Trade and free agency speculation

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

I think it's a big mistake to go after a long term PG like Smart or Van Vleet. If we desperately need defense at the PG spot then we should just keep Harrison. He's a hustler, was very pesky on defense, and had a good steal rate. Really his defensive numbers match up pretty favorably to Smart and he is much better offensively. Check out the player comparison below

http://bkref.com/tiny/akG4M

Just run with Knight/Harrison/Okoko at the PG and save our cap space for 2019 !!!

Harrison's performance last year is the biggest reason I have for not pursuing Smart with a big contract. I just hope he can keep it up in games that matter.

[bigfoot]

To clear up the cap space number we could have in 2019 here is a link to capulator with the following players still on the roster
Booker, Ayton, Jackson, Bridges, Bender, Chriss, Warren, Knight, and Okobo (aka Harrison in link).

http://www.shamsports.com/capulator?id=6985687425b332d303089c111486009

The number would be $32M in cap space but we would have to get rid of both the 2019 Bucks pick and our 2019 draft pick, both 1st rounders.

Stretching Knight would give us about $42M. Trading away Warren and Knight and Chriss would give the max dollars of $61M. That would be a tall ask unless Knight had an incredible year at which point it might be best to keep him.

[WeekapaugGroove]

To clear up the cap space number we could have in 2019 here is a link to capulator with the following players still on the roster
Booker, Ayton, Jackson, Bridges, Bender, Chriss, Warren, Knight, and Okobo (aka Harrison in link).

http://www.shamsports.com/capulator?id=6985687425b332d303089c111486009

The number would be $32M in cap space but we would have to get rid of both the 2019 Bucks pick and our 2019 draft pick, both 1st rounders.

Stretching Knight would give us about $42M. Trading away Warren and Knight and Chriss would give the max dollars of $61M. That would be a tall ask unless Knight had an incredible year at which point it might be best to keep him.

The bucks pick only conveys at top 16 so chances are that will roll over to 2020. I do kind wonder if they aren't keen on chriss long term if they end up packaging him for a PG. Warren is also interesting because if they deal him and remove his salary it's a clear path to having a max slot even if booker extends this offseason (something I fully expect to happen; he needs to protect himself from serious injury and losing over $100M).

I'm all for keeping max space next year but it should be noted that there will be far more teams with space next summer so the competition for players will be greater than this summer.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

To clear up the cap space number we could have in 2019 here is a link to capulator with the following players still on the roster
Booker, Ayton, Jackson, Bridges, Bender, Chriss, Warren, Knight, and Okobo (aka Harrison in link).

http://www.shamsports.com/capulator?id=6985687425b332d303089c111486009

The number would be $32M in cap space but we would have to get rid of both the 2019 Bucks pick and our 2019 draft pick, both 1st rounders.

Stretching Knight would give us about $42M. Trading away Warren and Knight and Chriss would give the max dollars of $61M. That would be a tall ask unless Knight had an incredible year at which point it might be best to keep him.

Signing a max player in 2019 worries me, unless that deal is only over 3 years. The last year of a 4 year contract would correspond with the Ayton max, the Bridges max/near-max, and the Okobo whatever. We'll have Booker's supermax the following year, and Jackson's max will already be on the books. Not to mention, Bender will probably be on the books at something between $10-$15 mil, depending on his development.

Most of the FA mentioned for 2019 are offense-first guys. From what I see, the focus should be defense. Anyone we sign this season will come off the books simultaneously with Ayton/Bridges/Okobo extensions at the latest, which would be very helpful.

If we're prioritizing defense, Smart, Bradley, Anderson and Bertans (and perhaps VanVleet as well) should be our priorities. I'm getting sweeter on Bertans more and more - to the point I'd be willing to deal a PF sooner rather than later in order to get him steady minutes. I'd be willing to send something Popovich's way for Anderson, as well. Quese or 2nds? Would Pop want or require TJ in a deal for Anderson? Can TJ improve defensively or from 3 to a degree that would obviate the need for a guy like Anderson? And could we get a guy like Ellington, Mbah a Moute or Ariza to replace him? Surely there are wing options I'm missing...

To clarify: I think trade options are generally not the way to go at this point, unless we're just taking on a contract for nothing, and there are no better options available. We don't need guys with scary injury histories, given our need for steadiness. No more veterans living on the bench, whether with or without a boot on their foot!!

[BobbieL]

To clear up the cap space number we could have in 2019 here is a link to capulator with the following players still on the roster
Booker, Ayton, Jackson, Bridges, Bender, Chriss, Warren, Knight, and Okobo (aka Harrison in link).

http://www.shamsports.com/capulator?id=6985687425b332d303089c111486009

The number would be $32M in cap space but we would have to get rid of both the 2019 Bucks pick and our 2019 draft pick, both 1st rounders.

