Free Agents this offseason

Lets use this thread to discuss possible free agent targets this offseason.


One guy I'd like to discuss is Dorell Wright. He's 27 and has kind of a Ryno thing going on. He's only shooting 39% on the season but he's shooting 37.4% from behind the arc and more than half of his attempts per game come from there. So the 39% may look bad, but shooting that many of your attempts from deep will leave you with a less than impressive average. He's shooting 39.1% in spot up situations and over 80% of his spot up attempts come from behind the arc. Now tell me it wouldn't be nice to put him out there with Ryan so they can space the floor, along with Gordon and Davis who can take advantage of the spacing. He's also not a horrible defender and appears to be a serviceable rebounder.

I've also been recently thinking, you obviously can't win with just five players. You need your five players plus a bench. So we can't be blinded by the fact that we need to upgrade Greivis, Aminu, and Lopez. Yes those things may be the biggest priority but we still need to find some bench pieces as well. So is it crazy to maybe sign a guy like Wright to a 3 year deal and use him as a stop gap until we can find a real starting SF who can do many different things? Maybe even front load the contract to give him some extra incentive to sign with us?

Full Free Agent List

Rather have Budinger, Webster, or Brewer for some reason.

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Originally Posted by Nola Hornet

Rather have Budinger, Webster, or Brewer for some reason.

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Webster is a guy I like as well. I'm so so on Brewer.

For some reason, I feel like Wright does better playing on uptempo offenses. He seems to struggle playing for half court slower paced teams.

id really like to sign hickson and budinger to long deals and people like aminu to a big 1 year deal, it means he stays with us and if we decide not to extend him we save a lot in cap.

Brewer would be a huge get.

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Originally Posted by HornetGuru

id really like to sign hickson and budinger to long deals and people like aminu to a big 1 year deal, it means he stays with us and if we decide not to extend him we save a lot in cap.

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I think Hickson is going to get overpaid in the offseason. He's on the verge of breaking out. He's going to get 10+ million from someone.

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Originally Posted by Nola Hornet

I think Hickson is going to get overpaid in the offseason. He's on the verge of breaking out. He's going to get 10+ million from someone.

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I wouldnt mind overpaying for him for 2 years, that way if he is good we can keep him, if not we save a ton of money when davis and rivers are owning the league.

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Originally Posted by Nola Hornet

I think Hickson is going to get overpaid in the offseason. He's on the verge of breaking out. He's going to get 10+ million from someone.

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I envision him recieving a contract closer to 8M annually.

But this thread can still spill over into every other thread in the nest right?

Don't really like anyone mentioned thus far. I personally think Darius Miller will be almost as good for a third of the price as Wright. Hickson doesn't play a ton of defense and is undersized, but I could live with him.

Just looking at that list, nothing really jumps out at me as anything we could build around.However, I would have probably said the same thing about last years free agents and Dell pulled Ryno out of nowhere and he instantly became a huge get for us. So, I'll just leave this one up to the Chessmaster, haha.

He's not a FA, but I would love to get our hands on Wilson Chandler.

Anyone think he's going to be made available?

If so, what kind of package do you think might interest them?

He's on such a cap friendly contract that I don't see Denver rushing to get him out the door.

Martel Webster is the guy I want, and Monty coached him in Portland. Monty said last off season that there were a few guys that said they would love to play with him if they got a chance. Ryno was one, and I bet Webster is in that group as well. Perfect role player for us - only 26, good defender, great shooter (43% on 5.5 attempts from 3), his TS% is .611 :eek:, and his WS/48 is .143, which is really good. I'm not sure what his price range will be, but I'd love to sign him here.

J.J. Hickson is my other guy. He is one of the best rebounders in the league with a TRB% of 21.1%, and he is super agile for a center. He works hard on the glass and in the paint, and he can even hit the open J, TS% of .598 :eek:. Solid defender, and his WS/48 is .153, which (again) is really good.

Sign Webster for $6 million, and sign Hickson for $10 million, and draft a guy like Trey Burke, and we are set. We could even flip Lopez and Vasquez for a backup SG, and move Rivers to PG where he should be. This is the roster if we keep them though:

PG - Burke, Vasquez
SG - Gordon, Rivers
SF - Webster, Miller
PF - Davis, Anderson
C - Hickson, Lopez, Smith

Wow.... That is a beautiful roster... :love2:

Pekovic!

