[Official - trade complete] Hornets Trying to Land RFA Lopez from the Suns {merged}

[DavidA]

Guys this is a solid move for us. Lopez fills the "young vet" route that DD and MW talked about. 5 million a year for a backup big is not terrible, think about the ridiculous contracts floating around the league (Okafor anyone?). He doesn't do anything to eliminate cap flexibility going forward. Nothing. We still have 13 mill coming off the books, and AFA, Vasquez, & Henry can all be wiped clean to make more cap room. That is called flexibility. Is it best case scenario that we have to not tender those guys and/or renounce them? No, I think they are good players that can fit in here. However, the fact is we are flexible enough to make those moves if necessary. I also think our frontcourt is pretty much complete for the next 3-4 years going forward. The position I think they are set on upgrading, based on the recent moves, are at the SF position. If they go for a big time contract, I think the move ends up being renouncing/Trading X and AFA and throwing money at an Iguadala/rudy gay type player. What if AFA goes nuts and plays great this year? Well, that changes the plan - and that's the beauty of it - the plan can change based on what happens this year. This dude just flipped a top 55 protected 2nd round pick a week ago and turned it into Robin Lopez & Hakim Warrick. Tough to argue that logic.

[Smow-]

Hopefully he has 12-15 years with us, we're not competing this year. Giving Lopez 4-5 million for a couple of seasons to take the beatings in his stead is a form of short-term protection for a long-term investment.

Oddly enough, after reading that, I became concerned for Lopez's injury history again. I hope we have another big-bodied backup.


@DavidA
Well written good sir, I wholeheartedly agree.

[djpaul89]

Testify.

Davis is a rare bird, to be handled with kid gloves- no competent team would allow their future star to get beaten to a pulp inside whilst he's still a teenager.

Hopefully he has 12-15 years with us, we're not competing this year. Giving Lopez 4-5 million for a couple of seasons to take the beatings in his stead is a form of short-term protection for a long-term investment.

Great post.

Then on top of that, we get to take a flyer on Lopez's potential. If he can get back on the career track he was on during his rookie year in the process, then we get either another strong trade asset (think Ayon) or a future piece for ourselves.

[RaisingTheBar]

Guys this is a solid move for us. Lopez fills the "young vet" route that DD and MW talked about. 5 million a year for a backup big is not terrible, think about the ridiculous contracts floating around the league (Okafor anyone?). He doesn't do anything to eliminate cap flexibility going forward. Nothing. We still have 13 mill coming off the books, and AFA, Vasquez, & Henry can all be wiped clean to make more cap room. That is called flexibility. Is it best case scenario that we have to not tender those guys and/or renounce them? No, I think they are good players that can fit in here. However, the fact is we are flexible enough to make those moves if necessary. I also think our frontcourt is pretty much complete for the next 3-4 years going forward. The position I think they are set on upgrading, based on the recent moves, are at the SF position. If they go for a big time contract, I think the move ends up being renouncing/Trading X and AFA and throwing money at an Iguadala/rudy gay type player. What if AFA goes nuts and plays great this year? Well, that changes the plan - and that's the beauty of it - the plan can change based on what happens this year. This dude just flipped a top 55 protected 2nd round pick a week ago and turned it into Robin Lopez & Hakim Warrick. Tough to argue that logic.

excellent post, davida.

[Attila The Hun]

Oddly enough, after reading that, I became concerned for Lopez's injury history again. I hope we have another big-bodied backup.


@DavidA
Well written good sir, I wholeheartedly agree.

Assuming Lopez and Smitty will split the minutes at center, I'm guessing we'll stick a young un-drafted big guy on our roster and play him in the D-League as insurance.

[Miss_318]

Guys this is a solid move for us. Lopez fills the "young vet" route that DD and MW talked about. 5 million a year for a backup big is not terrible, think about the ridiculous contracts floating around the league (Okafor anyone?). He doesn't do anything to eliminate cap flexibility going forward. Nothing. We still have 13 mill coming off the books, and AFA, Vasquez, & Henry can all be wiped clean to make more cap room. That is called flexibility. Is it best case scenario that we have to not tender those guys and/or renounce them? No, I think they are good players that can fit in here. However, the fact is we are flexible enough to make those moves if necessary. I also think our frontcourt is pretty much complete for the next 3-4 years going forward. The position I think they are set on upgrading, based on the recent moves, are at the SF position. If they go for a big time contract, I think the move ends up being renouncing/Trading X and AFA and throwing money at an Iguadala/rudy gay type player. What if AFA goes nuts and plays great this year? Well, that changes the plan - and that's the beauty of it - the plan can change based on what happens this year. This dude just flipped a top 55 protected 2nd round pick a week ago and turned it into Robin Lopez & Hakim Warrick. Tough to argue that logic.

