Counting down the days until sentences can be ended by a period instead of a question mark.
When will teams make offers? This question shows how leading stars like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are indeed holding the power right now. A variety of teams are courting them and other players, but are the teams making official financial offers to them?
Consider the Knicks, who have met with Joe Johnson and Amar’e Stoudemire. When did they make offers to both players? Did they do so without shutting the door on the potential of James coming to New York? The Knicks are moving forward on signing Stoudemire to at least a five-year deal — they hope he’ll arrive in New York Friday night or Saturday to finish the verbal agreement — and they have an offer on the table to Johnson. A Knicks source says both players remain open-minded to taking less money should James reveal later this weekend that he wants to join them in New York. But that three-headed gambit remains a longshot.
In the first couple of days there has been a lot of pitching and promising, but where is the big money? It’s still on the table of what is turning into an enormous game of poker. Has Chicago made an offer to Johnson? Could Miami work a sign-and-trade for Bosh that would leave them with max room for Wade and James? Are the Nets in with a chance at signing James?
Full story: When will teams make offers, more NBA free agency questions – Ian Thomsen – SI.com