by NSL Woj
Just yesterday, the Newton Summer League announced that free agency is set to begin on Sunday, October 30th at 10am and last 4 days until Wednesday, November 2nd at 10pm. The player pool is set. Captains have been given the player prices. Strategies are being formed. Tampering has begun. Let's take a look at what sources are saying so far...
Superstars winning in NSL is a tale as old as time, and the captains know this, as most of them seem to be eyeing one of the big four: Kyle DeWitt, Matt Rooney, David Hamel-Sellman and Steven Campbell. Calls are already being made to try and get a leg up in recruiting these stars.
Sam Thayer has made it clear that his two main targets are Matt Rooney and Aidan Nugent, and he is incredibly confident that he can land at least one of them. If he doesn't sign Rooney, look for him to agree to a deal with Thomas Byrne, a childhood friend who he tried to trade for last season, or Steven Campbell. Sam also has interest in Nathan Greenstein, Paul Rodriguez, Will Brown, Jack Pomper and John Ross.
Eric Zhang is operating in silence, as many around the league have no idea what his plan to fill out the Dragons is. I wouldn't be surprised if he tries to build his team around DHS or the combination of Yagev and Henri. Eric believes that he is a on another level when it comes to intelligence, team building and negotiating compared to the rest of the captains.
Many around the league think that Charlie Lewis is trying to build a team full of bigs - some combination of John Ross, Paul Rodriguez, Nathan Greenstein, Jack Pomper, Ryan McLaughlin - to surround a superstar guard or wing. Sources say that he already has a handshake agreement with Ryan. Charlie is also interested in Will Brown and Andrew Dorval.
Max Melville loved what Will Brown and Nathan Greenstein gave him in a supporting role last season, and many around the league think he may be trying to replicate that model again this season. Look for him to make a strong push for a superstar and surround them with 3 solid role players + himself. Other players he has interest in are Paul Rodriguez, Brian Conneely and Jack Pomper. It looks like it'll be a coin flip to see who signs Paul between Max and Sam.
Josh Cooke has the least amount of cap to sign players, and sources say he is frustrated by that $ figure after looking at the potential teams he can ultimately build. Despite being the best player (by far!) of all of the captains, Josh doesn't seem to be the favorite at the moment to sign any single player and many believe he will be forced to sign the players that are left over after the first wave of agreements. Although, he has a shot to sign Steven Campbell (Cooke and Soup would form an elite sharpshooting duo) and Matt Rooney, and if he can get a commitment from one of them, that could entice others to follow. Josh is also intrigued by players such as Tameek Bray, Andrew Dorval, Ryan McLaughlin and Jack Pomper.
Before learning the player prices on Wednesday, Kenny Brown's plan was to sign Matt, Aidan, Zach and Sam Rothstein. And, as of Tuesday evening, Matt/Aidan/Zach were all on board and set to join Team Kenny once FA opened. However, the prices were a bit more restricting then KB originally thought, and that trio is no longer possible. Kenny also has major interest in Kyle DeWitt and Henri Rousseau and has already made a guarantee that he will be signing Aidan Nugent and John Ross immediately as free agency begins.
Sources say that Yagev Levi is the player who will most likely drop out between the time free agency begins and the season starts, as there's a chance that his career takes him out to the west coast. Captains may be hesitant to submit offers to the star as a result.
Many throughout the league are expecting Kyle DeWitt (who has offers from 4 captains at the moment) and Eli Adler-Cohen and then Thomas Byrne and Ryan McLaughlin to try and package themselves and sign together. As an alt, Kyle enjoyed playing with Kenny last season and would be interested in running it back, and Eli won a championship with Kenny in 2021, so I wouldn't be surprised if the trio joined forces. Max is another potential landing spot for Eli and Kyle. On the other hand, Charlie and Sam are potential landing spots for Thomas+Ryan.
Matt Rooney has already been offered by 5 of the 6 captains (yikes, tampering), and is pretty torn on who to sign with. He remains incredibly loyal to Sam, but won't hesitate to sign with any of the other captains - especially Kenny Brown or Josh Cooke - if they can build a more enticing team around him. Rooney is hopeful to play with some new players this season and is most interested in playing with Henri Rousseau, Zach Goldman, Yagev Levi, Aidan Nugent, Nathan Greenstein and Brian Conneely.
DHS isn't generating quite as much interest as one would think after he was the best player on the championship team last year. Captains seem to be worried about how consistently Vood will show up, considering it was tough to get him to games last season. However, I imagine a bunch of captains wake up and start to make him a top priority. Whoever ends up signing DHS should be in the championship mix til the very end.
Aidan Nugent and Hano Garcia are expecting to receive offers from the majority of the league. They are both borderline all stars and many of the captains believe that they are pieces that could entice a superstar to follow.
Captains seem to be more interested in signing Yagev Levi and Zach Goldman than Eli, despite the fact that they have similar prices and Eli was the best player on the Roses this past season while Zach and Yagev didn't play.
Finally, expect Sam Rothstein, David Rodriguez, Erik Brown and Kiernan Stone to be targeted heavily, as their incredibly cheap pricing will lead to a flurry of early offers, aiding captains in pairing two stars together.
Only 9 more days.
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