MEM - NOP

[bpcox05]

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MEM Gets: Trey Murphy, Yves Missi, & #7
MEM Gives: Jaren Jackson Jr. & Jay Huff
Why for MEM? The Grizzlies avoid having to hand JJJ a max contract (~$60 mil/year over 5 years) and locking themselves into a Morant/Bane/JJJ trio. Murphy is making (on average) $28 mil/year over 4 years and could make it possible for MEM to add another max player next to Morant, Bane, & Murphy. They also get Missi to give them a promising, young C rotation in Edey & Missi going forward, but more importantly, they land the 7th pick in this draft giving them a great chance at adding a high impact player to help with their retool.

PG - Morant / Pippen
SG - Bane / Williams / Konchar
SF - Wells / Jackson
PF - Murphy / Clarke
C - Edey / Missi

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NOP Gets: Jaren Jackson Jr. & Jay Huff
NOP Gives: Trey Murphy, Yves Missi, & #7
Why for NOP? It seems the Pelicans are recommitting to building around Zion. If they want to have a shot at maximizing a team with Zion on it, it's very important to have a C who can space the floor and protect the rim at an elite level. JJJ does just that. This locks in NOP's frontcourt as Herb, Zion, & JJJ going forward (which seems very complementary). Their next focus will be on upgrading their backcourt to finalize the roster over the coming years. If they can add a star guard and a 3&D guard, they may have a very intriguing roster if Zion can stay healthy. Huff also gives them a 2nd C who can space the floor and protect the rim giving them 48 minutes of C play that complements Zion extremely well.

PG - Alvarado / Payton / Murray
SG - McCollum / Hawkins / Reeves
SF - Jones / Boston
PF - Zion / Olynyk / Matkovic
C - Jackson Jr. / Huff

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[TGW]

JJJ isn’t going to get traded. If they move anyone it would Bane first, Morant second, and JJJ third.

[Texas Chuck]

I'm confused where this idea has come from this week that Memphis doesn't want to pay him when they've already made moves to move salary to raise and extend him and all the talk about their off-season plans still center around that idea?

Did I miss something? Now if your premise is right this is a pretty solid offer, maybe missing a future pick as well. But I don't think they want to move him.

[esvl]

At least I have learned that Murphy is PF

[ReggiesKnicks]

Memphis counters with Wells/Edey/GG/2 1sts for Murphy

[psman2]

I'm confused where this idea has come from this week that Memphis doesn't want to pay him when they've already made moves to move salary to raise and extend him and all the talk about their off-season plans still center around that idea?

Did I miss something? Now if your premise is right this is a pretty solid offer, maybe missing a future pick as well. But I don't think they want to move him.

It is odd. Keep seeing deals stating Memphis is in dire straights to not pay our stars and need to break them up. But then I look at our cap sheet and I'm dumbfounded by the fact that even with a fully paid JJJ we are years out from paying the tax. Now we may choose to break them up but I don't think finances is going to be the driving force any time soon.

JJJ is really the lynch pin for our chance of contending, losing his D likely will takes us out of any chance of contending. But this is a strong offer for an expiring JJJ to at least mentally explore. I don't think we would want wait and see if the #7 pans out and likely look to flip it for more proven talent. Maybe something along the lines 7/Missi for 10/Jabari or Eason.

[esvl]

Memphis counters with Wells/Edey/GG/2 1sts for Murphy

No, it doesn’t. Wells outperforms his salary by x times. Edey is a starting centre.

[ReggiesKnicks]

Memphis counters with Wells/Edey/GG/2 1sts for Murphy

No, it doesn’t. Wells outperforms his salary by x times. Edey is a starting centre.

And Murphy is a good starting wing.

Take out Wells then. My point is if Memphis wants Murphy, they can get him without breaking up Ja/Bane/JJJ.

[lordjeff05]

I think you can get Lauri without givin up Trey, so for me, even if I think JJJ is better than Lauri, I don't think hes better than Lauri and Trey

[jbk1234]

I think you can get Lauri without givin up Trey, so for me, even if I think JJJ is better than Lauri, I don't think hes better than Lauri and Trey

I don't know what Lauri fixes for the Pelicans, and in fairness to the Pelicans, this is the second summer in a row where factors beyond their control kind of tied their hands. Last year it was Ingram insisting he was a max player despite the entire league disagreeing. This summer it's Zion's off the court issues.

The baller move would be for Dumars to just cut Zion and move forward without him as a distraction. Given how talented he is while on the court, I can also see the reluctance. It's just that you're building one team around Zion's strengths and weaknesses if he's on the roster, and you enjoy a lot more flexibility in terms of roster construction if he's not. I don't know how you move forward without picking a direction.

[lordjeff05]

I think you can get Lauri without givin up Trey, so for me, even if I think JJJ is better than Lauri, I don't think hes better than Lauri and Trey

I don't know what Lauri fixes for the Pelicans, and in fairness to the Pelicans, this is the second summer in a row where factors beyond their control kind of tied their hands. Last year it was Ingram insisting he was a max player despite the entire league disagreeing. This summer it's Zion's off the court issues.

