Just because Beal isn't available now doesn't mean he won't be in another year or so. It appears Griff is setting the table to get that all star he wanted.
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I would target a point guard and power forward preferably a stretch 4. So I would hope to get Payton back for 8 million or less for a season or two. A shooting point guard would probably be a better move though. Then I would target maybe one of the Morris twins for a year or 2. I would love to bring back Nico or maybe Bobby Portis, but those guys may cost more than I want to spend. But we should have like 30 million or so and we will have to spend it I guess.
I would try to make sure I got room to try for Dame Lillard in 2021.
Wouldn't mind Tyus Jones, Quinn Cook, Shabazz Napier if not happy with Frank being backup.
Dedmon, Lopez and Boogie should be targets at C
Trade for Beal sign Horford.
Lillard isn't leaving Portland
I would target a point guard and power forward. Then I might bring in a small forward as well.
Point guard:
Elfrid Payton, Quinn Cook, Terry Rozier, Emmanuel Mudiay, Jeremy Lin, Jose Juan Barea, & Shabazz Napier could all be point guard targets in that good backup range.
Unless we do go out and spend for a top starter like DLo Russell, Malcolm Brogdon, Ricky Rubio, and maybe Derrick Rose is in that category but he’s a backup.
Power forward:
Julius Randle, Nico Mirotic, Paul Millsap, Jabari Parker, Marcus Morris, Bobby Portis, Thaddeus Young, Al-Farouq Aminu in that starter category but could also be top notch backups.
Then you got Taj Gibson, Kenneth Faried, Markief Morris, Jeff Green, & JaMychal Green in that not so much starter, backup spot IMO.
Small forward/wing:
Rudy Gay, Trevor Ariza, Kelly Oubre, Justin Holiday, James Ennis, Wilson Chandler, Terence Ross, Jeremy Lamb, Rodney Hood, Reggie Bullock, & DeMarre Carroll
with
Thabo Sefolosha, Daniel House, Iman Shumpert, Garrett Temple, Gerald Green, Nik Stauskas, Alex Abrines, Wayne Selden, Patrick McCaw, Furkan Korkmaz, MarShon Brooks, Nick Young, Ben McElmore, Alec Burks, Ronda Hollis-Jefferson, Mario Hezonja, Stanley Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, & Corey Brewer
I would look for one of those wings that could come really cheap that can play some 3 and shoot the 3 with ok D.
So we may do best going for the better power forward/stretch 4, with one of those point guards in that 1st group preferably Payton, Cook, or Rozier, and one of those cheap wings.
We got rid of Solo to get Solo out the locker room. If Solo was Jared Dudley off the court, but the exact same player he was last year on the court, I’m not sure we trade him. Instead Solo was the anti-Dudley.
You say that about Lillard but many have passed on the super max. He will already be an extremely rich 31 year old when he’s due for his new deal. He might be ready for a change of scenery by then. A starting team of Jaxson Hayes, Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, & Nickeil Alexander-Walker could be quite enticing if they are as good as we hope by then. And who knows what other big time rookies we get our hands on before then. We might have an even better center or shooting guard taken in the 2020 or 2021 draft. We have one of the brightest futures out of any team for the next decade if we play our cards right. If we somehow get that top pick in 2021 and land Jalen Green we may not need him. Dude is already the best player in high school at 16 and getting compared to Kobe.
Personally I dont think we need a Point Guard THAT bad. With Zo, Hart(hybrid), and F-Jax I think we'll be decent. Plus NAW could fill in for a bit too.
However for the SF I say we sign Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb(preferably) or Demarre Carrol because we can get them for less than $10m.
Then for the PF/C I say we go for Taj Gibson. Solid vet and has always been consistent throught his career.
I would love to see
Niko Mirotic, Elfrid Payton, & Gerald Green(I been wanting to add Green for years)
C: Okafor, Hayes, Wood
PF: Zion, Niko
SF: Ingram, Hart, Green
SG: Jrue, NAW, Moore
PG: Ball, Payton, Jackson
I think Niko liked it here in NOLA. I think a lot of foreign players like it here due to its European feel in some ways. Payton may be looking for a chance to start, but with Ball he could have his shot. Plus it doesn’t hurt that he’s from Gretna. I like the hometown kid a lot and if he hadn’t gotten hurt early on this past season could of possibly went different. But I’m so glad it didn’t hehe. Gerald Green has good size at 6’8” and can shoot it pretty good. He was once an unreal athlete, but he’s now 33. If not him I would hope to bring in an older vet with some playoff experience. I would keep Moore with his 8 million and maybe move him during the season. He’s a nice vet for the youngsters to learn from and an ultimate professional. We would probably be better off just keeping him and not signing Green or another wing. He played good for us in a 3 guard lineup.
I totally forgot about NAW lol. Big NAWlins!! I’d try to move Moore then.
Who feels comfortable with Jahlil Okafor as our starting center? I don’t because of his poor defense.
