The 2016 Offseason Thread

[AtheJ415]

...or...I'd be fine with:

Knight for Holmes
Knight for Grant
Knight for Covington
Pick + Knight for Noel
Knight for Thompson
Pick + Knight for Saric
Knight for Luwawu
Knight for Landry + pick

Point being, the Sixers have so many options, and seeing that I view Knight, at best, as a 6th man, I think those values above are ok. I doubt they part with Noel or Saric or Luwawu, and they seem to like Holmes and Grant, maybe those are all 'off-the-table', but that still leaves Covington, Thompson, and Landry--all guys I'd rather have than Knight right now.

My opinion may change if he pulls his head out and starts playing team ball as our back-up PG, but somehow, I don't see that as being 'ok with' Knight. I think he still has delusions of grandeur, and I certainly hope Watson doesn't placate Knight and starts him over Booker...

Some of you are way too salty on Brandon Knight.

If you plug Bradley Beal into those scenarios, do you see fair value? Knight really isn't too far off in value IMO (though admittedly lower), especially given the difference in money they're getting.

Really? Knight is quite a bit lower than Beal. So plugging Beal into those would be non-starters. Some of you are too forgiving of Knight.

Go ahead and post that Knight isn't too far off in value from Beal on the GB or T&T boards, and let me know how that goes...

The real problem here is you are giving Beal way too much credit imo. I'd be scared to death of maxing him out like WAS just did. His advanced numbers are not good. Basically identical to Knight's.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

There's no need to rush guys like Warren or Booker to the starting line up. Despite how good Booker has looked, there's still a lot of the smaller things he needs to learn and gain experience in. Last year Booker was forced into the starting lineup and he did well, for a rookie, but he was by no means passing with flying colours. If Booker doesn't start, I wouldn't be shocked or unhappy as long as he gets quality minutes off the bench.

Likewise with Warren, he's shown he can be a capable scorer and finisher but he performed against mostly bench players so thrusting him into the starting line up right away wouldn't be a great idea considering the time off he's had. Both Booker and Warren have had issues in the past and offensively talented players who are defensively liabilities tend to play a bench role.

For me, what matters isn't who starts, it's who finishes the game and who plays the quality minutes. If by the end of the season both Warren, Booker and Len are starters and not due to injuries to the team, then that would be ideal.

I think Warren is a better player than PJ right now. I think Booker is better than Brandon. And I think Alex has a slight edge over Tyson as well. That's why I want these three to start.

[bwgood77]

There's no need to rush guys like Warren or Booker to the starting line up. Despite how good Booker has looked, there's still a lot of the smaller things he needs to learn and gain experience in. Last year Booker was forced into the starting lineup and he did well, for a rookie, but he was by no means passing with flying colours. If Booker doesn't start, I wouldn't be shocked or unhappy as long as he gets quality minutes off the bench.

Likewise with Warren, he's shown he can be a capable scorer and finisher but he performed against mostly bench players so thrusting him into the starting line up right away wouldn't be a great idea considering the time off he's had. Both Booker and Warren have had issues in the past and offensively talented players who are defensively liabilities tend to play a bench role.

For me, what matters isn't who starts, it's who finishes the game and who plays the quality minutes. If by the end of the season both Warren, Booker and Len are starters and not due to injuries to the team, then that would be ideal.

I think Warren is a better player than PJ right now. I think Booker is better than Brandon. And I think Alex has a slight edge over Tyson as well. That's why I want these three to start.

Offensively for sure. Defensively, not close last year. Lets see how they come to play this year. We are not likely to have a very good D anyway and will need to get hot offensively to win so maybe it's the way to go but you don't want guys to just get in there without working on D and then never improve either.

If we didn't have Bledsoe, Tucker and Chandler in there we would probably be the worst defense in the league. Dudley will be ok too now but if we go up against premier offensive wings, and Booker and Warren are in there, sure they might look good on offense, but they will get lit up big time as well unless they've had massive improvement. These are my favorite two Suns players so I want to see them play as much as anyone and get tons of minutes, but that doesn't mean there are not roles for some of the more role playing types that are not as flashy.

