FIRE WELTMAN

[Skybox]

If there is a scenario where Isaac's alleged 30lb weight gain is part of a multi-season project to make him into a better Claxton and our starting C - I'm down. Maybe this project has been laid out as a very methodical, safe transition to a bigger stronger version of the guy that, if healthy, can dominate a game without scoring a point.

If he's just not what he used to be, then I'd give him away...if anyone would have him. I like reading the media praise, but I haven't seen that guy this year. Hope I just missed it.

This team is already paying 3 Centers and Isaac plays like 10mpg

So what? they have 5 or 6 shooting guards...I would hope the plan is to shed some of the dead or redundant weight while rebuilding and balancing the roster-at least the bench. Moe won't be in uniform for half of next season and Goga is looking like an afterthought.

[MartinsIzAfraud]

If there is a scenario where Isaac's alleged 30lb weight gain is part of a multi-season project to make him into a better Claxton and our starting C - I'm down. Maybe this project has been laid out as a very methodical, safe transition to a bigger stronger version of the guy that, if healthy, can dominate a game without scoring a point.

If he's just not what he used to be, then I'd give him away...if anyone would have him. I like reading the media praise, but I haven't seen that guy this year. Hope I just missed it.

he gained that weight to start the year and was unplayable. I'm honestly soo over hearing the name Isaac because for what he makes we could find a more reliable player on both ends of the court.

[Fortune Teller]

Jeff has added the following players to "build around" Franz and Paolo since drafting them:

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
Cory Joseph
Goga Bitadze
Jett Howard
Anthony Black
Tristan da Silva

He's also re-signed the following players already on the roster:

Jonathan Isaac
WCJ
Gary Harris
Cole Anthony

This is not patience. This is indifference.

[cedric76]

Jeff has added the following players to "build around" Franz and Paolo since drafting them:

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
Cory Joseph
Goga Bitadze
Jett Howard
Anthony Black
Tristan da Silva

He's also re-signed the following players already on the roster:

Jonathan Isaac
WCJ
Gary Harris
Cole Anthony

This is not patience. This is indifference.

all good moves, so why fire him?

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope - perfect 3 & D role player for this team and was one of the best FA at the time
Cory Joseph - Cheap Vet that helped us a lot
Goga Bitadze - Great value signing
Jett Howard - Good gamble - Time will tell if it was a good draft
Anthony Black - not the player that i would have picked but you cant ignore his talent
Tristan da Silva - Very good value with a late pick

He's also re-signed the following players already on the roster:

Jonathan Isaac - Very good value with awesome protection on his contract
WCJ - nicely locked for years to come
Gary Harris - nice 1 +1 for trade purpose
Cole Anthony - Trade chip

We need tradable salaries to make trades and Weltman created many of them

[CLosP]

All good moves is a big stretch lol. KCP doesn’t fit this team, we needed to get a PG badly this past offseason. Joseph is a 3rd string PG at best but we have no choice but to play him big minutes. WCJ WAS a good contract, but his new contract he’s definitely overpaid. Isaac finally paid more than 20 games so they gave him a raise when dude has been stealing money for years. Jett? Come on lol.

Unless one of these guys demands a trade, I doubt he pulls the trigger & tries to trade anyone.

[Skybox]

All good moves is a big stretch lol. KCP doesn’t fit this team, we needed to get a PG badly this past offseason. Joseph is a 3rd string PG at best but we have no choice but to play him big minutes. WCJ WAS a good contract, but his new contract he’s definitely overpaid. Isaac finally paid more than 20 games so they gave him a raise when dude has been stealing money for years. Jett? Come on lol.

Unless one of these guys demands a trade, I doubt he pulls the trigger & tries to trade anyone.

I don't see any of those guys demanding anything...they're fat, happy, and not held accountable....and, there's always another year to "develop".

[MartinsIzAfraud]

All good moves is a big stretch lol. KCP doesn’t fit this team, we needed to get a PG badly this past offseason. Joseph is a 3rd string PG at best but we have no choice but to play him big minutes. WCJ WAS a good contract, but his new contract he’s definitely overpaid. Isaac finally paid more than 20 games so they gave him a raise when dude has been stealing money for years. Jett? Come on lol.

Unless one of these guys demands a trade, I doubt he pulls the trigger & tries to trade anyone.

I don't see any of those guys demanding anything...they're fat, happy, and not held accountable....and, there's always another year to "develop".

