All around the league, power forwards are finding new homes, or returning to their respective franchises. Rasheed Wallace, Brandon Bass and Antonio McDyess all found new addresses and Anderson Varejao, Carlos Boozer and Zaza Pachulia elected to stay put. Meanwhile, Utah’s other free agent big man, Paul Millsap, signed an offer sheet with Portland.
So, where does that leave Glen Davis? Unlike the other big-time restricted big man, New York’s David Lee, Davis hasn’t been reported to be making extravagant money demands, but he’s still out there looking for a team. Perhaps the waiting is getting to Big Baby who posted this on his Twitter page Tuesday.
celtic have to do what best for them and you guys the fans! You guys need to facebook or myspace and tweet everybody. Keep Bigbaby in bos.
And:
Man I love Boston , this is where I started my career! But sometimes you forget that this is a business!!!!
While Davis frets, there were two other moves earlier this week that may have an impact on where Big Baby eventually lands.
First, Detroit traded Arron Afflalo and Walter Sharpe to Denver for a draft pick, and the subsequent cap room. According to reports out of Detroit, the Pistons now have about $3.5 million in cap space to take a run at a free agent big man. Like Davis. (The rest of the names include Joe Smith, Drew Gooden and Chris Wilcox at the high end, all of who are unrestricted.) Would the Celtics match at $3.5 million? That’s a good question.
Owner Wyc Grousbeck certainly sounds like someone who would be interested in retaining Davis.
“We'd love to have Baby back,” Grousbeck said Tuesday in an interview with WEEI.com's Jessica Camerato.
The Celtics will be over the luxury tax next season, as they have been since adding Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. That means any deal for Davis needs to be seen in the context of the dollar-for-dollar tax penalty. Grousbeck and the other owners have not been shy about paying the tax.
“We are investing based on the support and loyalty of our fans and sponsors, the best in the league,” Grosubeck said in an e-mail last week. “We put it right into the team and the supporting staff and hope it leads to more banners.”
Still, there is always a limit and the Celtics have been coy about what that limit actually is.
The other move may not have been so beneficial to Davis. Orlando elected to pick up the tab on Marcin Gortat who had signed an offer sheet with the Mavericks. The Magic also added Bass, ironically late of the Mavericks, and that would seem to take Orlando out of the running.
As for Dallas; owner Mark Cuban said last week (or Tweeted -- it’s really the same thing) that the Mavs were not pursuing Davis and reports there indicate that they may be making a run at Lamar Odom.
New Orleans is still considered a potential destination, but the Hornets are struggling financially and might have to move Tyson Chandler before getting into any sign and trade discussions with the Celtics.
But the biggest domino still to fall may be Boozer. After toying with Utah all season, Boozer elected not to exercise the opt-out in his contract and now he may be in play for a trade. Boozer certainly hopes so. He went on a Chicago radio station and floated the idea himself. Chicago, Miami and maybe even Detroit could all be in the mix.
So, where does this leave Big Baby? Still in limbo, it would appear.
Danny Ainge wisely allowed the market to come back to Davis, and from a financial standpoint that appears to be paying off. At the dawn of free agency there was talk of teams throwing their entire mid-level exception at him. That talk has cooled considerably.
It’s been a whirlwind first week of free agency. Here’s where the teams in the East stand so far.
THE CONTENDERS
Celtics
New addition: Rasheed Wallace
Still to do: Backup point guard and a swing player who can take some minutes away from Paul Pierce. Depending on the Davis situation, another big man wouldn’t hurt. The Celtics do have internal options with Gabe Pruitt at the point and Bill Walker and JR
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