[Attila The Hun]

Great post.

Then on top of that, we get to take a flyer on Lopez's potential. If he can get back on the career track he was on during his rookie year in the process, then we get either another strong trade asset (think Ayon) or a future piece for ourselves.

Bingo! Demps essentially did the same thing with Vasquez last season too- filled a positional need, young, low cost, high potential.

[demiurg]

What? Mahimi got a $16 million contract over 4 years but cost the Pacers Collison and Jones in the process. He is no better than Lopez and we are not giving up anywhere near the assets the Pacers gave up.

Mahinmi was unrestricted...

[neworleanshoo]

Guys this is a solid move for us. Lopez fills the "young vet" route that DD and MW talked about. 5 million a year for a backup big is not terrible, think about the ridiculous contracts floating around the league (Okafor anyone?). He doesn't do anything to eliminate cap flexibility going forward. Nothing. We still have 13 mill coming off the books, and AFA, Vasquez, & Henry can all be wiped clean to make more cap room. That is called flexibility. Is it best case scenario that we have to not tender those guys and/or renounce them? No, I think they are good players that can fit in here. However, the fact is we are flexible enough to make those moves if necessary. I also think our frontcourt is pretty much complete for the next 3-4 years going forward. The position I think they are set on upgrading, based on the recent moves, are at the SF position. If they go for a big time contract, I think the move ends up being renouncing/Trading X and AFA and throwing money at an Iguadala/rudy gay type player. What if AFA goes nuts and plays great this year? Well, that changes the plan - and that's the beauty of it - the plan can change based on what happens this year. This dude just flipped a top 55 protected 2nd round pick a week ago and turned it into Robin Lopez & Hakim Warrick. Tough to argue that logic.

agree with all of this. i'm very pleased with the deal, if it happens.

[bradael]

Why wouldnt Lopez, AD & Anderson start ! I find it whimsical that everyone has INKED Aminu as an AUTOMATIC starter ! He may not even be a Hornet for season opener !

Vasquez--Gordon---Anderson---Lopez & AD !

Rivers--Roberts--Miller---J.Smith & 2-3 more FA's (Aminu & Henry) May or may not still be here !

Ryan Anderson is not athletic/quick enough to guard most SF's in this league (and Davis isn't going to guard SF's... he's a paint protector). He's better suited as a PF that opens up the lane offensively.

Plus, if you move Anderson to the 3, your depth in the front court becomes much weaker. Jason Smith & Robin Lopez are both most likely best suited as 12-20 minutes a game players while Anderson is 30-35 and Davis is 34-38.

I don't see Aminu going anywhere unless it's a package deal for a high priced SF (which I don't see happening anytime soon). Aminu still has a long way to go offensively, but he's a legit defensive player already. Bruce Bowen made a career out of that.

[geauxbama]

Hypothetically, we could start Lopez, Davis, and Anderson and play a zone because we have Davis, but I prefer man defense.

[RaisingTheBar]

Hypothetically, we could start Lopez, Davis, and Anderson and play a zone because we have Davis, but I prefer man defense.

i generally agree with you, but that was before we got anthony davis LOL. it all depends on who we are playing and the personnel, monty has his guys playing lot of zone out there last year, dont know if he plans on changing philosophy this year or not.

[djpaul89]

I love the roster philosophy of the new regime compared to the old regime.

[BeeBall Reasons]

getting a true center does wonders for Davis. We basically sent out Oakafor, Ariza, Jack and Ayon for Anderson, Lopez and Warrick. Where do I sign? If we renounce X, we should still have enough space to make a good addition next year. The core is Davis and Gordon, we've surrounded them with moveable assets, Warrick will be an expiring next year, Anderson was cheap, Lopez is a 7fter. Lopez and Anderson are young guys with potential to get better to add to the young guys we've already got.

MAYBE YOU DON'T BELIEVE IN DELL, BUT FOR GOD'S SAKE, BELIEVE IN THE SPURS MODEL.

whose with me?!
now let's go draft some Euros

[FlyGirl]

The New Orleans Hornets are on the verge of filling an obvious hole on their roster, working toward acquiring center Robin Lopez from the Phoenix Suns in a reported three-team trade.

A league source confirms the Hornets' interest in Lopez, but indicated it may be a day or so before any swap could be officially consummated.

Various media outlets have reported the pending sign-and-trade transaction, which may send Lopez and power forward Hakim Warrick to New Orleans from Phoenix while the Suns would acquire swingman Wesley Johnson and a first-round draft choice from the Minnesota Timberwolves. The T-Wolves would receive the contract of Brad Miller, which the Hornets recently obtained along with point guard Jerome Dyson and draft picks from New Orleans.

http://www.nola.com/hornets/index.ss..._river_default

[da ThRONe]

I love the roster philosophy of the new regime compared to the old regime.

