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

This is getting worse than the democrats vs the republicans.

 

it's the MAGA Conleys that are really the problem if you think about it.

 

I liked all of this post until I saw Avery Bradley on there. LOL why?

Giving away only 1 first and taking on Conley is perfectly fine by me. If they wanted both picks, I’d be arguing to make the 3rd contract Beasley and throwing in Vanderbilt.

To Utah: Nunn, Westbrook, 2027 1st (unprotected) and 2029 1st (Top 3 Protected - If it doesn’t convey, it becomes a 2029 2nd round pick)

To Lakers: Mike Conley, Bojan Bogdanovic, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt

- Waive Gabriel (save tax money)

PG: Beverley/Conley/
SG: Beasley/Walker/Christie
SF: Bogdanovic/Reaves/Brown
PF: LeBron/JTA/
C: AD/Bryant/Vanderbilt/Jones

Regular season rotation of that starting 5 plus Conley (lock), Reaves (lock), JTA, Vanderbilt, Bryant.

That’s a damn good team.

 

If the NBA executive believes that the 27 and 29 picks are the biggest asset right now in the league, then I'm holding both of those until I get something of real value in return.

It isn't the Utah or the Indiana deal. I'm letting Russ expire, and I'm going into next summer with both of those picks and what we cap space we have.

This year is a wash - I could argue that the Indiana deal gives us a punchers chance, but is it worth the risk? No, I'm good, and I'm going after a star with those 2 picks.

Again, this is under the belief that those picks that that kind of value, and I believe they do, so let's treat them as such.

 

this rosas guy has been bad news everywhere.

 

someone posted a few pages ago that the mitchell deal made them rethink the proposed russ trades, and i agree that it's impacted my thinking.

mitchell's an all-nba player in his prime, and he was traded for a couple of decent young players, a mid-first from this draft, and 3 future picks. if we manage stuff right, we can easily have that kind of package hanging around when the next mitchell wants out.

but i was never on the "trade all the picks" boat anyway. most of the deals i suggest involve either no picks going out or one max.

i don't think we should have to move a pick with russ unless we're getting substantial talent upgrades or aren't adding any bad salary.

 

?

 

WB/Nunn/2027 unprotected 1st/2023 2nd/2025 2nd for Conley/Bojan/Beasley

 

LBVD, we have the same opinion. This is what I’ve been arguing for, for a little bit.

Those picks have the potential to be top 5. They should be used to get AD’s running mate after Lebron (fingers crossed for Luka).

As for this coming season, the highest chance of winning for us comes from Russ having a bounce back season and playing like he did at Washington. That level of player is better than any proposed trade. Anything less and we just don’t have the roster to make up for things. So let him expire or send him home if he has attitude issues after the first 20 games.

 

There is what should happen and there is the reality. As we’ve spoken about for a long time, there is a laker tax.

So what “should” be a really enticing asset in the form of a huge expiring Russ should net us a few players on longer term salary and potentially a draft pick coming back to us. Instead we are being asked to send out not one but two draft picks. In the famous words of Ox: no.

They’re trying to rob us. And plenty of fans are so fixated on getting rid of the short term pain in Russ that they’re willing to take on the unintended consequences of long term ruin by trading highly valuable assets. I sincerely hope our front office doesn’t capitulate like some of us fans are.

 

Those picks are interesting because we have LeBron and AD. One because of age and the second because of his injury portfolio give an interesting probability of being bad in those years.
If we trade those picks for a young star, say Mitchell, Booker, Murray...those picks are less appealing too

Those picks are not the biggest asset in the league, that's an overstatement

 

I think that was me, and over the weekend I’ve only become even more firm in my new stance on Russ/the picks.

I’ve even cooled on the idea of a Utah trade, even if it only took one unprotected first. I can still talk myself into Conley, Bogdanovic, etc … but I can also talk myself out of it. As much of a possibility it is that they fit like a glove and help significantly improve our team, it’s just as possible they’re too old and don’t really fix our biggest needs enough to make it worth it.

