OK thanks, so I guess it would be best if we offered him a 1 + 1 with a promise to resign him to a max next year?
Got it, thanks. Wow it says we're meeting him at his home in Houston on Day One. Is he our first target this summer?
So, the list of available big men: Chandler DeAndre Robin and Brook Lopez Koufos Asik Hibbert (probably through trade) Bismack for those who like him Am I missing anybody?
I read Chandler Parsons has been hanging with him and recruiting him to the Mavs. The Mavs just aren't a good option, I just don't see the appeal. In being totally objective, they have no history of getting top tier FA, Dirk is what 1-2 years from retirement, Chandler Parsons is the only real young guy they have, what am I missing here? If I'm a FA big man, Spurs and LA are my top 2 choices.
Well LA definitely just got more appealing. A wide open position inside with a max deal available and they just drafted what appears to be a guard with great vision that Byron Scott is comparing to a young Chris Paul?... Definitely got a hell of a lot more attractive than it was a few months ago. Pros for Dallas- Taxes, competitive now, good owner, room to grow?
Yeah Mitch said in no uncertain terms we're going after a big man in FA so we probably aren't looking at any of those high profile SFs at this point. Picking Russell really changed the gameplan from that perspective. We're likely now to run either Randle or Kobe at SF but we need a big man BADLY now. I just thought our first targets would be Gasol and Aldridge, but on Day One of FA we're apparently travelling to Houston to see Jordan at his home. That doesn't mean he's definitely our first choice, but it would indicate he's really high on the list. I wonder if maybe Mitch meets with Aldridge and/or Gasol here in LA first then flies out to Houston to have dinner with DeAndre?
Not sure Dallas has a "competitive now" advantage. Dirk and Kobe are almost a wash at this point in their careers. Ellis is gone. Chandler would be gone if DeAndre is coming to town. Parsons is just about it, and he's coming off some mystery knee issue. I mean, is old Dirk, Parsons (possibly coming off microfracture surgery), Justin Anderson and Devin Harris really more competitive now than old Kobe, Randle, Russell and Clarkson? I think Dallas is one of the teams we leapfrog in the standings this season.
If i was Jordan, i would sign with the Lakers just to see how the real LA's team look like. How we approach the game, treat our players and how much the city loves Lakers over tennants. He might be shocked at first but he'll come around .
That's a good point... I didn't think about Ellis leaving... That makes a lot of sense now when Stein said Aldridge was looking our way more than Dallas now. WOW. Maybe this thing could actually happen. I had serious doubts we'd attract any top flight FAs this year...
The other point on getting Jordan: weakening the Clippers. If we stole him away, we'd be strengthening our own team while they'd lose one of their key three players. They just traded away their backup Center too and they'd have limited cash to find another one.
Out of the big men we should target Deandre he's youngest and has defensive ability. We won't make the playoffs without rim protection. We had zero of it when Ed Davis wasn't on the floor last season. Marc and Aldridge aren't bad choices but they're both 30 and we should focus on building for the future.
Yeah that's a great point... At 26 years old he'd slip in as actually the veteran on the squad with Clarkson (23), Black (23), Randle (20), and now Russell (19). In four years those guys are all hitting their stride.
I think that may be why we took Russell too. Russell is an amazing passer and people love to play with those types of guys. Someone like DeAndre looks at our team and probably sees a semi-painful year next season, but then Russell and Randle go into year two with experience and possibly a full court press on Durant? DeAandre/Randle/Durant/Kobe/Russell with Clarkson and Black off the bench could be a REALLY sick squad. Oh and the year after Durant signs, we still could conceivably have a max slot available.
Someone who's done more research wanna help me out here real quick: What is Tyson Chandler looking for dollar-wise this offseason? Is it realistic to think we'd have enough money to pay him (maybe a slight hometown discount for the LA kid who's already made a ton of money in his career) to put at the 5 next to LMA/Love at the 4?
HIGHLY doubtful. If we sign LMA or Love, we'd be left with somewhere in the neighborhood of 4-5 million if I'm not mistaken. I don't think we can land Chandler for that. It's less than the MLE from a team way over the cap and in contention. Given the choice, he'd go to the Clippers most likely. They could throw the full MLE at him if DeAndre walked.
