Transaction Discussion Part 3 (Trades, Free-Agency, News, Rumors & Ideas)

[og15]

Does Portland even have anything worth trading for? IMO, they're a worse trading partner than the Cavs because they're loaded up with bad contracts too, but don't have any asset as valuable as the Brooklyn pick to offer.

I would imagine the Blazers would be making Nurkic available for DJ. Hes only 23 and easily as good as anyone youd get with that Nets pick, only hes a known quantity with zero bust potential... unlike picks. Also, how valuable is that Brooklyn pick still? I feel like that Brooklyn pick is pretty overrated and is living off the hype of last year. This Nets team is much better and that pick will likely be in the bottom half of the lottery.

Nurkic is still very inefficient and turnover prone, but the bigger question would be whether the Clippers want to pay him the big money over DJ since he will be a FA. I'm assuming his agent will be looking for something like 20-25% of the cap, and he's not worth the Clippers hanging that much salary on him, especially since Harrell is also due for a raise.

[DusterBuster]

Does Portland even have anything worth trading for? IMO, they're a worse trading partner than the Cavs because they're loaded up with bad contracts too, but don't have any asset as valuable as the Brooklyn pick to offer.

I would imagine the Blazers would be making Nurkic available for DJ. Hes only 23 and easily as good as anyone youd get with that Nets pick, only hes a known quantity with zero bust potential... unlike picks. Also, how valuable is that Brooklyn pick still? I feel like that Brooklyn pick is pretty overrated and is living off the hype of last year. This Nets team is much better and that pick will likely be in the bottom half of the lottery.

Nurkic is still very inefficient and turnover prone, but the bigger question would be whether the Clippers want to pay him the big money over DJ since he will be a FA. I'm assuming his agent will be looking for something like 20-25% of the cap, and he's not worth the Clippers hanging that much salary on him, especially since Harrell is also due for a raise.

Hes a RFA and by all accounts, his market is gonna be fairly light this summer due to his inconsistent play this season. I think hes probably gonna get something in the 10-15 mil per range, nowhere near 25% of the cap money, which would be pushing 25mil per and max money if memory and fuzzy math serves me correct.

That said, maybe theres another deal to be made without Nurk.

[TucsonClip]

Not a fan of Nurk at all, especially having to pay him this summer.

[QRich3]

Yeah I'd rather let DJ expire than get Nurkic at $15M and a bunch of meh to bad contracts, even if they come with Portland's 20-ish pick. But it seems that's where things are headed.

Lou Will for Philly's pick would be awesome though, even if we have to eat Bayless' contract for it.

OKC fan here. I was just wondering if any Clippers fans can see the FO building a trade around Jordan for Steven Adams. Ideally, Bradley would be coming to OKC as well. Would they be interested in a longer-term contract?

I'd do that in heartbeat.

[donemilio21]

Would anyone trade DJ or Lou Williams for Justin Jackson or Henry Giles?

if you are asking who are those guys, that is the point. They are #15 and #20 picks of 20-17 draft. Trading top players for two draft picks in the range of 15-20 as many suggest, would only land us some question mark players. Unless we are getting a top lottery pick, we should hold firm and not trade them.

[TucsonClip]

Would anyone trade DJ or Lou Williams for Justin Jackson or Henry Giles?

if you are asking who are those guys, that is the point. They are #15 and #20 picks of 20-17 draft. Trading top players for two draft picks in the range of 15-20 as many suggest, would only land us some question mark players. Unless we are getting a top lottery pick, we should hold firm and not trade them.

Id be interested in both, but not sure that makes sense in a DJ deal. For Lou, I think it would open the door, but I would also imagine the front office would like to opportunity to make their own picks. I like Giles, but he obviously has some major injury question marks. Jackson fits to profile of someone I think would be a good fit in our system.

