Official 2016 Free Agency Thread

Understood.

You could be right. We might be looking for expiring as placeholders once again and stick to finding value deals (like the Lou deal) which is going to be difficult next year. I guess we'll see.

 

Barnes and Ezeli aren't going anywhere, IMO. Barnes and Ezeli will get paid, though. I'm wondering if Bogut and Iggy might even be available considering GS needs to spend big to keep those two players. Curry 's contract is almost up; 2 more years including this one...

 

I agree that the Lakers likely won't go this route, but I still think it's something they should consider. If they somehow pulled in both Batum and Derozan, my thinking is that the Lakers could have a variety of versatile combinations at 1 through 3. For instance:

1-Russell/2-Clarkson/3-Derozan
Bench: Batum

1-Clarkson/2-Derozan/3-Batum
Bench: Russell

1-Russell/2-Derozan/3-Batum
Bench: Clarkson

1-Russell/2-Clarkson/3-Batum
Bench: Derozan

As far as Nick and Lou go, I still don't think the Lakers go into next season with both, they just seem too redundant. Just work whichever one you keep into the combinations above. The main reason I love going after Batum and Derozan is that the combinations above give us more options to put longer defenders on some of the bigger 2 guards in the West like Harden and Klay Thompson, while still maintaining offensive explosiveness.

 

I still think Nick young is useful as a defender. He's underrated in that respect. He's also the biggest 3 we currently use, so there's that.

 

I think you're right in that Batum likely wouldn't want to come off the bench, which is why I would say option #2 would be the best starting scenario, with Clarkson/Derozan/Batum in your starting lineup with Russell coming off the bench. I think if you pitch that lineup to Batum, you grab his attention. The idea would be to sell him on the fact that he would be one of the main focal points of our offense, would be teamed with an all-star "caliber" wing in Derozan, would have a solid and improving young core supporting him, and he would receive close to max money. Back in 2012 he signed a restricted offer with Minnesota for a lot of those same reasons (which Portland matched). This is the first time since then he'll have the opportunity to choose where he plays once again.

As far as Russell goes, I don't think you'd have to massage his ego as much in coming off the bench as the other 3 guys. He'd still be racking 35+ minutes in that scenario as a 2nd year player. We had a promising young guard who did that 18 years ago who turned out alright

 

Russell is the future of this franchise. There is no scenario in which he should be coming off the bench. Batum and Derozan are both SF's. Playing them together makes no sense especially if Russell is coming off the bench. You need a facilitator out there. As much as I love Jordan and his improvement he's still more of a combo guard.

 

I hear you man. I'm just saying that if you have a pitch that could realistically net you both guys, you gotta at least consider it. Both are 26/27 year old wings who play above average perimeter defense. That's huge in this league. Think about the past few champions, and they've all had that type of duo (Klay/Barnes, Green/Leonard, LeBron/Wade). Not saying Batum/Derozan are of that same caliber, but you have to at least think it gives us a better chance of improving in the win column considerably.

As far as Russell, you are 100% correct. He is the future of this franchise. But by no means do I think he should be completely exempt from coming off the bench. He is at least 2+ years from being ready to LEAD this team IMO. I think there could be some good to him serving the same type of 6th man role on a winning team that guys like Harden and Kobe did in their 2nd years. Then, you can drive him into the starting 5 when he shows he's ready to take the next step into stardom. At that point you use one of the other pieces in a trade, etc.

 

can GS really afford those two at the prices they're going to command (max for barnes, near it for ezeli)? remember they'll have to supermax (i think) curry in addition to thompson's and green's maxes. are they going to run 4 max guys?

lakers could do what riley did to the clips a few years ago and bid up one gs player to get another (riley bid up brand, then took odom, iirc).

i don't know if i take bogut and iggy unless they attach picks to each. in that case, i consider it. lakers would still have a ton to spend in FA, too. and i have no problem helping gs out in the short term, as the lakers aren't really competing with them for the next couple of years anyway.

 

I don't know the specificity of their cap situation going forward. They'll benefit from the salary cap up, but how much?

I'd take Iggy and or/ Bogut. Similar to the Lin type deal; we get a pick (27th) and took on Lin's contract. Older vets on the other side of 30 but can still be productive in a limited role, IMO.

 

We'll overpay for an average player and no real star will sign with us this summer. The first "game changer" that will give us a look will be Westbrook.

 

Toronto is the NBA's fourth-largest market but playing in Canada has always meant dealing with a certain amount of obscurity that suits DeRozan just fine. The Raptors have been his only team in seven seasons, and DeRozan would like that to remain the case after he opts out of the final year of his four-year, $40 million contract and becomes a free agent this summer. Based on his All-Star caliber play through the first few months of this season, DeRozan will have no shortage of suitors, but Toronto can pay more than any other team – and DeRozan has taken to the place.

“Toronto is all I’ve known, honestly. I came in, 19, everything was completely new for me. I appreciated the support, the love,” DeRozan, 26, told Yahoo. “I treated it like home since then.”

Either from mismanagement or sustained misery, the Raptors have historically watched their best players bolt at the first opportunity. Damon Stoudamire and Tracy McGrady fled to play close to their respective home towns as free agents; Vince Carter, after years of injury and frustration over criticism for being hurt, forced his way onto the New Jersey Nets; and Chris Bosh went to Miami to form a super team.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/how-an...-derozan-s-grinding-work-ethic-163655012.html

 

That shot redistribution is paying off now. DeRozan leads the league in drives per game with almost 12 and shoots a fantastic 52 percent when he puts the ball in the floor and gets to the rim, per SportVU data. He's particularly deadly as a pick-and-roll ball handler. Only Stephen Curry is more efficient among players who have finished at least 200 possessions in that setting, according to Synergy Sports stats.

It makes sense for DeRozan to be a devastating force going to the rim. He's extremely athletic, can finish with either hand and shows fantastic body control, even after absorbing contact.

Only James Harden and DeMarcus Cousins average more trips to the charity stripe per game, which matters more because DeRozan shoots 84 percent on his free throws.

http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2016/1/21/10806552/demar-derozan-highlights-raptors-C Bags-34-points

33 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists last night against Miami.