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Originally Posted by PelsFan2313

He's not a FA, but I would love to get our hands on Wilson Chandler.

Anyone think he's going to be made available?

If so, what kind of package do you think might interest them?

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I hope they make Gallo available instead

Yea I'm still on the Burke and pek train and Webster would be a nice addition to go along with them.

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Originally Posted by AD23

Pekovic!

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Hickson is better, younger, and should be cheaper. I hear Pek wants to cash in big time.

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Originally Posted by nolaslim213

Hickson is better, younger, and should be cheaper. I hear Pek wants to cash in big time.

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Your idea seems realistic and would provide upgrades. That would be a fun roster to watch.

CP3 or bust haha

no but in all seriousness its crazy how Hickson,Webster and Brewer all went from almost being out of the league to being sought after FAs
now.

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Originally Posted by nolaslim213

Martel Webster is the guy I want, and Monty coached him in Portland. Monty said last off season that there were a few guys that said they would love to play with him if they got a chance. Ryno was one, and I bet Webster is in that group as well. Perfect role player for us - only 26, good defender, great shooter (43% on 5.5 attempts from 3), his TS% is .611 :eek:, and his WS/48 is .143, which is really good. I'm not sure what his price range will be, but I'd love to sign him here.

J.J. Hickson is my other guy. He is one of the best rebounders in the league with a TRB% of 21.1%, and he is super agile for a center. He works hard on the glass and in the paint, and he can even hit the open J, TS% of .598 :eek:. Solid defender, and his WS/48 is .153, which (again) is really good.

Sign Webster for $6 million, and sign Hickson for $10 million, and draft a guy like Trey Burke, and we are set. We could even flip Lopez and Vasquez for a backup SG, and move Rivers to PG where he should be. This is the roster if we keep them though:

PG - Burke, Vasquez
SG - Gordon, Rivers
SF - Webster, Miller
PF - Davis, Anderson
C - Hickson, Lopez, Smith

Wow.... That is a beautiful roster... :love2:

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Love that team

The good thing about this team is that both Rivers and Vasquez could alternate between PG and SG.
If Rivers doesn’t pan out…..he becomes a backup at the 1 or 2 spot.

The only thing that I see a concern with is signing Hickson.
Where will the minutes be spread between the 5 front court players?
I guess Smith will miss the start of the season due to his shoulder surgery, so until he comes back to full strength Lopez and Hickson can fight for minutes.

Then depending on how Smith comes back you can flip Lopez and Vasquez at the trade deadline for some more younger pieces or let Smith walk at the end of the 2013/14 season if he chooses.

The best thing is that there will still be heaps of flexibilty with the cap, rather than chasing a Pek or Al.

I know everyone loves burke and so do I but if he is gone when we pick and bazz is still on the board i'd love to get him and sign hickson and a decent SG like foye or whoever

rivers/roberts
gordon/foye
bazz/miller
AD/ryno
hickson/lopez

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Originally Posted by AUSSIE_PELICAN

Love that team

The good thing about this team is that both Rivers and Vasquez could alternate between PG and SG.
If Rivers doesn’t pan out…..he becomes a backup at the 1 or 2 spot.

The only thing that I see a concern with is signing Hickson.
Where will the minutes be spread between the 5 front court players?
I guess Smith will miss the start of the season due to his shoulder surgery, so until he comes back to full strength Lopez and Hickson can fight for minutes.

Then depending on how Smith comes back you can flip Lopez and Vasquez at the trade deadline for some more younger pieces or let Smith walk at the end of the 2013/14 season if he chooses.

The best thing is that there will still be heaps of flexibilty with the cap, rather than chasing a Pek or Al.

