Trade over FA Signing?

Most of the focus (understandably) has been who the Pels will target in free agency with their $32 million + in cap space. But Griff said before the draft that his focus was on using part of his bounty from the AD trade to land an All-Star or near future All-Star to go with his roster of young, promising talent.

That's may be hard to do in Free Agency. Top Tier Free agents are either hurt, super expensive or not really interested in coming to a young team that's years away from contending.

But the Pels seems to have been engaged in some fairly serious trade talks before the draft and can we say for sure that these talks aren't ongoing and might not be a better use of our cap space, especially if some teams are looking to dump contracts in order to remake their rosters? Granted, these types of trades are easier (and cheaper) to make in season at the trade deadline when teams have given up hope for the year, but Griff may not want to wait that long to make his move. So who might be on a short list of good fits for Griff's priorities? Let's take a look:

1. Myles Turner, C/PF Pacers. Remaining Contract: 4 years/$72 million
-Indiana's 23-year-old big man is a player on the rise, averaging 13 points, 6.5 boards and 2 blocks per game while shooting 36% from distance. His fit would seem perfect for the Pels, but why would the Pacer's trade him? It seems odd they drafted Goga when they were already having trouble finding minutes for Turner and their other young big, Domantas Saboins. Could either Turner or Sabonis be gettable? I'm curious. Speaking of which...

2. Domantas Sabonis, C/PF Pacers. Remaining Contract 2 years/$7.2 million
-Sabonis isn't the defensive presence that Turner is, but his offense and rebounding are impressive. At 23 he could form a potent offense/defense pairing with Hayes down the line. Again, seems unlikely Pacers would trade him, but they are crowded in the front court.

3. Kevin Love., C/PF Cavaliers Remaining Contract 4 years/$120 million
-Yikes. Where to start? We know Griffin loves Love and he is a big man with skill. But he clearly seems to be declining and his remaining contract is massive. I get that he would be a good locker room vet and a capable pro who can rebound and hit the 3 at a pretty good clip (37% career), but his contract is Eric Gordon like in terms of its ability to handcuff the franchise going forward. He's just not worth it.

4. Blake Griffin PF/C Pistons Remaining Contract 3 years/$110 million
-In terms of on court fit, Griffin might be ideal. Still an elite athlete he's expanded his offensive game as his career has gone along. Not a great defender but his style of play would blend in with what the Pels want to do. Still, he comes at a pretty high price and I wonder if would really be content to another team to be a second or third wheel.

5. Clint Capela C Rockets Remaining Contract 4 years/$66 million
-Capela's deal isn't horrible and obviously the Pels drafted a center in Hayes who is himself very Capela-like. You could make a case to trade for Clint to play the role you envision Hayes playing in 2 or 3 years when Capela's deal is up. Word is the Rockets were willing to deal him before the draft, but that may have changed if the Rocket's think they can keep their squad together and make a run in the Warrior-less west next year. He also doesn't fit with Griff's desire to get an All Star level player. Capela is good, but in a limited role and couldn't stay on the court against the Warriors, which might give us pause.

6. Aaron Gordon SF/PF Magic Remaining Contract 3 years/$54.4 million
-A bit of a wild card option, but I think Gordon is better suited to playing PF or small ball center rather than small forward where the Magic have been trying to force him. He and Zion would obviously form a young, super-athletic front court with a lot of potential, but I'm not sure on whether they'd step on each other's toes. Also don't know what it would take to pry Gordon loose from the Magic. Quite a bit, I'd imagine.

I'm not advocating making any of these moves. Part of me thinks the Pels should see how this team plays first, and maybe look at making a move at the deadline, if it makes sense then. I wouldn't mind seeing what Okafor could do as a starting center. He was obviously a top 3 pick a few years ago and he showed good offensive skills for us last year in extended minutes. He doesn't really fit what we do, but he may have enough talent to adjust his game. If players like Serge Ibaka and Brooke Lopez can add a three point shot, there's hope for any big...

Would you trade for any of the above...or anyone else?

Griff also said, and this seems to be the part that everyone either misses or just ignores, that the focus on an all-star was less important if the quality of the draft picks increased, and vice versa. And since we got an absolute thieving haul of draft picks, it's likely that Griff's hunt for an all-star isn't priority number one at the moment.

As for the players you listed there are very few I'm interested in. The tactic I prefer, in terms of trading, is not to trade for an established ''star'' who would want to win now and who eats up cap long term, but instead to trade for good but overpaid players and get assets in return for taking them off a team's hands. So here's my view on each proposed trade target:

Myles Turner: I like him a lot and he fits both our timeline and our needs. Whether or not I'd trade for him depends on what Indiana would want in return, but he would definitely be someone I'd be happy to give up a fair amount of stuff for. Wouldn't be interested if it required a king's ransom though

Domantas Sabonis: My view of Sabonis is fairly similar to Turner. He doesn't fit our needs quite as well because he isn't the shooter that Turner is, nor is he the rim protector, but he is a very good young big who has incredible passing feel. Similar principle as with Turner: if it required us to give up stupid assets (like 3 firsts plus players, for example) then I wouldn't be interested, but if he could be had for a decent price I'd be intrigued.

