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2025 Free Agents - Daniel Theis

In the '19-'20 season after the Celtics lost Al Horford, Theis stepped in as the starting center and really well for the Celtics. He eventually fell back in the rotation when Al Horford returned, and bounced around a bit before being traded to Indiana in 2022 as part of the Malcolm Brogdon trade. He didn't get much time for the Pacers in '22-'23, playing in just over 100 minutes of non-garbage time across even games, according to Cleaning the Glass. However, he did play well in the 2023 FIBA World Cup for the gold-medal winning Germany team, and joined the Clippers after being bought out by the Pacers early in the '23-'24 season. Theis has learned the art of sealing his man after rolling to the rim, allowing a clear lane for the ball-handler if he has his defender on his back. He has some ability to stretch the floor, but it mostly comes from midrange as his 3-point shot isn't truly reliable. Teams may be willing to give him plenty of open pick-and-pop 3s, and if he is unwilling to take those or unable to hit them at a decent rate, he could torpedo the offense.  Defensively, Theis is a bit undersized for a center, but can survive against most centers in the league. He has played some power forward in bigger lineups, but that role is not ideal for him. It forces him to guard wings more often, and brings him away from the rim on offense.   Theis can still be a solid backup center, and could get some interest in free agency. However, the market for centers can be volatile. He played well for the Clippers, giving them a solid center option off the bench, but he fell out of the Clippers' rotation once Mason Plumlee returned from injury. It will be interesting to see how much playing time he gets for the Pelicans in '24-'25.

Summary

Theis will be an unrestricted free agent with a $2.3 million cap hold and Non-Bird Rights. This means that the highest starting salary the Pelicans could offer him using the Non-Bird Exception is $3.9 million. This should be enough to retain Theis, since he settled for the minimum to come to New Orleans. Alternatively, the Pelicans could use their Mid-Level Exception or Bi-Annual Exception (if available) to re-sign Theis if he demands more than $3.9 million.  Other teams will have multiple ways to sign Theis as even teams without cap space could possibly use the Non-Taxpayer MLE, Room MLE, Taxpayer MLE, or Bi-Annual Exception to sign him. It's also likely that Theis only gets minimum offers again, and he may not even get fully-guaranteed offers.

Cap Considerations

Mason Plumlee (1 year minimum, 2024) Drew Eubanks (2-1 years, $10 million, 2024) Mo Bamba (1 year minimum, 2024)

Player/Contract Comparison

Potential Teams: Pelicans, Clippers, Suns, 76ers, Spurs

Predicted Contract: 1-year, $3.3 million ($2.3 million cap hit) with the Pelicans

Last updated: 10/13/2024

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