FREE AGENT/Trade/Transaction Idea thread

[ORANGEandBLUE]

He wouldn't be a good fit even if we do get a lights out shooter. Rondo's skill set is the exact opposite of what the triangle needs (even if we are adding in more pick and rolls than usual). I like Rondo's competitiveness, his vision, and rebounding ability but he pounds the ball for HUGE stretches and can't shoot -- he basically single-handedly ruined the Mavs' offense because of the type of player he is.

Triangle or not, we need somebody who can push the ball and get into the paint. And Rondo gives you enough rebounding and size in the backcourt to have Melo playing the 4 where he is probably better off.

[NBA Fan 1234]

He wouldn't be a good fit even if we do get a lights out shooter. Rondo's skill set is the exact opposite of what the triangle needs (even if we are adding in more pick and rolls than usual). I like Rondo's competitiveness, his vision, and rebounding ability but he pounds the ball for HUGE stretches and can't shoot -- he basically single-handedly ruined the Mavs' offense because of the type of player he is.

Triangle or not, we need somebody who can push the ball and get into the paint. And Rondo gives you enough rebounding and size in the backcourt to have Melo playing the 4 where he is probably better off.

Melo doesn't have to switch to the 4 at all nor is he better off there, IMO.

Hopefully we draft Russell and won't have to worry about spending money on Rondo. If we were not running the triangle, I'd say sign me up. We are though and, therefore, he doesn't fit at all.

[Jeff Van Gully]

rondo is straight trash now. why entertain the thought? rather let gallo run it with a cheap veteran backup.

[ORANGEandBLUE]

He wouldn't be a good fit even if we do get a lights out shooter. Rondo's skill set is the exact opposite of what the triangle needs (even if we are adding in more pick and rolls than usual). I like Rondo's competitiveness, his vision, and rebounding ability but he pounds the ball for HUGE stretches and can't shoot -- he basically single-handedly ruined the Mavs' offense because of the type of player he is.

Triangle or not, we need somebody who can push the ball and get into the paint. And Rondo gives you enough rebounding and size in the backcourt to have Melo playing the 4 where he is probably better off.

Melo doesn't have to switch to the 4 at all nor is he better off there, IMO.

Hopefully we draft Russell and won't have to worry about spending money on Rondo. If we were not running the triangle, I'd say sign me up. We are though and, therefore, he doesn't fit at all.

If Rondo is acquired for Calderon and THJ, he is not really costing us anything significant, especially if we could get him to agree to $12.6m for one year. If they can get him to buy in as an off the ball cutter and focus more on D he could fit in very well. Of course if we get Russell it wouldn't be necessary, but if we get Okafor we'd need to focus on defensive guards.

[Jeff Van Gully]

I'm gonna list a few scenarios with draft picks choices that will dictate our FA decision/route.
The #1 pick seems to be Towns on a majority of draft boards, so I think it's kind of unlikely he'll fall to us.
So instead I'll be doing scenarios for picks 2-3, the prospects that are projected at their range happen to be my fav as well!

I'll be doing 1 'realistic' and 1 'unrealistic' scenario for each prospect.





Assuming we draft Jahlil Okafor #2

C: Jahlil Okafor
PF: Taj Gibson
SF: Carmelo Anthony
SG: Danny Green
PG: Corey Joseph

GREAT blend of offense (interior and perimiter!) along with good overall defense.
We obviously trade away Calderon by packaging Timmy, Rocket's 2nd round picks we obtained this year, our trade exception for Taj.

Alternative scenario I have which is unrealistic

C: Jahlil Okafor
PF: Draymond Green
SF: Carmelo Anthony
SG: Danny Green
PG: Langston Galloway

This will be a versatile line-up, because of Draymond Greens ability to guard almost every position;
He will be interchangeable with Melo on both offense and defense, basically the perfect fit in between the Melo and Okafor 1-2 punch.

I think I'll slightly prefer the 'realistic' lineup for Okafor's case.





Assuming we draft D'Angelo Russell #3

C: Robin Lopez
PF: Paul Milsap
SF: Carmelo Anthony
SG: D'Angelo Russell
PG: Langston Galloway

A good blend of offense, defense and passing.