Basically, most of the trades still potentially out there are too risky to gamble the picks on. If we’re going to gamble, maybe we might as well gamble on Russ bouncing back from rock bottom now that he’s under a new coach and actually has a chance to develop some continuity.

Now I don’t see it actually work out with Russ, and it’s probably going to be aggravating to watch, but we’re very well screwed either way. Give up the picks to be the 7th seed, or keep the picks to be the 9th seed? That might be what it comes down to.

I probably still take the plunge if you can get any team to bite on a Russ trade with just one of the picks, but if it doesn’t end up happening I don’t necessarily blame the FO if their math tells them to stand pat. Especially with the rest of the league eager to screw us over. No deal is better than being pressured into a bad deal.

I think I’ve pretty much gone through the phases of grief regarding Russ and am now at acceptance.

 

Let's say they give up 1 pick and take on Conley. So Bogdanovic, Conley, Clarkson, Gay for Russ, Nunn, Gabriel, 2027 1st. I think this is as Utah friendly a deal as possible. I would argue for Beasley instead of Clarkson, but let's just say we cave to Utah because we don't want to give up a 2nd 1st round pick. Utah sheds basically all their long term salary. Beasley has a team option.

Beverley/Conley/
Reaves/Clarkson/Walker/Christie
Bogdanovic/JTA/Brown Jr/
LeBron/Gay
Davis/Bryant/Jones

You think that's a 7 seed? I sure as hell don't unless LeBron and AD have health seasons like last year. If AD gets hurt, you're not playing Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan. Let's say AD gets hurt for a 3-4 week stretch. Your rotation is:

Beverley/Conley
Reaves/Clarkson
Bogdanovic/JTA
LeBron/Gay
Bryant

Pretty damn good 9 man rotation and if you're playing a big team, you can play Jones for 10-15 minutes and have a 10 man rotation.

If LeBron's knee or groin acts up and he has to miss 2 weeks - you could even start Conley to bring in some more playmaking:

Conley/Clarkson
Beverley/Reaves/
Bogdanovic/JTA
Davis/Gay
Bryant/Jones

That's a roster that's capable of beating the tanking teams and stealing a game or two against the tougher teams. I could see that team going 3-3 in a 2 week stretch to hold it down without LeBron - which is all we need.

 

yeah, that's where i'm at. as the season approaches and we've seen the offers, i'm glad we haven't taken any yet. ainge already outfoxed himself and took less for mitchell than he could have gotten a couple months ago, so i'd just wait for indy, utah, or SA to call us this time.

i will say that gambling on conley and bogdanovic is safer imo than our russ gamble, only because we KNOW russ was a terrible fit with a similar roster last year. we don't KNOW that conley and bogdanovic are going to age out this year (they could, but we don't know that for sure). so one gamble is riskier for the current season. is that enough to give up a 1st? as you said, i could be talked into or out of it. i do think the odds would favor us being better next year after such a trade, but people are right to question whether that hurts our plans for next steps.

 

You guy are foolin yourselves if you don’t think Ainge is going to screw us on any deal. He just got the best of Rob with theBevMo deal- he will do it again. Screw him!
I think we’re stuck with Russ and another awfully frustrating season.
Better pray that AD turns himself into a great outside shooter because all defenses have to do is pack the paint against this squad.
Rob has days left to save his job, and our season.

 

I cooled on Utah and Jazz, Rob needs to if he is going to get a decent offer on the table.

The simple fact is we can afford Turner next summer AND likely, Bogdanovic on an MLE as he will be old.

 

We traded Harrell, Kuz, KCP, and a number 22 pick for WB.

If we had waited, could we have cobbled up together a package for Mitchell?

 

Been saying this for months, this year is awash. It blows to waste another year with Lebron but there is no way this team can compete for the title.

 

No chance, Ainge despises us. Even if we were offering Kuz, Caruso, whoever we picked at 22 last year and the two unprotected firsts, I think they still opt for a package with greater draft compensation. Guys like Harrell or KCP aren't valuable to Utah.