NLL Insider - FA Day Recap

by CarlSpackler, updated on Sunday, November 06 2016, 11:52 pm EST

After ironing out a few kinks, and a bit of a delay to kick things off, the first day of free agency got off to a roaring start. While some teams who already had most of their pieces in places opted to watch the activity from the sidelines, several teams were all in with visions of reshaping their entire team in a matter of a couple hours. The bidding came fast and furious with just a couple minutes to enter an offer for each player. By the end of day 1, 76 players were up for consideration. Some stayed with their old teams while many others are packing their bags. Hereâ€™s a look at the moves that were made on day 1 and how each of the teams involved fared. (Some teams arenâ€™t mentioned below because they either didnâ€™t make any moves, or their only activity involved re-signing a player).

Atlanta - The Hawks didnâ€™t land any big names but filled out their team with 3 good pickups - Jared Dudley, Gerald Henderson and Andrew Nicholson.None of these guys are going to move the needle all that much but they filled needs. And he only spent 15 GM points, with 54 to spare, so heâ€™s got some room to play.

Boston - The Celtics seemed like they came up with player after player and were among the big winners of the day. And they needed to be given how few players they had locked in. Not the least of which was Kevin Durant. While it was just a re-signing, it was a hugely important re-signing. -In addition to Durant, Boston grabbed Ish Smith, a PG with starter talent, Courtney Lee, an NBA starter who will be more than solid in a backup SG or SF role, Boban Marjanovic, a gigantic and serviceable center, and Darrell Arthur at PF.

Charlotte - Nobody heard a word the Hornets name get mentioned until the very end of the day. But when the the final free agent of day one came up, it just so happened to be one Dirk Nowitzki. And by the end of the day, just about every time had piled up on signings leaving only three teams who had the cap space to absorb Nowitzkiâ€™s contract. And Charlotte, after losing out on the 10 previous bids theyâ€™d put out on day 1, landed one of the top 3 free agents available. On the trade front, they negotiated a trade with the Magic to send Orlando Kris Humphries in exchange for a couple 2nd rounders.

Chicago - The Bulls werenâ€™t the most active team on Free Agent Day, but they managed to land a couple key targets. The most notable was Evan Turner, the Small Forward who recently landed a major payday at $16 million/year and may be poised to have a breakout year. They also grabbed Trevor Booker, an underrated PF whoâ€™s averaging almost a double-double and should prove to be a welcome contributor to the Bulls.

Denver - While they remained relatively quiet with only three offers thrown out there, the Nuggets did manage to land Matt Barnes. Though heâ€™s getting a little long in the tooth, Barnes is still huge on hustle and one of the most tenacious players in the league. Denver should find him to be a big difference-maker.

Detroit - Without a GM (at the time), the Pistons didnâ€™t do much but fill some holes. Detroit grabbed Tarik Black, Solomon Hill and Jerryd Bayless.

Golden State - Though the Warriors threw out a good number of bids on some potential new players, the most notable was the re-signing of Harrison Barnes, the $22 million breakout star. They also grabbed the veteran small forward, (and one of the biggest names in the free agent pool), Luol Deng. So the Warriors should be faced with an interesting issue with two of their biggest stars (and biggest salaries) at the SF position.

Houston - When a team drops 90 GM points, youâ€™d expect a big new signing. But half of those 90 points were needed to retain Aaron Afflalo. The other half were used to grab Al Jefferson, the veteran center. They also managed to re-sign Hassan Whiteside. With the combination of Whiteside, Jefferson and Enes Kanter, the Rockets have one of the more potent frontcourts in the NLL.

Indiana - Six bids and a whopping 92 GM points later, the Pacers picked up one of their primary targets, Jeff Green, and the under-the-radar point guard, Sergio Rodriguez. They also re-signed perpetual super 6th man Jamal Crawford.

LA Clippers - Just 4 bids and only one pickup for the Clippers. But they got the one they were clearly after - Ryan Anderson. A great 3-point shooting stretch 4, Anderson should help to bring an additional threat to the Clippers offense.

LA Lakers - Greenmig just sat there throughout the day, biding his time. No offers went out as the hours ticked on. He was after one player, and one player only. Dwyane Wade. And he wasnâ€™t about to take any chances, putting 97 points on him. Of course there were other bidders, but none were even close. The defending back-to-back champions are still in it to win it.

Miami - The Heat were a team that was expected to have a busy day with only a few signed players currently on their roster. But Miami managed to make a few key moves without giving up a single GM point. It was suspected that they might not have been able to hang on to Rajon Rondo but fortune smiled on Proid as the star PG opted to keep his talents in South Beach. And they also picked up DJ Augustin to back him up Finally, the heat grabbed the oft-injured, but still talented Center, Joakim Noah, whoâ€™ll be sharing the frontcourt with another veteran center, Tyson Chandler.

Milwaukee - GM Badwolf only made one move, and it wasnâ€™t entirely clear if it was a move he actually intended to make. Whatever the case, the Bucks now have Timofey Mozgov to back up Karl-Anthony Towns. Though they also have Jusuf Nurkic, so it seems more likely that Mozgov will be a 3rd stringer which, at $16 million/year, may be one of the most expensive 3rd stringers in the league.

New Orleans - Perhaps it was because theyâ€™d put out a few offers on players and lost. But the Pelicans must have decided there was no way they were going to miss out on their primary target, Chandler Parsons. So they put 89 GM points and won the Parsons lottery by a mile. Heâ€™s been hobbled by an injury but hopes are high that heâ€™ll justify his new $95 million contract.

Orlando - While the Magic didnâ€™t make any waves in the free agent market, they made a major splash on the trade front. They first made a trade for Kris Humphries and then quickly packaged him up with Devin Harris and Nic Batum in exchange for Kevin Love and Miles Plumlee in a huge trade with the Kings.

Phoenix - Without many GM points to spare, the Suns were only able to put out some bids and hope theyâ€™d have the right combination to land their targets. Unfortunately, they came up short on most of their offers, though they did manage to land Jon Leuer. And behind the scenes, they were negotiating one of the biggest moves of the day, trading Ed Davis and some picks for star PF Al Horford.They also picked up Omri Casspi in exchange for points from the Sixers.

Portland - The Blazers had an eventful day. Though they only landed a few players, GM djdrew put in more offers (16) than any other team on FA Day. They werenâ€™t able to land any of the big name players they were after, but the Blazers did grab Ian Mahinmi, Wayne Ellington, and re-signed Ramon Sessions after he decided to explore his options in free agency.

Sacramento - The Kings had a few important re-signings, but what everyone is talking about is the trade with Orlando that sent Kevin Love and Miles Plumlee to the Magic in exchange for Nicolas Batum, Devin Harris, and Kris Humphries.

Toronto - Toronto was expected to be very active on FA Day, and active they were. Second only to Portland in offers, at 15, Toronto grabbed four of their targets. The biggest pickup was the veteran SG, Joe Johnson. The other players will fill up some needed bench space in with Eâ€™Twaun Moore to back up Johson, the stretch 4 Mirza Teletovic, and Garett Temple.

*****

Fast Facts:

Player with most GM points bid: Dwyane Wade - 127 points

Most GM points spent by a team: Los Angeles Lakers - 97 points

Most players picked up by a team in free agency: Tie (4) - Boston, Toronto

NLL Insider - FA Day Recap

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