Stretching Knight would give us about $42M. Trading away Warren and Knight and Chriss would give the max dollars of $61M. That would be a tall ask unless Knight had an incredible year at which point it might be best to keep him.

The bucks pick only conveys at top 16 so chances are that will roll over to 2020. I do kind wonder if they aren't keen on chriss long term if they end up packaging him for a PG. Warren is also interesting because if they deal him and remove his salary it's a clear path to having a max slot even if booker extends this offseason (something I fully expect to happen; he needs to protect himself from serious injury and losing over $100M).

[b]I'm all for keeping max space next year but it should be noted that there will be far more teams with space next summer so the competition for players will be greater than this summer[/b].

Windhorst thinks this year is going to be a buyers market. Suns have cap space - though limited, still have expirings and they also I think have one more first round pick. I am leery of giving up anymore as I would like one per year through 2021 and since this draft they used 4 of the 8 assets they had through 21 (meaning 7 first rounders and pick 31) - I am leery of using all picks. But the Suns might be able to get two useful players and reduced rates compared to 2019

Building a team cannot be done in a vacuum or on a specific timeline. You might have to get the player this year. In a market like this, Tyreke Evans might be lucky to get 3/33 unless he takes a one year deal. So, if the Suns can get a player now cheaper than 12 months from now, might be smart

I also think if they want max cap space - its Warren or Knight. And Warren has more value. I go back to if the Nuggets. signing Jokic locks them in on that guy - maybe they want to use Millsap in a trade for like Dudley , Warren, Daniels - clear some short term cash and have WArren locked down for four years when they have some players (Murray) coming due. They will have Jokic, Plumlee and Harris, with Warren signed long term. Suns could waive Millsap next summer creating cap space with Chandler

[AtheJ415]

To clear up the cap space number we could have in 2019 here is a link to capulator with the following players still on the roster
Booker, Ayton, Jackson, Bridges, Bender, Chriss, Warren, Knight, and Okobo (aka Harrison in link).

http://www.shamsports.com/capulator?id=6985687425b332d303089c111486009

The number would be $32M in cap space but we would have to get rid of both the 2019 Bucks pick and our 2019 draft pick, both 1st rounders.

Stretching Knight would give us about $42M. Trading away Warren and Knight and Chriss would give the max dollars of $61M. That would be a tall ask unless Knight had an incredible year at which point it might be best to keep him.

Signing a max player in 2019 worries me, unless that deal is only over 3 years. The last year of a 4 year contract would correspond with the Ayton max, the Bridges max/near-max, and the Okobo whatever. We'll have Booker's supermax the following year, and Jackson's max will already be on the books. Not to mention, Bender will probably be on the books at something between $10-$15 mil, depending on his development.

Most of the FA mentioned for 2019 are offense-first guys. From what I see, the focus should be defense. Anyone we sign this season will come off the books simultaneously with Ayton/Bridges/Okobo extensions at the latest, which would be very helpful.

If we're prioritizing defense, Smart, Bradley, Anderson and Bertans (and perhaps VanVleet as well) should be our priorities. I'm getting sweeter on Bertans more and more - to the point I'd be willing to deal a PF sooner rather than later in order to get him steady minutes. I'd be willing to send something Popovich's way for Anderson, as well. Quese or 2nds? Would Pop want or require TJ in a deal for Anderson? Can TJ improve defensively or from 3 to a degree that would obviate the need for a guy like Anderson? And could we get a guy like Ellington, Mbah a Moute or Ariza to replace him? Surely there are wing options I'm missing...

To clarify: I think trade options are generally not the way to go at this point, unless we're just taking on a contract for nothing, and there are no better options available. We don't need guys with scary injury histories, given our need for steadiness. No more veterans living on the bench, whether with or without a boot on their foot!!

We are a horrid offensive team too. It is not as simple as "we need an offensive player" or "we need a defensive player". We need a complete player who is a star level guy. Smart is the literal worst offensive player in the NBA and one of the worst offensive point guards in the entire modern era. You have to go back like 30 years to find a PG as bad as him on that end. Bradley isn't even a good defender anymore and hasn't been for 2+ years.

If this is truly what you think matters then we should trade picks for Khyri Thomas and save the $14-20 mill half the board wants to spend on Marcus Smart.

Also, Mbah a Moute is a better player than Smart today. We could give him a giant 1 year deal and that would also be better than Smart. Smart would be an unmitigated disaster. Signing up for a guy with attitude should not require a premium relative to their actual skills and ability on the court.

[BobbieL]

To clear up the cap space number we could have in 2019 here is a link to capulator with the following players still on the roster
Booker, Ayton, Jackson, Bridges, Bender, Chriss, Warren, Knight, and Okobo (aka Harrison in link).

http://www.shamsports.com/capulator?id=6985687425b332d303089c111486009

The number would be $32M in cap space but we would have to get rid of both the 2019 Bucks pick and our 2019 draft pick, both 1st rounders.

Stretching Knight would give us about $42M. Trading away Warren and Knight and Chriss would give the max dollars of $61M. That would be a tall ask unless Knight had an incredible year at which point it might be best to keep him.

Signing a max player in 2019 worries me, unless that deal is only over 3 years. The last year of a 4 year contract would correspond with the Ayton max, the Bridges max/near-max, and the Okobo whatever. We'll have Booker's supermax the following year, and Jackson's max will already be on the books. Not to mention, Bender will probably be on the books at something between $10-$15 mil, depending on his development.

Most of the FA mentioned for 2019 are offense-first guys. From what I see, the focus should be defense. Anyone we sign this season will come off the books simultaneously with Ayton/Bridges/Okobo extensions at the latest, which would be very helpful.

If we're prioritizing defense, Smart, Bradley, Anderson and Bertans (and perhaps VanVleet as well) should be our priorities. I'm getting sweeter on Bertans more and more - to the point I'd be willing to deal a PF sooner rather than later in order to get him steady minutes. I'd be willing to send something Popovich's way for Anderson, as well. Quese or 2nds? Would Pop want or require TJ in a deal for Anderson? Can TJ improve defensively or from 3 to a degree that would obviate the need for a guy like Anderson? And could we get a guy like Ellington, Mbah a Moute or Ariza to replace him? Surely there are wing options I'm missing...

To clarify: I think trade options are generally not the way to go at this point, unless we're just taking on a contract for nothing, and there are no better options available. We don't need guys with scary injury histories, given our need for steadiness. No more veterans living on the bench, whether with or without a boot on their foot!!

We are a horrid offensive team too. It is not as simple as "we need an offensive player" or "we need a defensive player". We need a complete player who is a star level guy. Smart is the literal worst offensive player in the NBA and one of the worst offensive point guards in the entire modern era. You have to go back like 30 years to find a PG as bad as him on that end. Bradley isn't even a good defender anymore and hasn't been for 2+ years.

If this is truly what you think matters then we should trade picks for Khyri Thomas and save the $14-20 mill half the board wants to spend on Marcus Smart.

Also, Mbah a Moute is a better player than Smart today. We could give him a giant 1 year deal and that would also be better than Smart. Smart would be an unmitigated disaster. Signing up for a guy with attitude should not require a premium relative to their actual skills and ability on the court.

Its Wednesday morning so I will probably flip-flop again but if the team could get Tyreke and Mbah a Moute this offseason- that would be pretty solid work by Ryan McD.

[Revived]

Okobo needs a good PG mentor in front of him to learn the ropes from. He’s a 2nd rd pick who is learning how to play a whole new position because he played SG his whole life until last season so it doesn’t make sense to throw him into the fire like that.

I wouldnt want that either. But the options we have is disgusting. Thats why I would rather just keep and start Knight. I really think the kid will bounce back while Okobo grows to take over.

Why do people want to stick with Knight? Because the pgs every1 is suggesting are poop.

Stick with what we got this season lets see what happens next year.

I don’t want Okobo learning from Knight on how to play basketball. I want them to be the exact opposite of Knight in every single way.

[LukasBMW]

I'd take a risk on Zach Lavine.

I wonder if we renounce everyone and throw a large offer his way the 1st day of free agency and hope the bulls don't match.

Let's not forget, we made him a promise (over TJ Warren), but the Wolves sniped him from us. He also WANTED to come here. Remember how pissed he was when the Wolves took him?

Watch on YouTube

[WeekapaugGroove]

Read on Twitter

?s=19

Gambo being in on van vleet makes me question my love for Fred because I rarely agree with that gas bag.

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[Mjee]

I'd take a risk on Zach Lavine.

I wonder if we renounce everyone and throw a large offer his way the 1st day of free agency and hope the bulls don't match.

Let's not forget, we made him a promise (over TJ Warren), but the Wolves sniped him from us. He also WANTED to come here. Remember how pissed he was when the Wolves took him?

Watch on YouTube

I am a huge Zach fan. That would be great ... is he going to get the max from chi ????

[WeekapaugGroove]

Why do people want to sign shooting guards like Bradley and lavine? Seems like a weird strategy.

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[King4Day]

Read on Twitter

?s=19

Gambo being in on van vleet makes me question my love for Fred because I rarely agree with that gas bag.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using RealGM mobile app

I would be pretty scared to give him a deal near 15mil per. I don't know anything about him though so if we wind up with him, I believe a lot of people will need to be calmed down who think we may have just wasted our cap on him.