Alternative scenario I have which is unrealistic

C: Marc Gasol
PF: Carmelo Anthony
SF: Danny Green or DeMarre Carroll
SG: D''Angelo Russell
PG: Langston Galloway

Defense, passing and scoring - just a perfect fit!
Due to having Marc in this lineup, it allows us to slot Melo into PF for both offense and defense.
Surrounded with deadly clutch shooters, Marc or Melo will have no problems passing out of the post/doubles.

Basically pick your poison and is my personal favourite lineup out of all the scenarios I posted!

These are all pretty good lineups, My choice would be:

C. Okafor/Amundson
PF. T.Gibson/Barg (lowball only)
SF. Melo/Early
Sg. D. Green/Shved/THJ
Pg. Galo/Calderon

That's a good mixture of defense, offense, and youth. There would be no need to break the piggy bankand would actually have enough to sign someone else.

no need to move melo from the three in any of those scenarios. move gallo to the bench and let d'angelo run the 1. get some length on defense at the 2. if we trade calderon and timmy, we can have $31m to play with. that means you could get rolo, millsap, AND green/matthews to go with melo and DLo. i'd be perfectly fine with that program.

russell
green/matthews
melo
millsap
robin lopez

i'm plenty pleased with that there. all realistic FA targets. russell would need to be coached up on defense, but the rest of the unit would be getting after it. melo wouldn't slack off in a more defensive-minded culture like that. tough vets on the bench like uncle lou. gallo on the bench. a couple other vet min journeymen and we're ready to build. 2016, mo' paper for mo' good pieces. i'm with it.

of course, i would prefer to draft towns and keep gallo in the starting lineup and spend more around he, melo, and towns.

gonna pretend like i didn't see an okafor, bargnani, melo lineup in there.

[ORANGEandBLUE]

We can't afford Green + Millsap + Lopez. That's about $45m of salary.

[Thugger HBC]

Exactly what is the difference between a healthy Amare and LMA, game-wise?

[kingquan316]

Exactly what is the difference between a healthy Amare and LMA, game-wise?

Not much I don't think, besides Amare being more athletic. But Knicks only had a healthy Amare for like half a season. I'll take a healthy Amare this offseason if it's available.

[E-Balla]

Exactly what is the difference between a healthy Amare and LMA, game-wise?

The biggest difference is that LaMarcus is a very good defender. He's that level barely under All Defense and Amare is pretty awful.

Offensively the biggest difference (assuming you mean prime Amare) is that LaMarcus has a post game when all else fails. His current coach might use him the same way he used Dirk in Dallas but LaMarcus was better at scoring when he was a post player under McMillan.

Amare is a way better faceup player and PNR target with a better jumper. LaMarcus is more of a traditional big man who happens to be a great shooter on top of it. I've been saying for 3 years that LaMarcus is being misused but using him as a pick and pop threat/high post option opens the floor up so much for Lillard and allows him to drive to the rim.

Remember LaMarcus might lead the league in 16-23 foot jumpers for the 3rd straight year but he has also been top 5 in post scoring each of those seasons and he was 2nd this year while also being on of the more efficient post guys.

Amare is slightly better overall because of the strength of his face up game (it can't be understated how great he was at this) but LaMarcus' versatility can't be understated. He went from being used like Duncan on offense and KG on defense under McMillan to being used like Dirk on offense and a true rim protector (he's one of the top rim protectors in the league and Portland has a top 5 defense) on defense now.

[Thugger HBC]

Exactly what is the difference between a healthy Amare and LMA, game-wise?

The biggest difference is that LaMarcus is a very good defender. He's that level barely under All Defense and Amare is pretty awful.

Offensively the biggest difference (assuming you mean prime Amare) is that LaMarcus has a post game when all else fails. His current coach might use him the same way he used Dirk in Dallas but LaMarcus was better at scoring when he was a post player under McMillan.

Amare is a way better faceup player and PNR target with a better jumper. LaMarcus is more of a traditional big man who happens to be a great shooter on top of it. I've been saying for 3 years that LaMarcus is being misused but using him as a pick and pop threat/high post option opens the floor up so much for Lillard and allows him to drive to the rim.

Remember LaMarcus might lead the league in 16-23 foot jumpers for the 3rd straight year but he has also been top 5 in post scoring each of those seasons and he was 2nd this year while also being on of the more efficient post guys.