[QRich3]

My new favorite DJ mock trade:

http://www.espn.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=ydeb2n7h

Clippers send: Jordan, Lou, Jawun Evans and Sindarius Thornwell
Clippers get: Gary Harris, Kenneth Faried, Darrell Arthur

Wizards send: Otto Porter and Tim Frazier
Wizards get: Deandre Jordan, Lou Williams and Jawun Evans

Nuggets send: Gary Harris, Kenneth Faried, Darrell Arthur
Nuggets get: Otto Porter, Tim Frazier and Sindarius Thornwell

Might have to expand it and send Bradley to the Wizards for Jason Smith and Jodie Meeks, with the Wizards sending some more value to the Nuggets (future top 20 protected pick or something like that?).

It accomplishes several things:

For the Clippers, they get a core piece on a long term great contract in Harris, and they don't add any salary further than next season. They add a ****ton of bad salary next year lol, but they are left comfortably under the tax both this season and the next.

For the Wizards, they get DJ without having to move Oubre, who apparently their fans value more than Porter, and they open the possibility of shedding some future salary by renouncing Lou. The add quite a bit to their tax bill this year though, and this might be what kills the whole idea.

For the Nuggets, well they lose Harris and that probably is a non starter for them, but they replace him with another young guy in Porter, and they save about $12M next year, which they're gonna need cause that's when they have to max Jokic most likely.

Too much to ask or what?

[TucsonClip]

Id love Harris, but there is no way Denver is dealing him and then paying Porter $8+ mil more per season.

[QRich3]

Yeah no, they're definitely not gonna want to let go of him, but this gives them an out to extend Jokic while not losing a lot of talent/future assets. If they don't do something like this, they're gonna have to spend future 1sts in dumping Faried, Arthur and/or Plumlee, cause they need to give Jokic a max next summer and they're gonna be like $20M over the luxury tax when they do it. And that's before thinking if they want to extend Barton.

Definitely not their 1st option, but they're gonna have to choose something to let go of at some point, and if they wait for the summer to try to dump salary, it's gonna be really expensive cause a lot of teams will want to do just that and very few teams will have capspace.

If we're gonna rebuild we need to make use of our expirings in a way that squeezes the most assets possible from teams that are gonna be desperate to shed salary, and the Nuggets are about to be some of the most desperate for it. Better get ahead of it before the Kings or Lakers get those assets for their capspace next summer.

[queridiculo]

My new favorite DJ mock trade:

http://www.espn.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=ydeb2n7h

Clippers send: Jordan, Lou, Jawun Evans and Sindarius Thornwell
Clippers get: Gary Harris, Kenneth Faried, Darrell Arthur

Wizards send: Otto Porter and Tim Frazier
Wizards get: Deandre Jordan, Lou Williams and Jawun Evans


For the Wizards, they get DJ without having to move Oubre, who apparently their fans value more than Porter, and they open the possibility of shedding some future salary by renouncing Lou. The add quite a bit to their tax bill this year though, and this might be what kills the whole idea.

If the Wizards are sending Porter in a deal for Jordan you can bet that Mahinmi is going to be part of the transaction.

The organization and coaches love Porter and only the typical flash over substance fans would prefer Oubre over him.

[QRich3]

Yeah, that seems fair. Can't see a way anyone's eating Mahinmi unless more value is sent though, his albatross contract is bigger than the difference in value between Jordan/Lou and Porter, the way I see it.

[mkwest]

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Potential swaps in the price range of Bradley are Patty Mills, Danny Green or Rudy Gay. Green is owed $10M this year with a $10M PO for next season. He would push the Clippers into the Luxury Tax this year. Mills is owed $48M through 20/21. He would also send the Clippers over the Luxury Tax threshold and reduce the team's financial flexibility over the next 3 seasons. Gay is owed $8.4M this season and an $8.8M PO next season. Swapping Gay and Bradley would free a little more space for the Clippers to potentially sign one of the 2-way guys for the rest of the season on a pro-rated deal.

[Ranma]

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[mkwest]

There's a great new tool on ShamSports.Com called The Capulator. It allows you to determine a team's salary situation by manipulating different contract scenarios (i.e. picking up or declining options, renouncing players, buy-outs, cap holds, stretching, etc.)

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[Vae Victus]

Now that the deadline is over and we know where we stand going into the offseason.

