quote:
4. DeMar DeRozan, Toronto Raptors

Player option ($10 million)

DeRozan should absolutely opt out of his deal given his All-Star credentials and the rising salary cap. Given how shallow this free agent pool is at the top, he's a clear candidate for a max deal, whether in Toronto or from one of the franchises desperate for talent. It should be noted that DeRozan is from Los Angeles, so the Lakers will probably chase him hard. The Heat (if Dwyane Wade's tenure ends), Nets, Knicks, Hornets and Pelicans could try to get into the conversation, too. The Jazz and Nuggets would be interesting, but he's not going to the Jazz or Nuggets.

quote:
17. Eric Gordon, New Orleans Pelicans
Unrestricted

Here's the thing with Eric Gordon: You can't commit too much because he's a walking injury risk, but he's so good when healthy that he sort of requires a big contract. He's the perfect No. 2 or 3 option for lots of teams, but he's going to want $20 million per season and probably a four-year deal. That's a big outlay for someone with his long medical chart, even in the high-cap NBA era. It only takes one team, though.

The weird thing is he's perfect for New Orleans on paper, but there seems to be little chance the Pelicans bring him back.

quote:
25. Ryan Anderson, New Orleans Pelicans

Unrestricted

It'll be a small miracle if the Pelicans don't flip Anderson by the deadline to ensure assets come back, even though in a perfect world Anderson and Anthony Davis would be New Orleans' starting frontline. Anderson is a prototypical stretch-4, a deft shooter who in the past has also effectively crashed the offensive boards. Offensive rebounding is out of vogue, so Ryno is much more one-dimensional. Still, that dimension is pretty key.

He's a defensive minus (on par with Kevin Love, to be honest), so he needs a co-star who can guard the rim and sub on to pick-and-roll threats. Indiana looks like a rather good fit on paper (presuming the Pacers keep a defender like Ian Mahinmi at center), but the Pistons are the dream spot here. Detroit should be able to afford Anderson despite his high price tag. That could help put the Pistons into the East's top tier, presuming they keep Drummond and one of the two key wings (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Stanley Johnson) develops.

Toronto, Washington, Miami, Phoenix, Houston and Memphis all make sense, too. The market for Anderson could be huge!

quote:
86. Norris Cole, Pelicans (Unrestricted): He spent four years in college, but he's working on his fourth NBA season below 40 percent field goal percentage.This is his fourth straight season around 24 minutes. He's never averaged double-digit scoring or more than 3.5 assists per game. But hey, two rings.

I'm surprised to see Gordon higher up the list than Anderson, but either way it looks like both guys could be too expensive for us to bring back, especially if we throw a max contract at a guy like Derozan. But I figured that with the way this season is going its never too early to look forward to free agency. Nick Batum and Harrison Barnes are the top SFs (not named Kevin Durant) that we should target.

LINK