Amare is slightly better overall because of the strength of his face up game (it can't be understated how great he was at this) but LaMarcus' versatility can't be understated. He went from being used like Duncan on offense and KG on defense under McMillan to being used like Dirk on offense and a true rim protector (he's one of the top rim protectors in the league and Portland has a top 5 defense) on defense now.

Thanks. Now if you can, plug him into the triangle or pair him with Melo. How do you see that working out?

[ORANGEandBLUE]

Melo and LA would be fine together. LA is a much better defender and would not clog the paint like Amare because he is a much better shooter and has a much better understanding of where to be on offense. You can play them along pretty much any kind of forward/big depending on the matchup. As far as the triangle, he can play the lead role or clear out to let Melo work down low.

If LA is willing to sign you have to pull the trigger, especially considering that as a max player he will be a bargain under the new CBA.

[E-Balla]

Exactly what is the difference between a healthy Amare and LMA, game-wise?

The biggest difference is that LaMarcus is a very good defender. He's that level barely under All Defense and Amare is pretty awful.

Offensively the biggest difference (assuming you mean prime Amare) is that LaMarcus has a post game when all else fails. His current coach might use him the same way he used Dirk in Dallas but LaMarcus was better at scoring when he was a post player under McMillan.

Amare is a way better faceup player and PNR target with a better jumper. LaMarcus is more of a traditional big man who happens to be a great shooter on top of it. I've been saying for 3 years that LaMarcus is being misused but using him as a pick and pop threat/high post option opens the floor up so much for Lillard and allows him to drive to the rim.

Remember LaMarcus might lead the league in 16-23 foot jumpers for the 3rd straight year but he has also been top 5 in post scoring each of those seasons and he was 2nd this year while also being on of the more efficient post guys.

Amare is slightly better overall because of the strength of his face up game (it can't be understated how great he was at this) but LaMarcus' versatility can't be understated. He went from being used like Duncan on offense and KG on defense under McMillan to being used like Dirk on offense and a true rim protector (he's one of the top rim protectors in the league and Portland has a top 5 defense) on defense now.

Thanks. Now if you can, plug him into the triangle or pair him with Melo. How do you see that working out?

If Melo is in the post LaMarcus is still one of the best shooting PFs in the league. He was 35% from deep on 105 attempts and he's a consistent 41-43% from 16+ feet every year. Not the best shooter but you have to guard that. When LaMarcus is posted up we already know Melo's deadliest skill right now is his jumper off the catch and shoot.

You might ask how effective the two are as post options. Melo lead all perimeter players in post possessions per game and he was the most efficient perimeter post player in the league despite dealing with injuries all year (mostly a result of the triangle freeing up Melo and stopping the number of effective doubles he saw actually). LaMarcus on the other hand led all PFs in post ups total and per game and he is the most efficient post option with over 4 attempts a game (he has 8.7 and Melo has 5.5). These two will be the best 1-2 post option since maybe Shaq and Kobe (or Kobe and Pau) and we all know how effective that double post game was in the triangle.

And remember LaMarcus also has a super effective low post game he used to flaunt back under McMillan.

LaMarcus also happens to be a great pick and roll option even though his efficiency numbers since Lillard joined the team would say otherwise. LaMarcus is only in the 20th percentile but he barely rolls. Back when he was next to Roy he rolled on more PNRs and was one of the top 10-25 PNR rollers every year so I think he can still bring that impact.

LaMarcus like Melo has shown the ability to play in all types of offenses. They run the run and gun, high post, motion offense the Mavs ran back in 2011 right now but back in the McMillan days they were the slowest teams ever (seriously - compared to league average they had the slowest pace ever) and they ran a post centric offense through LaMarcus and before that a PNR heavy offense through Miller and Roy.

I have a ton of post on LaMarcus if you check my post history. I can find some if you really want to know more about his game.

[Thugger HBC]

The biggest difference is that LaMarcus is a very good defender. He's that level barely under All Defense and Amare is pretty awful.

Offensively the biggest difference (assuming you mean prime Amare) is that LaMarcus has a post game when all else fails. His current coach might use him the same way he used Dirk in Dallas but LaMarcus was better at scoring when he was a post player under McMillan.

Amare is a way better faceup player and PNR target with a better jumper. LaMarcus is more of a traditional big man who happens to be a great shooter on top of it. I've been saying for 3 years that LaMarcus is being misused but using him as a pick and pop threat/high post option opens the floor up so much for Lillard and allows him to drive to the rim.

