While Garrett Billings remains unsigned by the Toronto Rock, and it seems like they won’t sign him to as general manager Jamie Dawick calls his “demands”, it’s a good time to give a reminder that the Rock don’t need to trade Billings.
He’s still a restricted free agent.
What does that mean? It means that any team could sign him if the Rock don’t match that offer. So, potentially, if a team offers Billings what he wants Toronto won’t match that, and he’ll leave the Rock while they get nothing in return.
There has been some speculation of a sign-and-trade, similar to what happens in the NBA, but honestly a team could probably just sign him right now. Unless, of course, Toronto decides to match and then trade Billings for other players to get value out of him after all.
In Lacrosse We Trust sources have mentioned Colorado, Calgary, and New England as teams with interest, and media speculation has also suggested Vancouver; Billings is a native of Langley, British Columbia, the home of the Vancouver Stealth.
Colorado appears to be the front runners even though they are putting a lot of time into trying to add Jeremy Noble. The Calgary Roughnecks have been rumored to be involved in several potential transactions, according to our sources, and that includes being in on a Billings signing or trade.
New England has also shown interest but the concern there would be of them flying him in to Connecticut.
It remains to be seen what happens with Billings, but it should be noted that another team could sign him. RFA signings happen more often than ever in the NLL in the off season; why wouldn’t a team sign Billings?