I've been about as out spoken about the negative moves Demps have made since becoming our GM and even I can't stress how much of an an understatements your post is.

[BallSoHard]

getting a true center does wonders for Davis. We basically sent out Oakafor, Ariza, Jack and Ayon for Anderson, Lopez and Warrick. Where do I sign? If we renounce X, we should still have enough space to make a good addition next year. The core is Davis and Gordon, we've surrounded them with moveable assets, Warrick will be an expiring next year, Anderson was cheap, Lopez is a 7fter. Lopez and Anderson are young guys with potential to get better to add to the young guys we've already got.

MAYBE YOU DON'T BELIEVE IN DELL, BUT FOR GOD'S SAKE, BELIEVE IN THE SPURS MODEL.

whose with me?!
now let's go draft some Euros

I agree. I dont mind any of his moves so far.

[Tim Floyd]

http://www.nola.com/hornets/index.ss..._river_default

How can Minnesota recieve Miller's contract back when they just traded him last week?

[HoustonRox]

How can Minnesota recieve Miller's contract back when they just traded him last week?

They won't, Phoenix will.

[sfernald]

getting a true center does wonders for Davis. We basically sent out Oakafor, Ariza, Jack and Ayon for Anderson, Lopez and Warrick. Where do I sign? If we renounce X, we should still have enough space to make a good addition next year. The core is Davis and Gordon, we've surrounded them with moveable assets, Warrick will be an expiring next year, Anderson was cheap, Lopez is a 7fter. Lopez and Anderson are young guys with potential to get better to add to the young guys we've already got.

MAYBE YOU DON'T BELIEVE IN DELL, BUT FOR GOD'S SAKE, BELIEVE IN THE SPURS MODEL.

whose with me?!
now let's go draft some Euros

I really like what they've done. They are setting themselves to be able to pick up a third star next year. It's all going to hinge on how Gordon and Davis do this year, whether they play well enough to make this a "destination" in free agency next year.

I keep trying to compare the development of this team to that of Okc:

Durant = Davis (the big star)
Westbrook = Gordon
Harden = Rivers? (big unknown, but I'm crossing my fingers)
Collison = Lopez?
Perkins = ???? Don't think we have this player on our roster yet, but god I hope we can do better than Perkins
Ibaka = Maybe Aminu? Could Aminu develop into that much a defense presence? A guy who can lock down Lebron, Melo and Durant?


See if you look at it this way, our young roster doesn't seem that far away. Just need to add time to bake and maybe a dash of seasoning here or there. An NBA championship may be calling our names in 3-5 years!

[goat gorilla]

So is this going to happen or not?

[Snarly]

So is this going to happen or not?

The only thing holding up the deal is Lopez. I assume his agent has come to terms with New Orleans. Now it's all up to Lopez. He has to take a physical before the deal can be finalized.

[Purple Haze]

I really like what they've done. They are setting themselves to be able to pick up a third star next year. It's all going to hinge on how Gordon and Davis do this year, whether they play well enough to make this a "destination" in free agency next year.

I keep trying to compare the development of this team to that of Okc:

Durant = Davis (the big star)
Westbrook = Gordon
Harden = Rivers? (big unknown, but I'm crossing my fingers)
Collison = Lopez?
Perkins = ???? Don't think we have this player on our roster yet, but god I hope we can do better than Perkins
Ibaka = Maybe Aminu? Could Aminu develop into that much a defense presence? A guy who can lock down Lebron, Melo and Durant?


See if you look at it this way, our young roster doesn't seem that far away. Just need to add time to bake and maybe a dash of seasoning here or there. An NBA championship may be calling our names in 3-5 years!

[All Metro]

So is this going to happen or not?

Based on the reports I think it will happen

[whodat504]

I really like what they've done. They are setting themselves to be able to pick up a third star next year. It's all going to hinge on how Gordon and Davis do this year, whether they play well enough to make this a "destination" in free agency next year.

I keep trying to compare the development of this team to that of Okc:

Durant = Davis (the big star)
Westbrook = Gordon
Harden = Rivers? (big unknown, but I'm crossing my fingers)
Collison = Lopez?
Perkins = ???? Don't think we have this player on our roster yet, but god I hope we can do better than Perkins
Ibaka = Maybe Aminu? Could Aminu develop into that much a defense presence? A guy who can lock down Lebron, Melo and Durant?


See if you look at it this way, our young roster doesn't seem that far away. Just need to add time to bake and maybe a dash of seasoning here or there. An NBA championship may be calling our names in 3-5 years!

What about Anderson? And you left out PJIII for them who I believe will turn into a very strong player for them.