Blake out, and incoming lots of parts + DET pick which is now looking pretty good

DJ still here and likely to opt in

Lou Will extended to a VERY nice team friendly/tradeable deal

Whats everyone's ideal offseason?

I can see the Logo package the teen picks to move up to the 7-10 spot to get someone he REALLY likes

Pat Bev team option picked up

Teodosic/Johnson both pick up their player options

Harrell gets retained as long as the deal isnt stupid

DJ opts in and gets traded ala CP3. My ideal trade would be something like Gortat + Oubre Jr + JSmith

Austin Rivers opts out after a pretty good season and his daddy get locked in a room to prevent his boi from getting an extension, half of the Rivers stench is cleared out

Bradley unable to find a team willing to give him big money, resigns to a modest 1+1 player option deal, to try again next year

Doc gets "promoted" to President of the Void and a new up and coming coach is hired on to be "groomed" by Doc. Doc has no day to day duties, so he can go ahead and give interviews and mug for the camera all day, as long as he promises not to whine about his little boi not getting resigned.

http://www.shamsports.com/capulator?id=3941987975a91e14e4251c460904073
Cap Situation courtesy of the Capulator (love this tool)

C - Gortat, Boban, Smith
PF- Harris, Harrell, Dekker
SF- Gallo, Oubre, Johnson
SG- Bradley, LouWill, Thornwell
PG- Teodosic, PatBev, Evans

Still have non tax payer MLE to use, but we're only a 4.4 mil below the lux tax line, so doubtful the full amount will be used.

Whoever we pick in the 1st will be coming off the bench.

Have alot mid sized short term contracts on the books that could be packaged together + pick(s) for a superior disgruntled player. Boban, Johnson, Smith all total to about ~20m.

Whats nice about this team is that after a year ALOT of cap opens up, thus giving the Logo ALOT of room to maneuver with.

[esqtvd]

Now that the deadline is over and we know where we stand going into the offseason.

Blake out, and incoming lots of parts + DET pick which is now looking pretty good

DJ still here and likely to opt in

Lou Will extended to a VERY nice team friendly/tradeable deal

Whats everyone's ideal offseason?

I can see the Logo package the teen picks to move up to the 7-10 spot to get someone he REALLY likes

Pat Bev team option picked up

Teodosic/Johnson both pick up their player options

Harrell gets retained as long as the deal isnt stupid

DJ opts in and gets traded ala CP3. My ideal trade would be something like Gortat + Oubre Jr + JSmith

Austin Rivers opts out after a pretty good season and his daddy get locked in a room to prevent his boi from getting an extension, half of the Rivers stench is cleared out

Bradley unable to find a team willing to give him big money, resigns to a modest 1+1 player option deal, to try again next year

Doc gets "promoted" to President of the Void and a new up and coming coach is hired on to be "groomed" by Doc. Doc has no day to day duties, so he can go ahead and give interviews and mug for the camera all day, as long as he promises not to whine about his little boi not getting resigned.

http://www.shamsports.com/capulator?id=3941987975a91e14e4251c460904073
Cap Situation courtesy of the Capulator (love this tool)

C - Gortat, Boban, Smith
PF- Harris, Harrell, Dekker
SF- Gallo, Oubre, Johnson
SG- Bradley, LouWill, Thornwell
PG- Teodosic, PatBev, Evans

Still have non tax payer MLE to use, but we're only a 4.4 mil below the lux tax line, so doubtful the full amount will be used.

Whoever we pick in the 1st will be coming off the bench.

Have alot mid sized short term contracts on the books that could be packaged together + pick(s) for a superior disgruntled player. Boban, Johnson, Smith all total to about ~20m.

Whats nice about this team is that after a year ALOT of cap opens up, thus giving the Logo ALOT of room to maneuver with.

But no better than what we have now and except for the gratuitous swipe at Rivers père et fils nothing we didn't already know. The DJ-for-Gortat & Oubre is old news, and apparently something the Wizards aren't interested in, and that leaves us a lot of undersized guards who can't even shoot except for Lou. I like Avery but he's only 6'2" and can't play the 3--and neither can any of the other guards on this list.

