2022-23 Team Developments: News / Trades / Free Agents / Rumors

i wanted it weeks ago and mentioned it specifically! they're 20 million below the salary floor right now. so that 20 million they're eating from russ is coming out of their pocket one way or the other. i highly doubt richardson or mcdermott is part of their long term plans, and mcdermott runs into next year. nobody is giving them a 1st for either guy, so it's a matter of whether they think they can rent their space in a better way. like us, they waited all summer for a better option to surface. it's time.

again, some 2nd rounders and maybe a pick swap should be enough to push it over. we get a wing and a shooter and excise russ.

 

Yeah I was good with that and any other deal that moves Russ and maintains some assets for us.

 

Yep, makes sense for all parties. I prefer to do it now than wait for a better offer honestly. It's painful to watch and at this point is just damaging the franchise. As long as no FRPs are involved.

I'm not a fan of either at the moment but in our roster they would be all stars. Heck, seeing Troy Brown yesterday seemed like we had Scottie Pippen in the squad

 

Centers guard the key now against us while they also have a side gig barely moving toward Russ as their cover on the outside. If he happens to get by them to the rim no sweat he’s making 25% there too.

 

i'd love to get poeltl and would add a 1st if he's in the package, but i feel like SA thinks they can get something better than a first for him. and you can argue that they have too many wings (many of whom need developmental minutes), but not that they have too many centers or pgs.

i think the jazz are also not operating in good faith if everything we've read is true. i kept wondering why there wasn't more smoke there over the summer, and it's because they were just using us as leverage and when we pulled out, they were left with s*** deals.

as far as bringing back russ, i don't know what the choice was. your new coach is saying he can use him; nobody will trade for him without robbing you blind. can you really send him home before even trying it?

what you CAN do is not play him to close games.

 

Ideal moves would be the Indiana move and then moving Nunn for Gay.

That will really solidify the roster and basically patches the holes of shooting and size at the wing

SAS offer is least beneficial

Charlotte would be amazing as well but not sure how realistic that is

 

Another guard

 

Sucks Dennis is hurt. He would actually be very helpful at this moment. The Lakers have shown some good signs. Solid defense and effort. Something we lacked from game 1 last year. Dennis would hit more shots than Westbrick at least.

 

yeah, we've been over literally every single hornet possibility over the past few months. there's plenty there, but with them starting out better than one might expect, will that dampen any dump-trades?

 

whatever. jeanie should remember this when we're back on top again and some of the sniveling small market owners want favors.

 

Nope.
I’m not giving them a first for that.

 

This is where I’m at.

Westbrook isn’t going to rehabilitate his image and trade value for us at this point. He’s not going to suddenly start playing any better and become a desirable player to other teams again. That ship has sailed.

But we are literally much better without him on the court. He’s 100% a net negative. I imagine just the elephant in the room nature of his situation creates an awkward and tense locker room environment too.

If you can send him home and actually start winning some of these close games, suddenly we have more leverage. Now we’re no longer a desperate team that needs to make a move just to salvage the season. Now we’re a decent team that has a massive expiring contract sitting at home. Is that ideal? No way. But if we start to play better, we can legitimately tell other GM’s “Naw we’re not going to be held hostage into a bad deal, our team is showing signs of life, we’re cool standing pat with our picks and being the ones to benefit from the cap relief of Westbrook’s expiring”.

Maybe there’s a risk if we continue to struggle even with Westbrook at home, but even then I don’t think his value or our trade leverage can get much worse than where it’s at now.