2015 Nba Draft Discussion: Russell, Nance Jr., Brown

Dude obviously you have to call Carroll's people in the process. I've been over this! At 12:01 AM you give Butler is 3 days to get matched. At 12:02 AM you call Carroll's people and say "give us three days and if Butler matches we'll give your client more money than anyone else is offering".

No one else will offer Carroll more than 12 million I believe, so if we offer 4/50 million then we get him locked up for what will look like a steal when the cap explodes.

If Butler doesn't get matched, Carroll takes the next highest offer from whomever and he wins that deal anyway. Remember last summer a LOT of these FA types end up waiting for other pieces to fall off the board first. That's when teams (like us) end up desperate and overpaying for guys. We'll overpay by a bit, but we'll end up with a guy we really need.

Clarkson/Bryant/Carroll/Randle/Okafor

Surprise playoff team next year.

 

I know you've been over it, but it's easy to say just wait for 3 days and hope they match, then we will give you more than what someone else is paying. What if they don’t match and other teams move on leaving Carroll twisting in the wind. Is it worth it to take 40 million guaranteed or wait for 3 days for a chance at 48 or maybe a lot less than 40 if the other teams move on? This is to say nothing of a player’s pride where you’re essentially telling one of the biggest free agents on the market that you are far and away our second choice. If I were Carroll and a team came to me and said we’ll give you 40 right now. Just sign on the dotted line. Then another team comes to me and says they want to try to get someone else first, if that doesn’t work out you can be our backup plan and well throw in a few extra million, I take the guaranteed 40. It’s easy for us to tell someone to wait around for a few days because it benefits our beloved. Try having a 40 million dollar contract shoved in your face by a team that REALLY wants you and say no, I’m waiting to get a few million more to be another team’s second choice.

 

If the team really wanted him then why wouldn't they offer more off the jump?

Teams aren't going to Carroll by the way, they're going to his agent. His agent will screen the process completely. Here's how I see it going:

Carroll's agent will start getting calls at 12:00 AM for his client. He'll field all the offers and bring them to Carroll. He will of course want Carroll to go for the the deals in this order- 1. The highest bidder 2. The biggest market and 3. The right fit for his client. This is a business after all and this agent will get paid some percentage of whatever contract he just got his client.

If the Lakers called his AGENT and told him what my plan is (which I suspect happens ALL THE TIME) then it's contingent on the agent to come to Carroll and say: "The Lakers have shown strong interest. They're weighing their options right now, but they're incredibly interested. Word is they'll explore a couple things first, but are you interested in joining the Lakers if they offer you _____ dollars and a guaranteed starting position for the next 4 years?"

You don't go to Carroll and say "Hey the Lakers really want Butler or Kawhi but they're totally willing to settle for you. What do you think?"

Every year players wait on the bigger names to sign contracts. Do you think that's because those players are curious where everyone else goes or do you think it's because teams and agents are playing chess and know there's money to be had if you play your cards right?

 

I'm not sure there's a long list of UFA small forwards out there for us. Fine though let's pretend like the RFAs don't matter. My plan remains the same:

If we get a big man in the draft, spend on Carroll. He's the only UFA small forward that can have an immediate impact for us.

If we can't get a big man in the draft, draft Stan Johnson. Then with the available cash go get an impactful big man like Love or barring that a really good role playing big like Asik or Lopez. Then bring back the weapons we actually liked from this season like Davis and maaaaaaaaaybe Lin (preferably Mo Williams).

 

Deng is always hurt. Aminu is not very good. Afflalo is always hurt. Matthews is REALLY hurt. Danny Green is a decent option. Green is a good option if he embraces his role like he has in Memphis.

Don't get me wrong, I like Wes Matthews a lot but with an Achilles tear we can't be sure he'll recover to the same player he was. He certainly wont help us right away.

Carroll is the only guy who is ostensibly healthy, available, and impactful.