NBA 2023 Draft

[Whole Truth]

Houston's package would also entail cap savings as they won't have the salaries to match but the cap space to offer.

I'd target Green in free agency & utilize him at the 4. Use him as a 5 only in certain matchups to prolong his health & stamina. This way if Jabari is a potential target with Houston, Pels would have a veteran presence besides Nance to help the loss at the PF position.

With Jonas reaching the down side of his career. Draft Lively at #14 for rim protection & upside.

PF/C rotation in trading Zion for Jabari +, signing Green in free agency & drafting Lively at #14 ..

Jonas/#4 Lively - small ball - (Green/Nance/Smith)
Green/Smith - Nance/Smith - Vetern + potential

All of Green, Smith & Nance capable of playing small ball 5
Lively at #14 fill the need for rim protection & upside at C for future health in Jonas potential absence. Cheap backup option to a maxed out cap situation.

As Pels found out running Nance in that role full time lhealth & stamina was an issue. With all 3 of Smith/Nance & Green sharing minutes in small ball roles with varying skillsets & personality gives the team alot of versatility for all the talent lost in moving Zion ... as well, with the depth & versatility added, the best ability, availability.

Lots of combinations Pels can run at the 4/5 with those players with Jonas taking the grunt work at the 5.

[Whole Truth]

This draft supposedly drops off into another teir after 3.

If Pels can trade Zion for say (Smith, KJ Johnson, #4, cap space, Nets pick/s)

What would it take for Pels to combine #4 with to get into the #2 range & for Charlotte to prefer Cam over Miller if Portland takes their rumored preferred target at 3 ?

Mavs have a rumored preference/interest for KJ, Pels could jump from 14 to 10 flipping KJ to the Mavs.

[Whole Truth]

For those that won't read through a long winded post -

On the previous page I make mention that Houston is trying to trade up with Charlotte, who is now rumored to a Scoot.over Miller selection.

For me the fact Houston is trying for Scoot, validates the Zion interest & inclusion in trade talks.

Question is, if Charlotte is taking Scoot to trade down for additional assets, would they risk losing Miller at 3 for say Cam + from Houston.who have better overall assets than Portland.. especially if Charlotte want a or FRP/s

[Whole Truth]

Houston have a lot of jumbled talent that led to a last placed finish. They look like they attempting to take a swing at the fence with ample assets to survive the risk.

[Whole Truth]

Houston also rumored to be trying to trade up with Mavs to 10.

The Athletic's Kelly Iko suggested a trade that would send KJ Martin, Jae'Sean Tate and the No. 20 pick to the Dallas Mavericks for the No. 10 pick and Tim Hardaway Jr.

A team like Houston who's holding the #4 pick & a ton of young talent already on roster. That move from 20-10 using KJ & tate gives them 2 top 10 picks. Does #4 & #10 move any needles concerning them jumpring from 4 to 2 ?

Maybe #10 is for Pels & the Pels include #14 with ZIon. Charlote also get a FRP either from Houston or Pels.

Pels trade - (Zion, #14 ?) for (Cap space, Smith, #2 Scoot, (#10 Lively), Nets FRP)

Charlotte trade - (#2 Scoot) for (#4 Cam, #10 or 14 ?, FRP)

Houston trade -(Smith, #4, Tate, KJ, #20, Nets FRP/s) for (Zion #14 ?)

[Whole Truth]

No big trade & not htat it matters but I love the Hawkins pick & the Robbins addition. I actually like this selection more than Daniels last year. Not to knock Daniels obvious talent but Hawkins is a much better fitting piece.

Projections on Steph Curry’s draft stock ranged from high lottery to mid-first round. Sorry, I meant Hawkins

I'm not sure how many people remember how bad Curry's draft report was..

At 6’1” and 185 pounds, they thought Curry wasn't strong enough to compete with NBA guards. He also struggled in college at times against long-armed defenders, which the pro level is full of..

Hawkins 6'4" and 184 pounds. Is a very good volume motion shooters with similar defensive question marks, buttery stroke & quick release. Curry benefited from Klays gravity in the backcourt. With Zion's playmaking & gravity...

