I think that is spot on.
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Dedmond - 2 years 20 million total
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But why put yourself in that situation by overpaying an aging veteran on a long contract. Smart teams would not do that in the first place if they are in our situation. If we were one player away, i can see taking that risk or if it were a 2 year deal. No need to do that now in a year where we have multiple players getting acclimated to the team.
Zylan Cheatham is an interesting guy, and he'll be fun to watch in Summer League, if he plays.
He's a little older than you want rookies to be, but he has a lot of potential. He runs hard, and fast, just like Gentry prefers. He's a tenacious rebounder, and a very capable defender on 2 through 4. He's pretty lengthy and has good instincts on that end of the floor. His offense is mostly put backs and hustle plays, but when he does step out and take a mid-range shot or a three his form is actually pretty good although a little slow. I could see it becoming a decent NBA quality shot though, given space. He shot 40+% from three in college, although on very, VERY few attempts.
I'm not arguing for any specific player. I'm only arguing against the prohibition we seem to have against signing a guy to a max contract.
We have in excess of $30m in cap space. We probably know who 12 of our guys are already. Ball, Jrue, Hart, Moore, Frank, Nickeil, Ingram, Kenrich, Zion, Okafor, Wood, and Hayes. Let's assume one of the new guys we add in free agency gets full MLE. That still gives us $30m to spend on 2 guys.
I think given how pressed Griff was to clear Solo, and the math of our situation, we're likely going to be bringing in someone in the front court on a hefty salary.
Ball/Jrue/Ingram/Zion are clearly your starters.
You have Hart/Moore/Frank/Nickeil off the bench in your guard rotation.
Most people seem to think a Forward from the Nets like Carroll or Dudley could find their way onto the Pelicans roster, but lets just say that's where the MLE likely goes. And you also have Kenrich there. And Moore can give you spot minutes there as well.
At PF you're locked in for the next 17 years with Zion Williams! Christrian Wood can also give you minutes there and at the 5, and Okafor and Hayes are strictly playing the 5.
I only take the time to lay this out, because I think it makes it clear we have 3 options:
1. We're going to take on bad contracts from other teams, and accumulate more draft assets
2. We're going to overpay guys to take shorter deals. This would be similar to what 76ers did with JJ Redick.
3. We're going to offer a 4 year max to a guy, most likely in the front court, and try to win as many games as we can with a mix of vets, guys still on rookie deals, and actual rookies.
We have one hole in the starting lineup, some young depth that needs developing, and $30m PLUS the MLE to spend. I'd be surprised if the plan isn't to pull in a big catch, or to trade for someone already on a max deal.
For those who think you break that up into 3 players... let's play a game and tell me who gets what amount and what minutes they're taking. Go.
Randle= $20-$25 million a year
Bojan= $15-$20 million a year
I don’t think we can afford both and Randle has a redundant skill set on this team offering no defense. Mirotic fits what we need with 3 and D and will be a better value. Let Randle go to the Knicks and play entertaining losing basketball because of his horrid defensive abilities.
Nikola Mirotic (3 years), Dewayne Dedman (2 years), and re-signing Elfrid Payton (2 years) would be a great free agency plan.
Rather pay a stretch center $10+ million instead of a stretch 4
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Probably. Can't hurt to give him a call though.
I wouldn't want Randle back at all. If we didn't have Zion incoming, maybe, although I still wouldn't want to be paying him $20m+ per year, but with Zion coming in he's entirely surplus to requirements. Zion does everything Randle does, better, cheaper, and with better defense and passing. The only thing Randle has over Zion is his three point shot, and honestly I don't think he'll have that advantage for long.
I don't want that for Randle. I would never wish for someone to be embarrassed so thoroughly.
Watching Randle zone out, ball watching or staring into space while Zion kills himself defending two guys at once and succeeding sounds like a pretty sure-fire way to make Randle look as stupid as humanly possible.
Do you think it’s possible to get DeAngelo and Horford? Have to move Moore but will 40 million be enough? If not Horford then trade Ball, Moore, and a conditional pick for Turner. If we can pull either of these off I’d use the MLE on Elfrid and either Trey Lyles or Noah Vonleh both at almost 5 mil. I’d also trade for Kurucs. The nets I don’t think can quite offer 2 max spots. Last I heard they were a few million away. So maybe a second or 2 will be enough. We could compete for years with this and only Ingram would be up for renewal after this year.
DeLo, Ball/Elfrid, Frank
Jrue, Hart, NEW
Ingram, Kurucs, Kenrich
Zion, Lyles, Woods
Horford/Turner, Okafor, Hayes
If we get Horford we don’t need Elfrid but if we trade for Turner then sign Elfrid to replace Ball.
40 million wouldn't be enough, no. Odds are, D-Lo is getting a max (which I wouldn't want to pay him, he is not a max player) and Horford will be commanding at least $20m/per himself.
Pacers aren't taking a trade for Turner that comes with conditional picks or salary dumps. Wouldn't want to move Ball anyway, at least until the deadline. I want to see what Gentry is going to do with him, and if he can improve in his glaring weaknesses. Could be a long term piece if he does.
Man I can’t wait to see what this journey holds‼️ #Pelicans ❤️
— Zylan Cheatham (@1KingZ4) June 23, 2019
Much respect to my man Zylan Cheatham, but he needs to change that jersey in his pic real quick. #11 is Jrue's.
So i’ve about decided i want Patrick Beverly, Robin Lopez, and Rudy Gay( As a wing) on this team. Good veteran mentors and fill a need.
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If you trust Ingram, Ball, Hart, Jackson, Hayes, Alexander Walker and think the Lakers pick will be good I see no reason you don't go and spend a ton of money this off season. Those guys wont be cheap forever. You have to pay Ingram, Okafor and Jackson this off season and then Ball and Hart the next. Now is the time to spend the money. Then you have your cake and eat it too with the Lakers picks. Any contract you sign this off season comes off the books when you have to resign Zion. (What Golden state did with Bogut and Igoudala)
If you don't believe in those assets you use your capspace to add more assets, eat bad contracts on 1-2 year deals for picks. Maybe sign a couple of low end role players with whatever is left to fill the basic needs on the roster to shorter deals to maintain flexibility. (What Atlanta did)
It's really that simple.
We have roughly 32M in cap space.
Dedmon - 2 years 26M
Satoransky - 3 years 36M
Dudley - 2 Years 14M
Ball/Satoransky/Jackson
Holiday/Hart/NAW
Ingram/Williams/Moore
Williamson/Wood/Dudley
Dedmon/Okafor/Hayes
Possibly look to offload Moore for a vet SF using those 11 2nd round picks we have.
Just pay B Lopez more than what the Bucks are offering. Which we can easily do. He’s literally the only big need that we have for next season.
He doesn’t start with the Bucks. So tell him he will start with Zion and get good minutes. He’s 31 but does not have a history of injuries. Give him 2-3 years and let’s roll.
If we want to go big we go after Vucivich. Give him 5 years at Max and we have zero worries at C for the next five years... which is not a bad idea at all! He’s I. His prime at 28 years old.
No way I would bring back Randle. He’s too much like Zion in that he’s kind of an undersized power forward. We need someone that could start with Zion that’s at least over 6’10” IMO. I know it’s not that big of difference, but for a power forward that one inch is huge IMO. Plus with the year he had with us combined with his young age, 24, he will likely get a hefty deal IMO. Depending on Porzingis’ health and that rape allegation, he might be the 2nd best power forward on the market.
I rather a stretch 4 or a guy who can get me 10+ boards a game. Randle is neither IMO. He has a decent shot, but not the range I would want. And he’s not the best rebounder either