So no Jeff green. Butler is on the way to extension on the Bulls. I guess it's all in on Tobias Harris.
Seeing as how Byron will be the coach next season and Kobe will be back dominating the offense, I've changed my stance on the PG position and think we should just clean house on the wings and let Kobe be the "Point Guard". In regards to the PG spot - Next offseason (Conley and Jennings (If healthy)) and the following offseason (2017-2018 -Teague, Rose, Lawson, Curry, RW) all are UFA. I think we can afford to wait that long considering we won't utilize a true PG until Kobe retires. PG - Kobe (25 million), Clarkson (845k), (Vet min) Other options - CJ Watson, Rodney Stuckey, Aaron Brooks Buy low here, either bargain bin vets for the minimum or use the late 1st to try and get a steal. I'd roll bargain vet for stability in case Kobe goes down SG - (Wesley Matthews 10 million), Ellington (BAE) We need a wing that can shoot, play D and is durable. Matthews fits all that, since he's an UFA, we should pounce all over this as soon as we can Ellington is having his best season since his CLE days with, you guessed it, Byron Scott. Stable playing time, a place to thrive, I think we can get him for 1.7 million. Other options for BAE money - Willie Green, Gary Neal, Marcus Thornton SF - Draymond Green (10 million), Young (5.2 million), Late 1st rounder (1.1 million) GSW have 77 million in guaranteed money, Draymond is going to get paid by somebody and with his attitude/old school play, he could be our Ron Artest Young is in a perfect position to be that 6th man of the year candidate Insurance - Late 1st rounder best wing available. If Young doesn't mesh, we need that 5th wing that can possible step in Other options at 10 million or less- Danny Green, Jeff Green, Tobias Harris PF - Randle (3.1 million), Davis (4 million), Kelly (1.7 million) Randle hopefully can make a strong debut, Kelly is nice to have that stretch 4 option Davis coming back at 4 million would be a nice get, as he would be a solid backup 4 to Randle and can start if need be Other options at 4 million or less- Josh Smith, Reggie Evans, Brandon Bass, Brandan Wright, Tyler Hansbrough I would really like Brandan Wright if we lose out on Davis. Same type of skill set, I'd love to have either C - Okafor (4.7 million), Black (845k), Sacre (845k) Okafor or Towns no real debate, whoever is available Black is a nice cheap backup with Davis or Wright being able to slide down and play if need be Sacre - Bleh Total - 67.335 million (Cap is projected to be at 66-67 million) Kobe / Clarkson / Vet. min Matthews / Ellington Green / Young / Late 1st Randle / Davis / Kelly Okafor / Black / Sacre
I think we could contend for 6-8 seed. No going to say we would be a dominant contender, but going from lottery to playoffs is a nice step in the right direction. It also makes it easier giving our 1st rounder to PHX if it's mid-late 1st round instead of another season like this one and they get the #4 pick in the draft. No argument here. He might not last playing the perfect position at the perfect amount of minutes. What's guaranteed though is that ever since the MDA days with D12, Kobe has been running point and running his "Kobe" offense. In being realistic, I'm just plugging Kobe where everyone knows he plays and trying to put the best team around him that will take the defensive pressure off of him.
Unfortunately, I think Davis gets more than 4 million and Green stays in GS; GS will unload Lee in the offseason to make room to re-sign Green. Matthews is a legitimate target.
Matthews and Green along with a couple of draft picks would be a fantastic offseason. But the Warriors seem like they really want to resign Green, so I can't see him leaving right now. I think we end up with a guy like Matthews and one guy out of the Rondo/Love/Dragic trio.
Interesting idea to stall for a PG and you bring up a great point with some guys coming available that could fill that role. A name that really intrigues me right now is Teague. The Hawks have a guy already that might be capable of replacing him in Schroeder. They call him the European Rondo. Teague could be expendable in a couple years. I still think I go after Dragic though instead of Green. I'm with @RandleROFY I think GSW finds room to keep him. He's been so rock solid for them and is really an underrated part of what they do. Lee is completely expendable at this point and they'll get rid of him to make room for Green. If you want a SF from the GSW I think Barnes could be had. For me though a great target is Wes Mathews. I'd want Wes over really just about any potential FA find out there. Why? 1. The SG/SF position is weak in the NBA. It's filled with either shooters or athletes, but there's not a ton of guys who are actually valuable pieces. It's become an underrated commodity as everyone scrambles to find PGs and PF/C types. 2. Wes is an Ironman. He doesn't play a particularly athletic game so he doesn't get hurt often. We need as many of those guys as we can find. 3. He's a terrific shooter. He's one of the best in the NBA actually. Byron is an old school coach which means his big men will be in the paint usually. We need spacing. He and Ellington make for two absolutely legitimate outside threats. 4. He's a plus defender. He might not be perfect, but he's definitely good. and finally 5. He's available. How many guys fitting his bill will be available this summer? A shooter, defender, and at the SG/SF position? Almost none.