Remember LaMarcus might lead the league in 16-23 foot jumpers for the 3rd straight year but he has also been top 5 in post scoring each of those seasons and he was 2nd this year while also being on of the more efficient post guys.

Amare is slightly better overall because of the strength of his face up game (it can't be understated how great he was at this) but LaMarcus' versatility can't be understated. He went from being used like Duncan on offense and KG on defense under McMillan to being used like Dirk on offense and a true rim protector (he's one of the top rim protectors in the league and Portland has a top 5 defense) on defense now.

Thanks. Now if you can, plug him into the triangle or pair him with Melo. How do you see that working out?

If Melo is in the post LaMarcus is still one of the best shooting PFs in the league. He was 35% from deep on 105 attempts and he's a consistent 41-43% from 16+ feet every year. Not the best shooter but you have to guard that. When LaMarcus is posted up we already know Melo's deadliest skill right now is his jumper off the catch and shoot.

You might ask how effective the two are as post options. Melo lead all perimeter players in post possessions per game and he was the most efficient perimeter post player in the league despite dealing with injuries all year (mostly a result of the triangle freeing up Melo and stopping the number of effective doubles he saw actually). LaMarcus on the other hand led all PFs in post ups total and per game and he is the most efficient post option with over 4 attempts a game (he has 8.7 and Melo has 5.5). These two will be the best 1-2 post option since maybe Shaq and Kobe (or Kobe and Pau) and we all know how effective that double post game was in the triangle.

And remember LaMarcus also has a super effective low post game he used to flaunt back under McMillan.

LaMarcus also happens to be a great pick and roll option even though his efficiency numbers since Lillard joined the team would say otherwise. LaMarcus is only in the 20th percentile but he barely rolls. Back when he was next to Roy he rolled on more PNRs and was one of the top 10-25 PNR rollers every year so I think he can still bring that impact.

LaMarcus like Melo has shown the ability to play in all types of offenses. They run the run and gun, high post, motion offense the Mavs ran back in 2011 right now but back in the McMillan days they were the slowest teams ever (seriously - compared to league average they had the slowest pace ever) and they ran a post centric offense through LaMarcus and before that a PNR heavy offense through Miller and Roy.

I have a ton of post on LaMarcus if you check my post history. I can find some if you really want to know more about his game.

feel free to post some links. I'm asking because I dont really watch the Blazers alot, but I did notice he plays differently. I'm also in the belief that he might leave, and come here.

[E-Balla]

Thanks. Now if you can, plug him into the triangle or pair him with Melo. How do you see that working out?

If Melo is in the post LaMarcus is still one of the best shooting PFs in the league. He was 35% from deep on 105 attempts and he's a consistent 41-43% from 16+ feet every year. Not the best shooter but you have to guard that. When LaMarcus is posted up we already know Melo's deadliest skill right now is his jumper off the catch and shoot.

You might ask how effective the two are as post options. Melo lead all perimeter players in post possessions per game and he was the most efficient perimeter post player in the league despite dealing with injuries all year (mostly a result of the triangle freeing up Melo and stopping the number of effective doubles he saw actually). LaMarcus on the other hand led all PFs in post ups total and per game and he is the most efficient post option with over 4 attempts a game (he has 8.7 and Melo has 5.5). These two will be the best 1-2 post option since maybe Shaq and Kobe (or Kobe and Pau) and we all know how effective that double post game was in the triangle.

And remember LaMarcus also has a super effective low post game he used to flaunt back under McMillan.

LaMarcus also happens to be a great pick and roll option even though his efficiency numbers since Lillard joined the team would say otherwise. LaMarcus is only in the 20th percentile but he barely rolls. Back when he was next to Roy he rolled on more PNRs and was one of the top 10-25 PNR rollers every year so I think he can still bring that impact.

LaMarcus like Melo has shown the ability to play in all types of offenses. They run the run and gun, high post, motion offense the Mavs ran back in 2011 right now but back in the McMillan days they were the slowest teams ever (seriously - compared to league average they had the slowest pace ever) and they ran a post centric offense through LaMarcus and before that a PNR heavy offense through Miller and Roy.