Isaac has to have such a chill life.. Get babied all year long to make your games played and be fresh for the playoffs while never really being asked to do much offensively. He's basically a closer in baseball

[CZ Eddie]

He hasn't made any stupid moves, IMO.
But he also hasn't made any "take a chance and see what happens" moves either.
Very lukewarm, year after year.

[CZ Eddie]

But I do like how our players are able to feel at home in Orlando.
Maybe only until this summer, anyways.

[drsd]

But I do like how our players are able to feel at home in Orlando.
Maybe only until this summer, anyways.

I agree that the players feel like a family. But, at some point, Banchero and F-Wagner will prioritize winning. Management needs to understand that clearly.

[fendilim]

All good moves is a big stretch lol. KCP doesn’t fit this team, we needed to get a PG badly this past offseason.

Wouldnt blame the kcp signing. I mean, sure it hasnt turned out well for us since his shots arent falling.

But we’re also playing without suggs, who was our starting pg last year when we were top 5 in the East. Even had a winning record with Suggs this year (20-15), bulk of that didn't even have our best player (Banchero) playing. Not saying Suggs is the answer, but we would be getting a different results with when Suggs is playing alongside KCP.

Other option in the offseason was Tyus Jones, who, since getting the opportunity as starting pg, has really nothing to show for. 2 seasons as starting PG for Wiz and Suns, respectively, ended up as lottery teams both years.

Chris Paul? Maybe. But guy signed with Spurs, so who knows his priorities? Perhaps should have offered him the whole cap we had to change his mind from signing with Spurs? 40 million contract for one year maybe?

Good gawd, I'm glad we didn't even end up with Paul George, hindsight 20/20.

Joseph is a 3rd string PG at best but we have no choice but to play him big minutes.

Corey was signed as a 3rd string PG, and obviously, with Suggs going down, Corey had to be promoted because AB was a bad fit with the first unit.

WCJ WAS a good contract, but his new contract he’s definitely overpaid.

Wcj WAS a good contract? I agree. And his new contract isn't?

Let's be fair here, the good contract you are referring to is when the MLE was still at 10 million per year and he was given 135% of the MLE as a starting salary then decreasing every year.

The only difference with this year's extension is the contract doesn't decrease lower than the MLE and lower than previous year. But if you look at the amount (18 million starting salary for the new contract extension) WCJ only received 117% of the MLE on the 1st year, 115% the second year and 112% the final year. So the rate from 1st to 2nd then 2nd to 3rd actually decreases. Just not as astronomical as the first extension. I'm just using MLE as a yardstick (closer to league average starting salary projection).

Exception amount: https://www.spotrac.com/nba/cba/exceptions
Wendell Carter salaries: https://hoopshype.com/player/wendell-carter/salary/
yEAR------------mle--------------wcj SALARY
2022-2023-----10,490,000------14,150,000 (135% of MLE)
2023-2024-----12,405,000------13,050,000(105% of MLE)
2024-2025-----12,822,000-------11,950,000 (93% of MLE)
2025-2026-----14,105,000-------10,850,000 (77% of MLE)
2026-2027-----15,516,000-------18,102,000 (117% of MLE)
2027-2028-----17,068,000-------19,550,160 (115% of MLE)
2028-2029-----18,775,000-------20,998,320 (112% of MLE)

Honestly, it is not that bad of deal, since we basically signed him to a deal closer to the MLE. Nothing more than 2.5 million per year compared to the MLE.

Isaac finally paid more than 20 games so they gave him a raise when dude has been stealing money for years.

We re-negotiated Isaac's last year and gave him an extension. Did he get a raise? Yes. But it was because we had to reach the salary floor and there was none left to pay the extra salary to.

As a matter of fact, his deal is a bargain considering that it is HEAVILY PROTECTED and he wont even receive MLE money starting the 2nd year of his extension. We've basically extended him to a contract with the expectation already that he will forever be back 2nd stringer. As absurd as it sounds, the cap was built to increase every year so the salaries are just hilariously big. Glad I don't own an NBA team. lol

yEAR------------mle--------------Isaac SALARY
2022-2023-----10,490,000------14,150,000
2023-2024-----12,405,000------13,050,000
2024-2025-----12,822,000-------25,000,000 ------ increased to reach cap floor as a team
2025-2026-----14,105,000-------15,000,000
2026-2027-----15,516,000-------14,500,000
2027-2028-----17,068,000-------14,500,000
2028-2029-----18,775,000-------15,000,000

Hindsight 20/20, Isaac's contract wasn't designed to make him to be highest paid player on this team for the last 3 years. The contract was given to him when we were still playoff team and had Vuc and Gordon who were making at least 20 million per year. Isaac's deal was supposed to be the 3rd or 4th highest paid player when his 1st extension kicked in. Isaac is a victim of the front office not being able to move on from him. lol

Jett? Come on lol.