The trend in the NBA is wings, but these Gs aren't 2/3 wings, they're 1/2 combo guards, and combo guards are way out of NBA fashion, esp undersized ones. I'll gladly take one of Avery and Pat Bev [6'1"] and figure out how to plug him in, but two is too much. We already have Lou at the 2 as a keeper at 6-foot-even, so we need length from the other guard spot.

Gee, what we really need is a guard who's bigger than 6'2", can shoot 40% on 3s, cover the SF duties in a 3-guard lineup--and maybe even run the point sometimes. WISH WE HAD ONE.

[Dynamix]

There's no sign of Wallace on that roster, so clearly it's not meant to be taken seriously.

[Vae Victus]

But no better than what we have now and except for the gratuitous swipe at Rivers père et fils nothing we didn't already know. The DJ-for-Gortat & Oubre is old news, and apparently something the Wizards aren't interested in, and that leaves us a lot of undersized guards who can't even shoot except for Lou. I like Avery but he's only 6'2" and can't play the 3--and neither can any of the other guards on this list.

The trend in the NBA is wings, but these Gs aren't 2/3 wings, they're 1/2 combo guards, and combo guards are way out of NBA fashion, esp undersized ones. I'll gladly take one of Avery and Pat Bev [6'1"] and figure out how to plug him in, but two is too much. We already have Lou at the 2 as a keeper at 6-foot-even, so we need length from the other guard spot.

Gee, what we really need is a guard who's bigger than 6'2", can shoot 40% on 3s, cover the SF duties in a 3-guard lineup--and maybe even run the point sometimes. WISH WE HAD ONE.

You're a fan of the Rivers clan. Nothing i say will sway your mind if the years of their poison of the franchise havent made you open your eyes, so i wont bother to try.

Maybe WAS wont be interested, maybe they will be. The offseason is still a ways away and perhaps they will delude themselves into thinking that if they had a better C they can get over the hump. Not many options out there and if the Logo cant find a way to get a 1st i can see him go for a lateral move and try to break down the contract and get some future value (Oubre in this case).

Bradley isnt ideal, but his track record is solid. To call him a non shooter is to ignore whats he's done over his career. He's having a down year and now is the time to buy low. I understand fear of having too many undersized guards, but as long as theyre pitbulls (Bradley, PatBev) they can hold their own. It's not like the league is awash with traditional high skill long SGs these days (in the Kobe, Vince, TMac mold). Teodosic and Lou Will, would surely love a longer elite perimeter ace to play alongside them, but one must work with what one has on the team. Ideally we figure ways to package players together to get the ones we want.

Letting Bradley go for nothing would be unfortunate. While i wouldnt retain him if he got a big offer, its worth seeing if we can get a Lou Will eque type of deal with him so that we can spin him off in the future.

Austin Rivers will never be traded as long as Doc has any influence on the team, but if Austin opts out and wants bigger deal, its alot easier to just cry that Austin has priced himself out of future plans. I dont think he'll opt out, as the market is quite bearish, but one can hope.

This team has no ability to sign any impact FAs, as the cap is clogged, short of a blockbuster trade involving both picks. Best to just try to spin the wheels for another year and wait for contracts to expire and see what moves can be taken. THe team clearly wont be able to just tank their way to the bottom next year, so might as well treadmill and get assets via auctioning off useful players under contract.

Indeed i forgot about Wallace, thank you for reminding me, i was just working off the Capulator and prolly got him mixedu p with Thornwell.

[esqtvd]

But no better than what we have now and except for the gratuitous swipe at Rivers père et fils nothing we didn't already know. The DJ-for-Gortat & Oubre is old news, and apparently something the Wizards aren't interested in, and that leaves us a lot of undersized guards who can't even shoot except for Lou. I like Avery but he's only 6'2" and can't play the 3--and neither can any of the other guards on this list.