^^ Both you and Doc have been touting Wes Matthews and I think it's a great call. I'm not sold on overspending for Dragic.
If Wes Matthews is a realistic target I'm all for that. We haven't had a good SF since Artest in 2010, and Ariza in '09. I'd love to finally have that spot filled with a quality player again. I don't know who else is available this summer at that spot, but we have to move on from Johnson and find a real SF.
Kind of feeding off of Doc's idea, if we stall for the PG spot and draft either Towns or Okafor, here's my preference: PG- Mo Williams (5 million)/ Clarkson (0.8 million) I'd give Mo a 2/10.5 million or so deal if he was willing to take it. Maybe even a 3/15 deal. I know he's 32 years old, but he just dropped 50 points and he's a rock solid vet. He won't carry a team, but he can shoot the ball and make good decisions. Not a great defender, but who really is? I think a contract offer a little above market value for him could be enough to lure him here. Other options might be bringing Price or Marshall back. Maybe a guy like Rodney Stuckey too. SG- Kobe (25 million)/ Ellington (3 million)/ George Lucas (0.8 million) I give Ellington a 3/9 million dollar deal. He's exactly what we're looking for as a backup SG. He's capable of filling in for Kobe when needed. He's an absolutely accomplished shooter. He's a worker and a grinder and I think he's a great, great fit. I don't even want to think of other options, I just want Wayne back. However if we must... Willie Green, Donald Sloan, maybe even somebody in the draft could be available. Worst, worst case scenario you see how Xavier Henry is looking after his latest injury. SF- Mathews (10 million)/ Young (5.2 million)/ 20s Draft Pick (1 million) Read further up for reasons on Mathews. I give him 4/40-45 million or so. He's 28 and will be entering his prime with us. Worth every cent. That draft pick could be Rondae Hollis-Jefferson or Timothe Luwawu or even Rashad Vaughn. PF- Randle (3.1 million)/ Davis (5 million)/ Kelly (1.7 million) I really want Davis back. He's said he's willing to take a cut, but if we're right we give him a decent contract. I'm thinking something like 3/15 with a team option 4th year. Give him the Young deal. Ed has said he'd like to stay here and we've got a role for him for sure. C- Towns or Okafor (4.7 million)/ Black (0.8 million)/ Sacre (0.8 million) I'd prefer Okafor because the kid is going to be a really good Center for a really long time. He's got a Tim Duncan type ceiling and an Al Jefferson floor. Towns is maybe a better fit for the squad overall, but he could also take a while to develop. In this scenario though you've got Ed who can fill in as a starter until Towns is ready. Black and Sacre are the best you're going to get for that price and provide solid depth. This team wouldn't win a ton of games. They're probably still in the 30-40 win territory, but there's a solid base of players. There's a good group to insert a star or two and start really challenging for the middle seeds within 2-3 years. Your bench is rock solid and once Kobe retires you've got a void that can be filled by a star or you've got two home-grown picks that might be able to pick up the slack. It's not a sexy team, but a team on the rise.
A lot can change too obviously. If we happen to draft a PG with our lottery pick then I think the chances that we make a strong play for Wes Matthews goes up even more.
If we draft a PG, I think we strongly go after a Center, if Marc Gasol isn't the top priority already.
Tobias Harris is the real deal. But everything I have heard points to him heading to back to his home and playing for the Knicks.
Interesting little nugget from Ramona that I heard on the radio today with her and Mason; she said that the Lakers picked up the phone to see what CHA wanted for Lance; CHA mentioned Clarkson and we refused to negotiate from that point on because of CHA's inclusion in any potential Lance deal. Although, I could be mistrepreting Ramona, so feel free to correct for anybody listened if I am way off base. However, given that scenario that's the 2nd time that somebody requested our rookies; Ainge in the Rondo deal and CHA with the Lance deal; we not only did a great job drafting, scouting these players but now we have potential assets on our hands that could be moved in a later deal or we keep them and they develop into very good players for us; additionally, their BOTH on rookie contracts for the forseeable future.
Danny Green or Gerald Green before Wes. They'd both be cheaper, and I don't know that he's significantly better than either.
