I combined every trade that seemed good over the past 2 months!
Phoenix Suns
Incoming Players: Greg Buckner, Antoine Walker, Etan Thomas, MEM pick
Outgoing Players: Shaquille O'Neal, #15
Minnesota Timberwolves
Incoming Players: Shaquille O'Neal, #6, #15, future MN pick returned
Outgoing Players: Greg Buckner, Antoine Walker, Marko Jaric, #3
Los Angeles Clippers
Incoming Players: Marko Jaric, #3
Outgoing Players: Tim Thomas, #6
Washington Wizards
Incoming Players: Tim Thomas
Outgoing Players: Etan Thomas, MEM Pick
MN buyout Shaq for 17m for each of his remaining 2 seasons, and pay same salary as they would for Buckner + Walker + Jaric over 3 seasons.
Lopez(with #6 I think Memphis has to get the #2 for this to happen)
Al
Greene? @15
Brewer (I'm all about brewer as a 2/3 long term)
Foye
or (if MEM gets the #4)
McGee or Hibbert @15
Al
Randolph @6
Brewer
Foye
The shotblocking and rebounding increase of this on the front line would be absurd. I like the above lineup, not as good as getting the #1 or #2, but all around this lineup looks good to me!
MN - PHX - WAS - LAC (combining a bunch of trades!)
Moderators: Domejandro, Worm Guts, Calinks
MN - PHX - WAS - LAC (combining a bunch of trades!)
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the_bruce
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4ho5ive
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4ho5ive
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shrink
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I like them all.
Etan to PHO is a decent idea, and still gives them the $13 mil in expirings while replacing Shaq. I've always liked that WAS deal, though I just learned we'd have to hope Arenas and Jamison sign for under the lux, otherwise it sounds like they'd want an expiring coming back. The LAC deal needs our future pick on the outgoing side.
Let me say one other thing about trading the #3 that's a trap I find myself falling into.
As we know, the NBA is a superstar league, which is why I prefer using a #3 pick on OJ Mayo over Lopez. IMO, Lopez has a better chance of being a solid player, but Mayo has the possibility to be a superstar. However, for the month leading up to the draft, people (myself included), start ignoring the word "possibility." "We'll feel like idiots if we trade the next ......!" is a worry I always seem to have when talking about trading the #3. However, the truth is that #3 picks seldom become these superstars. Each individual is different, but we need to look historically and see that most of the GM's in the past that picked at #3 waiting for a superstar .. are still waiting.
If we could turn the #3 into the #6, #15, and returning the future MIN pick .. all at a net zero salary situation, I'd say do it. Maybe we have to wait a year for the free agent foray, but we go in with $20 mil expiring instead of $13 to add to the $10 from Hudson and Juwon. Getting three 1st round picks for #3 makes it worth the wait, in my book.
Etan to PHO is a decent idea, and still gives them the $13 mil in expirings while replacing Shaq. I've always liked that WAS deal, though I just learned we'd have to hope Arenas and Jamison sign for under the lux, otherwise it sounds like they'd want an expiring coming back. The LAC deal needs our future pick on the outgoing side.
Let me say one other thing about trading the #3 that's a trap I find myself falling into.
As we know, the NBA is a superstar league, which is why I prefer using a #3 pick on OJ Mayo over Lopez. IMO, Lopez has a better chance of being a solid player, but Mayo has the possibility to be a superstar. However, for the month leading up to the draft, people (myself included), start ignoring the word "possibility." "We'll feel like idiots if we trade the next ......!" is a worry I always seem to have when talking about trading the #3. However, the truth is that #3 picks seldom become these superstars. Each individual is different, but we need to look historically and see that most of the GM's in the past that picked at #3 waiting for a superstar .. are still waiting.
