2021-22 Season/Offseason Speculation

[Ghost of Kleine]

Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) Tweeted:
Top Remaining Free Agents:

Lauri Markkanen
Avery Bradley
Wesley Matthews
Paul Millsap
Josh Hart
JJ Redick
Hamidou Diallo
Stanley Johnson
Denzel Valentine
Ed Davis
James Ennis
DeMarcus Cousins
Jarred Vanderbilt
Isaiah Hartenstein
Frank Ntilikina
Dennis Smith Jr.
Svi Mykhailiuk

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[cberry78]

I say we go get another Frank! Can't have too many!

[darealjuice]

I think they will be fairly competitive. They have Murray, Derrick White, Lonnie Walker, Keldon Johnson (was on olympic squad), Devin Vassell, Jakob Poeltl.

They actually kind of played small ball a a lot starting Murray, Walker, Johnson, DeRozan and Poeltl, but they really didn't have a legit PF unless you count Gay off the bench.

Seems like they would keep Young, though they also got Aminu in the trade. I guess they also have 2nd year PF Luka Samanic.

I think Pop will want to compete with that group which have 1 through 5 years of experience. White and Murray each with 4, Poeltl with 5, Walker and Eubanks (C) with 3, Keldon Johnson and Samanic with 2 years, and Vassell and Tre Jones with 1. They also have Bates-Diop.

So they are somewhat young, but the meat of their rotation has 3-5 with their best player, Johnson with 2...and Vassell is probably ready to play more with Gay and DeRozan leaving.

This is most of the group they played last year and were in the play in game. DeRozan was good but I often saw it pointed out on the GB that every one of the teams he's been on was worse when he was on the floor. I am not sure how much stock to put into that because the counterargument was "so is Pop an idiot?" etc but of course he just traded him for quite a nice haul.

I don't see it. I think they're in line for a rebuild. Murray, White, and Keldon are good players, but they're not winning a lot of games as your best players. Vassell is a solid prospect, I haven't seen anything to suggest he's going to suddenly become a star though. Samanic seems more like a role player. Primo is an interesting young prospect that probably won't be much of a contributor this year. They lost DeRozan, Mills, Gay too. Good year for them to suck.

[Ghost of Kleine]

Evan Sidery (@esidery) Tweeted:
With the Suns planning to keep their final roster spot open, one name to monitor moving forward is Kevin Love via buyout.

After drafting Evan Mobley, Love’s role in Cleveland will be diminished even further. Love once called Suns GM James Jones the best teammate he’s ever had.

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[bwgood77]

I think they will be fairly competitive. They have Murray, Derrick White, Lonnie Walker, Keldon Johnson (was on olympic squad), Devin Vassell, Jakob Poeltl.

They actually kind of played small ball a a lot starting Murray, Walker, Johnson, DeRozan and Poeltl, but they really didn't have a legit PF unless you count Gay off the bench.

Seems like they would keep Young, though they also got Aminu in the trade. I guess they also have 2nd year PF Luka Samanic.

I think Pop will want to compete with that group which have 1 through 5 years of experience. White and Murray each with 4, Poeltl with 5, Walker and Eubanks (C) with 3, Keldon Johnson and Samanic with 2 years, and Vassell and Tre Jones with 1. They also have Bates-Diop.

So they are somewhat young, but the meat of their rotation has 3-5 with their best player, Johnson with 2...and Vassell is probably ready to play more with Gay and DeRozan leaving.

This is most of the group they played last year and were in the play in game. DeRozan was good but I often saw it pointed out on the GB that every one of the teams he's been on was worse when he was on the floor. I am not sure how much stock to put into that because the counterargument was "so is Pop an idiot?" etc but of course he just traded him for quite a nice haul.

I don't see it. I think they're in line for a rebuild. Murray, White, and Keldon are good players, but they're not winning a lot of games as your best players. Vassell is a solid prospect, I haven't seen anything to suggest he's going to suddenly become a star though. Samanic seems more like a role player. Primo is an interesting young prospect that probably won't be much of a contributor this year. They lost DeRozan, Mills, Gay too. Good year for them to suck.

