2024 Offseason Thread

[JustBuzzin]

One of the big challenges that faces the team right now, is how do we make Grant Williams and Miles Bridges work together?

I value both guys, they are both big pieces moving forward but we have seen the challenges of trying to play small with them at the 4/5 together. Clifford has done a good job of playing big with Bertans, Poku logging more minutes on the wing but is that a longterm answer? Do we play more Miles at the 3 next year? We haven't done that much this year because we lack front court depth right now.

Both players deserve more mins than just splitting the majority of their time at the 4.

What do you think about a Bridges for Ingram sign n trade this off-season?

Ingram is a Carolina kid, another wing in the mold of Miller yeah he has trouble staying healthy, but he's played 60+ games this year. He also gives us a secondary playmaker when Melo is on the bench.

[JMAC3]

One of the big challenges that faces the team right now, is how do we make Grant Williams and Miles Bridges work together?

I value both guys, they are both big pieces moving forward but we have seen the challenges of trying to play small with them at the 4/5 together. Clifford has done a good job of playing big with Bertans, Poku logging more minutes on the wing but is that a longterm answer? Do we play more Miles at the 3 next year? We haven't done that much this year because we lack front court depth right now.

Both players deserve more mins than just splitting the majority of their time at the 4.

What do you think about a Bridges for Ingram sign n trade this off-season?

Ingram is a Carolina kid, another wing in the mold of Miller yeah he has trouble staying healthy, but he's played 60+ games this year. He also gives us a secondary playmaker when Melo is on the bench.

Ingram is fine, but he is going to demand a much bigger payday then Bridges and he is also set to be an unrestricted free agent the following summer. I also think Pelicans would want at least a future first in the deal too so it's not something that I am dying to do. Would make our PF position pretty weak over night as Grant Williams is a a very very lowend starter.

[Rich4114]

One of the big challenges that faces the team right now, is how do we make Grant Williams and Miles Bridges work together?

I value both guys, they are both big pieces moving forward but we have seen the challenges of trying to play small with them at the 4/5 together. Clifford has done a good job of playing big with Bertans, Poku logging more minutes on the wing but is that a longterm answer? Do we play more Miles at the 3 next year? We haven't done that much this year because we lack front court depth right now.

Both players deserve more mins than just splitting the majority of their time at the 4.

We need another big, of not two. In an ideal world, Miles can split time between SF and PF and Grant doesn't need to play anything but PF off the bench. The roster has been neglected from a position and balance standpoint for several years now. New front office needs to finally fix it.

[JMAC3]

Assuming we resign Bridges....

PG Melo (32)- Micic (16)- NSJ
SG Martin (24)- Mann (20)- Curry
SF- Miller (32)- Bertans (8) - Poku (8)
PF- Miles Bridges (30)- Grant (18)
C- Mark (26)- Richards (22)- Nnaji

14 Roster spots+ Top 5 rookie

Waive Thor (unguaranteed)
Waive McGowens (unguaranteed)

Micic, Curry, Bertans all as older Vets.

[Rich4114]

Assuming we resign Bridges....

PG Melo (32)- Micic (16)- NSJ
SG Martin (24)- Mann (20)- Curry
SF- Miller (32)- Bertans (8) - Poku (8)
PF- Miles Bridges (30)- Grant (18)
C- Mark (26)- Richards (22)- Nnaji

14 Roster spots+ Top 5 rookie

Waive Thor (unguaranteed)
Waive McGowens (unguaranteed)

Micic, Curry, Bertans all as older Vets.

We'd be fighting for the last play-in spot unless we add to the guard and front court rotation with quality NBA level players.

[JMAC3]

Assuming we resign Bridges....

PG Melo (32)- Micic (16)- NSJ
SG Martin (24)- Mann (20)- Curry
SF- Miller (32)- Bertans (8) - Poku (8)
PF- Miles Bridges (30)- Grant (18)
C- Mark (26)- Richards (22)- Nnaji

14 Roster spots+ Top 5 rookie

Waive Thor (unguaranteed)
Waive McGowens (unguaranteed)

Micic, Curry, Bertans all as older Vets.

