by Sean Highkin
Last week, I previewed the Portland Trail Blazers' offseason possibilities and ran down which players were and weren't likely to be dealt, as well as a few potential trade targets.
For the second part of my offseason preview, I'm going to take a look at potential free agents for the Blazers to pursue.
Portland's payroll for the 2010-11 season will be around $70 million, now that Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge move from their rookie contracts to the major extensions they signed last summer.
This puts the Blazers well over the salary cap, making any talk of a run at LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, or any other big-name free agent strictly wishful thinking.
Since the Blazers are over the cap, they are limited to signing players either through sign-and-trade or with the mid-level exception (around $5.5 million the last few years).
The Blazers' primary needs, as I stated in part one of the offseason preview, are in the areas of backup point guard, backup shooting guard, and backup power forward.
With that in mind, here are some potential free agent targets for the Blazers:
- J.J. Redick (SG, Orlando - 2009-10 Salary: $2.8 million) - Redick is everything the Blazers should be looking for in a backup shooting guard: he can shoot the three, he's a scrappy defender, and (most importantly, considering the Blazers have a three-time All-Star making $82 million over the next five years in the starting spot), he seems to genuinely care more about playing for a winning team than about getting a lot of minutes. Unfortunately, Redick is a restricted free agent and it's highly likely the Magic will match any reasonable offer he gets. But given that he's probably the best available fit for Portland's needs, and could easily be had for the mid-level, it's certainly worth making an offer.
- Kyle Korver (SG, Utah - 2009-10 Salary: $5.1 million) - Another solid candidate to back up Roy. His presence would mean another consistent shooter on the bench unit, and given Utah's desire to get below the luxury tax threshold (and Carlos Boozer's inevitable departure), he isn't likely to be re-signed. He'd probably take mid-level to play for a team with Portland's talent and depth. A good backup plan if the Blazers are unable to land Redick.
- Luis Scola (PF, Houston - 2009-10 Salary: $3.3 million) - The Argentine big man is one of the toughest players in the NBA, a fact Blazers fans need no reminder of after the first round of the 2009 playoffs. For the money, he'd be a terrific backup for LaMarcus Aldridge.
- Roger Mason Jr. (SG/SF, San Antonio - 2009-10 Salary: $3.8 million) - Mason has been a solid backup for the Spurs, even stepping in and starting most of the 2008-09 season in place of an injured Manu Ginobili. Given Brandon Roy's recent injury problems, he may be asked to perform a similar role. He won't ask for a ton of money, either. Portland could do a lot worse in a backup 2 guard.
- Juwan Howard (PF, Portland - 2009-10 Salary: $1.3 million) - When the Blazers signed Howard for the veterans' minimum last summer, they intended for him to act essentially as an assistant coach. But after Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla went down, and before the Blazers traded for Marcus Camby, Howard was actually asked to start a decent chunk of the season at center, and while his numbers weren't spectacular (6.0 PPG, 4.6 RPG), he did everything that could be expected from him as a 37-year-old. It wouldn't be a terrible idea for Portland to re-sign Howard to another minimum contract, which would leave most of their mid-level exception open to go after another player.
