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Top 7 Storylines Entering Free Agency Around the NBA

With free agency set to open in short order, teams around the NBA are preparing for a frenzy. Some of the top players in the Association could conceivably switch teams over the next couple weeks.

While all eyes appear to be on LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, there are some other stories to follow over the next few days.

Here are the top-seven storylines entering free agency.

1. LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers

It’s more than likely that James will be returning to Cleveland. The larger issue here is who might be joining him on the Eastern Conference champ’s roster. Kevin Love opted out of his contract, but recent reports suggest that he’s likely going to return to Cleveland. If the team then re-signs Tristan Thompson to what promises to be an expensive contract, the options for creating a deep roster becomes limited. Add into the equation that both J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert are slated to become free agents, and the situation in Cleveland is one of intense drama.

The Cavaliers also possess a player in Brandon Haywood that offers some value here. He has a non-guaranteed 2015-16 salary of $10.5 million, which could be really attractive to another team that’s looking to get under the cap or limit its luxury tax bill. Then again, the Cavaliers can waive Haywood outright to lower their own tax bill. Though, if the team is looking to contend in 2015-16, acquiring a player or two with that $10.5 million makes more sense. It’s all about how much owner Dan Gilbert actually wants to open his pockets.

2. Looming Reality of Shorter-Term Contracts

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Courtesy of USA Today Sports: LeBron James and Jimmy Butler could start a trend here.

While we already know James is likely going to sign a two-year deal with an ability to opt out next summer, there promises to be a few other players fall in line here. As of right now, the max annual salary Cleveland can offer James is $22 million. That number increases to $34 million annually next summer. We are also hearing reports that Chicago Bulls restricted free agent Jimmy Butler is looking to join the Los Angeles Lakers on a short-term deal—potentially of the one-year variety. That situation is different considering Chicago can match and offer another team throws Butler’s way. But it does speak to the mentality of some of the top free agents.

This doesn’t come without a risk. If a player were to see himself injured this upcoming season, he would then likely miss out on a max deal next summer. It’s a risk James and Butler might take, but other top-end free agents present more of an injury concern. LaMarcus Aldridge and Kevin Love come to mind first.

3. The Los Angeles Lakers Plan

We have heard the Dwyane Wade rumors. We are now hearing Jimmy Butler rumors. Los Angeles is also said to be the favorite to land free-agent big man LaMarcus Aldridge. At this point, it would probably be easier naming off the players Los Angeles isn’t interested in.

The one thing that’s completely clear here is that the Lakers are not going to be entering the 2015-16 season with remotely the same roster as they ended last season. The team declined Jordan Hill’s option Monday, and Jeremy Lin is expected to move on free agency. More than that, the Lakers are looking to add at least two stars to team up with rookie D’Angelo Russell. The likelihood here is that Los Angeles will be able to add someone of Aldridge’s ilk while attempting to bring in a mid-tier perimeter shooter. Maybe someone like Monta Ellis or Tobias Harris would make sense here.

Either way you put it, general manager Mitch Kupchak and company are looking to be big-time players on the open market. It just remains to be seen whether they can attract that upper-echelon star. After all, one guy apparently has no interest in joining the fledgling franchise.

4. Dwyane Wade’s Decision

Courtesy of USA Today Sports: Is Wade really on his way out of South Beach?

Courtesy of USA Today Sports: Is Wade really on his way out of South Beach?

By opting out of his deal on Monday, Wade made it clear that he’s going to test the open market starting Wednesday. Whether this leads to a departure from South Beach remains to be seen, but that’s more of a reality than at any previous point in his Heat career. Wade is looking at upward towards $20 million annually—something that just doesn’t mesh with his market value today. If the future Hall of Fame guard comes anywhere near close to meeting that demand, he’s likely gone.

Among the teams expected to be interested in Wade are the Lakers. However, there’s no telling whether that interest is anywhere near where it was prior to the team drafting D’Angelo Russell No. 2 overall last week. If the Lakers were to sign a player like Aldridge to a max deal, they would be limited to offering Wade less than the $16.1 million he was slated to make in Miami before opting out. Though, Wade is looking for a multi-year deal, which means he might take less annually to be guaranteed more. Remember, Miami’s original offer to Wade was an extension worth $20 million over two years. If he were to sign a three-year deal with the Lakers at $16 million, that would be about $12 million more than Miami’s reported offer.

The New York Knicks also remain an option, but they are said to be focusing more on Greg Monroe and others at this point (more on that below). Other potential contenders with enough money to offer Wade what he perceives his fair-market value to be include the Dallas Mavericks, Portland Trail Blazers and San Antonio Spurs.

The true wild card here are the Miami Heat, who could only offer Wade a deal at $3.5 million. The idea there would be to team the guard up with LeBron James for one or two more runs at the title. Though, that would leave Wade passing up on nearly $12 million from what he was slated to make prior to opting out.

5. Scratching Together a Competitive Team in New York

Various reports on Monday indicated that New York will find itself favored to land both Greg Monroe and Arron Afflalo when free agency opens later this week. The sad fact is that both players likely don’t make the Knicks a playoff contender in a mediocre Eastern Conference. Giving Afflalo, who will likely be playing out of position in New York, a reported $36-$38 million over three seasons seems a bit foolish. Heck, Monroe would likely also be playing out of position at center in New York.

In addition to all this, some theory was floated on Monday indicating the Knicks were pitching DeAndre Jordan with the idea of being the team’s No. 2 scoring option behind Carmelo Anthony. The Knicks are also slated to meet with LaMarcus Aldridge and have shown interest in Dwyane Wade.

If this looks like a creative mess, that’s because it is. The Knicks are so utterly void of talent right now that they seem willing to throw money at any upper-echelon player to see what sticks, no matter how he might fit into the system. In the meantime, there is still a strong possibility that Jose Calderon will play extended minutes next season. That tells us all we need to know about the state of the franchise right now.

6. What’s Happening with Jimmy Butler in Chicago?

Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News reported on Monday that Butler is hoping that the Bulls let him move on to the Los Angeles Lakers as a restricted free agent. The idea behind this would be for Butler to sign a one-year deal with the Lakers before hitting the free agent market next summer—a market that will be overflowing with cash due to an increased salary cap throughout the Association.

The Bulls, who can match any offer for Butler’s services, are in an awkward position here. If they match any offer Butler receives they face the real possibility of having to deal with a disgruntled star. If they don’t, the team’s chances of contending in 2015-16 drop considerably.

7. The LaMarcus Aldridge Sweepstakes

Well, this is going to be pretty insane. The Portland Blazers All-Star has seven meetings lined up this week, starting with the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets late Tuesday night (pacific time). Teams also traveling to Los Angeles—where Aldridge’s agents are based—include the San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, Toronto Raptors and New York Knicks. Heck, San Antonio is rolling out the red carpet for the big man.

The only thing we can take for a near certainty here is that Aldridge will not be returning to Portland. Outside of that, it’s nothing more than an educated guess. The Lakers were seen as early favorites, and that makes sense considering Aldridge has a home in Southern California. He’s also from Texas, which probably puts the Mavericks and Spurs in play. San Antonio is especially attractive considering its long history of success and ability to contend moving forward.

Photo: USA Today Sports

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