After some big trades and an eventful first couple of days of SpiralDUB’s Spiral Mock, free agency has kicked off! In day 1, teams can only bid for 4 players: Kyrie Irving, Jaren Jackson Jr., Evan Mobley, and Walker Kessler. These players are all free agents since their GMs didn’t trade them in time. I had the chance to interview each of them and here are my findings.

Kyrie Irving:

Kyrie told me that he believes he is entering his final years of his career and said his only goal is to win a championship. He won’t join any teams that are not in a contending state. He wants to join a team that have good players surrounding him. Additionally, he told me that he would be willing to take a small pay cut in order to join a clear contender, but he still prefers a max contract for at most 4 years. Irving would like to team up with some of his former teammates, like Lebron and KD, but his ultimate goal is to win a ring.

Jaren Jackson Jr.:

JJJ said that he wants to go somewhere where he can win, but unlike Kyrie, he’s not in a rush. As long as he knows he’ll eventually win, he’s fine. But he says he’s fine going to a championship contender if he has players who can stay with him in his entire career; those who can help him make a legacy. But he doesn’t want to go to a team in a full rebuild. He also prefers a guard to throw him lobs like Ja. Finally, JJJ told me that he wants that max and he won’t sign with a team unless he is given the max and he wants at least 4 years.

Evan Mobley:

Mobley isn’t looking to contend anytime soon. He told me that he wants to play with some young all-stars and form a great young core that would win many rings in the near future. He said that it obviously would be great if he could win a ring right now but he wants to do it with young players who he can play his entire career with. Mobley prefers a 5 year max contract, but he’s fine with a 4 year deal.

Walker Kessler:

The main thing Kessler told me is that he doesn’t want to come off the bench, unless in a championship contending team. He prefers to be in a rebuilding or tanking team as their starting center and the team’s number 1 option. However, he’s fine with not being the number 1 option if there are other young superstars surrounding him. He wants a max contract for at least 4 years.

All players will have live interviews in which they will announce which teams they will sign with. These interviews will be held after day 2 of free agency. The commissioner SpiralDUBS informed me that teams that already have placed their bids can change their bids anytime.