If we could turn the #3 into the #6, #15, and returning the future MIN pick .. all at a net zero salary situation, I'd say do it. Maybe we have to wait a year for the free agent foray, but we go in with $20 mil expiring instead of $13 to add to the $10 from Hudson and Juwon. Getting three 1st round picks for #3 makes it worth the wait, in my book.
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the_bruce
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shrink wrote:As we know, the NBA is a superstar league, which is why I prefer using a #3 pick on OJ Mayo over Lopez. IMO, Lopez has a better chance of being a solid player, but Mayo has the possibility to be a superstar. However, for the month leading up to the draft, people (myself included), start ignoring the word "possibility." "We'll feel like idiots if we trade the next ......!" is a worry I always seem to have when talking about trading the #3. However, the truth is that #3 picks seldom become these superstars. Each individual is different, but we need to look historically and see that most of the GM's in the past that picked at #3 waiting for a superstar .. are still waiting.
If we could turn the #3 into the #6, #15, and returning the future MIN pick .. all at a net zero salary situation, I'd say do it. Maybe we have to wait a year for the free agent foray, but we go in with $20 mil expiring instead of $13 to add to the $10 from Hudson and Juwon. Getting three 1st round picks for #3 makes it worth the wait, in my book.
The thing about Mayo or any potential 2 guard for that matter is he's most likely entirely replaceable, cheaply and easily(unless he turns into Kobe). Now sure he could be a superstar, but when compared against Lopez.
Mayo could be a be a 25\5+\5+ guy, but what are the chances of that 5% maybe less? Or a 20\4\4 guy 50%?
Lopez could be a 19\9\3\2 guy, and let's be honest the chances of that have got to higher than Mayo ending up being a truely dominant superstar. Probably closer to 60%, if not higher.
I guess to me the chances of Lopez resembling a guy like Gasol, are much higher than Mayo ending up being AI or Kobe. With the #3 I still take Mayo, but in the context of this trade I value the end result more.
Shaq's potential 20m expiring coming off the books in 1 year would allow for some really good trade potential. A team wanting to trade a disgruntled superstar at a discount would rather trade for straight up cap relief and a pick over an expiring + a pick. To put that into context MN probably has 20m in cap space when shaq would fall off the books. That should be enough for any star in the nba at that point. Probably Enough to take on any superstar sg\sf\pg\c in the league.
Even though MN may not be to appealing to players when compared to Miami or LA. Theres a lot to be said for a strong supporting cast, and I think that's overlooked. Moving the cap space back 1 year isn't that bad either in 09/10 is a lineup of:
xxx, Al, Brewer, Mayo, Foye
Going to be more appealing than..
McGee\Al\Randolph\Brewer\Foye in 10\11
To prospective FA players?
Drafting Mayo to play SG certainly limits the potential FA's MN could look at, since drafting him you'd at least hope he's the long term 2 guard. So for FA and cap space trades MN would only be looking for a 3\5\1. The Mayo lineup is also less versatile than the other lineup so it makes moving pieces around more difficult when aquiring new players since Brewer can't shift to the as a starter 2 since Mayo is there, neither can foye, can't slide Brewer(assuming he puts on some mass) to the 4 cuz Al's there.
The thing to look at I suppose would be if a #15 + #6 + 12??(wolves pick) would have a higher chance at returning a superstar than simply the #3 pick. I'd say it has to be yes in that regard. the #3 pick might have a 3% shot at a superstar, the 10-15 range might have a 1% shot? It's probably possible to calculate the risk of busts into it, but in terms of talent return and potential to return a superstar I would guess the #3 is equal to the #15 + 6 + what ever the wolves pick would have ended up being.
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the_bruce
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4ho5ive wrote:Im not sure how i feel about this. Its mind numbing.
Why does PHX do it.
All of these trades have been discussed on the trade boards over the past few months, I'm to lazy to find the related threads and link them.
The LAC portion was universally accepted by both sides in a 4-5 page thread.
The WAS portion is completely within reason, and I think was mentioned in a thread somewhere.
