Man I expect to see some serious disappointment around here the first few days of July if you guys think that players like Beal and Butler aren’t good enough and a waste... We’d be lucky to land either of those guys at this point, and if you’re expecting to land Kawhi still, I think you’re setting yourself up for unnecessary disappointment. It would be amazing and a huge get, the biggest FA pickup of the offseason, but I haven’t seen anything that leads me to expect it.
I dont think some of you get it. There is a salary cap in the NBA. Paying guys like Butler and Beal's of the world 30 million per is impossible unless you have their bird rights.
@vasashi17 would know, but there is way(s) where we can pay both and have them both on the roster. There is some salary gymnastics involved, but it is possible. It is explained in previous pages
That wasn’t my point, I meant that signing Butler or trading for Beal isn’t a failure this offseason if those are routes we go, it will show an actual commitment to try and get better and we will have acquired another all-star. Replace the “and” in my post with “or” and you have my point, I even said we’d be lucky to land either of those guys, not both. But even still, I’m pretty sure if we sign a max free agent first, then trade for an AD or a Beal after it works in some way, even if that leaves only minimum contracts to fill the roster and we are paying luxury tax, otherwise why have we been discussing that plan for almost a year?
This is what I think. I have a strong feeling that BI is going to be a top 20 player. I remember when Kawhi came out and nobody thought he was going to be close to this good, only serviceable at best. However, I am from San Diego and watched him play in college and felt he was going to be better than most thought. He was such a winner. BI came into the pros way too early, he was not ready, even Lonzo was more ready than BI. Dude just had such a weak, skinny body. Love the man's serious nature and his length. We are going to be sorry if we trade him. Even if we get AD for him, which I would do too, but one day we are going to be playing against BI and he is going to score 50+ on us and shut one of our main guys down. It would surprise me if BI did NOT get a ring someday.
^I don't think anybody here wants to trade BI... unless it is a guy like AD, Kawhi etc...who are significantly better fits with LeBron and still young. But I doubt anyone here wants to trade Ingram for a borderline all-star. His lack of shooting is a real issue that cannot be ignored. If he ever wants to be among the top 20 NBA players, he needs to really step up his shooting. Beside that, I'm fine with what he brings to the table.
Just like signing Kawhi (or Ky) to our 32m in cap space first before trading for AD's 27m contract, we would do the exact same thing in signing Butler before trading for Beal. Bird rights are only necessary to bypass the salary cap and to offer those players 5 years (or 6 via extension) and 8% annual raises. For example if we traded for Kawhi last year, we would have his bird rights this summer. He could opt out and get a 5 yr 192m contract this summer via his bird rights. However if we sign him into cap space this summer, it would only be for a 4yr 141m (5% annual escalators vs 8%; 4yr max vs 5yrs). Also something to note is that whether it's Kawhi, Ky, Klay or Butler, as is, we'll be short on offering their true max of 32.7m. we currently have 32m in cap space...if we waive Jones then we'll have roughly 32.5m in space. And to trade for AD or Beal after using all our cap space, we would need to do a sign our 4th pick and wait 30 days before trading them for salary matching purposes and possibly sparing Zo or BI in that particular trade package. But if we look to keep the 4th pick (or Nawlins/Wiz don't demand it in a trade), then Zo & BI have to be part of the package to salary match for AD or Beal....but then we don't have to wait 30 days for a deal to be compensated, cause it wouldn't need the signed 4th overall pick (projected to be 7.1m in year 1 of that rookie deal). Hope that helps...and I really wanted to just quote Ox's post and reply with just "No." But LVBD took that option away from me...thx bro haha.
Thx...but I definitely have a Magic bias. Meanwhile others claim they don't have an opposing bias towards Magic...and that's the BS I'm calling out. Also I want to point out that I really want Jeanie to succeed cause I believe she's overall a great person and wants to do right by her pops (see recent Monty comments). But Magic was her shield and even though I didn't like how he chose to go out, how the f*** did a man in charge of cleaning up MozDeng and bringing in Bron and trying to follow it up with AD hurt the franchise again? That's just Laker fans hating and I firmly stand by that notion. As long as KD is angling towards the Knicks, Magic's "take" didn't hurt the Lakers in free agency. That narrative is trash imho. Masai is a great GM and the Raps FO has it where their team is finally going to the Finals, yet... https://sports.yahoo.com/kawhi-leonards-sister-deletes-video-041635270.html How's that for a narrative?
Thing is, Mitch was criticized quite a bit for targeting guys we were long shots for and having no backup plan when they went elsewhere. We should not put all of our eggs in the Kawhi and/or AD basket. There are multiple guys that can improve this team and we should do our due diligence and look at all of them.
Thank you. I appreciate you breaking it down. I am cool with any scenario that improves this team. We have the flexibility to do it this summer, and I hope we take advantage of it.
In total agreement. I have a Magic bias too, but despite that positive bias, I still THINK he was correct in fact but had executional error.
I think he is going to improve his shooting. He shot 39% from 3 in 17/18. Last year, adjusting to Lebron messed him up, but he was figuring out before the clot sidelined him. I think he is going to end out a 40% shooter from 3, while also becoming a real force on defense, shot blocker, etc. I see nothing but upside for him and think he is ultimately a heck of a lot better than anyone is giving him credit for. I would take him over Tatum any day of the week.
LOL how does Magic keep getting hired to go on tv and state the obvious? Is it a thank you for ratings from that First Take episode?
