Free agency and trade ideas: Which wings do we go after this summer?

[darmani]

New York gets-

Josh Jackson/ a 2021 top 8 protected first/ and the Milwaukee pick. ( They add the picks to their trade package).

New Orleans gets-

RJ Barrett/ Dennis Smith Jr/ Mitchell Robinson/ TJ Warren ( Phoenix) / 2021 top 8 protected first ( Phoenix)/ Milwaukee bucks pick ( Phoenix)/ 2 firsts ( Dallas).

Phoenix gets-

Lance Thomas - 7 million ( only guaranteed 1 million IF released by July 1st).
Mario Hezonza (6.5 million expiring).

Basically the suns save 12.5 million right off the bat, post trade. Then we renegotiate Johnson's deal to 40/4.

So If we can do this, We'd theoretically have around 22-23 Million plus our exceptions for free agency, Whilst still keeping Johnson as our backup guard for depth, And our pick.

Did I miss something or are you suggesting we trade two first rounders, TJ and JJ for cap space?

I love this because cap space is literally useless unless we are using it on a good player who we are fairly certain we will actually sign. I wouldn’t be against trading firsts to open up room for Kyrie or KD but if all we’re going to do is get a few mid level guys it’s not the right move. That’s a prime Vlade Divac move.

Which is exactly what this dude wants do. Use 1st round picks to dump TJ Warren and Josh Jackson so we can sign Jeff Green, Mike Muscala and Nik Stauskas. How stupid is that?

[Slim Charless]

Pass on Dragic. I was all over getting him last summer when we had just hired his coach, but now it's an easy pass. He has a lot more mileage on his body than Mike Conley. His FG% last year was the worst he's had since his rookie year. Dragic is a 2nd to last resort to me. Go after Conley (or Jrue), DLo, Irving, Collison, Walker, Beverly. I'd put Dragic, in the same category as Rubio, Dunn. Ahead of Schroder, IT.

Yup. No Koko=no Dragic and honestly if OKC would throw in Grant for us taking Schroder off their hands I'd put that combo above Dragic too. At least we Grant will give us productive minutes at the 4.

[Ghost of Kleine]

Did I miss something or are you suggesting we trade two first rounders, TJ and JJ for cap space?

I love this because cap space is literally useless unless we are using it on a good player who we are fairly certain we will actually sign. I wouldn’t be against trading firsts to open up room for Kyrie or KD but if all we’re going to do is get a few mid level guys it’s not the right move. That’s a prime Vlade Divac move.

Which is exactly what this dude wants do. Use 1st round picks to dump TJ Warren and Josh Jackson so we can sign Jeff Green, Mike Muscala and Nik Stauskas. How stupid is that?

As opposed to just leaving the roster as is..... Because that's obviously carried us to a very impressive 19 wins???

I'm curious as to what your plan is for improving the team??

I'm just curious, as I've heard your version of constructive criticism , But no legitimate counter proposal.

[Flying Colors]

I also really doubt Dragic wants anything to do with us after the way we fired the couch that he has a lot of love for after a season. That ship has sailed for good.

[Frank Lee]

The priority should be to sign/acquire a PF

No reason not to make a play for Tobias... using the full Monty connection.

My unofficial math.... redo Johnson’s deal, trade #6 and Jackson ... that should free up space enough for Harris.

Clean and simple

[hollywood6964]

I'm not big on Tobias Harris, he's in the Warren category. They're nice to have at bargain prices, but crippling when signed to near Max levels.

[King4Day]

It’s crazy to think how much money Malcolm Brogdon has made himself with his play in the playoffs. He’s easily getting maxed now. And he’s worth it too cause he’s such a crazy high IQ basketball player who plays within the offense and doesn’t try to outdo himself.

If we offer him max it'll be hard to see the Bucks match that. Maybe they would work with us and take back Warren and Jackson. That wouldn't be a bad coup for Milwaukee. They add more depth at a bargain. Warren already familiar with Bledsoe.