[Frank Lee]

Hey, I got a great idea..... Let's trade Knight cuz he sucks.... Shhhhh don't tell the rest of the league that tho.

Face it... McMully is all in on BK till someone comes calling with a tasty. Let's just hope Coach FeelGood can get the best out of him.

Clean Slate for everyone

[bigfoot]

There's no need to rush guys like Warren or Booker to the starting line up. Despite how good Booker has looked, there's still a lot of the smaller things he needs to learn and gain experience in. Last year Booker was forced into the starting lineup and he did well, for a rookie, but he was by no means passing with flying colours. If Booker doesn't start, I wouldn't be shocked or unhappy as long as he gets quality minutes off the bench.

Likewise with Warren, he's shown he can be a capable scorer and finisher but he performed against mostly bench players so thrusting him into the starting line up right away wouldn't be a great idea considering the time off he's had. Both Booker and Warren have had issues in the past and offensively talented players who are defensively liabilities tend to play a bench role.

For me, what matters isn't who starts, it's who finishes the game and who plays the quality minutes. If by the end of the season both Warren, Booker and Len are starters and not due to injuries to the team, then that would be ideal.

I think Warren is a better player than PJ right now. I think Booker is better than Brandon. And I think Alex has a slight edge over Tyson as well. That's why I want these three to start.

Offensively for sure. Defensively, not close last year. Lets see how they come to play this year. We are not likely to have a very good D anyway and will need to get hot offensively to win so maybe it's the way to go but you don't want guys to just get in there without working on D and then never improve either.

If we didn't have Bledsoe, Tucker and Chandler in there we would probably be the worst defense in the league. Dudley will be ok too now but if we go up against premier offensive wings, and Booker and Warren are in there, sure they might look good on offense, but they will get lit up big time as well unless they've had massive improvement. These are my favorite two Suns players so I want to see them play as much as anyone and get tons of minutes, but that doesn't mean there are not roles for some of the more role playing types that are not as flashy.

I'm not convinced on the expectation of poor defense. One of the first things we noticed in summer league play was the team was getting after it defensively. Now sure we are just talking summer league but I really hope Watson and his staff instill good defensive schemes and accountability. His philosophy of its not fair getting on a player for mistakes if you haven't taught them goes well with this. He's taking accountability for teaching them and they have to take accountability for mistakes ... even if that means riding the bench.

[MrMiyagi]

Hey, I got a great idea..... Let's trade Knight cuz he sucks.... Shhhhh don't tell the rest of the league that tho.

Face it... McMully is all in on BK till someone comes calling with a tasty. Let's just hope Coach FeelGood can get the best out of him.

Clean Slate for everyone

Can't tell if Frank is on or off his meds

[simon24]

I think Boston will go hard after Hayward and Utah will try hard to keep him. IF he leaves in FA, I imagine he would probably prefer to go play for his Butler coach, Brad Stevens.

I agree. I think if Utah doesn't make the playoffs he's gone. No excuse for Utah not to make it this year. They got Hill, healthy Exum, healthy Burks, Hood, Joe, Favors, Gobert.

Among Utah fans, I think that the consensus is that this year is huge as far as the future build of the team goes. If we miss the playoffs or even wind up with a 7 or 8 seed without good reason (injury, etc.), there's a very good chance the management goes for a total rebuild. That would mean scrapping all but probably 1 of Favors, Hayward, and Gobert, and even in that scenario I think they probably try their hardest to hold on to Favors. Fans and management love him. With a successful year, I think they try to resign Gobert and Hayward and still very possibly trade Favors away in the offseason. Basically, I think that either plan relies on building around Hayward, and I fully expect them to match any offer given to him (although it will ultimately be his choice).

I think they got to pay Gobert this summer which won't be cheap.

[WeekapaugGroove]

Hey, I got a great idea..... Let's trade Knight cuz he sucks.... Shhhhh don't tell the rest of the league that tho.

Face it... McMully is all in on BK till someone comes calling with a tasty. Let's just hope Coach FeelGood can get the best out of him.

Clean Slate for everyone

Can't tell if Frank is on or off his meds

Right? I haven't been over to this board for a bit and was floored when i saw that. Frank u ok?

