The New Free Agency: Individual Agency

July 8th, 2010, around 6ish, I think, might have been 5, I sped home from my job at the airport and got to a TV as quick as I could. Why? Because that was the date LeBron made his infamous Decision. You could also say Chris Bosh to a lesser extent, but it's not like he's the most talented basketball player in the world. Since that day, it reshaped everyone's beliefs in what it means to be a “free agent.” Yes, LeBron wasn't the first big-name superstar to switch teams to a more attractive city, a better market, and better running mates. Shoot, Amare left Phoenix for New York that same summer. But the way that LeBron switched teams, it signaled a new era for free agency in the NBA, an era of individual agency.

Case in point: flash-forward, or fast-forward whichever you prefer, to Carmelo Anthony. It was apparent that Carmelo wanted to go to New York to join Amare. New York, thanks to gutting their cap room in an attempt to get LeBron, had the money to sign Carmelo. Of course, Carmelo could have played out the season with Denver and signed with New York in the summer, but it was also apparent that the NBA would go through a damaging lockout that would change the way player contracts are written up. If Carmelo got traded during the season, he could sign an extension under the old way that basketball superstars got paid. Carmelo had no clue how much money he could lose if he waited around and signed in the off season as a free agent. So, in a way, he held Denver hostage, loosely demanding a trade to New York by way of claiming the Knicks would be the only team he would sign an extension with. Carmelo forced Denver's hand, because everyone knew he was gonna bolt. Denver didn't want to end up like Cleveland either, tensely waiting, hoping, and praying that Carmelo would stay around, only to be spurned at the last second for a more attractive city and a better running mate.

Answer: The first order of business once the locks came off NBA compounds. Question: What is The Chris Paul Trade Alex? To quote Jules Winfield, “Correctomundo!” The Hornets, or more realistically David Stern, obviously monitored the Cleveland/LeBron fiasco and was powerless to the Carmelo/Denver/New York love triangle. Stern, who if you don't know by now runs the Hornets, no matter what anyone says, was in the same exact situation as Denver: young stud who had a year till free agency, or more importantly, individual agency. The rumor mill sounded eerily similar to Carmelo and Denver. “He will only sign an extension for a certain team.” “We want this guy but don't want to gut our roster to get him.” “Once free agency rolls around he's gonna bolt anyway.” New York caved and shipped away a ton of talent to acquire Carmelo, headlined by Timofey Mozgov. Well, maybe not headlined by Mozgov, but New York was so adamant about keeping him around. Say what you want about the Laker trade, but it didn't happen. More importantly, Paul gets shipped from one team and one city to, and stop me when this sounds similar, a more attractive city and a better running mate. New Orleans and the Clippers were then in the same situation as Denver and New York. Well, Paul's gonna bolt in the off season anyway, let's get what we can for him. Well, wait now, let's call this team's bluff and wait it out to get the best deal possible, cause they'll cave eventually. New York caved with Denver. LA caved with New Orleans. It's worked out with Denver so far, and time will only tell how New Orleans did with the trade.

And now, yes, stop me when this sounds familiar, but we have one Dwight Howard. Same situation as Anthony and Paul, only Orlando's thinking is more on par with Cleveland's. For whatever reason, Orlando thinks they can keep him, and Dwight's nice guy persona only pushes that thinking even further. Dwight doesn't want to made out like what LeBron has turned in to: The bad-guy. Dwight will sit back and smile and claim he wants to stay in Orlando, but he wants to go to a winner. Basically Dwight just wants someone to carry the offensive load. Orlando has even copied the Cleveland blueprint for trying to entice the star to stay: Let's actively bring in these guys and make these moves to show Dwight we are serious about building a winner with Dwight at the centerpiece. How did that work out for Cleveland?

Carmelo had his wish list, which was New York. Paul had his wish list that wasn't as evident as Carmelo's, but there were only a few places that Paul would realistically sign an extension with. Same thing with Dwight” Brooklyn, Lakers, and now the Clippers. The Warriors have even floated out potentially trading for Dwight as a rental for the season and hope he likes it in the Bay Area.

What does it all mean? Players understand how the league works. Being a free agent doesn't mean they are free to sign with any team they want. There's a thing called a salary cap. Ever so often, the stars will align perfectly and a team like Miami or New York can throw a season away, gutting their roster and cap space and sign two, three big name guys. That doesn't happen often. Could the Clippers have signed Chris Paul this off season? Maybe, potentially, but they would have made a few little moves to clear up some money. Can the Clippers or Lakers sign Dwight this off season? No chance. Brooklyn appears to be the only team that Dwight would want to go to that has the space to sign him. I haven't perused the potential cap room of teams for this summer lately, but Dwight's choices are limited, much like Carmelo's, much like Paul's.

Teams are rarely made through free agency in sports. The draft and trades are what make teams, because unless you gut your roster for a year, only a few teams realistically have cap space. For whatever reason, players are just now figuring this out. These players are finally realizing that to get what they want, or to put it another way play where they want, they're going to have to spurn some fans and any image they've created. Players know they're going to have to take their own careers into their own hands. Carmelo wanted to play in New York, he put the pressure on Denver to trade him to New York. Paul wanted to go to a “sexy” city, you hear the whispers about him only signing an extension with certain teams. Dwight doesn't want to stay in Orlando, he's adding teams to his “wish list” of desired places to go. LeBron paved the way for all of this. He went out on national television and let it be known he was taking his talents to where he wanted to play and play with who he wanted to play with. If he wanted the best place to win, he would have picked Chicago. If he cared about image he would have stayed with Cleveland. He wanted to play in Miami with Wade and Bosh. So, he signed there because he had the individual agency to do so.

Cleveland also provided a blue print for what happens to teams who get spurned by the star player. It's not like this is the first team that's ever had a star player bolt in free agency, and they won't be the last, but thanks to LeBron and The Decision, it came to hurt Cleveland more than anything. Denver didn't want to become like Cleveland and have Carmelo bolt. New Orleans and Orlando don't want to be like Cleveland and have their stars bolt. Everyone just seemed to feel sad for Cleveland, and it was more pity than anything. You didn't feel that when Shaq left Orlando all those years ago did you? Did you feel it when Amare left Phoenix? But because LeBron made his decision on national television, with everyone powerless as to where he was going to sign, and announced it live on TV, everyone in Cleveland felt like they just got drop kicked in the stomach. People were burning LeBron James' jerseys for crying out loud. As monumental and once-in-a-lifetime type of happening, Denver didn't want that fallout, so they traded their superstar. New Orleans didn't want that fallout, they traded their superstar. As unlikely as that same fallout would have even been for those two cities, they didn't want to be like Cleveland.

This leaves Dwight Howard, and many other high-level players in the last year of their respective contracts. The blueprint has been created for players to play where they want to play. Just create a “wish list,” let your current employer know you will be switching teams regardless, and say “Hey, I'm leaving, but if you want to get something in return, these are places I'd like to get traded to. It's been fun.” Fun indeed, because trades only open the possibility for the rumor mill to really get swirling, a rumor mill that will slowly heat up as more players realize they have a choice to play where they want to.