I have a ton of post on LaMarcus if you check my post history. I can find some if you really want to know more about his game.

feel free to post some links. I'm asking because I dont really watch the Blazers alot, but I did notice he plays differently. I'm also in the belief that he might leave, and come here.

Sideshow Bob once gathered some great posts Elgee and I had on LaMarcus back during the 2013 Retro Player of the Year project. This post will basically tell you what you need to know about LaMarcus.

Spoiler:

Here's Elgee and GC on Aldridge in the 2013 RPOY discussion thread:

I've been waiting until June to participate for fear of biasing myself with an anchor. Having just read this thread this morning, I'm glad I did because the oscillation reads like a bipolar journal. I've said this before, but if you guys are changing opinions a lot on anything that drastically in such a small sample, you have an unstable model...which is not a good thing. You don't want to say "HP stock went down today, it SUCKS!" and then say the next day "HP stock went up, put everything into HP stock!"

The first guy I want to discuss is LaMarcus Aldridge. I wrote about him in the past on my blog as a borderline top-10 player and have said he was the NBA's most underrated in the past. The advanced numbers were saying that. His game is well rounded and he's had good results on both ends of the court. He's just stuck in a situation where no one sees him and his National TV time is zilch. Yet LMA stood out in EV in the 2 years I tracked. He's been a mainstay near the top of the RAPM numbers up until last year. And his synergy figures are even better now -- I believe he was 5th in points per post this year, according to this http://blogs.trailblazers.com/Default.a ... temid=3821" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; He's a great pick n pop player, can stretch the floor and does really good work in isolation in the post. He's the most well-rounded and versatile he's ever been, and while he normally wouldn't be in this kind of discussion, the season is replete with injuries and thus we are moving down to a broader part of the bell curve where many guys need consideration. I like that he can play both PF and center as well.

FTR, against the top-7 defenses:
Aldridge averaged 21.1 ppg 2.3 apg 52.8% TS and 5.1 FTA/g
(Duncan averaged 16.5 ppg 2.2 apg 52.4% TS and 4.0 FTA/g FWIW)

Which means no decline against good defenses, IMO because what he brings is so well-rounded. LMA"s on/off splits were large this year: +9. And for those who don't want to be bogged down with lineup trickery, the old in/out test (in just 8 games) showed Portland to be a -1.8 SRS team with LMA and -8.0 without him.

I'm deciding between LMA and Duncan for the 5th spot, giving consideration to 2 other players (Anthony and Deron Williams). I don't see how James Harden gives a team more than Deron Williams, since they essentially play the same position and Williams does it better. Fatal broke down Harden's game before the playoffs and detailed exactly how he might struggle in a structured series, which is pretty much what happened. I didn't consider Harden a top-5 player last year and I don't think he had profound growth in his game -- he's a great PnR player, a good shooter, smart and efficient and draws contact, but he's in a system that magnifies his strengths and amplifies his stats.

EDIT: Just checked the rogue 2013 RAPM and Aldridge again in the ~4 range, next to Duncan and Westbrook.

I too only saw him a handful of times, so I'm not going to drive into tremendous detail. Portland did seem to hit tank mode at the end of the season, so that may have played into what GC was seeing.

First, I like the Bosh comparison. I think LMA is like a better version of Bosh. Better post. Better shooter. Probably better passer. And I think he's as capable or better defensively -- I actually think he's pretty underrated on defense. I'm not going to argue for him on the all-D team, but consider the RAPM finishes since I don't have time right now to delve into tracked data or game tape (anyone w synergy can expound):

2012 defense by RAPM
Tier 1: Duncan/Howard/Bogat/Gibson/Garnett
Tier 2: Asik, Chandler, Mbah a Moute, Aldridge, K. Thomas, Bosh

2011 RAPM
Tier 0: Garnett
Tier 1: Howard, Bogut, Duncan, J. Smith
Tier 2: Bosh, Andersen, Chandler, G. Wallace, Okafor, Aldridge

2010 RAPM
Tier 1: Bogut, Garnett, Duncan
Tier 2: Howard, Hibbert, Andersen, Mbah a Moute, Aldridge

2013 RAPM (rogue, incomplete)
Tier 0: Gibson, Garnett
Gier 1: M. Gasol, Duncan, Howard, Sanders
Tier 2: Asik, Aldridge, Splitter, Chandler

That's actually pretty consistent with how I see LMA defensively. He's capable. He can be "good." He's not the greatest on the ball but I like more of his help/global/rebounding/spacing contributions. And so while I compare TD and LMA, I have to ask is Timmy's defensive advantage enough to make up for LMA's offensive advantage? And BTW, bringing it back to Bosh, with all the injuries this year we are WAY down the bell curve, so the players are tightly packed together. A healthy Chris Bosh isn't too far behind the guys we are discussing.

