Top Remaining Free Agents

The free-agency wheels are still turning—but at a molasses-like pace. Thursday’s “biggest” agreements included those between international sharpshooter Ryan Broekhoff and the Dallas Mavericks (per Yahoo Sports’ Shams Charania), and Nik Stauskas and the Portland Trail Blazers (per an release), but those aren’t headline-grabbers. Fortunately, plenty of intriguing names are still scattered throughout the open market, led by these five from our original big board:nfl replica jerseys china

1. Clint Capela, C, Restricted

Age: 24

2017-18 Per-Game Stats: 13.9 points, 10.8 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.8 steals, 1.9 blocks replica nfl jerseys wholesale

2017-18 Advanced Metrics: 24.5 PER, 2.14 RPM, 124.08 TPA

One of the league’s most talented roll men as well as an emerging defender capable of impacting the proceedings like a full-fledged star, Clint Capela is a virtual lock to return to the Houston Rockets. He’s a restricted free agent, so the Rockets could just exercise their rights of first refusal and bring him back replica nfl jerseys china if he somehow convinced another organization to hand him a max offer sheet in this money-starved environment. replica nfl jersey

Or he could go a different route. As he’s been unable to parlay his talents and youth into an offer at this early stage of free agency, that might be an emerging possibility. nfl jerseys cheap wholesale

“From what I understand, [Capela’s] initial meeting with the Rockets didn’t go as he was expecting it to. There’s not a big long-term offer, I hear, that he’s comfortable signing right now,” ESPN.com’s Ramona Shelburne revealed, per Blazers Edge’s Sagar Trika. She also indicated he could settle for the qualifying offer and hit unrestricted free agency next summer.

2. Marcus Smart, PG, Restricted

Age: 24

2017-18 Per-Game Stats: 10.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.4 blocks

2017-18 Advanced Metrics: 10.8 PER, 0.96 RPM, minus-16.14 TPA nfl jersey cheap wholesale

All is quiet on this front. No true rumors have emerged linking Marcus Smart to any other organizations.

However, Smart is losing leverage every day. Precious little money is available for restricted free agents this year, and it’s unlikely he’ll be able to parlay his defensive talent and relentless hustle into anything more than the mid-level exception from another front office. A cheap reunion with Beantown is likely still in the cards, which would allow head coach Brad Stevens to continue maximizing Smart’s unique talents.

That said, some cracks are emerging between interested parties. Per Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald, the two sides haven’t spoken since the start of free agency, and some quotes from an anonymous source are rather damning:

“He would have thought there would have been some kind of three- to four-year deal from them to show they’re interested. But the qualifying offer is the only one he has received, and there’s been no talk since free agency opened. He’s most disappointed that there has been no reaching out from their end.wholesale cheap nfl jerseys

“He’s just hurt and frustrated that Danny [Ainge] hasn’t reached out. That’s the most discouraging part of this whole thing. The last contact was a few days before free agency started.”

Stay tuned.