Jett’s game hasnt translate as expected. Too early to tell still. But time is definitely ticking on him.








Hindsight 20/20, I'm pretty sure management would have done some things different.

But hey, we'll likely need to hire a psychic to know what to do, and what not to do.

I used MLE as yardstick for projection because that is the closest salary exception compared to the average salary of players in the league.

The average salary of NBA players in 2024-2025 is, according to google AI, at 11.9million (same as WCJ) and MLE is 12.8 million year. Last year was 9.7 million and MLE was 12.4million

[cedric76]

All good moves is a big stretch lol. KCP doesn’t fit this team, we needed to get a PG badly this past offseason. Joseph is a 3rd string PG at best but we have no choice but to play him big minutes. WCJ WAS a good contract, but his new contract he’s definitely overpaid. Isaac finally paid more than 20 games so they gave him a raise when dude has been stealing money for years. Jett? Come on lol.

Unless one of these guys demands a trade, I doubt he pulls the trigger & tries to trade anyone.

Getting a stretch big last summer?

When WCJ + moe were 2 of the best 15 stretch big in the NBA?
KCP doesnt fit our team? when we needed a SG VET 3 &D?

You really dont know what you are talking about, Straight to Foe list

[Skybox]

All good moves is a big stretch lol. KCP doesn’t fit this team, we needed to get a PG badly this past offseason. Joseph is a 3rd string PG at best but we have no choice but to play him big minutes. WCJ WAS a good contract, but his new contract he’s definitely overpaid. Isaac finally paid more than 20 games so they gave him a raise when dude has been stealing money for years. Jett? Come on lol.

Unless one of these guys demands a trade, I doubt he pulls the trigger & tries to trade anyone.

Getting a stretch big last summer?

When WCJ + moe were 2 of the best 15 stretch big in the NBA?
KCP doesnt fit our team? when we needed a SG VET 3 &D?

You really dont know what you are talking about, Straight to Foe list

WCJ is a good enough player and his new deal isn't too far off for recent WCJ...but Idk if you can call him a stretch big when he's hitting on 23% on 2.3 attempts from 3. He's also grabbing only 7.2 rbs, when we could really use more from our C. He's a strong rebounder, but his impact is very up and down. I could accept that his extension isn't crazy for a solid starter, but he's really not exceptional and there are many others out there making less and doing more...it was, I think, another bad projection from Weltman of what he would be. 9ppg and 7 rpg is uninspiring. We've been watching WCJ pump fake his way out of open 3's for a while now...it's a stretch to call him a stretch.

Needed a SG veteran 3&D...it's become pretty clear that's exactly what we didn't need. I'm not even mad that he's been subpar shooting for 3/4 of the season...but he's a lesser version of Suggs, a more expensive version of AB, a better but more expensive version of Gary or Queen. 8.7 ppg and 1.8 apg for $22.8m is just tragic...and this is with our highest (only?) scoring guard out for much of the season...the epitome of NOT stepping up. Good player, way overpaid, bad fit when compared to team needs...simply a mistake. You could also say that mischaracterizing AB as a PG was a mistake although I'm happy to have him overall.

Jett just stinks and the narrative that the year spent in G-League was some kind of agreed upon master stroke makes it even sadder for a #11. Imagine if we had come out of that draft with Cason Wallace and Lively? Hindsight is 20/20 but there's almost a dozen players better than Jett after him.

What comedy that Cory Joseph was the best move of the summer when we had MAX cap space. I like TdS, but he's just a part-easy choice at #18

Weltman should be judged most poorly on all of the things he DIDN'T do, but there's plenty of mistakes to point to as well. He could turn it around this summer, but there's no justification for whiffing last summer when he had ALL of the cap space, future picks and expiring "assets" to play with.

Please add me to that list

[CLosP]

All good moves is a big stretch lol. KCP doesn’t fit this team, we needed to get a PG badly this past offseason. Joseph is a 3rd string PG at best but we have no choice but to play him big minutes. WCJ WAS a good contract, but his new contract he’s definitely overpaid. Isaac finally paid more than 20 games so they gave him a raise when dude has been stealing money for years. Jett? Come on lol.

