Official: 2016 FA Thread

[dontforget]

Sure Conley would like to win but he needs to be realistic. I can't think of one team that becomes an instant contender just by adding him to the roster.

The most obvious fit to me is the Spurs. If Duncan & Ginobli retires, the Spurs could then move an aging Parker to a reserve role off the bench to help maintain him. A core of Conley, Leonard and Alridge would be elite.

[stan francisco]

I haven't seen him play enough to have an opinion, but I trust your judgment, miles.

Bender shoots the three at an even higher clip, plays the 3, 4, 5, is a 7' point forward if you want (imagine what Luke could do with that, but, and it's a big butt but, he's likely not NBA ready yet.

[AcecardZ]

Sure Conley would like to win but he needs to be realistic. I can't think of one team that becomes an instant contender just by adding him to the roster.

The most obvious fit to me is the Spurs. If Duncan & Ginobli retires, the Spurs could then move an aging Parker to a reserve role off the bench to help maintain him. A core of Conley, Leonard and Alridge would be elite.

Of all the teams to forget... The Spurs. You are right, Conley fits in nicely there and they are in need given the ages of their current stars.

If I'm Conley I'd def rather go there than to a budding Lakers team, even a Lakers team with a bunch of young stars, assuming SA has the cap space to pay him what he deserves.

[crazyeights]

Because Myers Leonard can shoot. It's simple as that. 7 feet, athletic, crashes boards, while shooting 39% on threes? He'd be BY FAR our best three point shooter (D'angelo, second at 35%).

The uniqueness of his game, the value of his skills in today's game, while giving up nothing physically?

He has elite attributes. And people, get over the overvaluation of rim protection. You guys are subscribing to a losing strategy. Team defense, pick and roll defense, perimeter defense, and simply offense matter a lot more in today's game. Those are the teams that are winning.

And you guys are getting distracted by blocks and steals - neither necessarily reflect good defense. Steals can come from gambling and exposing your team, rather than staying down, fighting through screens, switching quickly, etc. Blocks don't even necessarily reflect rim protection either. Guys like Marc Gasol, Marvin Williams, Ed Davis, and even Nick Collison rank among the top in rim protection - better than the gaudy blockers like DeAndre Jordan and Hassan Whiteside. And that's also at the root of Dwight Howard's struggles - he is living proof of how the game has evolved beyond his specific, and limited, skills.

I already presented a few links about his defense - there are people much better informed who have delineated Meyer Leonard's defensive skills and potential.

Meyers Leonard is the future, but at the moment, he is that unicorn who gives your team a huge competitive advantage until every other team begins catching up. And they will. Karl Anthony Towns, Porzingis, the Greek Freak, Zhou Qi, Dragan Bender...and more. They're coming, and the game will transform even further.

But you can still emulate a broken model, I guess. Just don't expect to win games.

I disagree that the conversation is still rooted in raw blocks and steals, but I absolutely agree that teams with a traditional rim protector who is a total zero on offense is not winning basketball anymore. I'm curious what you think about Bogut or Adams, however. To me it seems the lesson is you can have a more traditional big man, but you have to have some special scorers around him.

The case of the Clippers, the sheer fact that they can't afford to surround DJ with a legit 3rd option means that they likely won't ever be anything more than a good, but not great team. I think what we're getting at here is a team needs balance.

I like the idea of signing Meyers, as we have Randle/Nance who are not stretch 4s (and may never be, but it's early yet) and that would compensate for the spacing issues that could occur. Hell, we might land Simmons and make a stretch 5 all the more important. I just hope Mitch and Jim see that, because from what I get when (after the lottery) Mitch said we'll still get "big players" he was hinting at a need filled more by the likes of Ezeli/Whiteside/Biyombo....

As far as Meyers goes, how is he more defensively in the pick-and-roll?

[Pointgod]

Sure Conley would like to win but he needs to be realistic. I can't think of one team that becomes an instant contender just by adding him to the roster.

There are at least 20 other teams that can get Conley paid and guarantee that he makes the playoffs. Lakers are going to be a hard sell for free agents this year. Other than maybe guys like Whiteside who want the money and lifestyle and maybe an expanded role in the offense, we can't offer players a better chance to win here than somewhere else.

[AcecardZ]

It'll be hilarious the minute the next Jabbar, Shaq, Ewing or even Tim Duncan come along. Teams will be scrambling to add size to prevent the center from scoring every possession.

