After a thrilling NBA Finals, a talent-laden NBA draft and a free-agency season dominated by two of the biggest stars in the game in LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, what can the NBA do for an encore?
Well, there's always the regular season.
But let's look way ahead. How about the 2015 free-agent class?
Most conversations about 2015 free-agent targets have centered around two marquee big men, Kevin Love and LaMarcus Aldridge, currently of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Portland Trail Blazers, respectively. Both are extremely talented players who could turn a team around, All-Stars who deserve maximum salary contracts.
However, I believe center Marc Gasol could be a better addition for potential suitors than Love or Aldridge.
Let's begin our early 2015 free-agency preview by looking at how Gasol separates himself, then, let's broaden our focus and key in on some other notable free agents and themes next summer.
Scouting Report
You can make an argument that Aldridge and Love are just as good as, if not better than, Gasol on offense. But Marc -- much like his brother Pau -- is a complete offensive player. He's a terrific back-to-the-basket scorer who is adept at finishing with either hand. He also has great hands that allow him to catch errant passes and maintain a soft touch around the rim. And he's an excellent passer from the low block, capable of making defenses pay for a double-team or for sending extra help on defense. To round it out, Gasol has midrange touch. He loves to operate from the elbow and is a great pick-and-roll target, scoring almost 1.1 points per possession, according to Synergy Sports.
As impressive as he might be on offense, the true difference between Gasol, Love and Aldridge can be witnessed on the defensive end.
We're only two seasons removed from Gasol being named NBA Defensive Player of the Year. He's a high-IQ team defender with excellent footwork and awareness. Gasol does a tremendous job of doing his work early: that is, beating his man to the spot, fighting guys off their preferred position and then contesting the shot without overextending himself and chasing the block (which would render him vulnerable to shot fakes).
Statistically, Gasol routinely has been one of the league leaders in defensive adjusted plus-minus; he ranked fifth in the NBA in ESPN's defensive real plus-minus (DRPM) metric last season.
He's a solid defensive rebounder, too, routinely snagging greater than 20 percent of opponent misses, a stat no doubt depressed by playing alongside rebounding machine Zach Randolph.
Finally, even though Gasol is disciplined in his shot contesting, he's still top 20 in the NBA in blocks per 36 minutes (another stat that's artificially lowered, this time by Memphis' pace, the slowest in the NBA.)
Gasol's contractual status
Gasol's impending unrestricted free-agent status also sets him apart from Love and Aldridge. Memphis still has the inside track to retain Gasol, given an ability to offer a 7.5 percent raise and a fifth year. But Gasol, who will find plenty of teams interested once he hits free agency next summer, might find it difficult not to test the market.
The New York Knicks will try to lure Gasol with the promise of the triangle offense, the scheme that helped Pau transform from a Memphis outcast into a champion. Heading to New York would also allow Gasol to play alongside an elite scorer in Carmelo Anthony as well as Spanish national teammate Jose Calderon.
On the other hand, the Los Angeles Lakers can point to Pau's success and popularity and his altogether positive experience in L.A., and how Marc Gasol can be the next in a long line of great bigs to play for the Lakers. Surely, more suitors will enter the fold as Gasol approaches free agency. Wherever Gasol ends up, he has the talent and versatility to hoist a team into title contention. The big question will be whether teams have concerns about how well he'll age -- he'll turn 30 in January.
The best of the rest
After Gasol, Love and Aldridge, here's the rest of the projected top-10 free agents of 2015:
Al Jefferson | PF | Player Option
2014-15 Team: Charlotte Hornets | Projected salary class: Max
Jefferson has been a focal point on offense for Charlotte, the premier scoring threat the team has always lacked. Playing with the Hornets helped change the perception that Jefferson can't contribute to an elite defensive unit.