Unless one of these guys demands a trade, I doubt he pulls the trigger & tries to trade anyone.

Getting a stretch big last summer?

When WCJ + moe were 2 of the best 15 stretch big in the NBA?
KCP doesnt fit our team? when we needed a SG VET 3 &D?

You really dont know what you are talking about, Straight to Foe list

I said saying the moves were good was a big stretch, I didn’t say anything about a stretch big lol. Although, WCJ had one good season of shooting 37% (on 3 attempts whoopty do) but he’s a career 32% 3pt shooter & shot horribly this year on even less attempts. Mo also has shot 33% for his career with Orlando, hardly considered a sniper.

Suggs is a SG, he’s not a PG. We don’t need another SG who shoots on low volume. We need a player who can create his own shot & help run the offense more smoothly. You’re drinking the Weltman koolaid it’s okay but he’s sitting on what he considers value when it’s clear the rest of the league doesn’t or he would’ve made a move. Hes watching too many Fast & Furious movies with the family mindset but it’s going to eventually cost our best players leaving.

[VFX]

All good moves is a big stretch lol. KCP doesn’t fit this team, we needed to get a PG badly this past offseason.

Wouldnt blame the kcp signing. I mean, sure it hasnt turned out well for us since his shots arent falling.

But we’re also playing without suggs, who was our starting pg last year when we were top 5 in the East. Even had a winning record with Suggs this year (20-15), bulk of that didn't even have our best player (Banchero) playing. Not saying Suggs is the answer, but we would be getting a different results with when Suggs is playing alongside KCP.

Other option in the offseason was Tyus Jones, who, since getting the opportunity as starting pg, has really nothing to show for. 2 seasons as starting PG for Wiz and Suns, respectively, ended up as lottery teams both years.

WCJ WAS a good contract, but his new contract he’s definitely overpaid.

Wcj WAS a good contract? I agree. And his new contract isn't?

Let's be fair here, the good contract you are referring to is when the MLE was still at 10 million per year and he was given 135% of the MLE as a starting salary then decreasing every year.

The only difference with this year's extension is the contract doesn't decrease lower than the MLE and lower than previous year. But if you look at the amount (18 million starting salary for the new contract extension) WCJ only received 117% of the MLE on the 1st year, 115% the second year and 112% the final year. So the rate from 1st to 2nd then 2nd to 3rd actually decreases. Just not as astronomical as the first extension. I'm just using MLE as a yardstick (closer to league average starting salary projection).

Honestly, it is not that bad of deal, since we basically signed him to a deal closer to the MLE. Nothing more than 2.5 million per year compared to the MLE.

Isaac finally paid more than 20 games so they gave him a raise when dude has been stealing money for years.

We re-negotiated Isaac's last year and gave him an extension. Did he get a raise? Yes. But it was because we had to reach the salary floor and there was none left to pay the extra salary to.

As a matter of fact, his deal is a bargain considering that it is HEAVILY PROTECTED and he wont even receive MLE money starting the 2nd year of his extension. We've basically extended him to a contract with the expectation already that he will forever be back 2nd stringer. As absurd as it sounds, the cap was built to increase every year so the salaries are just hilariously big. Glad I don't own an NBA team. lol

Hindsight 20/20, Isaac's contract wasn't designed to make him to be highest paid player on this team for the last 3 years. The contract was given to him when we were still playoff team and had Vuc and Gordon who were making at least 20 million per year. Isaac's deal was supposed to be the 3rd or 4th highest paid player when his 1st extension kicked in. Isaac is a victim of the front office not being able to move on from him. lol

Jett? Come on lol.

Jett’s game hasnt translate as expected. Too early to tell still. But time is definitely ticking on him.

Hindsight 20/20, I'm pretty sure management would have done some things different.

But hey, we'll likely need to hire a psychic to know what to do, and what not to do.

I used MLE as yardstick for projection because that is the closest salary exception compared to the average salary of players in the league.

The average salary of NBA players in 2024-2025 is, according to google AI, at 11.9million (same as WCJ) and MLE is 12.8 million year. Last year was 9.7 million and MLE was 12.4million

A lot of this is running cover for lack of making decisions anytime before this past offseason. All of these decisions you are somewhat defending as rational level-headed choices start to crumble when you ask about seeking any other alternative to the status quo.