The PHX portion is still on the trade board, as for motives of PHX. It would simply be cash. 8m savings the first year, more the 2nd year(10m+), and returns a center who would be just as useful to the suns, assuming his heart doesn't explode.
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C.lupus
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Interesting trade and analysis bruce. I think you have sold me. The other thing to consider is that if we get the Clippers pick back, we could potentially have 3 picks next year. We could probably package those to move up to grab a stud prospect. This would give us more flexibility to get a star either by the draft or by free agency.
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MN Die Hard
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shrink wrote:As we know, the NBA is a superstar league, which is why I prefer using a #3 pick on OJ Mayo over Lopez. IMO, Lopez has a better chance of being a solid player, but Mayo has the possibility to be a superstar. However, for the month leading up to the draft, people (myself included), start ignoring the word "possibility." "We'll feel like idiots if we trade the next ......!" is a worry I always seem to have when talking about trading the #3. However, the truth is that #3 picks seldom become these superstars. Each individual is different, but we need to look historically and see that most of the GM's in the past that picked at #3 waiting for a superstar .. are still waiting.
I've been sold on Mayo in recent weeks, but shrink and bruceallen both raise good points about Mayo and Lopez (and by the way, who's to say we wouldnt get Mayo at #6? I dont think you could count on it but its not entirely impossible either). This is a pretty good haul for moving down three spots.
The only thing I'd slightly disagree with here shrink is that #3 picks "seldom" become superstars. Looking back over the past ten years, it think you might expect a superstar or near superstar about half of the time. The last ten #3 picks:
Horford (on his way)
Morrison (nope)
D Williams (well on his way)
Gordon (probably disappointing for a #3)
Melo (off court issues but talent not a question)
Dunleavy (see Gordon)
Gasol (worth the #3)
Miles (ish)
Baron (worth the #3)
Raef (probably slightly more disappointing than Gordon)
Chauncey (took a while, but he's a superstar now)
If you are willing to make arguments for Horford, Williams, Melo, Gasol, Baron, and Chauncey, then you have six of the past ten. Even if you question one or two of them you still have 40-50%.
If you look at the #6 over the past ten years, I think I'd only put two guys in the sure-fire success category: Roy and Kaman. (Others are Yi, Webster, Childress, Wagner, Battier, DeMarr Johnson, Traylor, and Mercer).
Looking at the numbers, #3 tends to hit 2 to 3 times more often than the #6.
Still, this is a good haul for moving down just three spots. Quite honestly, I'm torn.
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shrink
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Good point .. I suppose its an issue of the definition of "star" vs "superstar." Personally, I'd only apply "superstar" to a handful of players .. none of which are on the list. For me:
Yes = LeBron, Kobe, Dwight Howard,
Almost = Garnett, Duncan, Wade, Chris Paul, Amare, Dirk, Yao
I understand this is all personal preference, but does anyone think Lopez has any chance to be lumped in with the top 3? or even the Top 10? I don't. I suspect Mayo never will make it into this stratosphere either, but there is a slim chance he might.
For me again, that makes it hard to trade away the #3 when we might hear "you traded away the <insert name, let's say KG > for just good players?" could come back to bite us in the butt. However, historically, we probably aren't getting Michael Jordan at the #3 here, so I think its the smarter move to trade down for a rich package like the #6, #15, and a future 1st.
Yes = LeBron, Kobe, Dwight Howard,
Almost = Garnett, Duncan, Wade, Chris Paul, Amare, Dirk, Yao
I understand this is all personal preference, but does anyone think Lopez has any chance to be lumped in with the top 3? or even the Top 10? I don't. I suspect Mayo never will make it into this stratosphere either, but there is a slim chance he might.
For me again, that makes it hard to trade away the #3 when we might hear "you traded away the <insert name, let's say KG > for just good players?" could come back to bite us in the butt. However, historically, we probably aren't getting Michael Jordan at the #3 here, so I think its the smarter move to trade down for a rich package like the #6, #15, and a future 1st.