When the Lakers had Bynum, Pau and Lamar former Nuggets head coach George Karl used to cry about the Lakers' size and how impossible it was to contend with. I'd like to see a team with three equally talented bigs and a wing like Kobe in today's NBA. I think they'd be really tough to stop.

[ALL HAIL]

Wouldn't a guy like Spencer Hawes be a much safer/cheaper get than Myers Leonard?

With Randle (or Simmons), I agree, the Lakers need a jumpshooting 5, investing huge money in an unproven, injury prone player is extremely risky.

To me, there are much cheaper/safer options out there.

[AcecardZ]

Sure Conley would like to win but he needs to be realistic. I can't think of one team that becomes an instant contender just by adding him to the roster.

There are at least 20 other teams that can get Conley paid and guarantee that he makes the playoffs. Lakers are going to be a hard sell for free agents this year. Other than maybe guys like Whiteside who want the money and lifestyle and maybe an expanded role in the offense, we can't offer players a better chance to win here than somewhere else.

Slow down a minute.

Firstly, please name the twenty teams that can add a PG likely to be paid max or near max $$$.

Secondly, making the playoffs isn't the same as being a contender. Lots of teams make the players with literally zero title equity.


I'm fine with the Lakers not dumping a ton of money guys, like Derozan, just for the sake spending money. Bad contracts are like lead weights around a swimmer's neck. They'll sink a team's chances of ever competing.

This is kind of why I like the thought of bringing in Byombo if he can be had for $10 million a year for two years. He has many flaws but would be an ok starting center now and a great backup/defensive center later without crippling our ability to sign bigger name free agents when they become available.

[The Prodigy]

Because Myers Leonard can shoot. It's simple as that. 7 feet, athletic, crashes boards, while shooting 39% on threes? He'd be BY FAR our best three point shooter (D'angelo, second at 35%).

The uniqueness of his game, the value of his skills in today's game, while giving up nothing physically?

He has elite attributes. And people, get over the overvaluation of rim protection. You guys are subscribing to a losing strategy. Team defense, pick and roll defense, perimeter defense, and simply offense matter a lot more in today's game. Those are the teams that are winning.

And you guys are getting distracted by blocks and steals - neither necessarily reflect good defense. Steals can come from gambling and exposing your team, rather than staying down, fighting through screens, switching quickly, etc. Blocks don't even necessarily reflect rim protection either. Guys like Marc Gasol, Marvin Williams, Ed Davis, and even Nick Collison rank among the top in rim protection - better than the gaudy blockers like DeAndre Jordan and Hassan Whiteside. And that's also at the root of Dwight Howard's struggles - he is living proof of how the game has evolved beyond his specific, and limited, skills.

I already presented a few links about his defense - there are people much better informed who have delineated Meyer Leonard's defensive skills and potential.

Meyers Leonard is the future, but at the moment, he is that unicorn who gives your team a huge competitive advantage until every other team begins catching up. And they will. Karl Anthony Towns, Porzingis, the Greek Freak, Zhou Qi, Dragan Bender...and more. They're coming, and the game will transform even further.

But you can still emulate a broken model, I guess. Just don't expect to win games.

Would you mind reposting those links? From a quick look at the rim protection stats at Nylon Calculus he doesn't look like much of a rim protector in any sense. I also have my doubts about his pick-and-roll defense considering that Portland couldn't stick with him at the four due to him being too slow footed to stay in front of opposing PFs.

[milesfides]

Wouldn't a guy like Spencer Hawes be a much safer/cheaper get than Myers Leonard?

With Randle (or Simmons), I agree, the Lakers need a jumpshooting 5, investing huge money in an unproven, injury prone player is extremely risky.

To me, there are much cheaper/safer options out there.

Spencer Hawes is indeed considered a good shooting big-man. He is a career 35% on threes. Meyers Leonard, a career 39%. The difference between the two is average shooter vs. Kevin Durant behind the line.

Leonard is an excellent 3-point shooter for any position. For a center? He's a unicorn. He'd be the best 3-point shooting center in the NBA. It would be a huge weapon for your offense, and nobody knows this better than Luke Walton.

Meyers Leonard just turned 24, is athletic, and he's been playing behind all-stars or Olympians. He's been slow-played. He's going to blow up when he gets the PT and the opportunity, which is why the Blazers reportedly offered him a huge extension, and also why he rejected it. He's going to blow up.