Suggs being out doesn’t negate the KCP signing. It reinforces why it was bad actually. Anyone that has watched Suggs knows he not a point guard. It’s not really a valid argument as to why he was slotted where he was toward the end of last season. The offense was still bad.

Replacing Gary Harris with KCP was the rationale. That has nothing to do with acquiring a point guard. It means Weltman looked at the roster, and lack of ball movement, and said GREAT! More of this please. You don’t need 82 games of data to know a Suggs/KCP pairing doesn’t solve poor ball movement from last season compared to a Point guard/Suggs backcourt. Weltman tripled down on his point forward fantasy and it failed.

You gave 2 examples of point guards. There are more than 2 guys in the league that are better than Corey Joseph and Suggs at orchestrating an offense.

It’s a bad faith argument at this point. It doesn’t matter what Weltman intended. It was a stupid signing.

What you fail to grasp in the Carter argument is depreciating asset value. Wendell Carter isn’t an amazing Center. His contract prior gave him more value than it does now. Is he massively expensive? No. But he WAS a more attractive asset for the reason that he now is paid as a starting Center when he wasn’t before relative to his production.

Orlando is paying 3 Centers a good amount of money now to a team without a real point guard. Thats the bottom line when you bring up Carters deal as some kind of non- overpay. Unfortunately for Carter, whoever is in the Front Court next to Paolo has to do a lot more than what he provides.

All arguments on Isaac are null and void about him being some kind of bargain after this season. He can’t play more than 17mpg. He plays behind a guy that plays nearly every minute of every close game. You could tell me Isaac signed for vet minimum and id say it’s still an overpay half the time for the production he gives for half a season. It’s definitely been too much from the organization relative to what he’s actually accomplished for the amount he’s earned here.

Isaac and Carter were here before Paolo and Franz were drafted. Now on multiple contracts, people feel the need to justify them as opposed to literally any other better option at either position because Weltman has failed to land any better alternative. Frankly, it’s sad. You cannot tell me there aren’t better fitting players across the landscape of the league outside of sheer convenience. That’s insane. Weltman is either lazy, incompetent, or terrified of making real decisions.

[RichCollab]

All good moves is a big stretch lol. KCP doesn’t fit this team, we needed to get a PG badly this past offseason. Joseph is a 3rd string PG at best but we have no choice but to play him big minutes. WCJ WAS a good contract, but his new contract he’s definitely overpaid. Isaac finally paid more than 20 games so they gave him a raise when dude has been stealing money for years. Jett? Come on lol.

Unless one of these guys demands a trade, I doubt he pulls the trigger & tries to trade anyone.

Getting a stretch big last summer?

When WCJ + moe were 2 of the best 15 stretch big in the NBA?
KCP doesnt fit our team? when we needed a SG VET 3 &D?

You really dont know what you are talking about, Straight to Foe list

WCJ is a good enough player and his new deal isn't too far off for recent WCJ...but Idk if you can call him a stretch big when he's hitting on 23% on 2.3 attempts from 3. He's also grabbing only 7.2 rbs, when we could really use more from our C. He's a strong rebounder, but his impact is very up and down. I could accept that his extension isn't crazy for a solid starter, but he's really not exceptional and there are many others out there making less and doing more...it was, I think, another bad projection from Weltman of what he would be. 9ppg and 7 rpg is uninspiring. We've been watching WCJ pump fake his way out of open 3's for a while now...it's a stretch to call him a stretch.

Needed a SG veteran 3&D...it's become pretty clear that's exactly what we didn't need. I'm not even mad that he's been subpar shooting for 3/4 of the season...but he's a lesser version of Suggs, a more expensive version of AB, a better but more expensive version of Gary or Queen. 8.7 ppg and 1.8 apg for $22.8m is just tragic...and this is with our highest (only?) scoring guard out for much of the season...the epitome of NOT stepping up. Good player, way overpaid, bad fit when compared to team needs...simply a mistake. You could also say that mischaracterizing AB as a PG was a mistake although I'm happy to have him overall.

Jett just stinks and the narrative that the year spent in G-League was some kind of agreed upon master stroke makes it even sadder for a #11. Imagine if we had come out of that draft with Cason Wallace and Lively? Hindsight is 20/20 but there's almost a dozen players better than Jett after him.