I'm very against the idea of restructuring Johnson's deal. He's a good player but I refuse to extend him in order to save some cap this year. Even at 10 mil a year, he's not worth that. We can most def get a team to take that deal off our hands if need be with a protected first IF it came to that. That's far less damaging than the cap hit he'd put on us for the next few years

[hollywood6964]

It’s crazy to think how much money Malcolm Brogdon has made himself with his play in the playoffs. He’s easily getting maxed now. And he’s worth it too cause he’s such a crazy high IQ basketball player who plays within the offense and doesn’t try to outdo himself.

If we offer him max it'll be hard to see the Bucks match that. Maybe they would work with us and take back Warren and Jackson. That wouldn't be a bad coup for Milwaukee. They add more depth at a bargain. Warren already familiar with Bledsoe.

I'm very against the idea of restructuring Johnson's deal. He's a good player but I refuse to extend him in order to save some cap this year. Even at 10 mil a year, he's not worth that. We can most def get a team to take that deal off our hands if need be with a protected first IF it came to that. That's far less damaging than the cap hit he'd put on us for the next few years

Yeah I don't think he's worth it either, why compound the issue.

[bwoolf2]

It’s crazy to think how much money Malcolm Brogdon has made himself with his play in the playoffs. He’s easily getting maxed now. And he’s worth it too cause he’s such a crazy high IQ basketball player who plays within the offense and doesn’t try to outdo himself.

If we offer him max it'll be hard to see the Bucks match that. Maybe they would work with us and take back Warren and Jackson. That wouldn't be a bad coup for Milwaukee. They add more depth at a bargain. Warren already familiar with Bledsoe.

I'm very against the idea of restructuring Johnson's deal. He's a good player but I refuse to extend him in order to save some cap this year. Even at 10 mil a year, he's not worth that. We can most def get a team to take that deal off our hands if need be with a protected first IF it came to that. That's far less damaging than the cap hit he'd put on us for the next few years

Yeah I don't think he's worth it either, why compound the issue.

no way Brogdan gets the Max, he will get a solid contract and someone will structure it where it will be hard for the Bucks to match but the Max is unlikely

[hollywood6964]

If we offer him max it'll be hard to see the Bucks match that. Maybe they would work with us and take back Warren and Jackson. That wouldn't be a bad coup for Milwaukee. They add more depth at a bargain. Warren already familiar with Bledsoe.

I'm very against the idea of restructuring Johnson's deal. He's a good player but I refuse to extend him in order to save some cap this year. Even at 10 mil a year, he's not worth that. We can most def get a team to take that deal off our hands if need be with a protected first IF it came to that. That's far less damaging than the cap hit he'd put on us for the next few years

Yeah I don't think he's worth it either, why compound the issue.

no way Brogdan gets the Max, he will get a solid contract and someone will structure it where it will be hard for the Bucks to match but the Max is unlikely

Max for an unproven to be Max player would be crazy, you don't want to end up with another Batum. I like brogdan, but tempering cost to likely return had to be done.

[Slim Charless]

I wouldn't give up the 6th pick. I would at most give up a package of Warren/ Johnson's expiring/ a Phoenix top 8 lottery protected first/ and the Milwaukee pick.

The Grizz are of course going to ask for that pick, because they are looking to offset the pick that they gave up to Boston in the Jeff Green trade.

But that package, is far and away the best offer that they're likely to see for Conley, due mainly to the factors that some are arguing against Conley for.

Having said that, I think that the package of Warren/Johnson's expiring/ and the Milwaukee pick. Is more than fair value. If it happens cool, if they want more than that, we can find other options as well.

If Kyrie leaves Boston will need a PG, I can see them being the ones to trade for Conley. They trade Hayward and Memphis back their own pick-would make sense for both teams.

As far as we're concerned maybe we can grab Lowry. If they lose Kawhi they'll be in rebuild mode and will have no need for him. He won't cost much in a trade and will only be a 1 yr rental but can still add veteran leadership.

Definitely a lot of possabilities to be sure I think.

And at that point, If that were to happen, Then honestly, good for Conley. And I would then of course look at Lowry( But mainly for his expiring contract)

But with respect to Memphis, I honestly doubt that they'd be willing to take Hayward's 30 million at back, As their looking to go young and rebuild around picks and cap space.