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Definetly enough minutes to split between davis ryno and hickson between the pf and c spot, u have ad and hickson start, hickson goes to the bench ad to center ryno to pf, AD to bench, hickson to C, ryno stays at pf

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Originally Posted by HornetGuru

I know everyone loves burke and so do I but if he is gone when we pick and bazz is still on the board i'd love to get him and sign hickson and a decent SG like foye or whoever

rivers/roberts
gordon/foye
bazz/miller
AD/ryno
hickson/lopez

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My dream/pseudo realistic projection next year:

Bledsoe/Rivers/Roberts
Gordon/Brewer/Mason
Porter/Miller
Davis/Anderson/Young*
Hickson/Smith/Amundson

Defensive nightmare...with cap space to spare.

*Bledsoe trade: Vasquez and Lopez for Bledsoe and LAC 2nd rounder

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Originally Posted by HornetGuru

Definetly enough minutes to split between davis ryno and hickson between the pf and c spot, u have ad and hickson start, hickson goes to the bench ad to center ryno to pf, AD to bench, hickson to C, ryno stays at pf

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And Smith?

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Originally Posted by nolaslim213

Martel Webster is the guy I want, and Monty coached him in Portland. Monty said last off season that there were a few guys that said they would love to play with him if they got a chance. Ryno was one, and I bet Webster is in that group as well. Perfect role player for us - only 26, good defender, great shooter (43% on 5.5 attempts from 3), his TS% is .611 :eek:, and his WS/48 is .143, which is really good. I'm not sure what his price range will be, but I'd love to sign him here.

J.J. Hickson is my other guy. He is one of the best rebounders in the league with a TRB% of 21.1%, and he is super agile for a center. He works hard on the glass and in the paint, and he can even hit the open J, TS% of .598 :eek:. Solid defender, and his WS/48 is .153, which (again) is really good.

Sign Webster for $6 million, and sign Hickson for $10 million, and draft a guy like Trey Burke, and we are set. We could even flip Lopez and Vasquez for a backup SG, and move Rivers to PG where he should be. This is the roster if we keep them though:

PG - Burke, Vasquez
SG - Gordon, Rivers
SF - Webster, Miller
PF - Davis, Anderson
C - Hickson, Lopez, Smith

Wow.... That is a beautiful roster... :love2:

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It sure is, even if they don't go after Hickson. Man on man I wish that could be the Pelicans roster next year.

Martell Webster and resign Al Farouq to a 4 year deal, you already have Darius, who's position next year will be "Shooter" from 2/3.

Aminu is still developing, and he could very well come back with a solid jump shot and more aggression towards attacking the rim if given the attempts, playing in the Olympics last season didn't allow him to work on his skills with Monty or a shooting coach.

I don't know why people think the easiest thing to develop is something Aminu will never have.

That Aminu would be a 15-18 ppg player. Aminu may not have a high IQ, but he's not close to being a low BB IQ player, he's just inexperienced at 22, barely playing for the clips after coming out early, he still hasn't had a full off season with Monty.

Aminu is the Hornets/Pelicans' Devery Henderson. You will learn to appreciate him, he's a legitimate NBA talent, without him, it leaves this team with only AD as the only player on this team with top level to elite NBA talent when it comes to physical ability.

And also spending so cheaply at the SF position will allow you to overspend that saved money on your PG and C spots if you want to.

You can afford to pay a little more on a Brandon Jennings because of what it would mean to match him with AD, AFA, EG, and Rivers, money you probably wouldn't give him if you didn't have those players and their abilities, it would also mean a lot to Ryan Anderson, more wide open 3s in transition, reminiscent of Pedja

And to channel Mickey Loomis, we're not in the business of giving away talented players.

I wouldnt give Aminu four years.

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Originally Posted by AD23forMVP

Lets use this thread to discuss possible free agent targets this offseason.


One guy I'd like to discuss is Dorell Wright. He's 27 and has kind of a Ryno thing going on. He's only shooting 39% on the season but he's shooting 37.4% from behind the arc and more than half of his attempts per game come from there. So the 39% may look bad, but shooting that many of your attempts from deep will leave you with a less than impressive average. He's shooting 39.1% in spot up situations and over 80% of his spot up attempts come from behind the arc. Now tell me it wouldn't be nice to put him out there with Ryan so they can space the floor, along with Gordon and Davis who can take advantage of the spacing. He's also not a horrible defender and appears to be a serviceable rebounder.