What comedy that Cory Joseph was the best move of the summer when we had MAX cap space. I like TdS, but he's just a part-easy choice at #18

Weltman should be judged most poorly on all of the things he DIDN'T do, but there's plenty of mistakes to point to as well. He could turn it around this summer, but there's no justification for whiffing last summer when he had ALL of the cap space, future picks and expiring "assets" to play with.

Please add me to that list

KCP was a great add and isn’t the problem.

#1 injuries
#2 failed to add another key need in a player maker with our top 3 missing significant time.

KCP vet, played most games this season etc etc.

KCP is best in his role as 4th option. But, he didn’t fix all this team’s decencies which no 1 player would.

[OrlandoDream]

Thing with the KCP addition is that the expectations from fans is different then what the front office envisioned. Suggs doing down highlighted how much we need that consistent 3rd scorer on the team. That role was move to KCP as every single one of our young guys (AB, Jett, TDS, Cole) suck or just cant provide consistent points. So now KCPs actions are under the microscope when he doesn't shoot 40% from 3 or drop 16-18 ppg. Problem is that has never been his role in the NBA. Even in his best years with Den and LA he was a elite 3D player that at most avg what 13 ppg? Being a shot or halfcourt creator and getting his own show has never been his game.

Right now this is just a flawed roster without suggs and other backcourt scoring/playmaking. I still like KCP as a vet and off the bench next year but for right piece id easily trade him. Veteran leadership isn't hard to find.

[fendilim]

All good moves is a big stretch lol. KCP doesn’t fit this team, we needed to get a PG badly this past offseason.

Wouldnt blame the kcp signing. I mean, sure it hasnt turned out well for us since his shots arent falling.

But we’re also playing without suggs, who was our starting pg last year when we were top 5 in the East. Even had a winning record with Suggs this year (20-15), bulk of that didn't even have our best player (Banchero) playing. Not saying Suggs is the answer, but we would be getting a different results with when Suggs is playing alongside KCP.

Other option in the offseason was Tyus Jones, who, since getting the opportunity as starting pg, has really nothing to show for. 2 seasons as starting PG for Wiz and Suns, respectively, ended up as lottery teams both years.

WCJ WAS a good contract, but his new contract he’s definitely overpaid.

Wcj WAS a good contract? I agree. And his new contract isn't?

Let's be fair here, the good contract you are referring to is when the MLE was still at 10 million per year and he was given 135% of the MLE as a starting salary then decreasing every year.

The only difference with this year's extension is the contract doesn't decrease lower than the MLE and lower than previous year. But if you look at the amount (18 million starting salary for the new contract extension) WCJ only received 117% of the MLE on the 1st year, 115% the second year and 112% the final year. So the rate from 1st to 2nd then 2nd to 3rd actually decreases. Just not as astronomical as the first extension. I'm just using MLE as a yardstick (closer to league average starting salary projection).

Honestly, it is not that bad of deal, since we basically signed him to a deal closer to the MLE. Nothing more than 2.5 million per year compared to the MLE.

Isaac finally paid more than 20 games so they gave him a raise when dude has been stealing money for years.

We re-negotiated Isaac's last year and gave him an extension. Did he get a raise? Yes. But it was because we had to reach the salary floor and there was none left to pay the extra salary to.

As a matter of fact, his deal is a bargain considering that it is HEAVILY PROTECTED and he wont even receive MLE money starting the 2nd year of his extension. We've basically extended him to a contract with the expectation already that he will forever be back 2nd stringer. As absurd as it sounds, the cap was built to increase every year so the salaries are just hilariously big. Glad I don't own an NBA team. lol

Hindsight 20/20, Isaac's contract wasn't designed to make him to be highest paid player on this team for the last 3 years. The contract was given to him when we were still playoff team and had Vuc and Gordon who were making at least 20 million per year. Isaac's deal was supposed to be the 3rd or 4th highest paid player when his 1st extension kicked in. Isaac is a victim of the front office not being able to move on from him. lol

Jett? Come on lol.

Jett’s game hasnt translate as expected. Too early to tell still. But time is definitely ticking on him.

Hindsight 20/20, I'm pretty sure management would have done some things different.

But hey, we'll likely need to hire a psychic to know what to do, and what not to do.

I used MLE as yardstick for projection because that is the closest salary exception compared to the average salary of players in the league.

The average salary of NBA players in 2024-2025 is, according to google AI, at 11.9million (same as WCJ) and MLE is 12.8 million year. Last year was 9.7 million and MLE was 12.4million

A lot of this is running cover for lack of making decisions anytime before this past offseason. All of these decisions you are somewhat defending as rational level-headed choices start to crumble when you ask about seeking any other alternative to the status quo.