Ok I saw a lot of Portland the last 2 years (again I love watching LMA and I love Lillard too) and here's what I think about LMA:

Offensively he's the best scoring big in the game now that Dirk's hurt. Now I know that statement isn't a huge leap (Wow the top scorer for bigmen is the best?) but it's important. Last season (where he was more inside and less out) he averaged 21.7 on 56 TS (+3.5). I won't speak on how he played in 2011 because I barely watch Portland that year outside of the playoffs, where he was pretty impressive offensively for half the series and finished with a decent 104 ORTG, but in 2012 I thought he was the best PF in the game outside of Dirk. He had a 113 ORTG (a result of being very stingy giving up the ball in the post). From 3-9 feet he was 52.3% (36% assisted) and from 10-16 he was 40.4% (36% assisted). Yeah that post game was flourishing. He posted up often but his most common post up play wasn't a hook. It was the rolling fade (his really didn't roll but whatever). They also ran him in the pnr a lot where he was probably the best pnr threat in the league. He finished like a slightly worse Dwight and popped like Bosh/KG. Most of the time they ran multiple screens until they freed him up to the basket for an easy finish. He didn't crash the boards much but when he did he finished those plays strong. His biggest weakness was working off the dribble from his faceup possessions. His jumpshot of the dribble is completely broken and it shows when he can't get a good first step because he's forced to throw up a brick everytime. I he could learn to shoot jumpers on the move he'd improve a lot but it was such a small percentage of his possessions that it didn't matter.

Now this season the team's identity changed completely. They got a new potential "star", a new coach and the most notable change was the team's pace. They weren't fast but prior to this year Portland was at historical levels of slow. This also meant that LaMarcus had to change his game completely.

First change was that he had less less post possessions. Posting up often leads to slow, methodical offense and the new coach wanted balance between slow, calculated offense, and fast, creative offense. LMA's percentages from 3-16 stayed relatively even to last year but he took way less shots from that range. They also changed what type of post possessions he got. He worked from 10+ feet way more than before and while his old best play was the rolling fade now he faced up a lot more. But he did improve. His jumpshot off the dribble still sucks but instead of dribbling he started using Melo's signature move (triple threat pull ups) instead. Overall the possessions were efficient but less efficient than the previous year.

The second and most notable change was in the way they ran pick and rolls. The new coach obviously loves Lillard and JJ and wants to develop them before trying to win. I say that because instead of having LMA roll off the picks for easy plays he had him pop or fade. That led to more lanes for Lillard and more space for JJ to work with. The pnr this season became a JJ/Lillard thing. I will say that it was effective but it wasn't good for LMA at all. It took him away from the basket and he led the league in midrange shots taken (while still being 42% on jumpshots).

The third change was in offensive rebounding and passing tendencies. JJ crashed the boards hard but for some reason it always seemed like LMA got back on defense super fast. Passing wise LMA went from passing to open threes to throwing the ball to cutters more often. Small changes but notable anyway.

Overall I think that his numbers will improve the second they're out of this transitional period. They clearly want Lillard to be the number one but he isn't ready yet so they're running a good offense for Lillard with LMA as the first option instead of running an offense for LMA until Lillard is ready. He's still the same 113-114 ORTG guy we saw the 3 years prior to this one if not better.

Defensively LMA really reminds me of a poor man's KG. He can't block shots at all but he contests a lot of jumpers and stands strong inside. As a one-on-one defender he's amazingly fast against shorter faceup bigs and at times SFs (remember that game winning defensive play against OKC last year) but his length still allows him to guard post possessions amazingly well. Surprisingly he can't guard tall, faceup bigs though so that's a major weakness (he doesn't have the quick hands needed to disrupt their drives which leads him to play them off). His biggest skill defensively is in the pnr though. I don't think there was a better pnr defender than LMA last year. He has nearl perfect timing on all switches and being quick while still being 6-11 with a 7-4 wingspan is very helpful even when he's late.