The baller move would be for Dumars to just cut Zion and move forward without him as a distraction. Given how talented he is while on the court, I can also see the reluctance. It's just that you're building one team around Zion's strengths and weaknesses if he's on the roster, and you enjoy a lot more flexibility in terms of roster construction if he's not. I don't know how you move forward without picking a direction.

So that first question is a great question, but the answer is pretty straightforward. The Pels had one of the lowest 3 point rates in the league last year. Adding the best 3 point shooting big in the league significantly addresses this issue. Additionally, the ability to play Lauri at the 5 during crunchtime will put alot of pressure on team defenses. It will make it really hard to help off of Zion drives and will draw a defender out of the paint. The potential to play CJ, Trey and Lauri together provides the Pels to really break defenses.

The off court issues are potentially very serious, and such allegations should always be dealt with as such, but if the background chatter surrounding those allegations proves to be correct, this will blow over. It is not nearly the distraction it could be.

[jbk1234]

I think you can get Lauri without givin up Trey, so for me, even if I think JJJ is better than Lauri, I don't think hes better than Lauri and Trey

I don't know what Lauri fixes for the Pelicans, and in fairness to the Pelicans, this is the second summer in a row where factors beyond their control kind of tied their hands. Last year it was Ingram insisting he was a max player despite the entire league disagreeing. This summer it's Zion's off the court issues.

The baller move would be for Dumars to just cut Zion and move forward without him as a distraction. Given how talented he is while on the court, I can also see the reluctance. It's just that you're building one team around Zion's strengths and weaknesses if he's on the roster, and you enjoy a lot more flexibility in terms of roster construction if he's not. I don't know how you move forward without picking a direction.

So that first question is a great question, but the answer is pretty straightforward. The Pels had one of the lowest 3 point rates in the league last year. Adding the best 3 point shooting big in the league significantly addresses this issue. Additionally, the ability to play Lauri at the 5 during crunchtime will put alot of pressure on team defenses. It will make it really hard to help off of Zion drives and will draw a defender out of the paint. The potential to play CJ, Trey and Lauri together provides the Pels to really break defenses.

The off court issues are potentially very serious, and such allegations should always be dealt with as such, but if the background chatter surrounding those allegations proves to be correct, this will blow over. It is not nearly the distraction it could be.

I'm just not sure that building around Zion is a good idea independent of the off-the-court stuff. All the off-the-court stuff did was remove trading him as a viable option, and his trade value was already pretty low. If you're Joe Dumars do you really want to tie your fate to Zion's availability? He's not a plug and play guy. His presence really dictates roster construction, and when he's injured, the roster doesn't work.

[QMemphis]

We are not trading Jaren and he won’t be getting paid 60 million a year either. We will renegotiate and extend this summer.

[One_and_Done]

Memphis never doing this. They will keep JJJ.

[lordjeff05]

I don't know what Lauri fixes for the Pelicans, and in fairness to the Pelicans, this is the second summer in a row where factors beyond their control kind of tied their hands. Last year it was Ingram insisting he was a max player despite the entire league disagreeing. This summer it's Zion's off the court issues.

The baller move would be for Dumars to just cut Zion and move forward without him as a distraction. Given how talented he is while on the court, I can also see the reluctance. It's just that you're building one team around Zion's strengths and weaknesses if he's on the roster, and you enjoy a lot more flexibility in terms of roster construction if he's not. I don't know how you move forward without picking a direction.

So that first question is a great question, but the answer is pretty straightforward. The Pels had one of the lowest 3 point rates in the league last year. Adding the best 3 point shooting big in the league significantly addresses this issue. Additionally, the ability to play Lauri at the 5 during crunchtime will put alot of pressure on team defenses. It will make it really hard to help off of Zion drives and will draw a defender out of the paint. The potential to play CJ, Trey and Lauri together provides the Pels to really break defenses.

The off court issues are potentially very serious, and such allegations should always be dealt with as such, but if the background chatter surrounding those allegations proves to be correct, this will blow over. It is not nearly the distraction it could be.

I'm just not sure that building around Zion is a good idea independent of the off-the-court stuff. All the off-the-court stuff did was remove trading him as a viable option, and his trade value was already pretty low. If you're Joe Dumars do you really want to tie your fate to Zion's availability? He's not a plug and play guy. His presence really dictates roster construction, and when he's injured, the roster doesn't work.

So that’s another thing I like about the idea of this particular trade. Lauri is both a complimentary piece and a replacement piece for games where Zion is out/ if everything goes to crap. I think the Lauri trade is a worthwhile risk to get a 20 plus point 2/3rd option that fits well with virtually everybody but there are pieces you still have to exit the trade and start fresh if it doesn’t work this year.