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PeeDee
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I guess Mayo's stock is rising. Quoted from ESPN insider:
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft200 ... tch-080508
It's not easy for a draft prospect's stock to move up much when teams can't watch him play. But I'm hearing significant movement is taking place for USC's OJ Mayo.
As more NBA teams watch his tape and do background checks, the more it looks like Mayo may become the consensus No. 3 pick in the draft.
Mayo's stock suffered at the start of the season based on some pretty unrealistic expectations. He's been on scouts' radars since the eighth grade, and many expected him to be a LeBron James-type dominant player as a freshman.
His per-game numbers were excellent for a freshman: 20.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists on 44 percent shooting from the field and 41 percent shooting from 3-point range. But they didn't blow anyone away.
Scouts complained about his shot selection and the fact that he didn't appear to have the point guard skills they thought he might have. Many dropped him from the top 10 on their draft boards.
But Mayo finished the season strong enough that teams had to go back and re-evaluate the tape. What they're seeing now is generating significant buzz. Multiple GMs are now telling me that Mayo's talent may be as good as advertised.
"When you start to reassess a kid like that and quit looking at just the flaws, you see a very talented basketball player," one prominent GM with a pick in the lottery said. "I think he's going to be great."
But there's another story, too, that's helping Mayo's stock. More and more teams are reporting that their background checks are coming back as positives for Mayo. Teams say that he earned good grades at USC and was a good citizen for coach Tim Floyd, and they report multiple instances of Mayo volunteering to help underprivileged kids.
"Everything that we're hearing is that he's basically a good kid," another GM said. "It's a big deal when you're drafting high. He's got to be good both on and off the court. I had my worries about OJ. But my people are telling me he's OK."
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft200 ... tch-080508
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the_bruce
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I took a look at past drafts just now and this is the list since 1999-2006. I counted 26 players out of 128 that I'd feel pretty good about getting. Perhaps not all "superstars", but worthy of being considered franchise building blocks. That's a 20% chance. Probably 13 of those guys are borderline superstars to actual superstars, thats a 10% chance.
Not to say theres a 30% chance at a superstar with 3 trys, but it might be comparable to getting the #3 if the third pick is a 50/50 shot at a superstar. Maybe you get lucky 3 times and get 3 amazing players. Or you just get 2 solid pieces and no superstar. This takes away plenty of risk in almost any case of selecting a player, and unless the #3 turns into Kobe would be a great trade.
Theres also the fact that it removes the wolves pick debt entirely which could be a huge blunder if it ends up in the lotto without protection. If the pick ends up unprotected when the clippers get it and it lands at #1 and they draft have a shot to draft the next great thing how much does that hurt?
