BobbieL wrote:Ghost of Kleine wrote:bwgood77 wrote:
I'd be surprised if Clarke isn't the better defender. And I really like Kleber. Kleber can hit 3s on occasion - 33%, but he's 27 and didn't make it to the NBA until 26 where he shot 31%.
I think Kleber will probably be retained, though maybe not if they end up with Zion or Clarke.
Clarke will very likely be cheaper too.
Exactly, that's why I am all for still picking Morant at #2 or 3, if he's there and we are too. THEN.....trading Jackson and the Milwaukee pick for a later pick in his range of the first round.
Walking out of the draft with Both Morant and Clarke smells like a big win for us, would ultimately be cheaper than what we might find in free agency anyways.
And at least in the draft, we wouldn't be bidding against other teams for a desired positional player.
Then in free agency, using the additional cap space from moving Jackson to pick up Collison, Joseph, or even Beverly to mentor Morant for a season or two, until he's ready to take over.
Lastly, in the 2nd round, We can pick up Eric Paschall (unguaranteed contract) and release Holmes IF he's not cheap!!!
With our Exception, we can pick up another sharpshooter.
Just not sure the Suns can handle one rookie let alone two or three. I prefer to trade either the first or second round pick
I understand where you're coming from with this,
But the reasoning behind this is in that we would acquire these players of positional need that have unique skillsets that can positively benefit our roster, and on low cost, contractually desirable contracts.
Also, to be clear and reiterate, I'm not advocating for them to start in any circumstances, But for them to develop BEHIND experienced veterans that we can hopefully acquire via free agency.
But should we "WIFF" yet again, and come up short and empty handed in free agency, Then at least we have some kind of insurance policy in these players for our roster holes.
Also, it's important to consider that both Clarke and Eric Paschall are 22 yrs old. And have mature attitudes, more experience than most rookies, they have winning attitudes and pedigrees, and have been well coached.
Attaining such players prior to free agency, gives us two things.
First, Players that can contribute positively to our roster in the same manner as Mikhail Bridges did early on, due to their high basketball IQs' as well as their strong leadership skills from being well coached and highly competitive.
Second, while adding much needed depth and potency to our bench, They'll also rapidly increase value to the league perception of our roster assets.
This will come in very handy when the time comes for us to put together a more competitive trade package for an actual star or max player.
In having these players increase their value due to their production, while being on cost effective rookie controlled contracts, they will have premium value in such trades, and potentially help us outbid the bigger market franchises that we may have to compete with.
Also in considering our really poor league image and us not realistically being a desirable free agent destination, The most realistic and viable option for us to improve would still be organically.
Similar to what the Denver nuggets are doing, Or what Boston has done to increase the perception of value throughout the league, in regards to roster, assets etc.
Which hopefully will increase the number of teams wanting to deal with us??
I mean currently what do we have to offer, IF we plan on going forward with a core of Booker/ Ayton/ Oubre/ And Bridges???
And IF we do plan to hold onto Warren too?....Then what assets could we realistically offer that would be desirable or even palatable?
Would jackson and the milwaukee pick , along with tyler johnson's expiring are our assets. That may be good still somewhat meh!........
But then again, what if the team we're dealing with doesn't want/ need expirings? What desirable pieces could we offer then?
Would Jacksons current value bring down the overall value of a trade package, even with Warren included?
We need to increase our roster assets to be able to realistically compete with other franchises for these players, when they become available through trades or otherwise.
Lastly, please consider that the proposal would be to move Jackson and the Milwaukee pick for Clarke, So we'd still be acquiring some increase in cap space to use towards free agency,
As well as clear up, or simplify roster congestion while adding Clarke would address a critical positional need for us at the 4 too. And Paschall would add a frontcourt big man with a competent three point shot that can replace Holmes (*** if necessary) *** on a cheaper/ unguaranteed contract.
I challenge anyone to actually look at his stats, gameplay, skillset, and then tell me he wouldn't be a bargain/steal for us on a 2nd round contract.
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/eric-paschall-1.html .
And his in game play:
https://youtu.be/zazT04t9t5g . 27 points/ 4 rebounds/ 2 assists.
https://youtu.be/ljF8f8TXh_4 . Shooting 36% from 3.