The trend in the NBA is wings, but these Gs aren't 2/3 wings, they're 1/2 combo guards, and combo guards are way out of NBA fashion, esp undersized ones. I'll gladly take one of Avery and Pat Bev [6'1"] and figure out how to plug him in, but two is too much. We already have Lou at the 2 as a keeper at 6-foot-even, so we need length from the other guard spot.

Gee, what we really need is a guard who's bigger than 6'2", can shoot 40% on 3s, cover the SF duties in a 3-guard lineup--and maybe even run the point sometimes. WISH WE HAD ONE.

You're a fan of the Rivers clan. Nothing i say will sway your mind if the years of their poison of the franchise havent made you open your eyes, so i wont bother to try.

Maybe WAS wont be interested, maybe they will be. The offseason is still a ways away and perhaps they will delude themselves into thinking that if they had a better C they can get over the hump. Not many options out there and if the Logo cant find a way to get a 1st i can see him go for a lateral move and try to break down the contract and get some future value (Oubre in this case).

Bradley isnt ideal, but his track record is solid. To call him a non shooter is to ignore whats he's done over his career. He's having a down year and now is the time to buy low. I understand fear of having too many undersized guards, but as long as theyre pitbulls (Bradley, PatBev) they can hold their own. It's not like the league is awash with traditional high skill long SGs these days (in the Kobe, Vince, TMac mold). Teodosic and Lou Will, would surely love a longer elite perimeter ace to play alongside them, but one must work with what one has on the team. Ideally we figure ways to package players together to get the ones we want.

Letting Bradley go for nothing would be unfortunate. While i wouldnt retain him if he got a big offer, its worth seeing if we can get a Lou Will eque type of deal with him so that we can spin him off in the future.

Austin Rivers will never be traded as long as Doc has any influence on the team, but if Austin opts out and wants bigger deal, its alot easier to just cry that Austin has priced himself out of future plans. I dont think he'll opt out, as the market is quite bearish, but one can hope.

This team has no ability to sign any impact FAs, as the cap is clogged, short of a blockbuster trade involving both picks. Best to just try to spin the wheels for another year and wait for contracts to expire and see what moves can be taken. THe team clearly wont be able to just tank their way to the bottom next year, so might as well treadmill and get assets via auctioning off useful players under contract.

Indeed i forgot about Wallace, thank you for reminding me, i was just working off the Capulator and prolly got him mixedu p with Thornwell.

You spent a long time getting us back to exactly where we started, but thanks anyway.

I'm good if Austin stays or goes but the point here is that you can't have guys 6'2" and under trying to play the 3. Austin plays a significant amount [this year about a third] of the time playing out of position at PG or SF because other guys can't. He often takes the hardest defensive assignment, because Milos and Lou can't. And Austin has become a 40% shooter from distance and is our only volume 3-pt shooter--if you don't know the value of spacing in today's NBA, you're not thinking strategically. He's an OK player and does a lot of things for the team that the Rivers derangers ignore.

He's not a star, but he's the least of our problems. Sheesh.

[MartinToVaught]

If we're being honest here, Austin playing out of position has nothing to do with the other players on the roster. It's because of Doc's agenda to make sure Austin always gets tons of minutes and touches every game. In other words: nepotism.

As for his three-point shooting... Austin is taking fewer threes per game than Lou, so there goes your argument that Austin is the only volume three-point shooter on the team. And his 3PT% is worse than Tobias'. Austin isn't even the best three-point shooter on our team, yet you act like he's Curry-esque. I'm pretty sure our spacing would be just fine without him.

And what else does Austin do for the team when he's not making shots? He's an atrocious defender regardless of the assignment he takes. He doesn't get rebounds, he doesn't create for others, he doesn't get to the line much and usually bricks the free throws when he does, his overall efficiency is mediocre at best. He's a net-negative player and has been his entire career.

I don't agree that Austin is "the least of our problems." He's a below-average player playing 33 minutes per game because he's the coach's son. He's seemingly immune to accountability because he's the coach's son. And the Doc/Austin nepotism hurts the image of our organization, especially with former players complaining about it. If you don't think that's going to factor into free agents' decisions, think again.