It Was All a Dream: my vision for this offseason
Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2020 8:10 am
We are standing at the edge of a very exciting season. I think that the moves that we need to make this offseason could make or break our contending hopes, with other top teams likely to improve. Here is my plan, with regard to role/roster balance, salary cap management and more.
1) decline Garrett Temple's team option - I've gone back and forth on this, since he's a union boss and Ky's friend. But our cap crunch is going to demand that every dollar counts, and I just don't see him locking down a role next year. He knows how to be a 3&D dude, how to slide his feet while guarding and prepare for open shots on the perimeter. His body just can't keep up with his mind anymore. GT carried us for a couple of games, I'm glad we had him this year. But at 34, he's expendable.
2) trade Taurean Prince and the 55th pick for Kyle Anderson - not a sexy move, but a great fit for our needs and a hometown kid. Nash loved Boris Diaw in Phoenix, and SloMo has a similar game. He can be the high-post zone buster with his court vision and can guard 1 thru 5 at an above average level. He comes from the San Antonio tree, and was an elite player in his last season there before languishing in Memphis. He also makes $4mil less than TP, and again, every bit of cap savings helps.
3) trade Spencer Dinwiddie and Jarrett Allen for the #2 pick - two of our cornerstones this season get the boot?! Well, the progressive luxury tax is going to make keeping both of them unrealistic next offseason. The time to recoup value for them is now, and Golden State is looking to move their pick for immediate impact players. We hand the keys to the 2nd unit to Caris, and replace some of Spencer's minutes with a high-ceiling, cost-controlled prospect.
4) sign Serge Ibaka to the taxpayer MLE, Michael Carter-Williams to the BAE, and Andre Roberson to a vet min deal - the FoK connection works in our favor, as does the shallow pool of money to spend on free agents. All 3 are versatile plus-defenders who would complement our potent offense.
5) draft Anthony Edwards at #2, Saddiq Bey at #19 - a raw and rare prospect out of GA, he has the tools to be an elite two-way force under the correct tutelage. Nash, Vaughn and perhaps MDA can instruct him from the sidelines, while Kev and Ky can rein in his erratic tendencies. Bey is a smart, limited player whose outside shooting will complement the bench nicely.
The end result is that we assemble a team loaded with youth and experience, offense and defense, and is not so bloated in payroll that we would need to pawn off a piece later. Tsai is a very rich man, but this is not baseball. The soft luxury tax has harsher penalties than most folks realize, beyond just money, but roster flexibility and options to extend contracts. My plan still leaves us with the highest payroll in the NBA, but avoids the future budget of $180mil, with $120mil or more in taxes.
What's YOUR vision for our future?
Irving, Edwards, Harris, Durant, Ibaka
Williams, Levert, Bey, Anderson, Jordan
Musa, Cabarrot, Roberson, Kurucs, Claxton
1) decline Garrett Temple's team option - I've gone back and forth on this, since he's a union boss and Ky's friend. But our cap crunch is going to demand that every dollar counts, and I just don't see him locking down a role next year. He knows how to be a 3&D dude, how to slide his feet while guarding and prepare for open shots on the perimeter. His body just can't keep up with his mind anymore. GT carried us for a couple of games, I'm glad we had him this year. But at 34, he's expendable.
2) trade Taurean Prince and the 55th pick for Kyle Anderson - not a sexy move, but a great fit for our needs and a hometown kid. Nash loved Boris Diaw in Phoenix, and SloMo has a similar game. He can be the high-post zone buster with his court vision and can guard 1 thru 5 at an above average level. He comes from the San Antonio tree, and was an elite player in his last season there before languishing in Memphis. He also makes $4mil less than TP, and again, every bit of cap savings helps.
3) trade Spencer Dinwiddie and Jarrett Allen for the #2 pick - two of our cornerstones this season get the boot?! Well, the progressive luxury tax is going to make keeping both of them unrealistic next offseason. The time to recoup value for them is now, and Golden State is looking to move their pick for immediate impact players. We hand the keys to the 2nd unit to Caris, and replace some of Spencer's minutes with a high-ceiling, cost-controlled prospect.
4) sign Serge Ibaka to the taxpayer MLE, Michael Carter-Williams to the BAE, and Andre Roberson to a vet min deal - the FoK connection works in our favor, as does the shallow pool of money to spend on free agents. All 3 are versatile plus-defenders who would complement our potent offense.
5) draft Anthony Edwards at #2, Saddiq Bey at #19 - a raw and rare prospect out of GA, he has the tools to be an elite two-way force under the correct tutelage. Nash, Vaughn and perhaps MDA can instruct him from the sidelines, while Kev and Ky can rein in his erratic tendencies. Bey is a smart, limited player whose outside shooting will complement the bench nicely.
The end result is that we assemble a team loaded with youth and experience, offense and defense, and is not so bloated in payroll that we would need to pawn off a piece later. Tsai is a very rich man, but this is not baseball. The soft luxury tax has harsher penalties than most folks realize, beyond just money, but roster flexibility and options to extend contracts. My plan still leaves us with the highest payroll in the NBA, but avoids the future budget of $180mil, with $120mil or more in taxes.
What's YOUR vision for our future?
Irving, Edwards, Harris, Durant, Ibaka
Williams, Levert, Bey, Anderson, Jordan
Musa, Cabarrot, Roberson, Kurucs, Claxton