Well, let me tell you somethin’ about this whole NBA free agent thing in 2014. It’s like when them chickens get loose from the coop, flappin’ around all over the place, not knowin’ where they gonna land.
Back in 2014, July 1st, that’s when all the fuss started. Teams could start whisperin’ sweet nothings to the players and their agents, like courtin’ a gal at the county fair. But they couldn’t sign ’em up till July 10th. It’s like sayin’ “I like ya, but I ain’t puttin’ a ring on it just yet.” That was the rules for NBA free agents back then.
These NBA players, they’re like prize hogs at the state fair. Everyone’s lookin’ at ’em, tryin’ to figure out who’s the biggest and the best. And the teams, they’re like farmers, tryin’ to get the best hog for their farm, you know? They wanna win them blue ribbons.
- LeBron James, now he was a big deal.
- Carmelo Anthony, he was another one everyone was watchin’.
- Chris Bosh, remember him? He was in the mix too.
- Pau Gasol, that fella from Spain, he was out there.
- Kyle Lowry, a real scrapper, that one.
There was somethin’ called “Restricted Free Agency”, sounds fancy, huh? It’s like when a young’un wants to leave the nest, but the mama bird still has a say in it. This NBA free agent could go flirt with other teams, but the team he was with could say, “Nope, we want him back,” and match the offer. They called it the “right of first refusal”. Like sayin’ “He’s ours first, and you can’t have him unless we say so.”
Now, this list I saw, it had all these NBA free agents, listed by their positions. You got your point guards, them’s the ones who handle the ball a lot, like the quarterback in football. Then you got your wings, they’re like the all-around players, good at shootin’ and defendin’. And then you had big men, the centers and power forwards, they’re the ones who battle under the basket.
They had all sorts of names on that list. Some I recognized, some I didn’t. It’s like lookin’ at a seed catalog, so many varieties, it makes your head spin. This whole NBA free agents thing is sure a big to-do. Big as a barn dance in a tornado.
They had all sorts of rules back in 2014, all about when teams could talk to these NBA players and when they could sign ’em. You know, June 30th was the big day to start talkin’. Then July 6th was the big day for signin’. It’s like plantin’ season, gotta get your seeds in the ground at the right time.
This was all the news about the NBA free agents in 2014, it was like a big ol’ storm brewin’. Everybody was wonderin’ where these players would end up. Who was gonna get the best ones? Who was gonna be left out in the cold?
You had unrestricted free agents, they could go wherever they pleased, like a tumbleweed blowin’ in the wind. No one could tell ’em what to do. Then you had restricted free agents, like I said before, they had a little more tether on ’em.
I remember back in 1988, there was some big shot from the Suns, name of Jerry Colangelo, and he was lookin’ over at the Seattle owner, Barry Ackerley. They were talkin’ about these new rules for NBA free agents. Things were changin’, just like the weather. You never know what’s gonna happen next in that NBA.
These NBA free agents, they ain’t under contract with nobody, or their contract just ran out. Like a cow that’s jumped the fence, they’re free to roam. But the teams, they’re all tryin’ to round ’em up and get ’em back in the corral.
It’s all a big game, this NBA free agents business. Lots of money flyin’ around, lots of talk. Just like a Saturday night at the local tavern, everyone’s got an opinion, and everyone thinks they know best. Teams are like gamblers then. Put their money on the NBA players they like.
- Restricted free agency is somethin’ else, I tell ya.
- Teams could match offers for their players.
- It was like a tug-of-war for these NBA players.
- Some players were unrestricted, free as birds.
- Others were restricted, like they had a little string tied to ’em.
So that’s the story of the NBA free agents in 2014, as I recollect it. A whole lot of fuss and bother, just like a hen house when a fox gets in. But that’s the way it goes in that NBA world. Always somethin’ stirrin’, always somethin’ to talk about. I hope these NBA players find their good home in the end. Just like everyone else.