Im with him on keeping and open mind on knight. If he embraces the 6th man role I think he could be a useful player. Ive always thought it was the role he was destined for.

[bwgood77]

Hey, I got a great idea..... Let's trade Knight cuz he sucks.... Shhhhh don't tell the rest of the league that tho.

Face it... McMully is all in on BK till someone comes calling with a tasty. Let's just hope Coach FeelGood can get the best out of him.

Clean Slate for everyone

Can't tell if Frank is on or off his meds

Right? I haven't been over to this board for a bit and was floored when i saw that. Frank u ok?

Im with him on keeping and open mind on knight. If he embraces the 6th man role I think he could be a useful player. Ive always thought it was the role he was destined for.

I see your Packers fandom has taken over, but I guess you can see my NFL fandom has taken over with two weeks to go in the doldrums of no good sports.

Being an NFL fan, it would be great if you joined our Beat the Commish contest picking against the spread every week. Two years running it and I've convinced 40 other NBA team fans to join but only one Suns fan in two years.

[NavLDO]

Of course they aren't happy paying him and average of $25M vs Knight's $14M, but there's the difference right there. Knight couldn't command anywhere near that amount on the market right now; He'd be luckt to command the $14M he did.

And we cn come up with all sorts of excuses why x player was out, thus lessened a players numbers. Those numbers you portrayed for 'with' Bledsoe were for 29 games; not a very large sample to go by. How come Price was able to put up:

62gms 19.5mpg -1.41ORPM 1.64DRPM 0.23RPM 2.63WINS without Bledsoe?

Excuses are just that, excuses. He was given the opportunity to step up and didn't, while PJ and Price were able to.

Knight has not posted similar numbers other than bulk stats. Both had to play with Kieff for half a season, so on and so forth.

Take the Suns and Wizards fans biases out of it, put them both up together in a topic, and see who turns out to be thought of as the better player, or if both players are considered 'close'. Wizard Fans are just upset that Beal got the deal he did, just like Miami fans are upset with Dragic's deal, and just like we are unhappy with Knight's deal...not as much now, but when first signed? Heck yeah.

Sorry, but those two are not as close as you are making them sound, and just because their career numbers areas close in some areas, there are a lot of areas/years where they are not, and not to mention that Beal is 1.5 years younger and has played one less season.

And the numbers I posted were from last season; only the RPM numbers were from two years ago.

And while Knight's numbers, overall, are regressing, Beal's, for the most part, are continuing to progress. So there's that aspect, as well.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bealbr01.html

Last time, for the cheap seats.
And I haven't said Knight is a better player at any point - I've said he has a similar value due to posting very similar numbers and being at a much more reasonable price tag.

And I'm done.

I know; that's what I'm arguing...

And I'm done as well...

[NavLDO]

Some of you are way too salty on Brandon Knight.

If you plug Bradley Beal into those scenarios, do you see fair value? Knight really isn't too far off in value IMO (though admittedly lower), especially given the difference in money they're getting.

Really? Knight is quite a bit lower than Beal. So plugging Beal into those would be non-starters. Some of you are too forgiving of Knight.

Go ahead and post that Knight isn't too far off in value from Beal on the GB or T&T boards, and let me know how that goes...

The real problem here is you are giving Beal way too much credit imo. I'd be scared to death of maxing him out like WAS just did. His advanced numbers are not good. Basically identical to Knight's.

What advanced numbers are you looing at?


eFG%:
Knight--.482
B.Beal--.515

TS%:
Knight--.522
B.Beal--.547

3PT%:
Knight--.342
B.Beal--.387

ORtg:
Knight--100
B.Beal--103

DRtg%:
Knight--111
B.Beal--108

PER%:
Knight--14.7
B.Beal--15.5

And that was Beal's "off year" compared to Knight's "off year"

'14-'15 Season (since yes, ONE season, last season, was close in RPM):

B.Beal: ORPM=1.93 ; DRPM=.55 ; RPM=2.48 ; Wins=6.13

Knight: ORPM=-.51 ; DRPM=-1.85 ; RPM=-2.36 ; Wins=-.01

But back to 2015/2016

Beal--WP48=.058, WP=2.1

Knight--WP48=.002, WP=.1

And yes, at $11M more per year, yes, then their 'value' is close, and yes, n no way did Beal 'earn' that Max last year, but they are banking on that year being an anomaly, for sure.

So in that instance, yes, their value is equal, but as straight up players, their value to their team is not even close.

[WeekapaugGroove]

Can't tell if Frank is on or off his meds

Right? I haven't been over to this board for a bit and was floored when i saw that. Frank u ok?

Im with him on keeping and open mind on knight. If he embraces the 6th man role I think he could be a useful player. Ive always thought it was the role he was destined for.

I see your Packers fandom has taken over, but I guess you can see my NFL fandom has taken over with two weeks to go in the doldrums of no good sports.

Being an NFL fan, it would be great if you joined our Beat the Commish contest picking against the spread every week. Two years running it and I've convinced 40 other NBA team fans to join but only one Suns fan in two years.

Yeah this time of yeah i take a break from hoops since its usually just the same tired arguments over and over.

Im down to join. Pm me the details. If you guys need another player for the suns board fantasy league let me know.

[bwgood77]

From Kevin Pelton...

How many games will the Golden State Warriors win after adding Kevin Durant to the core of a team that went 73-9 last season? Which teams might jump from the lottery to the playoffs, and who might they replace?

To help answer these questions, here's an early look at 2016-17 NBA projections using ESPN's real plus-minus (RPM).


RPM was developed by Jeremias Engelmann and Steve Ilardi to estimate a player's on-court impact on team performance, measured in net point differential per 100 offensive and defensive possessions. RPM takes into account teammates, opponents and additional factors. When used along with playing time projections, it's proved to be a very accurate predictive tool overall.

Last season, these projections correctly forecast that the Portland Trail Blazers would be more competitive than expected, the Boston Celtics would maintain their second-half success from the year before and the Milwaukee Bucks would fall out of the playoffs. (They also missed on other teams, including the Toronto Raptors emerging as a top threat to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference and the Houston Rockets limping along near .500.) Two years ago, RPM foresaw the rise of the Golden State Warriors.

Like last season, I've put together projected playing time based on a formula that estimates games missed based on the number missed over the past three seasons (adjusted for any offseason injuries/suspensions) and my own guesses at how rotations will shake out.

Most veteran players are rated using the multiyear, predictive version of RPM, adjusted for the typical aging curve. Newcomers to the league and players who played too little for an RPM rating are rated using their projected offensive and defensive rating from my SCHOENE projection system, which incorporates translated performance in the NCAA and professional leagues besides the NBA.

Let's take a look at the results.

Western Conference

1. Golden State Warriors
Projected wins: 66.8

Within the context of the conservative nature of win projections, which tend to be regressed heavily to the mean, a 67-win projection is remarkable. The Warriors' projection is two wins higher than the next best in the seven years I've gone back to do projections using this method: 64.9 for the 2010-11 Miami Heat, who actually won just 58 games because of the time it took their version of the Big Three to build chemistry on the court.

2. San Antonio Spurs
Projected wins: 54.5

It's a huge step downward to second place in the West. With Tim Duncan's retirement and the aging of other core players, the Spurs will be hard-pressed to stay with Golden State in the regular season as they did last season. But RPM still has them comfortably second in the West.

3. Utah Jazz
Projected wins: 47.6

This might seem like a crazy leap for a team that didn't make the playoffs last year, but remember: The Jazz actually had the fifth-best point differential in the West (plus-1.8 PPG). Ordinarily, that would translate into 46 wins, and that was despite injuries (including Dante Exum missing the entire season) and before Utah loaded up with veterans this offseason. The Jazz should be considered the favorites to win the Northwest Division.

4. L.A. Clippers
Projected wins: 46.3

Given the Clippers won 53 games last year without Blake Griffin for much of the season, a seven-win drop would be a surprise. But RPM sees several key players on the wrong side of the aging curve.

5. Houston Rockets
Projected wins: 45.8

RPM projects the Rockets to be a top-five offense next year, but they'll still struggle to reach 45 wins if their defense is worse than an optimistic projection of 16th in the league.

6. Oklahoma City Thunder
Projected wins: 45.6

Even without Durant, RPM forecasts the Thunder in the mix for home-court advantage in the West thanks to star point guard Russell Westbrook and a deep cast of young role players.

7. Portland Trail Blazers
Projected wins: 44.5

After reaching the second round of the playoffs and adding Festus Ezeli and Evan Turner this offseason, the Blazers hope to take the next step in their development. RPM sees them as about the same team as 2015-16, when they won 44 games but finished fifth in a weaker West.

8. Denver Nuggets
Projected wins: 40.4

Quietly, the Nuggets have assembled an intriguing group of young talent (led by RPM favorite Nikola Jokic, projected for plus-5.0 points per 100 possessions) with a few veterans in tow. Even with Danilo Gallinari projected for just 50 games, internal development could be enough to push Denver into surprising playoff contention.

9. Memphis Grizzlies
Projected wins: 39.4

Yes, the Grizzlies strengthened their starting lineup by signing Chandler Parsons, but their bench is incredibly thin and several starters (including Parsons) are major injury risks. Gulp.

10. Sacramento Kings
Projected wins: 37.7

The Kings have one of the biggest discrepancies of any team between their projection in ESPN's summer forecast (30 wins, 13th in the West) and by RPM, which sees Sacramento deep in average talent around DeMarcus Cousins.

11. Minnesota Timberwolves
Projected wins: 37.1

Remember, RPM projections don't factor in coaching, and the arrival of Tom Thibodeau makes the Timberwolves overwhelmingly likely to outperform their projected ranking of 27th in defensive rating.

12. New Orleans Pelicans
Projected wins: 37.0

New Orleans is deeper after shopping for midtier free agents this summer, but RPM projects just three players on the roster to be better than league average: Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday and newcomer Solomon Hill.

13. Dallas Mavericks
Projected wins: 34.3

Might this be the year that coach Rick Carlisle, veteran big man Dirk Nowitzki and a cast of newcomers can't get the Mavericks to the playoffs? RPM says yes, since swapping Parsons (plus-1.3) for Harrison Barnes (minus-0.7) grades as a major downgrade.

14. Phoenix Suns
Projected wins: 29.2

The Suns figure to be a bit more competitive with the return of RPM favorite Eric Bledsoe (plus-2.2) but are still too young to compete in the West.

15. L.A. Lakers
Projected wins: 24.3

Despite their offseason additions of No. 2 pick Brandon Ingram and veterans Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov, RPM has the Lakers with the league's fewest projected wins.


How will the East shake out in 2016-17? Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images
Eastern Conference

1. Cleveland Cavaliers
Projected wins: 52.1

While the Cavaliers are still solidly tops in the East, their projection is down from last year's 57 wins because RPM takes a dim view of Kyrie Irving's defense and considers Matthew Dellavedova (plus-1.2 projection) a considerable loss as Irving's backup. Note that this projection assumes J.R. Smith ultimately re-signs in Cleveland.

2. Boston Celtics
Projected wins: 49.8

Last year, RPM nailed the Celtics' 48-win finish, though the Raptors jumped ahead of Boston to take second in the East. Now, RPM sees the Celtics taking a modest step forward with the addition of Al Horford.

3. Toronto Raptors
Projected wins: 48.8

After getting career years from guards DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, the Raptors are likely to regress to the pack this year, but fans can take solace in Toronto having outperformed its RPM projection each of the past three seasons.

4. Detroit Pistons
Projected wins: 47.5

While most of the East's middle class took a step backward this offseason, the Pistons should improve by virtue of upgrading at backup point guard and center, and RPM sees them as the third team in a tier with Boston and Toronto.

5. Washington Wizards
Projected wins: 41.4

There's a big gap between the top four in the East and a pack of teams projected fifth through about 11th. The Wizards lead that group after going 18-13 after last year's All-Star break.

6. Charlotte Hornets
Projected wins: 41.0

Though the return of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (plus-2.0) should be a boost, RPM doesn't like the Hornets' new backup backcourt of Ramon Sessions (minus-2.4) and Marco Belinelli (minus-3.7).

7. Milwaukee Bucks
Projected wins: 40.9

The Bucks have oscillated between wildly under- and overperforming projections. If that trend holds, this should be the year for exceeding expectations, and RPM views both Dellavedova and Mirza Teletovic (minus-0.6) as upgrades.

8. Indiana Pacers
Projected wins: 38.9

By virtue of having one of the East's top players in Paul George and a promising youngster in Myles Turner, the Pacers are getting contender buzz in the East. RPM is not so optimistic, viewing the swap of George Hill (plus-0.8) for Jeff Teague (minus-0.6) as a downgrade.

9. Atlanta Hawks
Projected wins: 38.6

RPM has had a tough time forecasting the Hawks, pegging Atlanta for near-.500 records each of the past two seasons, when the Hawks have actually finished second and fourth in the East. This time, Atlanta may have to beat its projection to make the playoffs.

10. Miami Heat
Projected wins: 38.3

Even with Chris Bosh in the lineup, the Heat may have a tough time making the playoffs after losing Luol Deng, Joe Johnson and Dwyane Wade. Without Bosh, Miami's projection drops to 35.2 wins and 12th.

11. Chicago Bulls
Projected wins: 37.8

RPM doesn't view adding Wade (minus-1.3) and Rajon Rondo (minus-1.4) as upgrades for Chicago, and that's before even taking the fit issues they create into account.

12. Orlando Magic
Projected wins: 36.2

The Magic spent big on free agents D.J. Augustin (minus-1.6) and Jeff Green (minus-2.1), neither of whom RPM sees helping Orlando much on the court this season.

13. New York Knicks
Projected wins: 34.7

The Knicks would certainly be disappointed if they improved just three wins after spending freely this summer, but RPM rates Derrick Rose (minus-2.3) as a replacement-level contributor at this point and is skeptical of New York's weak bench.

14. Brooklyn Nets
Projected wins: 28.8

A full season from second-year wing Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (plus-1.2), along with improved play at point guard with Jeremy Lin (minus-0.3), should make the Nets a bit more competitive this season.

15. Philadelphia 76ers
Projected wins: 24.5

Even with conservative projections for rookies Ben Simmons (minus-1.9) and Joel Embiid (minus-1.4), the Sixers figure to take a massive step forward this season despite still being projected for the East's worst record.

For full story.. http://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/17375776/projected-records-win-totals-standings-every-nba-team-2016-17-season

[tmorgan]

Thanks for the post bwgood77. Came over to read it from the Pistons forum (no Insider).

This matches Pistons fans' expectations. High 40's, maybe 50, and HCA, hopefully followed by a playoff series win. This is the first season we've had in a long time with that level of expectations. Depth is great for the regular season, but we'll see about the playoffs.

[bwgood77]

Thanks for the post bwgood77. Came over to read it from the Pistons forum (no Insider).

This matches Pistons fans' expectations. High 40's, maybe 50, and HCA, hopefully followed by a playoff series win. This is the first season we've had in a long time with that level of expectations. Depth is great for the regular season, but we'll see about the playoffs.

I'll be watching pulling for Stanley Johnson to supplant good ol Marcus Morris.

[tmorgan]

Thanks for the post bwgood77. Came over to read it from the Pistons forum (no Insider).

This matches Pistons fans' expectations. High 40's, maybe 50, and HCA, hopefully followed by a playoff series win. This is the first season we've had in a long time with that level of expectations. Depth is great for the regular season, but we'll see about the playoffs.

I'll be watching pulling for Stanley Johnson to supplant good ol Marcus Morris.

Maybe not this season, but likely fairly soon. We need Stanley's ballhandling and passing skills to develop further, at which point Marcus takes the 6th man role (or gets traded, if that's beneath him).

He's been a good teammate here. Surprisingly so.

[bwgood77]

Thanks for the post bwgood77. Came over to read it from the Pistons forum (no Insider).

This matches Pistons fans' expectations. High 40's, maybe 50, and HCA, hopefully followed by a playoff series win. This is the first season we've had in a long time with that level of expectations. Depth is great for the regular season, but we'll see about the playoffs.

I'll be watching pulling for Stanley Johnson to supplant good ol Marcus Morris.

Maybe not this season, but likely fairly soon. We need Stanley's ballhandling and passing skills to develop further, at which point Marcus takes the 6th man role (or gets traded, if that's beneath him).

He's been a good teammate here. Surprisingly so.

Yes, he has been pretty good. He has his ups and downs. Will have some big games at times. I saw one guy on the general nba board I think list guys who should have been on the olympics over Harrison Barnes. Marcus Morris is one of them. I think Barnes is highly overrated and Marcus Morris may be better (certainly better contract for what he will provide), but I wouldn't ever mention him as worthy of being on the olympic team.

It was in a locked thread on the general board a couple days ago and said Harrison Barnes in the title. viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1473426

[LukasBMW]

Can't wait until training camp! I want to hear the buzz of who is looking good and who is going to have breakout seasons.

[NavLDO]

I think Boston will go hard after Hayward and Utah will try hard to keep him. IF he leaves in FA, I imagine he would probably prefer to go play for his Butler coach, Brad Stevens.

I agree. I think if Utah doesn't make the playoffs he's gone. No excuse for Utah not to make it this year. They got Hill, healthy Exum, healthy Burks, Hood, Joe, Favors, Gobert.

Among Utah fans, I think that the consensus is that this year is huge as far as the future build of the team goes. If we miss the playoffs or even wind up with a 7 or 8 seed without good reason (injury, etc.), there's a very good chance the management goes for a total rebuild. That would mean scrapping all but probably 1 of Favors, Hayward, and Gobert, and even in that scenario I think they probably try their hardest to hold on to Favors. Fans and management love him. With a successful year, I think they try to resign Gobert and Hayward and still very possibly trade Favors away in the offseason. Basically, I think that either plan relies on building around Hayward, and I fully expect them to match any offer given to him (although it will ultimately be his choice).

Even in a weak-ish draft, I think you all would have gotten better return by your selection at #12 than you all did with George Hill; in fact, Teague would've been better for you all, IMO, out of that trade, as I felt you guys needed more of a facilitator than scorer out of your PG position, though Teague was the better shooter AND facilitator, overall, IMO. And as you said, if you all don't make a strong push this year, you all may blow it up, and Hill is't the player, IMO, to put you over the top; should've come to us for the 24YO version of Hill in Knight!

But I'd keep Lyles over Favors, keep Gobert, and would've had either Teague or a new, young draft prospect, like Hernangomez, LeVert, or Luwawu to take over for Heyward in the rebuild, and hope Exum comes around. Heyward is good, but to me, he's not good enough a talent to 'build' around. Gobert? Yes. Lyles? Quite possibly. Exum? Possibly. Hood might even be a good piece to keep. And had you taken Teague vs Hill, or a young SF, I think you would be in better shape.

(Short-term after this season)

Exum
Hood/Johnson
Heyward
Lyles
Gobert

Then try to grab the best, young SF you can if Heyward has another 'meh' season like this year. I know he scored a lot this year, but so did Knight...very inefficiently.

[NavLDO]

Hey, I got a great idea..... Let's trade Knight cuz he sucks.... Shhhhh don't tell the rest of the league that tho.

Face it... McMully is all in on BK till someone comes calling with a tasty. Let's just hope Coach FeelGood can get the best out of him.

Clean Slate for everyone

Can't tell if Frank is on or off his meds

Right? I haven't been over to this board for a bit and was floored when i saw that. Frank u ok?

Im with him on keeping and open mind on knight. If he embraces the 6th man role I think he could be a useful player. Ive always thought it was the role he was destined for.

My, and many others' concern is, though, that he DOESN'T embrace the 6th man role, and we end up with yet another disgruntled player. That said, let's face it, Bledsoe is injured every other year, so the problem may solve itself. But then, we'll all want Ulis to get those minutes, so then we'll be 'disgruntled' having to watch Knight try to run this offense as a 'ball-hog' when we know Ulis would facilitate Booker that much better.