Brook Lopez | C | Player Option
2014-15 Team: Brooklyn Nets | Projected salary class: Max
Lopez isn't a sure thing to test the market; he has missed almost two entire seasons over the past three years to injury. Still, all Lopez needs to do is put up an All-Star caliber season to get NBA GMs salivating over the big man's talent and potential.
Kawhi Leonard | SF | RFA
2014-15 Team: San Antonio Spurs | Projected salary class: Max
The Finals MVP has been far better than Gordon Hayward (who signed a max deal this summer) at every step, so it'll be hard to convince him he's worth a dime less than a max deal. There's a chance the Spurs won't let Leonard see free agency, as he has until Oct. 31 to sign a rookie scale extension.
Paul Millsap | PF | UFA
2014-15 Team: Atlanta Hawks | Projected salary class: $12+ million
Another value deal from last summer, Millsap hardly resembles the young, second-round pick out of Louisiana Tech who came into the league in 2006. He has developed into an ideal 4 to play alongside an inside force of a 5; imagine Millsap and Gasol on the same team, for example.
Goran Dragic | PG/SG | Player Option
2014-15 Team: Phoenix Suns | Projected salary class: $12+ million
The Suns were markedly a better team when Dragic was on the floor last season, and they probably would have made the playoffs were it not for a historically tough Western Conference. Former Rockets teammate Kyle Lowry earned a four-year, $48 million offer this summer. It's safe to assume Dragic will command at least that much. It's hard to believe Dragic was once traded for Aaron Brooks and was almost passed over for Raymond Felton.
Klay Thompson | SG | RFA
2014-15 Team: Golden State Warriors | Projected salary class: $12+ million
If Hayward makes the max, and Avery Bradley is worth $8 million per year, surely one of the best shooters in the game and a good on-ball defender can justify a salary of eight digits. For what it's worth, I don't think I could give the max to Thompson, a player who simply can't create his own shot. But we've seen how rational decision-making often takes a summer vacation during restricted free agency; Thompson could be the latest in a long line of beneficiaries.
Rajon Rondo | PG | UFA
2014-15 Team: Boston Celtics (for now) | Projected salary class: $11+ million
The writing's on the wall for Rondo with the Celtics. Given a renewed commitment to Avery Bradley and the drafting of Marcus Smart, the likelihood of Rondo finishing the 2014-15 season wearing green has dipped from "possible" to "nonexistent." His hope at this point is to be sent to a team that's rich with scorers and starved for passing -- that's the scenario in which he shines brightest.
Themes to watch
TV contract and the rising cap: The salary cap made a huge jump this season (7.5 percent increase) after remaining relatively flat since the 2008 recession. Since the cap is tied to basketball-related income, any growth of the pie will result in a corresponding rise in the cap. The next big infusion of cash is expected to occur in 2016, when the league's TV deal is up for renewal. It's expected to be a significantly larger rights deal, meaning BRI will go up considerably and we can expect a much higher salary cap by 2017 at the latest. With the new TV deal on the horizon and the prospect of exploding salaries it offers, we're seeing more and more marquee free agents seek out the flexibility of shorter deals, which is exactly what we saw with LeBron.
Knicks will shop: Armed with more than $20 million in cap space and their own first-round pick (!!!), the summer of 2015 will mark the first opportunity for a major overhaul in New York since the summer of 2010. This will give Phil Jackson the chance to craft his roster by selecting players fit to run the triangle offense. It's easy to see how Gasol would be the ideal target for what they're trying to build. A number of teams will join the Knicks in next summer's feeding frenzy. Few teams, though, will be as hungry or well-equipped to make a move.
Lakers will hunt: The Los Angeles Lakers will seek to secure blue-chip talent for the third consecutive summer, after swinging and missing on Dwight Howard and Carmelo. It will be Kobe Bryant's final season, and he'll be making a hefty $25 million, but the hope is a higher cap will alleviate some of the pressure created by that cap-eating salary. Expect the Lakers to look to improve via trade if they can't find a fit on the open market.