1999
6. Wally Szczerbiak Miami (OH) Minnesota
7. Richard Hamilton Connecticut Washington
8. Andre Miller Utah Cleveland
9. Shawn Marion Nevada-Las Vegas Phoenix
10. Jason Terry Arizona Atlanta
11. Trajan Langdon Duke Cleveland
12. Aleksander Radojevic Barton County (KS) CC Toronto
13. Corey Maggette Duke Seattle
14. William Avery Duke Minnesota
15. Frederic Weis Limoges (France) New York
16. Ron Artest
2000
6. DerMarr Johnson Cincinnati Atlanta
7. Chris Mihm Texas Chicago
8. Jamal Crawford Michigan Cleveland
9. Joel Przybilla Minnesota Houston
10. Keyon Dooling Missouri Orlando
11. Jerome Moiso UCLA Boston
12. Etan Thomas Syracuse Dallas
13. Courtney Alexander Fresno State Orlando
14. Mateen Cleaves Michigan State Detroit
15. Jason Collier Georgia Tech Milwaukee
16. Hidayet Turkoglu Efes Pilsen (Turkey) Sacramento
2001
6. Shane Battier Duke Vancouver
7. Eddie Griffin Seton Hall New Jersey
8. DeSagana Diop Oak Hill (VA) Academy Cleveland
9. Rodney White Charlotte Detroit
10. Joe Johnson Arkansas Boston
11. Kedrick Brown Okaloosa-Walton (FL) CC Boston
12. Vladimir Radmanovic FMP Zeleznik (Yugo) Seattle
13. Richard Jefferson Arizona Houston
14. Troy Murphy Notre Dame Golden State
15. Steven Hunter DePaul Orlando
16. Kirk Haston Indiana Charlotte
2002
6. Dajuan Wagner Memphis Cleveland
7. Maybyner Hilario Vasco de Gama-Brazil New York
8. Chris Wilcox Maryland LA Clippers
9. Amare Stoudemire Cypress Creek (FL) HS Phoenix
10. Caron Butler Connecticut Miami
11. Jared Jeffries Indiana Washington
12. Melvin Ely Fresno State LA Clippers
13. Marcus Haislip Tennessee Milwaukee
14. Frederick Jones Oregon Indiana
15. Bostjan Nachbar Benneton Treviso-Italy Houston
16. Jiri Welsch Olimpija-Slovenia Philadelphia
2003
6. Los Angeles Clippers Chris Kaman C Central Michigan
7. Chicago Bulls Kirk Hinrich G Kansas
8. Milwaukee Bucks T.J. Ford G Texas
9. New York Knicks Mike Sweetney F, Georgetown
10. Washington Wizards Jarvis Hayes G/F Georgia
11. Golden State Warriors Mickael Pietrus G/F France
12. Seattle Sonics Nick Collison F Kansas
13. Memphis Grizzlies Marcus Banks G UNLV (traded to Boston)
14. Seattle Sonics Luke Ridnour G Oregon
15. Orlando Magic Reece Gaines G Louisville
16. Boston Celtics Troy Bell G Boston College(traded to Memphis)
2004
06. Atlanta Josh Childress Stanford
07. Phoenix Loul Deng Duke
08. Toronto Rafeal Arajuo BYU
09. Philadelphia Andre Iguodala Arizona
10. Cleveland Luke Jackson Oregon
11. Golden State Andris Biedrins Latvia
12. Seattle Robert Swift Bakersfield HS (Calif.)
13. Portland Sebastian Telfair Abraham Lincoln HS (N.Y.)
14. Utah Kris Humpries Minnesota
15. Boston Al Jefferson Prentiss HS (Miss.)
16. Utah Kirk Snyder Nevada
2005
6 Portland Trail Blazers Martell Webster, Seattle Prep HS
7 Toronto Raptors Charlie Villanueva, Connecticut
8 New York Knicks Channing Frye, Arizona
9 Golden State Warriors Ike Diogu, Arizona State
10 LA Lakers Andrew Bynum, St. Joseph (NJ) HS
11 Orlando Magic Fran Vazquez, Spain
12 LA Clippers Yaroslav Korolev, CSKA Moscow
13 Charlotte Bobcats Sean May, North Carolina
14 Minnesota Timberwolves Rashad McCants, North Carolina
15 New Jersey Nets Antoine Wright, Texas A&M
16 Toronto Raptors Joey Graham, Oklahoma State
2006
6 Minnesota Timberwolves Brandon Roy Washington
7 Boston Celtics Randy Foye Villanova
8 Houston Rockets Rudy Gay Connecticut
9 Golden State Warriors Patrick O'Bryant Bradley
10 Seattle Supersonics Saer Sene Senegal
11 Orlando Magic J.J. Redick Duke
12 N.O./Okla. City Hornets Hilton Armstrong Connecticut
13 Philadelphia 76ers Thabo Sefolosha Switzerland
14 Utah Jazz Ronnie Brewer Arkansas
15 N.O./Okla. City Hornets Cedric Simmons North Carolina State
16 Chicago Bulls Rodney Carney Memphis
Not to say theres a 30% chance at a superstar with 3 trys, but it might be comparable to getting the #3 if the third pick is a 50/50 shot at a superstar. Maybe you get lucky 3 times and get 3 amazing players. Or you just get 2 solid pieces and no superstar. This takes away plenty of risk in almost any case of selecting a player, and unless the #3 turns into Kobe would be a great trade.