If we take Sarr, he takes Richards mins.
If we take Risacher he takes some of Mann/Poku mins
If we take Holland/Matas/Williams he takes Poku and Bertans mins
If we take Topic/Castle he takes some of Mann/Micic mins

[Rich4114]

Assuming we resign Bridges....

PG Melo (32)- Micic (16)- NSJ
SG Martin (24)- Mann (20)- Curry
SF- Miller (32)- Bertans (8) - Poku (8)
PF- Miles Bridges (30)- Grant (18)
C- Mark (26)- Richards (22)- Nnaji

14 Roster spots+ Top 5 rookie

Waive Thor (unguaranteed)
Waive McGowens (unguaranteed)

Micic, Curry, Bertans all as older Vets.

If we take Sarr, he takes Richards mins.
If we take Risacher he takes some of Mann/Poku mins
If we take Holland/Matas/Williams he takes Poku and Bertans mins
If we take Topic/Castle he takes some of Mann/Micic mins

OK then I want Sarr the most

[JMAC3]

Assuming we resign Bridges....

PG Melo (32)- Micic (16)- NSJ
SG Martin (24)- Mann (20)- Curry
SF- Miller (32)- Bertans (8) - Poku (8)
PF- Miles Bridges (30)- Grant (18)
C- Mark (26)- Richards (22)- Nnaji

14 Roster spots+ Top 5 rookie

Waive Thor (unguaranteed)
Waive McGowens (unguaranteed)

Micic, Curry, Bertans all as older Vets.

If we take Sarr, he takes Richards mins.
If we take Risacher he takes some of Mann/Poku mins
If we take Holland/Matas/Williams he takes Poku and Bertans mins
If we take Topic/Castle he takes some of Mann/Micic mins

OK then I want Sarr the most

Yeah I just don't see Sarr getting mins over Bridges/Grant in the rotation, he would have to be playing mainly center which is probably his longterm position.

[Rich4114]

If we take Sarr, he takes Richards mins.
If we take Risacher he takes some of Mann/Poku mins
If we take Holland/Matas/Williams he takes Poku and Bertans mins
If we take Topic/Castle he takes some of Mann/Micic mins

OK then I want Sarr the most

Yeah I just don't see Sarr getting mins over Bridges/Grant in the rotation, he would have to be playing mainly center which is probably his longterm position.

I just feel very strongly that Richards is not a player you can win games with playing anything more than 4-8 mins per game. As C2, he'd still need to play 15-20 so I think it's imperative we find a new backup C who could start without a huge drop off. Whether that is through the draft (Sarr or the UCONN guy) or free agency is yet to be seen. But if we go into 24-25 with Richards playing a key role, RIP to our record.

[JMAC3]

OK then I want Sarr the most

Yeah I just don't see Sarr getting mins over Bridges/Grant in the rotation, he would have to be playing mainly center which is probably his longterm position.

I just feel very strongly that Richards is not a player you can win games with playing anything more than 4-8 mins per game. As C2, he'd still need to play 15-20 so I think it's imperative we find a new backup C who could start without a huge drop off. Whether that is through the draft (Sarr or the UCONN guy) or free agency is yet to be seen. But if we go into 24-25 with Richards playing a key role, RIP to our record.

If you look at EPM Richards grades out the same or better as guys like Portis, Theis, Zach Collins, Thomas Bryant, Biyombo, Eubanks, Deandre Jordan, Jaylin Williams...

He definitely has struggled as a starter, but I think we are overrating how good a backup center should be.

We could try to throw some MLE money at Goga, Tillman type but I think spending a top 5 pick on a center to be roughly the same level of good as Mark Williams is probably a waste.

[Bassman]

Right now we have two key players who cannot get healthy, despite months of efforts. Mark’s back is a major concern if it is STILL not allowing him to soft practice or workout to gain strength. Nobody knows what he’s actually able to do but no one in the press has seen him at organized practice to my knowledge. Melo has recurring ankle issues that may be chronic. Until we have these situations fixed, we can’t assume either or both will be key parts of our rotation next season.

I think it’s very possible our FO will pick either a PG (Topic) or C (Clingan) due to this very problem.

[JMAC3]

Clingham has injury history apparently as well

[JustBuzzin]

I have seen mocks with Clingham in the late 1st early 2nd round. Crazy we discussing him as a top 5 pick.

