http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...breaks-off-contract-extension-talks/74699456/ He turned down an extension worth roughly what Draymond got in the ballpark of 80 million dollars for 5 years. He's looking at teams like the Lakers I'm sure next season who could be in need of a SF once Durant and Derozan look elsewhere. Barnes is very high on my list and if/when we miss out on Durant, I'd be very happy to have Barnes in his stead. Good defender, good shooter, very athletic, doesn't need the ball to be effective. He's betting on himself to be worth more than 4/80 million basically and that someone will make a bid that large on an RFA. Still an interesting prospect even after 4 years of being generally "quiet".
That's a tough one, he's restricted and the Warriors said they can always match any offer he gets. I just hope we aren't waiting around a week again for Durant, Derozan, whoever, and miss out on anyone of value. If Barnes has a really good season, he absolutely might be worth a hard look to join our young trio.
I'm thinking the Lakers throw everything they've got at Durant, quickly followed by Derozan, followed less quickly by Batum. Then if those three fail, they're going to throw a max offer at Barnes and dare GS to match it. If they do, then we're screwed but we'd have been screwed anyway so what's the difference?
Well I mean it all depends on this roster right now. Honestly I think if we WANT a guy like Derozan who is at best a "B" level player, we got him. He went to school at USC and you've got to imagine a big paycheck and playing in Los Angeles has to appeal more than playing in Toronto. Durant I definitely see the strikeout. If we strikeout on Derozan too? Oi.
Actually I think we're in a really advantageous position this off-season. The ability to offer big money to two people, which very few teams will have, allows us to pursue a big name while remaining active for other FA's. We'll likely get some discount on a disgruntled impact player who feels it's an insult to make them wait for the big names to fall.
Barnes is going to leave GS as there is little room for him to take on a bigger role with the Splash bros/Green already on the team ... Warriors gonna sign him to a big contract and use him as an asset to trade for Durant ( read an article speculating about this scenario) As for us , I wouldn't spend major dollars on a player who has limited impact on the game and plays in the Leastern (Demar) and one who has already peaked at his young age ( Batum)
It's really not about whether or not you want to spend the money though. You HAVE to spend the money. If/when Durant finds work elsewhere, you've got 50 million to spend whether you like it or not. Unless you feel like continuing to play the waiting game and giving a lot of that money back to Kobe, there's not much choice here. You either give that cash to someone like Derozan or Batum or... you overpay an even WORSE player because you have no other options. Here's the list of SFs that are going to be available: Durant LeBron Derozan (assuming he makes the smart decision and opts out of his PO) Parsons Batum Evan Turner Luol Deng Jeff Green Joe Johnson Aaron Afflalo (PO) JR Smith (PO) Assuming we miss out on Durant/LeBron, I'd be okay with Derozan, Parsons, or Batum. After that Green and Turner are somewhat interesting. Afflalo and Deng a lot less interesting. I'm not interested at all in Johnson or Smith. But you see where it'd make a lot more sense to pour cash into Derozan if we have to than trying to use that money elsewhere? What else do we need exactly? We've got a decent bench and four other starting caliber players (if Russell keeps working hard).
Well you're right and points out what may be a big problem with the salary cap explosion : Spending the money because you have to spend it on somebody may be bad news for a team abilities to improve on a mid-term basis ...
Jimmy will bring his best pop up books and even his laser pointer and convince Barnes to take $20mil from us #shootmenow
For the right price, I'd be interested in Deng or Joe Joe depending on the price tag. Joe is worth nowhere near what he's making now. Nor would I want either to be our big get in free agency, but especially if Kobe is out the door I still want some veteran voice on the club.
That's the problem with every rebuilding team, but it's better to get the talent than wait and wait and wait. Just ask Dallas.
remember there's always salary-absorbing trades, too. there might be a sf version of hibbert next summer. lots of possibilities. I just hope the lakers don't throw the house at kobe again. he got his legacy contract, and he deserved it. and i don't think it really hindered the rebuild like some say. but that's enough. if he wants to continue on, he should be asked to structure his salary around FA/trade acquisitions and not vice versa.
True the Lakers will be on the look out for disgruntled SFs. I'm hoping one of those is Jimmy Butler regretting that contract, but who else is there really? Rudy Gay? Trevor Ariza maybe? I don't know. I think the Lakers are all in on buying the best SF money can buy.