This season he played the same way for half the year but then the tank started and the team (including him) played like complete crap on defense. I know he can do better and he has but he still loses some points for participating in the tank IMO.

On the boards he really improved though. Before he had a bad tendency of boxing out too much. At a certain point you have to realize that your the biggest player on the floor and that just covering your man isn't enough. He really improved on that though.

Again remember this is a 21/9/3 guy. That's great but his team did tank and he did help them. Maybe next year he could be top 5-10 but this season? Nah.

[Thugger HBC]

I bookmarked it, I'm about to turn in for the night. Thanks for that.

[Crunch time 1]

We not getting him so why have this conversation. Lol so he leave because they was put out in the first round. But come to a team that won 16 games that make sense. What a step up for him think people would you turn down more money to go to a team with a worst record?

[malik959]

I'm gonna list a few scenarios with draft picks choices that will dictate our FA decision/route.
The #1 pick seems to be Towns on a majority of draft boards, so I think it's kind of unlikely he'll fall to us.
So instead I'll be doing scenarios for picks 2-3, the prospects that are projected at their range happen to be my fav as well!

I'll be doing 1 'realistic' and 1 'unrealistic' scenario for each prospect.





Assuming we draft Jahlil Okafor #2

C: Jahlil Okafor
PF: Taj Gibson
SF: Carmelo Anthony
SG: Danny Green
PG: Corey Joseph

GREAT blend of offense (interior and perimiter!) along with good overall defense.
We obviously trade away Calderon by packaging Timmy, Rocket's 2nd round picks we obtained this year, our trade exception for Taj.

Alternative scenario I have which is unrealistic

C: Jahlil Okafor
PF: Draymond Green
SF: Carmelo Anthony
SG: Danny Green
PG: Langston Galloway

This will be a versatile line-up, because of Draymond Greens ability to guard almost every position;
He will be interchangeable with Melo on both offense and defense, basically the perfect fit in between the Melo and Okafor 1-2 punch.

I think I'll slightly prefer the 'realistic' lineup for Okafor's case.





Assuming we draft D'Angelo Russell #3

C: Robin Lopez
PF: Paul Milsap
SF: Carmelo Anthony
SG: D'Angelo Russell
PG: Langston Galloway

A good blend of offense, defense and passing.

Alternative scenario I have which is unrealistic

C: Marc Gasol
PF: Carmelo Anthony
SF: Danny Green or DeMarre Carroll
SG: D''Angelo Russell
PG: Langston Galloway

Defense, passing and scoring - just a perfect fit!
Due to having Marc in this lineup, it allows us to slot Melo into PF for both offense and defense.
Surrounded with deadly clutch shooters, Marc or Melo will have no problems passing out of the post/doubles.

Basically pick your poison and is my personal favourite lineup out of all the scenarios I posted!

These are all pretty good lineups, My choice would be:

C. Okafor/Amundson
PF. T.Gibson/Barg (lowball only)
SF. Melo/Early
Sg. D. Green/Shved/THJ
Pg. Galo/Calderon

That's a good mixture of defense, offense, and youth. There would be no need to break the piggy bankand would actually have enough to sign someone else.

no need to move melo from the three in any of those scenarios. move gallo to the bench and let d'angelo run the 1. get some length on defense at the 2. if we trade calderon and timmy, we can have $31m to play with. that means you could get rolo, millsap, AND green/matthews to go with melo and DLo. i'd be perfectly fine with that program.

russell
green/matthews
melo
millsap
robin lopez

i'm plenty pleased with that there. all realistic FA targets. russell would need to be coached up on defense, but the rest of the unit would be getting after it. melo wouldn't slack off in a more defensive-minded culture like that. tough vets on the bench like uncle lou. gallo on the bench. a couple other vet min journeymen and we're ready to build. 2016, mo' paper for mo' good pieces. i'm with it.

of course, i would prefer to draft towns and keep gallo in the starting lineup and spend more around he, melo, and towns.

gonna pretend like i didn't see an okafor, bargnani, melo lineup in there.

For the Vet min Yes I would put Barg in. Now if you can find a scorer off the bench for around the same price to fit that team budget then cool. I'd take him over Acy (would cost the same) any day. At lease at vet min he could be cut at any moment if he is non productive.