[ALL HAIL]

Wouldn't a guy like Spencer Hawes be a much safer/cheaper get than Myers Leonard?

With Randle (or Simmons), I agree, the Lakers need a jumpshooting 5, investing huge money in an unproven, injury prone player is extremely risky.

To me, there are much cheaper/safer options out there.

Spencer Hawes is indeed considered a good shooting big-man. He is a career 35% on threes. Meyers Leonard, a career 39%. The difference between the two is average shooter vs. Kevin Durant behind the line.

Leonard is an excellent 3-point shooter for any position. For a center? He's a unicorn. He'd be the best 3-point shooting center in the NBA. It would be a huge weapon for your offense, and nobody knows this better than Luke Walton.

Meyers Leonard just turned 24, is athletic, and he's been playing behind all-stars or Olympians. He's been slow-played. He's going to blow up when he gets the PT and the opportunity, which is why the Blazers reportedly offered him a huge extension, and also why he rejected it. He's going to blow up.

Isn't he injury prone though? It seems like he's always hurt.

[The Skyhook]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/youngwhiteside/status/735293598250438658[/tweet]

[milesfides]

Would you mind reposting those links? From a quick look at the rim protection stats at Nylon Calculus he doesn't look like much of a rim protector in any sense. I also have my doubts about his pick-and-roll defense considering that Portland couldn't stick with him at the four due to him being too slow footed to stay in front of opposing PFs.

First of all, yes, this is why I wouldn't get him to play power forward, when teams are going smaller at that spot. Second, his rim protection numbers this year aren't as good as last year because the Blazers were using him mostly as a stretch four. He always played next to Plumlee and Ed Davis.

But earlier this year, Coach Stotts put him on Demarcus Cousins who had been destroying Plumlee on their earlier matchups. They put Leonard on Cousins - and completely stopped him 4-21 from the field And that was surprising to a lot of people, but he revealed what his role was this year, which was mostly to defend the perimeter.

"I understand that my job is spacing, being on the perimeter for the most part, guarding guys on the perimeter, but when I’m called on to take on another task, another role, I think I really took pride in that.

...I have to know that being physical and being a bigger presence and not only locking into shooting threes or playing on the perimeter, is something I can do and something that can help the team with. It’s good to see that I can tap into that and that I’m capable of that—and I know that, but I just have to do it more often. And again, just simply understand that I’m much more capable of doing many, many things.

http://www.blazersedge.com/2016/1/27/10853834/blazers-meyers-leonard-defense-demarcus-cousins

He's basically saying that he's capable of doing this, he wants to do it, but that's not what his role was.

What's funny is that last year, he was one of the best rim protectors.

It's often been said that when developing young big men, you can mold them into either floor-spacing shooters or rim protectors - it's extremely rare to find a guy who can demonstrate both of those skills at once, so you've just got to pick one. Then again, look at Meyers Leonard's numbers last season and holy crap, he did both things really well.

Offensively, Leonard's efficiency was amazing. He shot 51.0 percent from the field, 42.0 percent from 3 and 93.8 percent from the free throw line. The "50-40-90 club" is elite territory, open only to all-time greats like Durant, Nowitzki, Nash and Bird. The 51-42-93 club? That one's limited to no one ever. Meyers founded it last year, and he was only 23.

Defensively, Leonard took big steps forward as a rim-protecting center. According to SportVU data made publicly available by the NBA last year, he held opponents within 5 feet of the rim to 42.3 percent shooting, making him one of the best paint defenders in the league. That percentage was lower than the rates allowed by Roy Hibbert (42.6 percent), Dwight Howard (45.7), Andre Drummond (48.0) or DeAndre Jordan (48.5). No, I am not kidding.

http://www.blazersedge.com/2015/7/24/9030427/portland-trail-blazers-future-core-lillard-mccollum-leonard-plumlee-vonleh-aminu-harkless?_ga=1.202523605.51898059.1435279920

So the answer is simple. When the Blazers had LaMarcus Aldridge, Leonard played center, and he was one of the league's best rim protectors. When Aldridge left, they tried to make him a stretch four, so he's out there chasing stretch fours. But when the team needed him to stop guys like Marc Gasol ('15 playoffs) or Demarcus Cousins, they sicced Leonard on them. And he DID A PHENOMENAL JOB TOO with individual defense, so much so that both those guys tried to punch him.