I guess by virtue of Minnesota and GS being a lot better, it will hurt them. Maybe the Pelicans but who knows with their movies. I still think Pop will try and compete just because that's his nature. One thing is that Thad seems to be a very good mentor for young guys (from the article I posted):

There are innumerable reasons Thaddeus Young is beloved by the fanbase at every stop in his career.

He goes out of his way to learn every single teammates’ tendencies so he can better help them on the court. He couldn't care less if he starts or comes off the bench. He plays his tail off and endears himself to coaches, fans, and teammates alike with his hustle plays.

All these qualities add up to an invaluable locker room presence, one the Bulls struggled to part ways with at the trade deadline as they tried to make a playoff push.

In the Bulls Talk Podcast interview, Young said he made it a point to help LaVine become an All-Star when he arrived in Chicago as a free agent in 2019.

Two years later, LaVine was finally selected as an All-Star. But according to him, someone else was the team’s MVP.

“Thad has been, for me personally, the MVP of the team. He does a little bit of everything," said LaVine. "He’s the type of guy you love to have on your team.”

It’d be borderline irresponsible to suggest one player is solely responsible for another player’s ascension. However, Young clearly played a role in LaVine’s development and was a steadying voice in his ear who aided him in navigating the delicate balance of scoring and facilitating.

As he put it, “Sometimes I have to reinforce that [message with LaVine] that ‘You’re the man. We go as far as you take us.’”

Young’s presence would do wonders for the Spurs’ young players who will be expected to absorb more responsibilities than they have to this point in their careers now that several ball-dominant veterans have moved on

.


There are certainly reasons to like him as a potential extra 4 and small ball 5 though:

Thaddeus Young had inarguably one of the best seasons of his career. He became a crucial hub for the Bulls in new coach Billy Donovan’s offense and displayed prodigious passing on his way to career-highs in assists per game (4.3) and assist rate (25.4%), both nearly double his previous career-high marks.

For the first time, Young was repeatedly deployed as a small-ball 5. While playing 57% of his minutes at center, he put up an insane 30% assist rate, good for 98th percentile among all centers, per Cleaning the Glass.

But lest we completely equate general passing stats to truly meaningful playmaking that elevates teammates, if you look more closely into how this newfound proclivity to pass boosted his team’s offense, you’ll see the value he provided by greasing the offensive gears and creating better looks when he was on the floor.

When Young was on the court, the team’s efficiency (points per 100 possessions) increased by a whopping 10.7 points while their eFG% went up by 3.6 percentage points, which respectively ranked in the 98th percentile and 93rd percentile for all players.

Basically, Chicago played like a 52-win team when he was on the floor.

https://airalamo.com/posts/san-antonio-spurs-adding-thaddeus-young-underrated-move

[bwgood77]

Spoiler:

Evan Sidery (@esidery) Tweeted:
With the Suns planning to keep their final roster spot open, one name to monitor moving forward is Kevin Love via buyout.

After drafting Evan Mobley, Love’s role in Cleveland will be diminished even further. Love once called Suns GM James Jones the best teammate he’s ever had.

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We've heard that quote multiple times and of course this isn't "news" but I don't think he's not playing in Cleveland because his role is "diminished"...for some reason since he signed that big extension he just hasn't played much...like 101 games over 3 years. 22, 56 and 25.

I am not sure if he doesn't want to play or they don't think he's good enough but to not get any minutes that often is strange. Again, he may be bought out but I don't think Cleveland would do it unless he gave up $10 million or so. He is still owed $60 million the next two years.

Plus, they had put him on the olympic team then later came out and said he wasn't in good enough shape to play. I think signing him might be pretty far fetched.

Honestly, I still think MIllsap would be a nice add with the rest of our MLE.

He still averaged close to his career per 36 and does all the little things, 15, 8, 3, 1.6, 1.1. Pretty impressive he is still getting those steals and blocks at 36.

Unless we can get someone who performed really well in summer league but didn't make another roster.