Kevin Love: I'm with you on this one. Nope, nope, nope nope nope, nope.

Blake Griffin: Nope, nope, nope. Extremely expensive player who is still on contract for a long time. He's good, but he's not a difference maker in reality and never has been, that's part of why he's never succeeded in the playoffs despite being on several good times. Essentially, he's good but he's not $39m at the age of 34 good, which is what you'll be paying him if you take him on. Also, as you said, not a great defender and is actually a little more ball dominant than I'd want.

Clint Capela: Not interested. He's an extremely limited player. I'm actually of the belief that Hayes could do what 80% of what Capela does as a rookie, and he wouldn't cost us $17 million to do it. Not to mention, Capela's contract would sit on the books until the 2023 free agency, essentially hamstringing out ability to make a splash in 2021 or 2022, and the Rockets don't exactly have assets to attach to him to sweeten the deal.

Aaron Gordon: I've seen a lot of talk on this one, and honestly while I understand the arguments in favour, I just don't feel it. He does nothing to excite me, his contract isn't terrible but it's not exactly a bargain either, he's kind of whatever on defense, and while people constantly try and tell me he stretches the floor, his career high is 34%. He's not a non-threat from outside but he's hardly some sniper. I wouldn't be angry if we did this deal but it does nothing for me, personally.

The guy who I've heard a lot about recently and who I'm warming to more and more is Steven Adams. The Thunder are in salary cap hell, and would likely accept a deal that got them off his contract if they could get a shooter back, and I'd be happy to send them Moore for Adams. Yes, Adams is getting paid $25m per, but he's only on a 2 year deal so by the time the 2021 free agency class comes around he'd be coming off the books, and during that time he would be a great figure both for the locker room and as a mentor to Hayes.

While it's true that Hayes projects as a different kind of player, particularly on offense, than Adams, Adams is a master of the big man fundamentals: screen setting, boxing out, clogging lanes, etc. Hayes could learn a lot from him in that regard, and it probably wouldn't hurt to have them in the gym together: Hayes and Adams are both the same height, but Adams has about 45lbs of weight over Hayes and I think there's real potential for Hayes to add 25 or 30lbs without losing his athleticism or speed.

Turner was my number one guy, but if we didn’t get him during draft day, I don’t presume we’ll get him now. They probably had him up for a king’s ransom and we weren’t willing to pay. I’m all for Adams if they just want to get him off the books. He’s actually a very solid big (obviously on a big contract, but he expires at the right time). Adams would give us a solid starting 5 whilst giving us flexibility long term. Win win

Forgot about the Big Kiwi! He doesn't fit our style of play well at all and is zero threat from outside...but he's a very good center. Physical, does the dirty work, plays hard, a pro. Plus he's young and the two years left on his deal fits the bill. He would absolutely help you win games. Interesting. Would you take Schroeder with him to back up Ball? We might squeeze in both if we sent Moore back in the deal...

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Originally Posted by new city champ

Forgot about the Big Kiwi! He doesn't fit our style of play well at all and is zero threat from outside...but he's a very good center. Physical, does the dirty work, plays hard, a pro. Plus he's young and the two years left on his deal fits the bill. He would absolutely help you win games. Interesting. Would you take Schroeder with him to back up Ball? We might squeeze in both if we sent Moore back in the deal...

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He fits better than you might think. He's not a playmaker but he's a very capable and willing passer, a good defender who can guard down (not 1 through 5, but he can guard some threes as well as big men), and the Thunder played at the 6th fastest pace in the NBA last season so it's not like he can't be part of a running team. Yeah, it would be nice if he could shoot, but neither Sabonis nor Capela are threats to shoot either, and yet you listed them just fine.

He would help us win games, sure, but that's not even my main point. My main point is that I feel like we could get assets back from it (possibly a top 15 protected first, or 2 seconds?) as a result of taking on the bad contract and saving the Thunder pretty much $17m + the associated luxury tax hit, and that he would be a fantastic mentor for Hayes.

Like you said, physical, does the dirty work, plays hard. Also just finished in the top five for the Best Teammate award, so it's pretty clear he's considered a good locker room presence in general. One of those experienced vets (has never missed the playoffs in his career) who does everything right.

I'm not a fan of Schroeder, and if we took him back we'd be forced to send out additional assets or cut guys because we don't have the cap to take back both Adams' and Schroeder's contracts.

You're probably right that, if we go the trade route, the smart play is to get an asset back along with a competent player from a team that needs cap space. Two birds with one stone and we don't need to worry about longterm fit right away.

Bojan Bogdanovic. https://www.basketball-reference.com...bogdabo02.html

This guy...lets go