I am until Hayes is ready. I don’t think Hayes will be ready to start right away. We will have good help defense with Zion, Jrue, & Ball and Ingram’s length to cover for him a bit. Depending on the team I would have Niko or whoever we sign probably starting a good bit. Only a few teams that have true dominate centers starting.
I think with Hayes you have two real options. Either you start him, and then pull him relatively quickly, or you put him in the Diallo role for the first few months of the season.
Diallo was playing something like 20 minutes a game by the end of last season, and I think Hayes should be starting off around that kind of usage. He needs on court run, but for a guy who didn't play heavy minutes in college and is a little bit of a project it's unfair to throw him out there for 35 minutes a game and just expect magic. Much better to give him good minutes, but mainly against backup bigs for a couple of months to just let him adjust to the pace and style of the NBA without getting overwhelmed. Maybe up his minutes around January if he's showing good progress.
As optimistic as I am about Hayes' future potential, I recognize that he needs some serious time in the weight room pumping iron and he could use some time in the buffet line too.
Agree with that. He's about 220lbs now. Other big men who weigh around that amount include:
Thad Young: 6'9'', 221lbs
Nerlens Noel: 6'11'', 220lbs
Ed Davis: 6'10, 224lbs.
Hayes is 6'11.5''. I'd like him to get up to maybe around 235 or 240. That would put him in the same weight range as Ibaka, Montrezl Harrel, Clint Capela, Giannis Antetokoumnpo, and Rudy Gobert. That would give him just that little bit extra strength in the post, and shouldn't be heavy enough to drag his mobility down.
Yea Griff came out and admitted Grant was actually the guy least on board with drafting Bennett. Which in a weird way makes me like him more. Even though I think the picks and trades he made and supported were kind of spotty (2 1sts for MoZGov cmon). Many of them were defensible, some werent. But having a GM who can admit mistakes means no more trading a first for Asik and then giving him a dumb contract.
But my point stands despite Griff being a well regarded exec around the league, his transaction history is not all that good. Langdon seems well respected too but he really has just about nothing where I can say Landon was the reason behind that particular move or that particular pick.
I think they are doing a solid (not great but solid) job so far though. But if they go out in FA and spend all the cap on 2 non shooters and I complain I don't want to here a bunch of 'trust griff' comments. We as fans have the right to question decisions.
That is the life of being a GM. None have pristine records. And for the record, I really wish people would stop brining up that Asik deal here. AT THAT TIME most were completely on board with that contract and giving up a first to get him here. To sit here and point at that today is nothing but revisionist 20/20.
At this point most of us like this draft. In 2022 if things dont go well or if it hasnt shown any promise, you'll have those same people talking about how awful Griff was for this draft and who he could have gotten instead. These are things you have to deal with as GM.
I'm making my prediction!
One of these dudes will be a Pelican...
We could trade for these guys into cap space:
Capella ($74m/4yrs)
Adams ($53m/2yrs)
Love ($120m/4yrs)
Griffin ($110m/3yrs)
Biyombo ($17m/1yr)
T. Thomspon ($18m/1yr)
Plumlee ($14m/1yr)
Olynyk ($26m/2yrs)
Meyers Leonard ($11m/1yr)
Marc Gasol ($25m/1yr)
or we could target these dudes in free agency:
Robin Lopez and/or Brook Lopez
Dedmon
Kevon Looney
W. Caulie-Stein
Valanciunas
Vucevic
Horford
Niko Mirotic
JaMychal Green
Julius Randle
Anybody else love Josh Hart? The guy repping us hard in this biznitch
Nah it's true. Griff had an interview, I think in SI but maybe somewhere else, where he said that pretty much the entire front office, including himself, was in on Bennett. He also admitted that that was obviously a mistake and he's learned from it, and he's also learned to listen to the dissenting opinions thoroughly as a result. It's part of what makes him such an open minded team-oriented guy today.
How much would you pay for Vucevic?
I wouldn't pay more than $15m a year, for 2 years.
There is absolutely no way in the burning pits of hell that he takes that, because he will have at least one max contract sat on the table. But I don't see him as a long term element of this team, and I wouldn't want to pay him that much nor have him on contract long term.
If we could sign Horford (2 years $40 million), Mirotic (3 years $45 million), then re-sign Elfrid Payton with our exception money, would could be playoff contenders. The word is that Horford has not been offered a $100 million contract as previously reported. I would bet that his agent is trying to pump up his market.