I'll just leave it at.. I love the pick. As well as the Robbins addition.

A+ draft night for me.

[NO-KG-AI]

I'm good with not overpaying with future assets that we might need, just for the sake of trying to appease fans after a disappointing season. I'd have probably swung for higher upside, but I do think Hawkins is a good solid pick, and someone that can fit with basically anyone on the team. Movement shooters are a lot more special and rare than their %'s indicate sometimes.

[Whole Truth]

lol I keep seeing Pels fans say they can't be serious contenders with Jonas when he''s the only one on roster that has made the Semi & confrence finals.

The year he made the conference finals with the Raptors. Biz defense was cheaply backing him up. Jonas was a key player in Raptors beating Paul George Pacers & Wade's Heat. He was injured in the ECFs where Raptors lost to Lebron James Cavs who also by the way, beat Curry's prime Warriors in the finals.

This notion that the Pels can't win with Jonas is well, lol. If not for Jonas Pels would have not been a borderline PO team the past 2 seasons with all the injuries suffered. Jonas has only missed the PO's twice in his long career, both PI losses, having been traded to 2 non PO rosters in a 22 win Memphis squad in place of their franshice big man Gasol & Pels squad with 2 stars perpetually injured, No Zion yr 1 in the PI win & multiple injuries yr 2 in the PI loss.

He's a minutes eater at the very least at a demanding position. As I stated last yr, Nance would get injured playing the postion under a heavy workload, which he did. NO's just need to bridge that gap if they cannot land a young replacement for Jonas as rumored with Allen as a potential target.

Jonas besides being production value at 15m , He's also a no fuss player for flexibility & usage.

All that to say it makes sense to look for a young replacement for the expiring vet but very little to actively shop him. A cheap rim protecting, rim running backup should be sufficient enough to eat the minutes between Jonas & keeping Nance healthy from wear & tear..

[Whole Truth]

Look at the teams depth chart & tell me what stands out.

C - Jonas 15m (expiring) - Hermangomez
PF - Zion - Nance - Hayes - EJ
SF - BI - Murphy - Herb - Temple
SG - CJ 30m 3yrs - Riichardson - Daniels/Hawkins
PG - Jose - Kira - Hawkins/Daniels

At C no young player developing at the thinnest position where Jonas is also expiring
At SF/PF 2 injury riddled positions, it's 6 players deep, where depth is needed to compensate potential loss
At gaurd behind CJ's max contract, which is not amendable to come off the bench in any circumstance, Pels have several young players in need of development & 5yrs goes by like that. The sooner, the better.

30 m for vet leadership = caps out an unbalanced roster under the new CBA where there's also a need for key development minutes. A guard in Hawkins recentlry drafted where another high lottery pick KIra, already can't get PT to develop..

IMO the move to make is to package (CJ consolidate youth depth & pick/s)

For example I saw the Pels rumored interest in Pascal who Portland was also interested in.. (CJ's salary to match, young proven talent & picks) could be consolidated into (Scoot, centre filler/s, expiring/s).

[Whole Truth]

3 team deal CJ pick/s for Turner - Ideally to shape the roster into something like this -

(Turner via CJ trade/ expiring fillers) - Jonas expiring - Hermangomez
Zion - Nance - EJ
BI - Herb - Temple
Murphy - Daniels/Hawkins
Hawkins/Daniels - Jose/Kira

[Whole Truth]

Depending on if Portland has any interest in either Harden or PG.

- Philly trade (Harden 33m) for (CJ 33m pick/s)

- Clippers trade (PG 42m Plumlee 10m) for (Harden 33m, Nurkic 15m)

- Portland trade (Simons 22m, Nurkic 15m, Scoot 6m) for (PG 42m)

-- Pels trade (CJ 33m, pick/s) for (Simons, Plumlee 10m expiring, Scoot)

or cut Clippers out where Harden goes for Simons & Scoot with bo Nurkic involved.