[bwgood77]

I do see that the Spurs are in the mix for Ben Simmons, so if they give up a few of their young guys and picks, like Murray and a couple of wings like Vassell and Walker and a pick or two (not sure what it would take), I'm sure they'd keep Young (unless Philly wants him, though it's supposed to be a 1 for 1 deal). Of course the league doesn't start for more than 60 days off so any multi player deal for Young could still take place prior to season.

[lilfishi22]

I see Thad as a guy that would become more and more available as the trade deadline looms. Right now, I think his value is relatively low in the sense that teams aren't quite ready to go "all in" before the season begins to add a Thad Young since who knows how the season will play out. The Spurs are going to compete this season as they always do under Pop but I think it will become clear that they are more of a play-in team than they are a solid playoff team. I don't really know what the San Antonio's plans are because they've moved on from all of their players that really helped them stay competitive like Mills, Kawhi and now Derozan. They still have guys like Murray who's still young and still has good potential but I don't think anyone sees him coming an elite level guard.

So where does the Spurs go? I think most people would suggest they go into a rebuild and that's sensible but with Pop still around, that's a tough proposition. The way I see it, as the season rolls on and as the Spurs look less and less like a competitive team, there'll be better and better offers from teams leading up to the deadline who want to make that playoff/championship push and will be more willing to part ways with better assets to get it done. But again, the Spurs will also have pressure of their own to turn Thad into a future assets before he could walk in the offseason.

tldr; Thad won't be traded until closer to the trade deadline and I think he's a pro's pro so he's not going to pout on the sideline nor ask for a buy-out.

Trading for a power forward feels like a trade deadline move anyways. We realize our current rotation isn't going to get it done and/or that Smith isn't even ready for end of rotation minutes, so we make moves to fix it. The only times I remember thinking that we need more size at power forward were against Giannis and AD, and I don't think we're getting anyone that fixes that issue. I also think we were missing size at back-up center just as much in those cases.

Young can certainly help more than Crowder in those situations but I would also want to highlight what Young can give you offensively. Crowder is clearly the better shooter but Young has become a damn good playmaker and might even be able to give us a bit of shooting from range. He shot around league average from 3 on 3.5 attempts a game two seasons ago but for whatever reason, he abandoned the 3 last season. He won't replace Crowder's shooting but we're not going to trot out some defensive big who can't spread the floor and that's important when pairing him with Ayton.

[RunDogGun]

I say we go get another Frank! Can't have too many!

So Frank Ntilikina for the win?

[Frank Lee]

Or?

[thamadkant]

Suns need thick big bodied wings.

[Mulhollanddrive]

Keep an eye on Abduwali Muse as an option for the Suns to add depth at PF.

Spoiler:

But he's mainly a character in the movie Captain Phillips

[Barkley6]

Is there a reason Hamidou Diallo is still unsigned? He put up really good numbers on decent efficiency last season, and has been on a pretty consistent upward trajectory in the league. He shot 50% from 2 last year, and while his 3pt range seems inconsistent over his career, he did shoot 39% in Detroit.

Another guy I'd take a look at is Stanley Johnson, he can't shoot, but he's a very solid wing defender and has plenty of width to match up against bigger guys.

I know both are more wings than bigs, but I do feel like we need another wing, especially with Cam projected to play so much at the 4 as currently constructed.

It also puts a lot on Cam to be healthy, if he goes down we end up thin at two positions instead of just one.

[Saberestar]

Is there a reason Hamidou Diallo is still unsigned? He put up really good numbers on decent efficiency last season, and has been on a pretty consistent upward trajectory in the league. He shot 50% from 2 last year, and while his 3pt range seems inconsistent over his career, he did shoot 39% in Detroit.

Another guy I'd take a look at is Stanley Johnson, he can't shoot, but he's a very solid wing defender and has plenty of width to match up against bigger guys.

I know both are more wings than bigs, but I do feel like we need another wing, especially with Cam projected to play so much at the 4 as currently constructed.

It also puts a lot on Cam to be healthy, if he goes down we end up thin at two positions instead of just one.

He is much more an athlete than a basketball player and he is a RFA...so whoever tries to sign him will need to overpay for him.