[fatlever]

I have seen mocks with Clingham in the late 1st early 2nd round. Crazy we discussing him as a top 5 pick.

well... givony from espn has him at #3... so that's why. givony is one of the most respected draft analysts in the biz.

other big boards (not mocks)
tankathon #6
ringer by KOC #3
bleacher by wasserman (this is a mock, but included because wasserman is highly respected) #5

so... it's not a crazy take, at this point. big boards that have been updated in past 2 weeks show the movement of clingan moving up. obv, not all big boards agree, but plenty of the bigger sites have moved him up into hornets range.

[JustBuzzin]

I have seen mocks with Clingham in the late 1st early 2nd round. Crazy we discussing him as a top 5 pick.

well... givony from espn has him at #3... so that's why. givony is one of the most respected draft analysts in the biz.

other big boards (not mocks)
tankathon #6
ringer by KOC #3
bleacher by wasserman (this is a mock, but included because wasserman is highly respected) #5

so... it's not a crazy take, at this point. big boards that have been updated in past 2 weeks show the movement of clingan moving up. obv, not all big boards agree, but plenty of the bigger sites have moved him up into hornets range.

Yeah I'm not high on Clingham at all. I mean if we talking late 1st Rd sure, but drafting top 5 for depth is crazy.

I think we need to wait to see how Mark's back responds next season before we look at replacements. I think we can add a backup center in FA.

[fatlever]

I hear ya... but clingan might be a better prospect than Mark. Mark has "bone" issues in back, per cliff yesterday. Even so, mark is never gonna be a 35mpg guy. He's 24mpg type, due to his size. And he's gonna miss games. It's not outrageous to want 48 mins of a mark level rim protection behind our shaky guards.

Not ideal situation with that pick, but hedging mark with another mark level prospect wouldn't be awful use of pick.

That's my devils advocate response, partly due to the trauma of having nick Richard's as the only center all year.



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[JDR720]

Probably a herniated disc or something.

[JDR720]

I hear ya... but clingan might be a better prospect than Mark. Mark has "bone" issues in back, per cliff yesterday. Even so, mark is never gonna be a 35mpg guy. He's 24mpg type, due to his size. And he's gonna miss games. It's not outrageous to want 48 mins of a mark level rim protection behind our shaky guards.

Not ideal situation with that pick, but hedging mark with another mark level prospect wouldn't be awful use of pick.

That's my devils advocate response, partly due to the trauma of having nick Richard's as the only center all year.



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I hear the Pistons have someone called Jaylen Durant or something like that.

[Diop]

Assuming we resign Bridges....

PG Melo (32)- Micic (16)- NSJ
SG Martin (24)- Mann (20)- Curry
SF- Miller (32)- Bertans (8) - Poku (8)
PF- Miles Bridges (30)- Grant (18)
C- Mark (26)- Richards (22)- Nnaji

14 Roster spots+ Top 5 rookie

Waive Thor (unguaranteed)
Waive McGowens (unguaranteed)

Micic, Curry, Bertans all as older Vets.

If we take Sarr, he takes Richards mins.
If we take Risacher he takes some of Mann/Poku mins
If we take Holland/Matas/Williams he takes Poku and Bertans mins
If we take Topic/Castle he takes some of Mann/Micic mins

Sarr isn’t taking Richard’s spot, his size is more poku, he’s more a 4

[Rich4114]

I hear ya... but clingan might be a better prospect than Mark. Mark has "bone" issues in back, per cliff yesterday. Even so, mark is never gonna be a 35mpg guy. He's 24mpg type, due to his size. And he's gonna miss games. It's not outrageous to want 48 mins of a mark level rim protection behind our shaky guards.

Not ideal situation with that pick, but hedging mark with another mark level prospect wouldn't be awful use of pick.

That's my devils advocate response, partly due to the trauma of having nick Richard's as the only center all year.



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That's my logic. I'd be happy if we resolved C or PG depth in this draft even if we don't draft someone who is a starter year one. There are spots available on this roster to easily land SG1 or C1 though. Mark is a huge question mark, arguably more so than LaMelo. And if we can never play another season with Nick Richards playing meaningful minutes then that's a very good thing.