NBA Free Agency: Player Options 2009-10

While it has become the “in” topic to discuss the summer of 2010 class which contains megastars, I believe that this year’s free agent crop has a few guys that can add firepower to playoff contenders. However, this list only contains guys that had player options for the upcoming season.

Here’s a list of guys staying put …

Michael Finley, San Antonio Spurs
Many top caliber NBA talents struggle making the transition from featured option to role player. Finley has excelled in the twilight of his career as a 3-Point specialist and occasional 12-15 point scorer. Of course, winning a NBA championship and playing alongside Tim Duncan aided in the comfort level.

Carlos Boozer, Utah Jazz
No shock here. Coming off an injury filled year, why test the market when he could return to the Jazz and make a comfy $12.7 million?

Mehmet Okur, Utah Jazz
Okur is a perfect fit for Jerry Sloan’s system and made a good decision. So many teams have created cap space for 2010, so once the big names are off the board Okur can sneak in a good payday forGM’s looking to upgrade.

Devean George, Dallas Mavericks
George at one point was a serviceable role player, but has been hit besieged by injuries the last three seasons. His $1.6 million price tag is “inexpensive” and will be attractive during any trade talks – as a throw in.

Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
There was never any doubt about Mamba. He has his championship to defend and made it clear he doesn’t want to leave Los Angeles. Expect a long term contract to be signed in the coming months.

Opting out of their contracts to test the waters …

Anderson Varejao, Cleveland Cavaliers
I learned last season, during Varejao’s extended contract dispute with Cleveland, that he believes his worth is solid in the open market. Reports from the past indicated that Varejao was seeking a $10 million per year deal before signing his current deal (about $6 million per).

Varejao went out and posted career highs in points, starts, field goal percentage and minutes per game. But do you expect a team to offer that type of money for him with Lamar Odom, Rasheed Wallace and Charlie Villanueva on the market?

Hedo Turkoglu, Orlando Magic
Turkoglu had a fine postseason, so he’s opting out in order to secure a long term deal. Makes sense for him. The Magic acquired Vince Carter last week, so Turkoglu may indeed be done with the Magic, despite the organization’s insistence that they’ll do everything to keep the veteran.

Lang
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