That 39% from three is in a super small sample size, he is a bad shooter and he always shots around 65% from the FTL.

For the minimum (or close to) and with a second year as a team option I would be OK signing him, he has some upside that is for sure, but for now he looks too raw to contribute on a contender IMO.

Detroit will match offers as low as that, so I think he is not an option.

[NapoleonII]

Suns need thick big bodied wings.

[Barkley6]

Suns need thick big bodied wings.

In that case....I'm thinking Hooters with the fellas.

[Slim Charless]

Is there a reason Hamidou Diallo is still unsigned? He put up really good numbers on decent efficiency last season, and has been on a pretty consistent upward trajectory in the league. He shot 50% from 2 last year, and while his 3pt range seems inconsistent over his career, he did shoot 39% in Detroit.

Another guy I'd take a look at is Stanley Johnson, he can't shoot, but he's a very solid wing defender and has plenty of width to match up against bigger guys.

I know both are more wings than bigs, but I do feel like we need another wing, especially with Cam projected to play so much at the 4 as currently constructed.

It also puts a lot on Cam to be healthy, if he goes down we end up thin at two positions instead of just one.

He is much more an athlete than a basketball player and he is a RFA...so whoever tries to sign him will need to overpay for him.

That 39% from three is in a super small sample size, he is a bad shooter and he always shots around 65% from the FTL.

For the minimum (or close to) and with a second year as a team option I would be OK signing him, he has some upside that is for sure, but for now he looks too raw to contribute on a contender IMO.

Detroit will match offers as low as that, so I think he is not an option.

They should've taken the Frank money and added that to our offer to Diallo. I'd much rather him than Kaminsky. He's a waste of a roster spot.

[RunDogGun]

Is there a reason Hamidou Diallo is still unsigned? He put up really good numbers on decent efficiency last season, and has been on a pretty consistent upward trajectory in the league. He shot 50% from 2 last year, and while his 3pt range seems inconsistent over his career, he did shoot 39% in Detroit.

Another guy I'd take a look at is Stanley Johnson, he can't shoot, but he's a very solid wing defender and has plenty of width to match up against bigger guys.

I know both are more wings than bigs, but I do feel like we need another wing, especially with Cam projected to play so much at the 4 as currently constructed.

It also puts a lot on Cam to be healthy, if he goes down we end up thin at two positions instead of just one.

Cam is becoming a very smart player. His defense has improved so much, and he shot so well during the playoffs. I hope he stays healthy, and finally gets real minutes, touches, and more shots. I think he could average 15/5/2 if he started. The sad part is we have no pf who really rebounds and is also ready for many minutes.

[Barkley6]

Is there a reason Hamidou Diallo is still unsigned? He put up really good numbers on decent efficiency last season, and has been on a pretty consistent upward trajectory in the league. He shot 50% from 2 last year, and while his 3pt range seems inconsistent over his career, he did shoot 39% in Detroit.

Another guy I'd take a look at is Stanley Johnson, he can't shoot, but he's a very solid wing defender and has plenty of width to match up against bigger guys.

I know both are more wings than bigs, but I do feel like we need another wing, especially with Cam projected to play so much at the 4 as currently constructed.

It also puts a lot on Cam to be healthy, if he goes down we end up thin at two positions instead of just one.

Cam is becoming a very smart player. His defense has improved so much, and he shot so well during the playoffs. I hope he stays healthy, and finally gets real minutes, touches, and more shots. I think he could average 15/5/2 if he started. The sad part is we have no pf who really rebounds and is also ready for many minutes.

I agree, I love the player Cam is becoming, my concern is if he gets hurt, are we ready to play BOTH Nader and Kaminsky/Smith big minutes? Because that's kind of what we're looking at by having him as the primary backup for two positions.

[RunDogGun]

They should've taken the Frank money and added that to our offer to Diallo. I'd much rather him than Kaminsky. He's a waste of a roster spot.

I don't think the money works like that. We already grabbed a guard, so I don't think we would make an offer to a RFA guard.

When GOK mentioned Diallo, I did some research on him and watched some film. Good athlete and keeps improving.