I've also been recently thinking, you obviously can't win with just five players. You need your five players plus a bench. So we can't be blinded by the fact that we need to upgrade Greivis, Aminu, and Lopez. Yes those things may be the biggest priority but we still need to find some bench pieces as well. So is it crazy to maybe sign a guy like Wright to a 3 year deal and use him as a stop gap until we can find a real starting SF who can do many different things? Maybe even front load the contract to give him some extra incentive to sign with us?

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Upgrading grevis, Lopez and Aminu in effect can make your bench stronger though because if you retain them they go to the bench.

I don't under appreciate Aminu, I just don't think he's worth as much as some other teams probably will. 3.5 a year, tops.

And NOT for 4 years. If he improves as much as King wants to believe I'll gladly pony up in 2-3 years for him. But I don't see that jumper magically appearing no matter how young he is. I'm willing to give him a longer shot but I'm not overpaying for it.

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Originally Posted by BallSoHard

Upgrading grevis, Lopez and Aminu in effect can make your bench stronger though because if you retain them they go to the bench.

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Man what I wouldn't give to have GV and Lopez as bench players. That's a heck of a bench with GV/Rivers/Miller/Smith/Lopez

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Originally Posted by Purple Haze

It sure is, even if they don't go after Hickson. Man on man I wish that could be the Pelicans roster next year.

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Man on man

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You must be really excited about that roster.

Hickson would be pretty sweet.

PS - is anyone else having deja vu with this thread? Could've sworn I've read something like this before..........

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Originally Posted by Bigeauz

You must be really excited about that roster.

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:hihi: :hihi: :hihi:

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Originally Posted by PelsFan2313

My dream/pseudo realistic projection next year:

Bledsoe/Rivers/Roberts
Gordon/Brewer/Mason
Porter/Miller
Davis/Anderson/Young*
Hickson/Smith/Amundson

Defensive nightmare...with cap space to spare.

*Bledsoe trade: Vasquez and Lopez for Bledsoe and LAC 2nd rounder

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Love it

I undoubtedly want Aminu here. I think he is immensely under-appreciated due to strengths being hard to evaluate statistically. If we somehow stumble into a true point-guard that can run this team, then Aminu will flourish. (G. Vasquez is my ideal sixth man cause he can come in for PG and SG) David West wasn't ready to play ball immediately out of Xaview and he went for four years.
If we do loose Aminu, which is apparently the case thanks to loomis dropping the ball on this one, then Martell Webster would undoubtedly be a nice fit. I follow Webster thoroughly and he is pretty strong in every aspect of the game. Despite this, I prefer Aminu's presence defensively especially when AD isn't on the court

Orlando has a glutton of SF's and should rid of one; hence, I'd send Vasquez to dreamland for either Tobias Harris or Moe Harkless and draft
Trey Burke or Marcus Smart while signing another guard via FA

we need to save Larry Sanders next year

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Originally Posted by PelsFan2313

My dream/pseudo realistic projection next year:

Bledsoe/Rivers/Roberts
Gordon/Brewer/Mason
Porter/Miller
Davis/Anderson/Young*
Hickson/Smith/Amundson

Defensive nightmare...with cap space to spare.

*Bledsoe trade: Vasquez and Lopez for Bledsoe and LAC 2nd rounder

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Hickson is 6'9" & we wouldnt have anybody over 245 lbs on the team ! Smith needs to be a stretch 4, not a constant 5 ! We would get annihilated inside against any team with a BULK 5 ! :idoh:
If You are going to rely on Hickson & Smith to hold down the middle, you better get some BEEF at the 4 or 3 ! Speights from Cleveland is a big bruising guy (6'10", 260) (I wasm hopin we would get him out of Memphis) with a sweet 15 foot jump shot . But, weve got no chance on the boards with All legs and arms trying to position in the middle .

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Originally Posted by Tinman

Hickson is 6'9" & we wouldnt have anybody over 245 lbs on the team ! Smith needs to be a stretch 4, not a constant 5 ! We would get annihilated inside against any team with a BULK 5 ! :idoh:

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You need to watch more tape of Hickson.

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Originally Posted by PelsFan2313

My dream/pseudo realistic projection next year:

Bledsoe/Rivers/Roberts
Gordon/Brewer/Mason
Porter/Miller
Davis/Anderson/Young*
Hickson/Smith/Amundson

Defensive nightmare...with cap space to spare.

