Official 2016 Free Agency Thread

I disagree. I mean, C'MON guys! Talent wise, the dude is a top 3 center in the league, and Miami is willing to let him walk? They have veterans like Bosh, Deng, Wade, and to an extent Dragic. They have a legend in Riley and real good coach that has the complete backing of the front office. Whiteside is getting paid nothing right now and should be on his best behavior. Even with ALL that, they are having trouble with him. And you guys want to bring him in here?

Bring him onto a team where our front office is in shambles. It's looking more and more like we may STILL have the worst coach in NBA history. We have a dude (Clarkson) who has now brought the Kardashians to our doorstep. Our veteran leader at this point is Lou Williams who was in a three-way relationship with two other women (I mean, to each their own, but he's probably not the greatest influence). I mean, I am honestly in disbelief that people on this board who are obviously really smart basketball fans want to even get near this guy. I'd rather roll into next season with Tarik Black as our starting center.

I am getting so fed up with this team. Randle and Lance seem to be the only high character guys here. Maybe Anthony Brown, but his eyes are creepy as all hell. You want to bring Whiteside into this clusterf---?

 

Miami is going to offer him a max contract but it will be basically the same contract we offer. Due to Whiteside's previous contract, the Heat hold no Bird Rights so he's an Unrestricted Free Agent meaning all offers of the max will be the same. The only difference would be tax rules which honestly won't matter much. I'm sure the Lakers can get him enough commercial opportunities to more than make up for the lost funds there.

It'll be entirely upon Whiteside to choose the team he wants to play for. Personally, if Miami makes it to the ECF or even the Finals, I expect him to re-sign. If Miami gets bounced in the 2nd, I could definitely see him walking to the Lakers who will guarantee him a starting spot as a foundation for the rebuild along with whomever they get at SF.

 

Smith threw that in while talking about Paul George.

Hey I hope he's right. I'll take Derozan all day, every day at this point. We need all the help we can get. An athletic SF that can get to the rim and play a little defense? Yes please.

 

You're all missing the entire point of my post. The fact that they are skeptical of signing him at all, with his talent and their veteran infrastructure, should be a HUGE warning. I mean, we were all in on Dwight a couple years back, and Dwight wasn't near the risk Whiteside is. Look how that turned out. Miami is all veterans. Whiteside is their only "youngish" key player. Yet, once again, they really aren't committed to him.

I am NOT against overpaying someone. But next season (assuming we fire Byron) is the first season in a while we can actually start the healing process. Signing Whiteside to a max deal when I honestly believe there is a greater than 50% chance he goes to s*** would basically give us another albatross after getting rid of the Kobe one.

 

"You're all" who?

That's the only point I addressed! They're not skeptical anymore. I think it was a hardball move by Riley to mess with the kid's mind. Now Whiteside is dominating the floor and Miami has completely backed off of their "we won't max him" rumors. They're going to offer him a max deal this summer. I'm willing to put money on it.

 

OK. Fine. The fact that they had to hardball him like that in order to get him to play nice actually makes my point even MORE sound. Because once he signs that deal, what leverage would the Lakers have to "inspire" him to try harder? The dude could literally just show up to practice and games and give 10% effort and he would still get paid.

 

But Dwight, for all his antics, still puts forth an effort. And while no one leaves in a Whiteside signing, you still have to look at opportunity costs. With Kobe's albatross the last couple offseasons, I would think all Laker fans understand that phenomena.

 

I understand your concern, but I don't share it. I think this was just a Riley game and I hope it comes back to bite him in the a**. I think passing on Whiteside would be a massive mistake. I'd rather overpay for him than not pay anybody and end up with Roy Hibbert again.

 

Well, it's not really overpaying him I worry about. If Whiteside comes back as the player he is this year, not only is it not overpaying, it's actually a solid deal. But I don't think he's going to be that player. For some reason I feel like it's going to be all or nothing with that dude. He's either going to maintain his level of play, or he's just going to get fat and give minimal effort. I don't think it's going to be a situation where he comes back and he is like 70% of the player he is now, meaning we overpay a little.

 

Yeah I'm not sure why you've convinced yourself of that. There's ample evidence that this kid has turned a corner. There's been multiple reports about how he's a different player both mentally and physically than he was when he was drafted. He's a different man even from last year according to people who have interviewed him and have been around the team.

Again, I'd rather be on that boat than the one we're on now. I'm sure some regression is likely, but I'd prefer a regressed Whiteside to Roy Hibbert or Tarik Black playing starters minutes.

 

Yo where's Williams?

 

Hopefully traded with Swaggy. Can you imagine a team trading for both of them?