And even though getting their pick back would be very tempting, I really believe that IF Boston misses out on Davis, AND Kyrie Irving does leave( he's definitely leaving!!!). They'll go in this direction.

A scenario that I think people haven't really considered yet! And that is......

That they'll use some of those picks and a player or two for Beal honestly.

For Beal, They'd offer something like:

The Sacramento kings pick/ the Memphis pick/ and Tatum/ Smart/ And a future Boston unprotected first.


If it's between Lowry and Conley, Then I'd honestly prefer Conley. As Lowry is already 33 yrs old.

Also Lowry also is said to have a somewhat sour and abrasive attitude. And he has yet to prove that he is close to the leader that Conley is, And has slightly worse stats than Conley too.


So with respect to those factors, I just don't feel that he's the right type of leader for our young team.


But having said that, His contract is definitely shorter, And even though he'd expire in 2020. The free agency in 2020 is fairly lousy.

The only players that are worth signing are unfortunately restricted too, For instance.........


- Ben Simmons ( restricted) would we offer a full max and hope that they don't match???

- Jamal Murray ( restricted) the same as above???

- Buddy Hield( Restricted).

- Anthony Davis( Player option). But at that point, Wouldn't he just either head to LA or New York???

Now if A.D. was willing to give us an early indication that he would sign with us, Then I'd definitely look at Lowry in order to clear space for him.

But not unless he indicated as such.

Ben Simmons is absolutely someone I'd offer the max to and ya philly might not match especially if they resign butler and tobias this summer. I'd even trade for him so we can offer him more then other teams.

Baring that though to me Conley is better then Lowry but as others have said he says he wants to play for a contender. If he doesnt mind spending the rest of his career teaching youngsters then why wouldn't he just do that Memphis? The team he spent his entire career on, where his family is, where he knows the entire organization-as opposed to packing up and heading to the other side of the country.

Lowry, if Toronto loses Kawhi just seems more tenable for us. We get him for 1 yr and hopefully he can pass on enough to Okobo and Melton to make them passable. Worse comes to worse, next yr we can grab one of the PGs that are coming out.

[sunsbum]

It’s crazy to think how much money Malcolm Brogdon has made himself with his play in the playoffs. He’s easily getting maxed now. And he’s worth it too cause he’s such a crazy high IQ basketball player who plays within the offense and doesn’t try to outdo himself.

If we offer him max it'll be hard to see the Bucks match that. Maybe they would work with us and take back Warren and Jackson. That wouldn't be a bad coup for Milwaukee. They add more depth at a bargain. Warren already familiar with Bledsoe.

I'm very against the idea of restructuring Johnson's deal. He's a good player but I refuse to extend him in order to save some cap this year. Even at 10 mil a year, he's not worth that. We can most def get a team to take that deal off our hands if need be with a protected first IF it came to that. That's far less damaging than the cap hit he'd put on us for the next few years

No way in hell johnson gets 10 a year....first off he's not worth that much, second I think after getting away with straight robbery he might sign with us for slightly less (5-7). He seems to like it here and I definitely see him as our Shawn Livingston for the future. I really think the suns should grin and bear it for 1 more year, he was very much apart of whatever it was we had for a small time.

[Ghost of Kleine]

If Kyrie leaves Boston will need a PG, I can see them being the ones to trade for Conley. They trade Hayward and Memphis back their own pick-would make sense for both teams.

As far as we're concerned maybe we can grab Lowry. If they lose Kawhi they'll be in rebuild mode and will have no need for him. He won't cost much in a trade and will only be a 1 yr rental but can still add veteran leadership.

Definitely a lot of possabilities to be sure I think.

And at that point, If that were to happen, Then honestly, good for Conley. And I would then of course look at Lowry( But mainly for his expiring contract)

But with respect to Memphis, I honestly doubt that they'd be willing to take Hayward's 30 million at back, As their looking to go young and rebuild around picks and cap space.

And even though getting their pick back would be very tempting, I really believe that IF Boston misses out on Davis, AND Kyrie Irving does leave( he's definitely leaving!!!). They'll go in this direction.

A scenario that I think people haven't really considered yet! And that is......

