Official 2016 Free Agency Thread

I don't think our #1 priority that is KD and then Whiteside. But I definitely would go after Barnes instead of Derozan. Both Barnes and Derozan has stunk it up in the playoffs but the difference is the other things Barnes does. I've watched a ton of Warriors games this year and all their playoff games. The smart plays, the defensive versatility Barnes brings to where he can guard players 2-4, and the under-rated rebounding capability he brings completely out weighs what Demar could offer us overall.

Last but not least, the locker room. Both players, Demar and Harrison aren't cancers at all, but the level of professionalism and work ethic to me sides with harrison. When you hear him speak even when he was a rookie, you turned your head and was like this guy is wise beyond his years. It's no surprise to him that he always plays within himself and and make the correct read out there on the court (extra swing pass, ball screen, on the ball screen, cut, post up, etc.)

 

Sure I figured they'd be vets we'd consider bringing in, I just wanted to know why those two particular names came up. There'll be a good amount of vets I'm cool with bringing in (or back in the case of Bass). It's just a matter of whether or not they're interested in what we've got to offer. I hope they are, but I'm not sure if they are.

Noah and Deng would also be great additions if we're able to snag a guy like Durant. If we can't, then we need to go harder after someone like Whiteside.

I also hope we have someone like Horford on our radar. There's a lot of ways to go. The fact that Walton jumped at this job makes me think they gave him a really solid pitch on what they're trying to do.

 

One reason I could see them going after veterans like that is to spend a lot of that cap on shorter term options. A guy like Noah and/or Deng could like the idea of guaranteed long-term deals OR they could like a big payday on a 1+1 type of deal. I could see the Lakers doing something like that in order to keep cash available the next couple seasons.

The 2017 free agent class is preposterous:
Steph Curry, Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Kyle Lowry, Serge Ibaka, Paul Millsap, Gordon Hayward, Greg Monroe, Derrick Rose, Rudy Gay, Andrew Bogut, Jrue Holiday, Danilo Gallinari, Andre Iguodala, JJ Redick, Taj Gibson, George Hill, maybe Kevin Durant, maybe LeBron James.

RFAs also include:
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Rudy Gobert, C.J. McCollum, Nerlens Noel, Dennis Schroder, Victor Oladipo, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Nikola Mirotic, Otto Porter, Steven Adams, Michael Carter-Williams, Alex Len and Kelly Olynyk among others.

I could see us giving lower total, but long term deals to veterans or even the same kind of deals we gave to Jordan Hill in order to conserve cap space to make a run at someone who could fit better next summer.

 

This outing does nothing to change my opinion of Derozan.

He's still handicapped by a lack of a jumpshot. A lot of his misses are just complete bricks. I don't think he has any sort of touch on that jumper at all.

That being said, when he's aggressive offensively he can still be effective because of his ability to get to the rim. In spite of his bad shooting, he's putting the Raptors on his back. Good to see that from him.

I wouldn't be upset at all if the Lakers got him this summer.

 

He's a plus defender. I wouldn't say he's a lock down guy and I wouldn't say he's an overly smart defender. He's still very athletic though and with a good coach can be a very good defender. I'd say he's a B right now.