*Bledsoe trade: Vasquez and Lopez for Bledsoe and LAC 2nd rounder

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With how much CP3 dislikes Vasquez the Clippers would never trade to get him.

I like Hickson a bunch ! He is 6'9" ! He plays a 5 by necessity . He should be a 4 ! He has Aldridge next to him in Portland !

[QUOTE=Purple Haze;1058798]You need to watch more tape of Hickson.[/QUOTE

BTW, I dont watch tape of Hickson . I have seen about 40 of their games, LIVE ! We would have a 6'9" #5 with a rookie and 6'11'" 220 on each side of him . As I said, we would bet destroyed in the paint .

In what way? Rebounding? Hickson gets anything BUT pushed around in the paint.

And if you think that AD is going to be 220 next year I've got some swamp land to sell you ;)

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Originally Posted by Purple Haze

In what way? Rebounding? Hickson gets anything BUT pushed around in the paint.

And if you think that AD is going to be 220 next year I've got some swamp land to sell you ;)

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I'll take the Swampland at the right price.:cool: If you start that line-up, you have an under sized #5, A ROOKIE & a 2nd year player yhat you are expecting to gain 20 lbs or so ! Starting Porter is like waiting another year to rebuild ! Its basically saying "Lets start the rookie & rebuild for next year" We cant win with that starting Front line ! Get me a Paul Milsap or someone with body and rebounding acumen, then I am good to go ! No problem with Hickson on my team at the #5 ! Quite the contrary, but gotta get me a bruiser @ #3 ! Milsap is a natural #4 (actual #5 in college), but pending on the opponent, AD or Milsap can guard the #3 ... Porter will be less than ineffective in his Rookie year ! Natural progression for most Rookies ? With exceptions, of course ! But Porter aint one of em .:nono2:

Isn't AD listed at 220 now?

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Originally Posted by fullcourtpress

Orlando has a glutton of SF's and should rid of one; hence, I'd send Vasquez to dreamland for either Tobias Harris or Moe Harkless and draft
Trey Burke or Marcus Smart while signing another guard via FA

we need to save Larry Sanders next year

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You know, it's funny you mention Sanders. Reading the quote in the other thread where Monty said something about free agents tapping him on the hip saying don't forget about them, I remember when the Hornets were in Milwaukee this season and after the game Sanders went up to Monty and they chatted for a bit. I mean it wasn't just a good job pat on the back and then leave each other. It was at least 30 seconds and the camera stayed with them. I remembered asking myself "Do they know each other? Has he ever played for Monty somewhere? What could they be talking about?"

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Originally Posted by BallSoHard

Isn't AD listed at 220 now?

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yes, thus, we are assumption hunting when we try to add wieght to him ! But,for me, his weight would not be an issue as far as Hickson playing the #5 . I like Hickson, but Porter starting at the #3, I find a bit Silly . Unless, we are still rebuilding for the following year>> Porter wont give you anymore than Chief will !

I'll take a stab at my "dream offseason."

Trade Gordon for Luol Deng
Draft Oladipo
Trade Vasquez+Lopez for Bledsoe
Sign Pekovic
Resign Mason to 1 year deal

Bledsoe/Rivers
Oladipo/Mason
Deng/Miller
Davis/Ryno
Pekovic/Smith

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Originally Posted by greewe

I'll take a stab at my "dream offseason."

Trade Gordon for Luol Deng
Draft Oladipo
Trade Vasquez+Lopez for Bledsoe
Sign Pekovic
Resign Mason to 1 year deal

Bledsoe/Rivers
Oladipo/Mason
Deng/Miller
Davis/Ryno
Pekovic/Smith

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Hard to give 2 very productive starters for a back-up, yet to prove that he is a Viable full time Court leader . Suspect shooting also ! I wouldnt make the straight trade Vasquez for Bledsoe,:shakehd2: much less giving up 2 starters. I Like Pekovic a WHOLE BUNCH ! Dont think I would give up EGO for Deng either ! 29 years old by the time he plays for us . I would be open to giving up EGO for many different players, but i am not sure about Luol .:confused: