Barkley6 wrote:I see our situation right now very similarly to the 2011-12 OKC Thunder.
That team had KD, Harden, Westbrook, Ibaka and Reggie Jackson.
They SHOULD have won multiple championships, but they didn't keep them together. We've got a kind of similar situation where we have some younger guys coming into their own (Ayton, Bridges, CamJo, Payne) and I think we need to make sure we lock them up, because all of those guys genuinely have a chance to become star players.
We could have our OWN super team that we built through the draft. Book is already an All-Star. Payne could easily be 6MOTY next season. Ayton is showing he's one of the best 2 way bigs in the league. Bridges could be the next Kawhi, and will probably be All-Defense next year. CamJo is only in his second year and already looks mature and like he could potentially become a TJ Warren type scorer with better defense.
We gotta keep that group together, or we'll be wondering what could have been. If this was a team where some of these guys were 29-31 and up for their next big contract, I'd say okay we need to think about long term investment and the future.
But this group IS the future, they're young, hungry and extremely talented. Pay them their f***ing money.
Pretty sure I was the first person round these parts to advocate a max for Ayton, while others were talking about a max for Bridges. Bridges is so critical to this team, but I don't feel he's quite worth $20 mil. I might pay that much just because I agree we've got to keep this group together, though I think $18 (or even $16) is more appropriate.
Simply put, I don't think Bridges has Kawhi potential. I acknowledge that he's already one of the most efficient scorers in the history of the game (that's right, look it up). But that's primarily because almost all his shots are catch-and-shoot threes, dunks and layups. He has a solid mid-range game now, but he can't create his own shots or create for others. He doesn't rebound. If he dribbles the ball before he shoots the three, it doesn't go in. He's amazing at what he does, and he's an iron man, which is a huge plus, but Kawhi potential? No way. He'll never get those boards. I hope he continues to develop offensively, but I just don't see the possibility for that kind of progression.
When you're looking at luxury tax every year til the end of this era, every million dollars you save is millions more you're not paying in tax. We have to save where we can. I'm hoping Bridges would regard $18 mil ($16? Please?) as fair, because if another team were to sign him for more than that, surely they would expect more production than 13p, 3r, 2a, 1s and 1b.
bwgood77 wrote:JJ was in a way comparable to Bridges...stepped his game up in 04-05 on offense, shooting like 47% from 3, but should have been extended the summer before...for a lot less before deserving a max or near max after that season.
We could have been contenders for years. As good as Diaw was, Johnson was better. We may have ended up with Diaw anyway, especially if we never signed Q...Hawks didn't seem to be very high on Diaw and we liked him. Joe Johnson was a big guard who could handle, defend and hit 3s at an absurd clip in that offense.
Joe showed plenty of 1-on-1 prowess with us before we let him go. He could create, board, and was much bigger than bridges. He had so much more to offer on offense that I don't really find the comparison apt.