Philly get a win now player in CJ & picks for future considerations for Harden
Portland get their win now player for Scoot who plays the same position as Lilliard
Pels facilitate Portland & Philly to net Scoot.

[Whole Truth]

To all the smart Pel fans out there. Why do you think the Clippers are moving Zuibac when all they have is Plumlee ?

Hopefully this will sink in.. On a team that is rarely healthy & thin at Centre. Jonas is a reliable minutes eater & very good production value at 15m.. Pels don't need to get cute... They only need a cheap rim runner/protector to Bridge the minutes from Jonas to Nance to keep Nance from wearing down if they want to close games with him defensively.

Unless Pels can get a young future replacement in moving Jonas. They will be hard pressed at his production cost to do better ..

Pels should instead be consolidating the wing & guard depth to add depth to the centre position.

[Whole Truth]

Ive seen NO's may have been linked to the Dame rumors. Heat want to upgrade Lowry but their package is underwhelming. I'm thinking CJ to Miami to bridge the lack of assets Miami have to upgrade from Lowry to Dame.

In 2 yrs BI's contract will be that of Dames current contract so if NO's play their cards right in trading BI & CJ for Dame, they could shed CJ's salary to BI's extension/Dames contract...

Pels trade (BI, CJ, Pick/s) for (Dame)
Heat trade (Lowry, Herro( for (CJ)
Portland trade (Dame) for (BI, Lowry, Hero, Pick/s

Value can be amended but this would be the trade framework.

Because Dame is making what BI's extension would be in 2yrs if retained. This trade essentially sheds CJ for the upgrade & better roster balance

Jonas/Nance
Zion/ Nance
Murphy/Daniels
Hawkins/Herb
Dame/Jose

At Center - Traditional big & small ball 5. On the wing - Shooters in Murphy & Hawkins, Defensders in Herb & Daniels complimanting the Duo of Zion & Dame.

[Whole Truth]

Just saw the rumored trade offer from Miami, lol. Herro centering the deal with a contract Heat were trying to dump last year in Robinson though he reclaimed some of his value & picks which I don't think Miami own any, so the assumption would be mid to late firsts with a chance of luck..

Underwhelming offer. Understandable as to why Portland isn't going to give in to Dame's demand out of Loyalty. They're not getting anything of real value in return for a franchise player.

Now that I know what Heat are offerring ..

Heat trade - (Herro, Robinson, Pick/s) for (CJ)
Portland trade - (Dame) for (BI, Robinson, pick/s)
Pelicans trade - (BI, CJ, Pick/s) for (Dame, Herro)

Jonas - Nance - Zeller
Zion - Nance - EJ
Murphy - Daniels - Naji
Hawkins - Herb - Herro
Dame - Jose - Kira

Flip Herro or utilize as a 6th man, which NO's couldn't do wth CJ while reducing his max contract with something more reasonable. All in all in 2yrs it works out to be less with the talent upgrade.

[NO-KG-AI]

To all the smart Pel fans out there. Why do you think the Clippers are moving Zuibac when all they have is Plumlee ?

Hopefully this will sink in.. On a team that is rarely healthy & thin at Centre. Jonas is a reliable minutes eater & very good production value at 15m.. Pels don't need to get cute... They only need a cheap rim runner/protector to Bridge the minutes from Jonas to Nance to keep Nance from wearing down if they want to close games with him defensively.

Unless Pels can get a young future replacement in moving Jonas. They will be hard pressed at his production cost to do better ..

Pels should instead be consolidating the wing & guard depth to add depth to the centre position.

I agree with this. Jonas is very productive, he's a team first guy, and he's pretty healthy. Guys like him just physically wear down other teams in ways that don't always show up on the stat sheet. I wouldn't mind trying to get a lengthy rim protector, but I think it's unlikely that we find an upgrade over Jonas at his price tag. I know everyone wants that 7' tall, athletic, defensive minded, rim running, 3 point shooting C, but since those basically don't exist or they go for max money, good luck lol.

