NEWSLETTER
NBA Free Agent Centers — Realistically, we’ll have to have a more in-depth conversation (about the Bulls and their options at center next year) when the NBA season actually comes to a close. We still have three weeks before the start of the NBA Finals. And there’s still over a month before the NBA Draft. With that being the case, a handful of teams have yet to put their focus on the impending NBA free agents.
Still, with the Bulls likely out of a draft pick and on the verge of a pivotal offseason for the organization, it can’t hurt to at least familiarize ourselves with the market. This is particularly true when it comes to the options underneath the basket.
Bulls Options, Financial Flexibility
While it remains likely that the Bulls try to re-sign Nikola Vucevic this summer, a deal is hardly guaranteed. The big man is an unrestricted free agent, which means he has complete freedom to find a new home. And, if he were to walk, that would leave the Bulls with a massive hole at center (and little money available to patch it).
Indeed, we can’t fall into the trap of thinking that a Vucevic departure means gobs of cap space for the Bulls. The fact of the matter is that even if Vucevic leaves, and they re-sign guys like Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu, they’re going to have only the non-taxpayer mid-level exception (roughly $11.3 million) and the bi-annual reception (roughly $4.4 million) with which to work. You’re not signing a player of similar value to Vucevic with that money.
Even if the Bulls were going to decide to act as a cap space team, the max amount of cap space they can create is $16.3 million, per Spotrac. Once again, you likely aren’t signing a player of Vucevic’s caliber with that money. It also wouldn’t be nearly enough to fill all the other holes that would be created.
So, again, re-signing Vucevic to a multi-year deal somewhere near the $20 million mark should be considered the most likely outcome. But for the sake of covering all our bases, I’m going to drop a list of notable free-agent centers below. I can then link back to this whenever we have the Vucevic discussion over the next couple of months. I’ll also include their salary for this past season and any brief thoughts.
NBA Free Agent Centers
Other names include: Mike Muscala, Jock Lanadle, Bismack Biyombo, Mo Wagner, and Chimezie Metu. As you can surely see, though, there is a pretty significant drop-off in serviceable starting-caliber talent after Dwight Powell.