Theres also the fact that it removes the wolves pick debt entirely which could be a huge blunder if it ends up in the lotto without protection. If the pick ends up unprotected when the clippers get it and it lands at #1 and they draft have a shot to draft the next great thing how much does that hurt?
1999
6. Wally Szczerbiak Miami (OH) Minnesota
7. Richard Hamilton Connecticut Washington
8. Andre Miller Utah Cleveland
9. Shawn Marion Nevada-Las Vegas Phoenix
10. Jason Terry Arizona Atlanta
11. Trajan Langdon Duke Cleveland
12. Aleksander Radojevic Barton County (KS) CC Toronto
13. Corey Maggette Duke Seattle
14. William Avery Duke Minnesota
15. Frederic Weis Limoges (France) New York
16. Ron Artest
2000
6. DerMarr Johnson Cincinnati Atlanta
7. Chris Mihm Texas Chicago
8. Jamal Crawford Michigan Cleveland
9. Joel Przybilla Minnesota Houston
10. Keyon Dooling Missouri Orlando
11. Jerome Moiso UCLA Boston
12. Etan Thomas Syracuse Dallas
13. Courtney Alexander Fresno State Orlando
14. Mateen Cleaves Michigan State Detroit
15. Jason Collier Georgia Tech Milwaukee
16. Hidayet Turkoglu Efes Pilsen (Turkey) Sacramento
2001
6. Shane Battier Duke Vancouver
7. Eddie Griffin Seton Hall New Jersey
8. DeSagana Diop Oak Hill (VA) Academy Cleveland
9. Rodney White Charlotte Detroit
10. Joe Johnson Arkansas Boston
11. Kedrick Brown Okaloosa-Walton (FL) CC Boston
12. Vladimir Radmanovic FMP Zeleznik (Yugo) Seattle
13. Richard Jefferson Arizona Houston
14. Troy Murphy Notre Dame Golden State
15. Steven Hunter DePaul Orlando
16. Kirk Haston Indiana Charlotte
2002
6. Dajuan Wagner Memphis Cleveland
7. Maybyner Hilario Vasco de Gama-Brazil New York
8. Chris Wilcox Maryland LA Clippers
9. Amare Stoudemire Cypress Creek (FL) HS Phoenix
10. Caron Butler Connecticut Miami
11. Jared Jeffries Indiana Washington
12. Melvin Ely Fresno State LA Clippers
13. Marcus Haislip Tennessee Milwaukee
14. Frederick Jones Oregon Indiana
15. Bostjan Nachbar Benneton Treviso-Italy Houston
16. Jiri Welsch Olimpija-Slovenia Philadelphia
2003
6. Los Angeles Clippers Chris Kaman C Central Michigan
7. Chicago Bulls Kirk Hinrich G Kansas
8. Milwaukee Bucks T.J. Ford G Texas
9. New York Knicks Mike Sweetney F, Georgetown
10. Washington Wizards Jarvis Hayes G/F Georgia
11. Golden State Warriors Mickael Pietrus G/F France
12. Seattle Sonics Nick Collison F Kansas
13. Memphis Grizzlies Marcus Banks G UNLV (traded to Boston)
14. Seattle Sonics Luke Ridnour G Oregon
15. Orlando Magic Reece Gaines G Louisville
16. Boston Celtics Troy Bell G Boston College(traded to Memphis)
2004
06. Atlanta Josh Childress Stanford
07. Phoenix Loul Deng Duke
08. Toronto Rafeal Arajuo BYU
09. Philadelphia Andre Iguodala Arizona
10. Cleveland Luke Jackson Oregon
11. Golden State Andris Biedrins Latvia
12. Seattle Robert Swift Bakersfield HS (Calif.)
13. Portland Sebastian Telfair Abraham Lincoln HS (N.Y.)
14. Utah Kris Humpries Minnesota
15. Boston Al Jefferson Prentiss HS (Miss.)
16. Utah Kirk Snyder Nevada
2005
6 Portland Trail Blazers Martell Webster, Seattle Prep HS
7 Toronto Raptors Charlie Villanueva, Connecticut
8 New York Knicks Channing Frye, Arizona
9 Golden State Warriors Ike Diogu, Arizona State
10 LA Lakers Andrew Bynum, St. Joseph (NJ) HS
11 Orlando Magic Fran Vazquez, Spain
12 LA Clippers Yaroslav Korolev, CSKA Moscow