I think a lot of people worry about someone like Jonas getting picked on by an elite team deep in the playoffs, but we should worry about making it their first before we worry about that... and guys like him help you win a lot of games.

[Whole Truth]

To all the smart Pel fans out there. Why do you think the Clippers are moving Zuibac when all they have is Plumlee ?

Hopefully this will sink in.. On a team that is rarely healthy & thin at Centre. Jonas is a reliable minutes eater & very good production value at 15m.. Pels don't need to get cute... They only need a cheap rim runner/protector to Bridge the minutes from Jonas to Nance to keep Nance from wearing down if they want to close games with him defensively.

Unless Pels can get a young future replacement in moving Jonas. They will be hard pressed at his production cost to do better ..

Pels should instead be consolidating the wing & guard depth to add depth to the centre position.

I agree with this. Jonas is very productive, he's a team first guy, and he's pretty healthy. Guys like him just physically wear down other teams in ways that don't always show up on the stat sheet. I wouldn't mind trying to get a lengthy rim protector, but I think it's unlikely that we find an upgrade over Jonas at his price tag. I know everyone wants that 7' tall, athletic, defensive minded, rim running, 3 point shooting C, but since those basically don't exist or they go for max money, good luck lol.

I think a lot of people worry about someone like Jonas getting picked on by an elite team deep in the playoffs, but we should worry about making it their first before we worry about that... and guys like him help you win a lot of games.

Take a flier on Bol Bol. Magic have too much front court depth to invest in his development. Whereas NO's let Jax go despite being thin at Centre & in need of a defensive, rim runner which Hayes should have been with his length & athleticism.

Basically - Jax for Bol Bol.

[Whole Truth]

Before last yrears Zion extension I was all for trading him for a Haul & keeping BI. However with the extension & recent injury. NO's has chossen to ride Zion's potential & his potential for health. One more injury riddled season for him & he will be hard to trade more less for a haul... Unfortiunately with this young core of max players. BI is a injury risk also, less so than Zion but one .

Having chosen to ride with Zion's potential. Dame's iability to run an offense & hit from deep, is a much better fitting player for Zion 'than BI's mid range game. NO's fortunatley have Murphy that can adequately fill the SF position with his spacing ability. Combined with drafting Hawkins motion shooting to go with potentially adding Dame's long range ability should be more than adequate spacing for Zion who was tasked this past season to run through packed zones which ultimately led to his hammy injury bowling though multiple defenders on mltiple occassions, every game. NO's fans showed the chart that Zion takes & makes the most difficult shots in the league. The 3 players mentioned make it impossible for teams to effectively pack the paint, now that NO's have removed BI's mid range game for Murphy & Dame's long range capability. NO's can choose between offensive & defense on the wings & combinations with Murphy, Hawkins, Herb & Daniels retained in giving up BI, CJ & picks. Flipping CJ to a 3rd team for assets & expiring value to shed long term salary commitment, avoiding the impending tax situation..

Moving CJ to a 3rd team in combination to giving up BI, is what ultimately sheds long term salary while opening the guard rotation for Herb, Daniels & Hawkins. Along with Murphy, NO's would have on the wings spacing & defensive options at SG/SF developing between Zion & Dame over their multiple yrs of contractual control.

At centre, Jonas is a minutes eater at a demanding position & Nance the small ball option. NO's just need one more rim protector depth option without breaking bank. Maybe in flipping Herro they can target one in trade ?.. or sign a cheap option like Bol Boll to bridge the gap between Jonas & utilizing Nance.

Jonas - Bol Bol - Zeller - Nance + the 2 developing rookies on 2 way contracts.
Zion - Nance - EJ
Murphy - Daniels - Temple
Hawkins - Herb - Naji
Dame - Jose - Kira

+ loing term money saved for tax implications.

Pels trade - (BI, CJ, pick/s) for (Dame, Herro)
Heat trade - (Herro, Robinson, Pick) for (CJ)
Portland trade - (Dame) for (BI, Robinson, Pick/s)

Possibly Herro is flipped to an additional team for a centre/expiring value & pick.