NBA Free Agency: Are We In For Anticlimax?

12:01 AM this morning marked the being of the NBA free agency period, something almost everyone has been waiting for since the Cleveland LeBron James’ were bounced from the playoffs in the second round. With names like James, Wade, Bosh, Johnson, Pierce, Stoudemire and Nowitzki all on the board the country has been bracing itself for the most intriguing NBA offseason is history. However after months and months of speculation we may be in for one of the most anticlimactic endings to what promised to be the summer’s most hyped event. As teams can finally begin negotiating with players scenarios are beginning to become more clear however that clarity might be disappointing to many of us.

Because the NBA allows a player’s previous team to offer that player more money than anyone else it is becoming more and more likely that stars LeBron James and DeWayne Wade will re-sign with their respective teams rather than move on to somewhere else. The rampant speculation as to where the big stars will go has clouded the facts that these guys want Benjamins and wins (the Cavs and Heat can provide both with a little re-tooling as they both have cap space). Obviously I predicted James would sign with the Knicks and I stand by that possibility if only because it would great for both New York and the NBA in the long run. The other big names like Joe Johnson, Amar’e Stoudemire, Dirk Nowitzki and Paul Pierce have become free agents because they want a maximum contract before a new Collective Bargaining Agreement in reach after next season which will likely lower the amount of money teams can pay players. Those 4 aforementioned players can all expect max contracts from their currents teams and it would be a surprise to a degree if they signed elsewhere, even after testing the market.

At this point F Chris Bosh appears to be the only major name that will move this offseason considering is former team is reluctant to pay him. However having said all of that this recent bout of speculation is just that. Now that players can actually negotiate we can expect much more substantiated rumors than the litany of “source” that have fueled sports analysts for the past month and a half. We’d all love nothing more than to see some major moves this offseason that shape the power-balance of the NBA for years to come. For now, as always, we can only wait.