The summer of crazy spending in the NBA is only days away and it is likely to start in Washington. But we’re not talking about the Wizards’ pursuit of Kevin Durant, which most observers regard as slightly delusional.
According to sources, the Wiz are locked in on making a major offer to Joakim Noah. The Wizards are said to be willing to offer Noah, coming off shoulder surgery that KO’d him in January, a full maximum contract. His deal would start at $26.6 million and reach nearly $120 million over four seasons.
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Yeah, it’ll be that kind of crazy money for the soon-to-be former Chicago Bull.
The Wizards are prepared to go all out for the 2014 NBA Defensive Player of the Year because they have glaring holes up front and already are anticipating having to win an intense bidding war.
Three other teams — the Knicks, Timberwolves and Bucks — are also planning to make substantial offers to Noah, who played only 29 games last season before suffering a shoulder injury. If the Bulls come calling, he probably won’t even take their call. He has no intentions of re-signing in Chicago and is ready to move on, according to a source.
The Wizards’ main competition when free agency starts July 1 will be from the Knicks. Newly acquired Derrick Rose is close to Noah and some observers see that putting Phil Jackson in the lead. The Knicks can also offer Noah a starting job, having sent Robin Lopez as part of the package to the Bulls in the Rose trade and creating a vacancy at center.
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Noah has ties to New York — he spent most of his high school days at Brooklyn’s Poly Prep — and is said to want to come to the Big Apple. He’d be an automatic Garden favorite with his relentless hustle and fiery demeanor.
Money-wise, the Knicks will have around $30 million to spend on free agents. They’ll first try to get Durant, as much as they look like long shots, with Oklahoma City the favorites to retain the summer’s top free agent. If Durant moves, Golden State has the wherewithal and interest to bring him in as a significant upgrade over restricted FA Harrison Barnes, who fizzled in the Finals. The way the Warriors collapsed at the end of Game 7 against Cleveland in the Finals, there’s a need for Durant’s scoring, even for a team that won a record 73 games.
As for Noah, Jackson might not be willing to match Washington’s max-deal offer for a player who also had knee surgery in the 2014 offseason. But the Wizards can’t reinvest in Nene, approaching his 34th birthday and missing 133 games since 2011.
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So this will be an intense competition. Several NBA GMs think that Noah could be more heavily recruited than the other top bigs who will go on the open market. Dwight Howard will scare away some teams with his character issues. He is said to want the Knicks, but more than they want him. Pau Gasol is a Jackson favorite who turned down a chance in 2014 to be reunited with his former Lakers coach and headed to Chicago instead. If Noah takes Washington’s max money, Jackson might have to turn to Gasol, who turns 36 on July 6.
“If teams are convinced Noah is healthy, he will get a max deal, and Washington is panicking because Nene is done and they didn’t make the playoffs last season,’’ said one GM. “They’ll overpay for Noah — they always do.’’
The Wiz are prepared to write some massive checks as the league’s salary cap explodes from $70 million this season to $94 million for 2016-17. They waited too long to get Bradley Beal at a reasonable price, so now they’ll have to overpay to retain their top free agent. Beal could command $22 million as a starting salary in a max deal, despite suffering from recurring stress injuries to his right fibula during his first four seasons.
If the Wiz do make an offer to Noah that more than doubles the five-year, $60 million that is about to expire, it could end Minnesota’s pursuit of one of Tom Thibodeau’s favorite players.
Thibodeau has Noah atop his free-agent board and hopes he can land the player who brought him leadership on and off the floor, along with his trademark high intensity. But even if a non-scoring threat like Noah finished fourth in the MVP in 2014 for Thibodeau, Minnesota probably isn’t willing to break the bank for a player who has missed 94 games in the last five seasons, including the final 43 last year.
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Noah also has a big fan in Jason Kidd, who has soured on Greg Monroe, only one season into a deal that has two seasons to run. The Bucks tried to trade him in recent days, but the Celtics and other teams had no interest.
Kidd has told associates he thinks Noah’s toughness and experience will greatly help his young rising stars, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker. He’ll have to convince Noah, though, that he can be happy relocating to a small market.
The Bucks are looking to bounce back from a disastrous season after they made the playoffs in 2015. As Kidd sees it, Noah’s addition would be perfect as the Bucks try to live up to their “Own the Future’’ marketing campaign.
With what Noah is about to get, he’ll own the future, too.