He's a tough, confident kid who doesn't back down from anybody.

So the answer is so simple. Put him at center. Nobody can match up with his skills. Done.

[The Prodigy]

Would you mind reposting those links? From a quick look at the rim protection stats at Nylon Calculus he doesn't look like much of a rim protector in any sense. I also have my doubts about his pick-and-roll defense considering that Portland couldn't stick with him at the four due to him being too slow footed to stay in front of opposing PFs.

First of all, yes, this is why I wouldn't get him to play power forward, when teams are going smaller at that spot. Second, his rim protection numbers this year aren't as good as last year because the Blazers were using him mostly as a stretch four. He always played next to Plumlee and Ed Davis.

But earlier this year, Coach Stotts put him on Demarcus Cousins who had been destroying Plumlee on their earlier matchups. They put Leonard on Cousins - and completely stopped him 4-21 from the field And that was surprising to a lot of people, but he revealed what his role was this year, which was mostly to defend the perimeter.

"I understand that my job is spacing, being on the perimeter for the most part, guarding guys on the perimeter, but when I’m called on to take on another task, another role, I think I really took pride in that.

...I have to know that being physical and being a bigger presence and not only locking into shooting threes or playing on the perimeter, is something I can do and something that can help the team with. It’s good to see that I can tap into that and that I’m capable of that—and I know that, but I just have to do it more often. And again, just simply understand that I’m much more capable of doing many, many things.

http://www.blazersedge.com/2016/1/27/10853834/blazers-meyers-leonard-defense-demarcus-cousins

He's basically saying that he's capable of doing this, he wants to do it, but that's not what his role was.

What's funny is that last year, he was one of the best rim protectors.

It's often been said that when developing young big men, you can mold them into either floor-spacing shooters or rim protectors - it's extremely rare to find a guy who can demonstrate both of those skills at once, so you've just got to pick one. Then again, look at Meyers Leonard's numbers last season and holy crap, he did both things really well.

Offensively, Leonard's efficiency was amazing. He shot 51.0 percent from the field, 42.0 percent from 3 and 93.8 percent from the free throw line. The "50-40-90 club" is elite territory, open only to all-time greats like Durant, Nowitzki, Nash and Bird. The 51-42-93 club? That one's limited to no one ever. Meyers founded it last year, and he was only 23.

Defensively, Leonard took big steps forward as a rim-protecting center. According to SportVU data made publicly available by the NBA last year, he held opponents within 5 feet of the rim to 42.3 percent shooting, making him one of the best paint defenders in the league. That percentage was lower than the rates allowed by Roy Hibbert (42.6 percent), Dwight Howard (45.7), Andre Drummond (48.0) or DeAndre Jordan (48.5). No, I am not kidding.

http://www.blazersedge.com/2015/7/24/9030427/portland-trail-blazers-future-core-lillard-mccollum-leonard-plumlee-vonleh-aminu-harkless?_ga=1.202523605.51898059.1435279920

So the answer is simple. When the Blazers had LaMarcus Aldridge, Leonard played center, and he was one of the league's best rim protectors. When Aldridge left, they tried to make him a stretch four, so he's out there chasing stretch fours. But when the team needed him to stop guys like Marc Gasol ('15 playoffs) or Demarcus Cousins, they sicced Leonard on them. And he DID A PHENOMENAL JOB TOO with individual defense, so much so that both those guys tried to punch him.

He's a tough, confident kid who doesn't back down from anybody.

So the answer is so simple. Put him at center. Nobody can match up with his skills. Done.

His 2014-2015 opposing FG% at the rim was very good. However, it was a small sample. I tried getting rim protection stats for his previous seasons but wasn't able to find it.

I remain skeptical of his ability to be a viable defensive center but he might be worth rolling the dice. His shooting stroke is for real.

[Fresh360Waves]

I honestly see most top tier free agents staying with their teams.

Derozan, Kevin Durant, and LeBron are staying with their respective teams because they've all made it to their conference finals.

Since GSW is not getting Durant, they'll resign both Barnes and Ezeli.

Drummond, Fournier, and Beal are restricted and not going anywhere.

Word is that Batum is most likely staying in Charlotte.

That leaves Mike Conley, Al Horford, and Rondo.

I think Rondo or Conley go to the Knicks, the other will go to Sacramento.

Horford goes to Houston, NYK, or Boston?