Suggs being out doesn’t negate the KCP signing. It reinforces why it was bad actually. Anyone that has watched Suggs knows he not a point guard. It’s not really a valid argument as to why he was slotted where he was toward the end of last season. The offense was still bad.

Replacing Gary Harris with KCP was the rationale. That has nothing to do with acquiring a point guard. It means Weltman looked at the roster, and lack of ball movement, and said GREAT! More of this please. You don’t need 82 games of data to know a Suggs/KCP pairing doesn’t solve poor ball movement from last season compared to a Point guard/Suggs backcourt. Weltman tripled down on his point forward fantasy and it failed.

You gave 2 examples of point guards. There are more than 2 guys in the league that are better than Corey Joseph and Suggs at orchestrating an offense.

It’s a bad faith argument at this point. It doesn’t matter what Weltman intended. It was a stupid signing.

What you fail to grasp in the Carter argument is depreciating asset value. Wendell Carter isn’t an amazing Center. His contract prior gave him more value than it does now. Is he massively expensive? No. But he WAS a more attractive asset for the reason that he now is paid as a starting Center when he wasn’t before relative to his production.

Orlando is paying 3 Centers a good amount of money now to a team without a real point guard. Thats the bottom line when you bring up Carters deal as some kind of non- overpay. Unfortunately for Carter, whoever is in the Front Court next to Paolo has to do a lot more than what he provides.

All arguments on Isaac are null and void about him being some kind of bargain after this season. He can’t play more than 17mpg. He plays behind a guy that plays nearly every minute of every close game. You could tell me Isaac signed for vet minimum and id say it’s still an overpay half the time for the production he gives for half a season. It’s definitely been too much from the organization relative to what he’s actually accomplished for the amount he’s earned here.

Isaac and Carter were here before Paolo and Franz were drafted. Now on multiple contracts, people feel the need to justify them as opposed to literally any other better option at either position because Weltman has failed to land any better alternative. Frankly, it’s sad. You cannot tell me there aren’t better fitting players across the landscape of the league outside of sheer convenience. That’s insane. Weltman is either lazy, incompetent, or terrified of making real decisions.

Suggs entered the season playing exactly the same position he played last year. And there is no argument that can be made that last year was the best of his career so far.

Suggs played PG for a top 5 team in the East last year. Tyus Jones ran starting PG duties for two lottery teams in two consecutive seasons. Lol

Wendell is being paid even cheaper relative to the cap percentage. That is exactly what you fail to grasp. There’s no way you can expect WCJ to get paid the same amount he was being paid 3-4 years ago when the salary cap has gone up sooooo much since his first contract extension. Not saying he is a good player but just being level headed and open minded about the situation. Would your frontline employee accept the same salary he was offered 5 years ago seeing that the team has more money to spend? obviously not.

There are obviously better options out there for WCJ and Isaac, but at what cost? It takes two to tango.

Do I think Weltman needs to make a move, yes. Is he being too conservative? Yes.

KCP, re-signing Wendell and re-structuring Isaac’s deal were pretty good moves during that time and fair for both sides.

[Cammo101]

He hasn't made any stupid moves, IMO.
But he also hasn't made any "take a chance and see what happens" moves either.
Very lukewarm, year after year.

Weltman subscribes to the "you can't lose if you just don't play" mentality.

[fendilim]

Thing with the KCP addition is that the expectations from fans is different then what the front office envisioned. Suggs doing down highlighted how much we need that consistent 3rd scorer on the team. That role was move to KCP as every single one of our young guys (AB, Jett, TDS, Cole) suck or just cant provide consistent points. So now KCPs actions are under the microscope when he doesn't shoot 40% from 3 or drop 16-18 ppg. Problem is that has never been his role in the NBA. Even in his best years with Den and LA he was a elite 3D player that at most avg what 13 ppg? Being a shot or halfcourt creator and getting his own show has never been his game.

Right now this is just a flawed roster without suggs and other backcourt scoring/playmaking. I still like KCP as a vet and off the bench next year but for right piece id easily trade him. Veteran leadership isn't hard to find.

This is true. KCP’s role in the offense is getting highlighted because of Suggs going down. He becomes a 3rd option scorer by default.

Not to mention, Moe Wagner went down too. Our leading scorer off the bench.