Honestly I was a big fan before he got here. He works hard, shoots the ball fairly well (particularly from the corner) and gives good effort on D.... fights through screens, tracks cutters, helps well. I know 6'5 is a touch short to be a legit wing offering 3 and D, and he isnt exactly lights out... but the love he has given the team already, fight he has shown just to be in the league, and his effort on D makes him valuable. I also think he will continue to develop as a player and assuming he is given the chance, will contribute to the team
$15 million a year is not realistic. If you look at his value using advanced metrics, he had a VORP of 5.3 last season which if you multiply times 2.70 equals 14.31 wins over replacement level player (WARP). The salary cap is $109 million this upcoming season. Divide $109 million by 41 wins which is the average for every team in the league over a full season and you get 1 WARP = $2.66 million. So take his 14.31 WARP times $2.66 million and you get his value around $38 million which is obviously max level worthy. That's why we shouldn't even bother negotiating with him.
If you use win shares over VORP, his value is around $27 million which I think is more reasonable.
My mid range picks
1. D Rose
2. Robin Lopez
3. Kennith Fared
My high budget pipe dreams
1. Kemba
2. Brogdon
3. Bog
Need to throw every dollar we have at vucevic
There are some on here who would approach our rebuild penny wise and pound foolish.
We know Griff wants to add an all star level talent to this team and we know clearing cap space was important to him.
Maybe it's a salary dump acquisition for a guy like Adams or Batum that gets us more future assets. Or maybe Griff wants to sign a guy who could be the 2nd All Star level player to add to Jrue.
Given the depth on this team at this point, I’m not sure it makes sense to add multiple FAs. Team as constructed is already a good 7-9 deep depending on how you see some dudes.
Maxi Kleber (6'11", 240#), a RFA (Dallas). Currently: $1.1MM per year. My Offer: $7.5MM per year (3 years; 2 guaranteed with club option on third year) and see what Dallas does.
He could be the perfect place holder (if not more) until Hayes is ready. Make no mistake...I still think Brook Lopez is the man we need to focus on (he will open up driving lanes for Williamson), but Kleber's skill set can help us considerably on the defensive end (remember Okafor is offensively gifted but defensively challenged).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9LdY39PUCg
NOTE: At first, I was ambivalent, but now I think I would like to see Julius Randall come back (especially if we could get Lopez)
I would try to sign Niko for 2 years, 30 million and Payton for 2 years, 20 million, so that would equal about 25 million and we should have around 30 million to spend I think. I’m sure they would both want longer deals, but I would try to stay flexible for 2021. If I have to I’d increase Niko’s money to between 32-36 million. I think Payton should be worth from 10-12 million a year. But he did have some injury issues, so I may try to get him for what we paid Randle last year in the 8 million range. I couldn’t believe we got him for 3 million last year, so who knows what he will take. Next years free agent market isn’t all that great, but 2021 could be interesting. Plus Ball’s contract will be up in case we want to bring him back at that time.
I wanted Vucevic if we didn’t draft a center, but we did. Vucevic is gonna get a max deal since he’s the best center on the market. Cousins is right there with him, but he didn’t help his case this past season. I’m fine with not being a playoff team next season, but on the cusp. I rather bring in a stretch 4 that can start at times with Zion depending on the matchup. Then hopefully Hayes is ready to start at mid season or towards the end of the year depending on how our record is at those times. He better be starting at the beginning of next season at the latest.
I would be really happy with this depth chart to start next season:
C: Okafor, Hayes, Wood
PF: Zion, Niko
SF: Ingram, Hart
SG: Jrue, NAW, Moore
PG: Ball, Payton, Jackson
I wouldn't sign players trying to be a playoff team. But nor would I NOT sign players because I'm not trying to be a playoff team.
What are the needs on this team, and who are the absolute best players we can realistically sign to fill those needs? That's all I'm thinking. I have so much flexibility because of draft assets and young players on rookie deals, that I'm not scared to pay the right guys the money it would take to get them here.
Yea going to have to pass on Maxi Kleber. Not productive enough for me.
I think he would be a bargain for a couple of years until Hayes or someone else presents themselves. This team lost a ton off block shots to LA recently, and Kleber is a nice rim protector. And the man shot 41% from three over the second half of the season (we do need to open up driving lanes for the Gentry Offense to work).
Perfect? No (I already confessed that Brook Lopez is my fantasy free agent pick up). But, I think Kleber would be an upgrade from what we currently have at center, though I would never deny you your opinion.
I know this is a free agency thread, but I would like to throw one trade suggestion out there. One of the pieces that Memphis got in the Mike Conley trade was Jae Crowder. He has one year on his deal for around $8 million. I know that he still doesn't fill the team's need for shooters, but I just see him as a guy who can provide some of that veteran presence that the Pelicans can use.
I know. That's why the second sentence in my post was ''there is absolutely no way in the burning pits of hell that he takes that''. My point wasn't that he wasn't worth that money: for a team that needs a big time player to fill a role to help them win now, he is.
We aren't that team, so for US, he's not worth that money, particularly long term.
I don’t see Payton getting more than $5-8 million a year. He has never been a consistently reliable PG on a winning team. I think he is a very good true PG backup to Ball who has his injury concerns. Mirotic is my #1 target this offseason at about $15 million a year which is reasonable value.