I think a realistic free agent the Lakers will try to sign would be Whiteside, Bismack Biyombo, or Miles Plumlee

I think Rondo could possibly go to the Knicks w/ Conley to the Spurs. Kings could very well draft Kris Dunn since Nuggets don't need him, Pelicans I doubt it, Phoenix no, Minnesota who knows. I think Horford will go to Boston or stay in ATL. No on Whiteside, Biyombo, or Plumlee.

[Fresh360Waves]

leonard's an RFA? hed be a great pairing for either randle or simmons.

POR has a few players hitting that RFA status this summer, so chances are the wont keep them all (crab, harkless, and leonard?). Harkless is another decent pick up. nice defender, low usage rate, rebounds, can stretch teh floor, but also likes easy gimme's by the paint.

i mean, hes not a 2, but he can defend them. so a russel, harkless, ingram backcourt is a legthy and intriguing one

Harkless would be a 3-4, but the prroblem is, regardless of his position, he's a poor 3-point shooter. He shot a sexy 38% his second year, but besides that, he's been awful (28% this season, 18%! Before that).

Harkless had some good moments, as did Aminu, but he's part of the reason why the Blazers lost against the Warriors. They just weren't good enough at the forward spots. They were outclassed.

Another reason why if I'm the Blazers, I'm letting Meyers Leonard walk, passing on Dwight Howard, and going after Kevin Durant or convincing Nicholas Batum to come back into the fold.

Yeah I don't see Batum coming back and I don't see POR wanting to pay him 20+ mil per either. Isn't that partly the reason why he was traded last offseason? LMA left and they knew he was going to go into a contract yr demanding a big pay day? POR will most likely match offers for Crabbe and Leonard and I think that's probably it. I think they'll wait until next summer to make a splash.

[stan francisco]

It'll be hilarious the minute the next Jabbar, Shaq, Ewing or even Tim Duncan come along. Teams will be scrambling to add size to prevent the center from scoring every possession.

When the Lakers had Bynum, Pau and Lamar former Nuggets head coach George Karl used to cry about the Lakers' size and how impossible it was to contend with. I'd like to see a team with three equally talented bigs and a wing like Kobe in today's NBA. I think they'd be really tough to stop.

Exactly. Enter the next Shaq and all small ball teams will start rehauling their midget rosters. Bynum, Pau, Odom was my kind of front line. In fact, they'd be good enough to kick butt in the league now, too, or any other time.

I've suggested Randle at the three many times because of this very same thought — dominating by size. PG Russell, SG Ingram/PG13, SF Randle, PF Bass, C Whiteside.

[TylersLakers]

I'm glad that Durant is about to win. We had virtually no shot at him anyways. Hopefully this will stop the Lakers from monkeying around and go and prioritize other free agents that have a chance to sign with us.

[dontforget]

I honestly see most top tier free agents staying with their teams.

Derozan, Kevin Durant, and LeBron are staying with their respective teams because they've all made it to their conference finals.

Since GSW is not getting Durant, they'll resign both Barnes and Ezeli.

I can potentially see DeRozan as the type of guy that would be willing to walk away from Toronto to come play for his hometown team for max dollars. But if I'm a betting man, I think he re-ups in Toronto. It looks like his embracing the love of Canada. However, that will probably mean Biyombo is definitely out since the Raptors are already high on Jonas Valanciunas

Barnes, however, is a different story. I don't think he wants to continue being the 4th option with the GSW. I think he wants to have his "own" team. People forget he was the No.1 high school recruit of the class of 2010. He had stardom written all over him. I think in his mind he believes he's ready to be a star or even superstar and that just wont happen with the GSW. And what better place for him to do that with his former coach, a system he will be familiar with, in a big-time market, and with a budding core to grow around him. And for big time money.

I don't see Festus Ezeli leaving GSW. He's their starting C next year and is exactly the type of big they want. They wont let him get away.

Barnes + Whiteside/Biyombo is a very real and very nice fit. At 23, Barnes and Biyombo both are young budding stars who would fit in and grow with our young and budding core. Additionally, despite being young they will provide valuable playoff experience down the line.

[AcecardZ]

We'll be in serious trouble if we commit too much money to Barnes. There's a reason he doesn't play a bigger role with GS and I don't see any circumstance under which he's worth near max $$$.

The last thing we need is to be locked into paying max dollars to an average player for 4 or 5 years.