[carey]

I think it's a big mistake to go after a long term PG like Smart or Van Vleet. If we desperately need defense at the PG spot then we should just keep Harrison. He's a hustler, was very pesky on defense, and had a good steal rate. Really his defensive numbers match up pretty favorably to Smart and he is much better offensively. Check out the player comparison below

http://bkref.com/tiny/akG4M

Just run with Knight/Harrison/Okoko at the PG and save our cap space for 2019 !!!

Sign me up for this plan. Shaq Harrison is a bulldog defensively and is just as athletic as Smart. He can't shoot from 3 either so they are very similar players. Only one is going to cost you $12M or so a year and the other.... is not.

Watch on YouTube

[King4Day]

I'd take a risk on Zach Lavine.

I wonder if we renounce everyone and throw a large offer his way the 1st day of free agency and hope the bulls don't match.

Let's not forget, we made him a promise (over TJ Warren), but the Wolves sniped him from us. He also WANTED to come here. Remember how pissed he was when the Wolves took him?

Watch on YouTube

I am a huge Zach fan. That would be great ... is he going to get the max from chi ????

I had read a few weeks ago that Chicago will (supposedly) match any offer to him because he was a key piece in their Butler deal and they have to roll with what they got.
I do believe they would think about it first, but like us when we acquired Bledsoe, you have to take a chance and hope it pays off

[starbosa10]

Want no part of smart for the price its going to take

[WeekapaugGroove]

Read on Twitter

?s=19

Gambo being in on van vleet makes me question my love for Fred because I rarely agree with that gas bag.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using RealGM mobile app

I would be pretty scared to give him a deal near 15mil per. I don't know anything about him though so if we wind up with him, I believe a lot of people will need to be calmed down who think we may have just wasted our cap on him.

I'm pretty sure since he only has 2 years of experience the most he can actually get is around 9.5 per year so talk of 15 mil per (which is crazy and I like Fred) is moot.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using RealGM mobile app

[carey]

I'd take a risk on Zach Lavine.

I love LaVine. I don't think he's available though. I mean... Chicago is talent starved. They would be silly to S&T him or let him walk in FA. That would mean they gave Butler up for just Dunn & Lauri.

[jredsaz]

To clear up the cap space number we could have in 2019 here is a link to capulator with the following players still on the roster
Booker, Ayton, Jackson, Bridges, Bender, Chriss, Warren, Knight, and Okobo (aka Harrison in link).

http://www.shamsports.com/capulator?id=6985687425b332d303089c111486009

The number would be $32M in cap space but we would have to get rid of both the 2019 Bucks pick and our 2019 draft pick, both 1st rounders.

Stretching Knight would give us about $42M. Trading away Warren and Knight and Chriss would give the max dollars of $61M. That would be a tall ask unless Knight had an incredible year at which point it might be best to keep him.

Signing a max player in 2019 worries me, unless that deal is only over 3 years. The last year of a 4 year contract would correspond with the Ayton max, the Bridges max/near-max, and the Okobo whatever. We'll have Booker's supermax the following year, and Jackson's max will already be on the books. Not to mention, Bender will probably be on the books at something between $10-$15 mil, depending on his development.

Most of the FA mentioned for 2019 are offense-first guys. From what I see, the focus should be defense. Anyone we sign this season will come off the books simultaneously with Ayton/Bridges/Okobo extensions at the latest, which would be very helpful.

If we're prioritizing defense, Smart, Bradley, Anderson and Bertans (and perhaps VanVleet as well) should be our priorities. I'm getting sweeter on Bertans more and more - to the point I'd be willing to deal a PF sooner rather than later in order to get him steady minutes. I'd be willing to send something Popovich's way for Anderson, as well. Quese or 2nds? Would Pop want or require TJ in a deal for Anderson? Can TJ improve defensively or from 3 to a degree that would obviate the need for a guy like Anderson? And could we get a guy like Ellington, Mbah a Moute or Ariza to replace him? Surely there are wing options I'm missing...

To clarify: I think trade options are generally not the way to go at this point, unless we're just taking on a contract for nothing, and there are no better options available. We don't need guys with scary injury histories, given our need for steadiness. No more veterans living on the bench, whether with or without a boot on their foot!!

[BobbieL]

Read on Twitter

?s=19

Gambo being in on van vleet makes me question my love for Fred because I rarely agree with that gas bag.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using RealGM mobile app

I would be pretty scared to give him a deal near 15mil per. I don't know anything about him though so if we wind up with him, I believe a lot of people will need to be calmed down who think we may have just wasted our cap on him.

I'm pretty sure since he only has 2 years of experience the most he can actually get is around 9.5 per year so talk of 15 mil per (which is crazy and I like Fred) is moot.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using RealGM mobile app

Correct - the most he can get is 9.5 per year

there are so many tools out there that help with figuring out cap , trades , signings and some guys in the media (Gambo, Doug) don't use them so the ideas they have just are not framed in reality.