Redskins and Jets have already made a big splash, but will it pay off with a Super Bowl ring?
Albert Haynesworth – Haynesworth was a major reason why the Titans dominated the AFC regular season. They were a different team when he went out with an injury. The Washington Redskins offered him a $100 million dollar contract and he couldn’t resist. I don’t know why this deal reminds me of Dan Wilkinson, ’cause I don’t see anyone really paying to see an NFL game to watch an interior lineman. The Redskins need help in other areas and they still need many pieces to compete in the loaded NFL East.
Kellen Winslow – The Browns traded Winslow to Tampa Bay for draft picks. I don’t like this trade for Cleveland. If they are sold on Brady Quinn being their quarterback, he needs a pass-catching tight end to be effective. He likes to dump off short passes, like he did to John Carlson when he was at Notre Dame. I know Winslow is a problem child, but you have to think that they could work this out.
Fred Taylor – New England signed Taylor this week to a short-term contract. This reminds me of Corey Dillon’s deal with the Pats. Taylor should have a similar role with New England. The backfield is a bit jumbled with Maroney and Faulk still there.
Sage Rosenfels – The Minnesota Vikings traded a fourth-round pick to the Texans for Rosenfels. I know Rosenfels gave a game away to Indianapolis early this season, but he is a proven back-up in the NFL. When he is in the game, he can rack up yardage.
Correll Buckhalter and J.J. Arrington – The Denver Broncos picked up both Buckhalter and Arrington. The Broncos don’t have a number one running back and they still don’t. Buckhalter has been a good fill-in for Westbrook and can catch out of the backfield. Arrington gives you a proven return-guy if they move Eddie Royal out of that role. I still see the Broncos drafting a young back in the draft.
Brandon Jones – The 49ers signed Brandon Jones for a multi-year contract. San Francisco must see something in the young receiver that the Titans looked over. The Titans lack and explosive receiver, but the Niners think Jones can fill that role. I think this signing could be a mistake.
Lito Shepherd – The Jets traded draft picks to Philadelphia for Shepherd. The Jets secondary is starting to take shape and I like what I see. Revis is a good, young talent and with Shepherd, it could be one of the best in the AFC.
Bart Scott – The Jets was busy and landed Bart Scott as their #1 target this free agency period. A lot of people thought that Ray Lewis would end up in New York, but they went with the younger, more talented linebacker. The Jets’ defense will be the best in the AFC East.
Matt Cassel – Kansas City landed their franchise quarterback by trading a 2nd round draft pick for Cassel and the verteran, Mike Vrabel. Cassel with be a better long-term fit than Tyler Thigpen. “Thiggy” did cement himself as a competent back-up, in case Cassel struggles.
Brian Dawkins – The Eagles secondary is getting more and more depleted by the day. The Broncos picked up Brian Dawkins and will trot out Champ Bailey, Dre Bly, and Dawkins in their secondary. I know they are all kind of “long in the tooth,” but they should play much better than last year.
Jon Kitna – The Dallas Cowboys traded their starting cornerback, Anthony Henry, to the Lions for Jon Kitna. This is probably the worst transaction since the Cowboys traded for Roy Williams. The Lions were going to cut Kitna, so I don’t know why they would trade Henry for him. It saves Dallas less than $2 million dollars, so it can’t be categorized as a money-saving move. I sure hope Tony Romo stays healthy or we will see the Kitna/Williams tandem once again.
Keith Brooking – Dallas signed the veteran and makes the Cowboys linebackers some of the oldest in the league. They should be adequate, but nothing to write home about.
Dan Orlovsky – The Texans needed a back-up QB, since they traded Rosenfels to the Vikings. Orlovsky did well last season, but has a lot to prove to be an adequate back-up to a fragile quarterback. The Texans need to draft a young QB in the draft as an insurance policy.
I those glasses on Baron Davis, there were some photos recently of Baron Davis sporting those large frames while playing soccer, I think he needs to wear those in an NBA game next season. He could be the next Kurt Rambis, but he wouldn’t best be known for getting clothes-lined during a NBA Finals game.
Baron Davis opted out of the last year of his contract and is becoming an unrestricted free agent. He has had some beef with the Golden State Warriors, but I think most of it stems from him being in Don Nelson’s doghouse for much of the season last year. Davis has said he would like to stay in the Bay Area, but you have to think that him leaving over 17 million dollars on the table for next season, something has to change.
I think Davis is one of the best point guards in the game. He reminds me of a “good” Stephon Marbury, he is a fluid scorer and can run the offense much better than Marbury ever could. I liked him with UCLA and also with the Hornets (I do like Chris Paul a little better), Golden State seemed like a good fit for him at the time, but with Boston winning the title last year within a year of being the worst team in the league, I have a feeling that some of today’s NBA stars will start to speak to one another and try to duplicate this pattern.
Elton Brand has also opted out of his contract, he left a lot of money on the table. He only played 8 games last season and a lot of people can second-guess this move, but Brand was solid for a few years before his injury for the Clippers. A team out there will still pay out of their nose for him. The Clippers still seem to have interest in him and they are also eyeing Baron Davis. If the Clippers can pull off what the Celtics did last year, I will be amazing.
Clippers Owner, Donald Sterling, has been scrutinized for years about not wanting to pay for talent. Over the last few seasons he has increased his payroll a little in hopes of being competitive. If he ends up signing both Brand and Davis to new large contracts, the Clippers may be able to compete again.