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

You’re looking at it wrong. If we retain our players and they get paid here or sign for larger contracts elsewhere. That signals to other players to come and play for us for the minimum as an audition for larger contracts. Monk, Nunn, Walker, Bryant and Schroeder are all recent examples.

If we retain a few of these and get some more next season, we are building a decent roster value wise.

 

If you add Christy and we’re somehow able to keep all four (doubtful) …. I don’t think it’s just “maintaining” considering the marked improvement we could expect from Reaves, Walker and Christy at their ages and the overall improvement to the squad from continuity and 2nd year familiararity with the Coach and the System. The thing we always b**** about that we don’t do. That’s a lot of fine talent there. Gabriel? Plus the best and most “ready” of the young talent we draft with the one 1st and two 2nd round picks if we keep them. Again we need decent health through the season between James and Davis.

 

Reaves and Walker out 2 weeks is brutal, but...Ah! Thomas Bryant on line 1 for you, Weezy.

 

yeah, after reading that, i'm VERY pessimistic any russ deal happens. it's total b*******, but you can't just oblige when people collude to screw you. and i'd be looking at ways to use my space that might specifically harm teams that have played this game with us. like my first call in FA might be poeltl. you wanted us to eat mcdermott and richardson and send you two picks? how about we just take poeltl for free, and you pay the other two and get zero picks, a*******?

yeah, there's simply not a third piece available via outright signing or salary absorption that makes churning vet mins appetizing in any way, imo.

i will say that if we operate wisely (and i think we will in this regard), reaves's salary shouldn't factor into the usage of our space, as we'll just time his signing until after all other moves are complete. we may be able to do the same with walker if he doesn't get offered a huge raise. and if he does, the next monk/walker will definitely choose us over everyone else, as svtzr indicated.

finally, even if we end up using space (not a fan), even using to sign our own standouts (like bryant) is ok by me as long as they are reasonable contracts. because the vet min churn is bad for three reasons: first, they're usually not very good players. second, it generally creates roster discontinuity. and third, it makes trades harder for salary matching purposes. imagine we re-sign walker and bryant to 10 per each, then use the rest of the space on a mid-level player. you've now got two guys with a year of familiarity with teammates and system, each on deals close to their market value, whose salaries add up to take on an aaron gordon/jerami grant type salary back in a trade. and you still have all your picks.

it's not plan A, but it beats sending SA a first rounder or more for two bench players, imo. it probably beats any charlotte deal that involves us taking hayward, too.

 

Here's the full transcript

 

does "doing what you can for the guys in the locker room" mean "suggesting to the media that half of them be replaced"? which of the guys who has stepped up to help win games recently should be gone, lebron? who for? take your own advice at the end of the quote and just "no comment" these bait questions from the media. you've been doing this 20 years, man.

what terrible timing for such shenanigans. maybe he should walk and get what's coming to him.

 

What about: Beverley, Nunn, & Jones for Gary Harris and Terrence Ross.

Not sexy I know but no picks. Guessing you're hoping Harris can play a KCP role and Ross give us a little more size & shooting.

They could replace the corpse that Nunn and Jones have been most of the season and Bev who's probably been out worse player getting significant minutes.

 

He can be tired of waiting all he wants, but one would think he knows what everyone else knows and that is EVERYTHING is dependent on the return of AD.

Sure, the West is wide open and the Lakers are playing perhaps their best basketball of the season, due largely to him and his continuing to defy age and play 37 minutes+ a night to keep us in it, but when you are talking about realistically competing for a title it begins and ends with Davis and not what players we may or may not be able to get via trade.

It has been an impressive 5-game winning streak, and aside from a season-best performance by Kendrick Nunn on Friday against the Hawks; it has been the same trio of guys helping James turn this season around; specifically Thomas Bryant, Dennis Schroder and Russell Westbrook.

That was the case again last night, as with James they combined for 116 of the 136 points we scored and they were the only players aside from Patrick Beverley's (+1) with positive plus/minuses on the team.

Of course as impressive as this run is, the real tests are coming; starting Monday in Denver followed by the Mavericks and Sixers at home. Someone else is going to have to step up to keep this going and we need at least Brown Jr back in the starting lineup replacing Toscano-Anderson (-22 last night).

We can be optimistic all we want and buy into the play of the trio (DS, Bryant and RW) and how great it would be if they are solid contributors once our other trio are back (AD, Walker and Reaves) and then LeBron....and one of Gabriel/Brown Jr or even Christie (who I personally would put into the SL right now and see what he can do) giving us a solid 8.....and then of course contemplate what 9th and 10th player we can get to unload the obvious contracts of Beverley and Nunn....but....

it all still depends on AD and deep down I think James knows this as we all do...

 

I think we’re actively looking for a deal.

I also think there’s no real benefit to LeBron openly pushing for a deal. I have no doubt he and Klutch are pushing for things behind the scenes.

The team is doing its part by winning and getting us in the playoff hunt. I still expect us to try and get something done by the trade deadline even if it’s a smaller move.

 

How do you guys feel about a Beverley/Nunn + multiple 2nds or a top 20 protected 1st for Harrison Barnes?

With the way Schroder and Bryant have been playing, the holes on this team are actually closing. We aren’t as desperate for Myles Turner when TBryant dominates. We don’t need to trade for Terry Rozier if Schroder is playing like this.

I think just adding a player like Barnes might be worthwhile and solves that problem of having big wing 3&D abilities. Barnes can play the 2,3,4 and you can start him at the 2, along AD/Bryant/Lebron/Schroder but can also slide to the 3 when AD misses time and you move Lebron to the 4.

 

i've been making barnes trade scenarios since before the russ trade (i wanted him over hield from sac when rob made that deal). i'm not sure sac wants to move him, though. he could be a FA target if we end up having space, though.

 

i just think it's incredibly weird to be publicly throwing the team under the bus right now, especially given how we KNOW the trade market looks at this point and has since the summer. what he wants can't happen, and he doesn't have to live with the consequences of trading an unprotected first round pick for a 34-year old bogdanovic. you don't get a back end return on 34-year old bogdanovic.