13 Charlotte Bobcats Sean May, North Carolina
14 Minnesota Timberwolves Rashad McCants, North Carolina
15 New Jersey Nets Antoine Wright, Texas A&M
16 Toronto Raptors Joey Graham, Oklahoma State
2006
6 Minnesota Timberwolves Brandon Roy Washington
7 Boston Celtics Randy Foye Villanova
8 Houston Rockets Rudy Gay Connecticut
9 Golden State Warriors Patrick O'Bryant Bradley
10 Seattle Supersonics Saer Sene Senegal
11 Orlando Magic J.J. Redick Duke
12 N.O./Okla. City Hornets Hilton Armstrong Connecticut
13 Philadelphia 76ers Thabo Sefolosha Switzerland
14 Utah Jazz Ronnie Brewer Arkansas
15 N.O./Okla. City Hornets Cedric Simmons North Carolina State
16 Chicago Bulls Rodney Carney Memphis
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the_bruce
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shrink wrote:Yes = LeBron, Kobe, Dwight Howard,
Almost = Garnett, Duncan, Wade, Chris Paul, Amare, Dirk, Yao
I think that's sort of a broad sweep of things. Theres probably more levels imo.
LeBron, Kobe are on another plane when compared to other players. You'd mention them in the same sentence as MJ, Magic, and Bird. Of the players drafted this year Mayo probably does have the best shot at being this type of player, because he has something you can't teach. Determination and drive to be great. To me that's his upside. He wants to be great and you can tell, but I don't think athletically he can reach this level.
The rest I would call superstars though.
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GopherIt!
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Yeah, it's really looking like O.J. Mayo is the clear cut third best player in the draft. Assuming of course that we get pick three, Mayo might be our best shot at a superstar. I don't see us ever getting this high of a pick again with our current group of players. We certainly won't find a player with that kind of ceiling in free agency or in a trade. With that in mind I don't think clearing cap space or (re)acquiring picks is worth trading down even a few slots. If there wasn't a clear cut top three emerging in the draft then it would be a different story.
Our cap situation should be fine even with Marko around provided we behave responsibly this off season. This assumes of course we will find a trade or FA in the future worth a near max or max deal that fits our team. If we think the cap #'s will be too tight, I'd rather risk having to dump Cookie, Gomes, or Shad (or possibly all three of them) than mortgage what we would have in front of us right now in O.J. Mayo.
If we get the chance we need to draft him. He may not have a ceiling as high as Kobe but I think he is going to be a superstar.
Our cap situation should be fine even with Marko around provided we behave responsibly this off season. This assumes of course we will find a trade or FA in the future worth a near max or max deal that fits our team. If we think the cap #'s will be too tight, I'd rather risk having to dump Cookie, Gomes, or Shad (or possibly all three of them) than mortgage what we would have in front of us right now in O.J. Mayo.
If we get the chance we need to draft him. He may not have a ceiling as high as Kobe but I think he is going to be a superstar.
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