[Jeff Van Gully]

These are all pretty good lineups, My choice would be:

C. Okafor/Amundson
PF. T.Gibson/Barg (lowball only)
SF. Melo/Early
Sg. D. Green/Shved/THJ
Pg. Galo/Calderon

That's a good mixture of defense, offense, and youth. There would be no need to break the piggy bankand would actually have enough to sign someone else.

no need to move melo from the three in any of those scenarios. move gallo to the bench and let d'angelo run the 1. get some length on defense at the 2. if we trade calderon and timmy, we can have $31m to play with. that means you could get rolo, millsap, AND green/matthews to go with melo and DLo. i'd be perfectly fine with that program.

russell
green/matthews
melo
millsap
robin lopez

i'm plenty pleased with that there. all realistic FA targets. russell would need to be coached up on defense, but the rest of the unit would be getting after it. melo wouldn't slack off in a more defensive-minded culture like that. tough vets on the bench like uncle lou. gallo on the bench. a couple other vet min journeymen and we're ready to build. 2016, mo' paper for mo' good pieces. i'm with it.

of course, i would prefer to draft towns and keep gallo in the starting lineup and spend more around he, melo, and towns.

gonna pretend like i didn't see an okafor, bargnani, melo lineup in there.

For the Vet min Yes I would put Barg in. Now if you can find a scorer off the bench for around the same price to fit that team budget then cool. I'd take him over Acy (would cost the same) any day. At lease at vet min he could be cut at any moment if he is non productive.

a scorer at what cost? i will let bargs ride bench for vet min. but i'm not relying on him. hell no.

[NoLayupRule]

rondo is straight trash now. why entertain the thought? rather let gallo run it with a cheap veteran backup.

i sorta agree
90%

but the amazing thing is that his season with Dallas has lowered his value to the lowest its been since pre-big three in Bahstun

we could probably lock him up for 10 mil - 12 mil

Im not saying thats the right move but Rondo at 12 mil would have been a pipe dream last year this time

[NoLayupRule]

I'm gonna list a few scenarios with draft picks choices that will dictate our FA decision/route.
The #1 pick seems to be Towns on a majority of draft boards, so I think it's kind of unlikely he'll fall to us.
So instead I'll be doing scenarios for picks 2-3, the prospects that are projected at their range happen to be my fav as well!

I'll be doing 1 'realistic' and 1 'unrealistic' scenario for each prospect.





Assuming we draft Jahlil Okafor #2

C: Jahlil Okafor
PF: Taj Gibson
SF: Carmelo Anthony
SG: Danny Green
PG: Corey Joseph

GREAT blend of offense (interior and perimiter!) along with good overall defense.
We obviously trade away Calderon by packaging Timmy, Rocket's 2nd round picks we obtained this year, our trade exception for Taj.

Alternative scenario I have which is unrealistic

C: Jahlil Okafor
PF: Draymond Green
SF: Carmelo Anthony
SG: Danny Green
PG: Langston Galloway

This will be a versatile line-up, because of Draymond Greens ability to guard almost every position;
He will be interchangeable with Melo on both offense and defense, basically the perfect fit in between the Melo and Okafor 1-2 punch.

I think I'll slightly prefer the 'realistic' lineup for Okafor's case.





Assuming we draft D'Angelo Russell #3

C: Robin Lopez
PF: Paul Milsap
SF: Carmelo Anthony
SG: D'Angelo Russell
PG: Langston Galloway

A good blend of offense, defense and passing.

Alternative scenario I have which is unrealistic

C: Marc Gasol
PF: Carmelo Anthony
SF: Danny Green or DeMarre Carroll
SG: D''Angelo Russell
PG: Langston Galloway

Defense, passing and scoring - just a perfect fit!
Due to having Marc in this lineup, it allows us to slot Melo into PF for both offense and defense.
Surrounded with deadly clutch shooters, Marc or Melo will have no problems passing out of the post/doubles.

Basically pick your poison and is my personal favourite lineup out of all the scenarios I posted!

I like your thoughts but I don't know how or why we could get Gibson from Chi

ok, they are cheap and have to pay for Butler this summer

but I don't think they let a great NBA two way big go for some minor savings and 2nd rounders

I hope Im wrong