That they'll use some of those picks and a player or two for Beal honestly.

For Beal, They'd offer something like:

The Sacramento kings pick/ the Memphis pick/ and Tatum/ Smart/ And a future Boston unprotected first.


If it's between Lowry and Conley, Then I'd honestly prefer Conley. As Lowry is already 33 yrs old.

Also Lowry also is said to have a somewhat sour and abrasive attitude. And he has yet to prove that he is close to the leader that Conley is, And has slightly worse stats than Conley too.


So with respect to those factors, I just don't feel that he's the right type of leader for our young team.


But having said that, His contract is definitely shorter, And even though he'd expire in 2020. The free agency in 2020 is fairly lousy.

The only players that are worth signing are unfortunately restricted too, For instance.........


- Ben Simmons ( restricted) would we offer a full max and hope that they don't match???

- Jamal Murray ( restricted) the same as above???

- Buddy Hield( Restricted).

- Anthony Davis( Player option). But at that point, Wouldn't he just either head to LA or New York???

Now if A.D. was willing to give us an early indication that he would sign with us, Then I'd definitely look at Lowry in order to clear space for him.

But not unless he indicated as such.

Ben Simmons is absolutely someone I'd offer the max to and ya philly might not match especially if they resign butler and tobias this summer. I'd even trade for him so we can offer him more then other teams.

Baring that though to me Conley is better then Lowry but as others have said he says he wants to play for a contender. If he doesnt mind spending the rest of his career teaching youngsters then why wouldn't he just do that Memphis? The team he spent his entire career on, where his family is, where he knows the entire organization-as opposed to packing up and heading to the other side of the country.

Lowry, if Toronto loses Kawhi just seems more tenable for us. We get him for 1 yr and hopefully he can pass on enough to Okobo and Melton to make them passable. Worse comes to worse, next yr we can grab one of the PGs that are coming out.

The idea is that he'd only be leading and mentoring our young team for two seasons max( as he expires). Then he can go to a Contender. And I think he'd consider it because our roster has much more talent and potential than what he's had to work with in Memphis.

As for family, I believe that they understand the whole moving/ changing dynamic. As its just part of the business, and why they get paid so well. Having said that, I prefer Conley, But wouldn't be opposed to Lowry ( for his shorter contract/expiring).

[Slim Charless]

Maybe. We do have significantly more talent then Memphis. Another idea would be to help Boston get AD and take Marcus Smart as payment for doing so, his defense and toughness would be useful. I'd be a little worried about handing our offense over to Smart though...

[Ghost of Kleine]

Read on Twitter

?s=09.

I wonder how this might impact any potential Anthony Davis trade now. Langdon and Griffin together in the front office makes for a pretty impressive team.

[WeekapaugGroove]

If Kyrie leaves Boston will need a PG, I can see them being the ones to trade for Conley. They trade Hayward and Memphis back their own pick-would make sense for both teams.

As far as we're concerned maybe we can grab Lowry. If they lose Kawhi they'll be in rebuild mode and will have no need for him. He won't cost much in a trade and will only be a 1 yr rental but can still add veteran leadership.

Definitely a lot of possabilities to be sure I think.

And at that point, If that were to happen, Then honestly, good for Conley. And I would then of course look at Lowry( But mainly for his expiring contract)

But with respect to Memphis, I honestly doubt that they'd be willing to take Hayward's 30 million at back, As their looking to go young and rebuild around picks and cap space.

And even though getting their pick back would be very tempting, I really believe that IF Boston misses out on Davis, AND Kyrie Irving does leave( he's definitely leaving!!!). They'll go in this direction.

A scenario that I think people haven't really considered yet! And that is......

That they'll use some of those picks and a player or two for Beal honestly.

For Beal, They'd offer something like:

The Sacramento kings pick/ the Memphis pick/ and Tatum/ Smart/ And a future Boston unprotected first.


If it's between Lowry and Conley, Then I'd honestly prefer Conley. As Lowry is already 33 yrs old.

Also Lowry also is said to have a somewhat sour and abrasive attitude. And he has yet to prove that he is close to the leader that Conley is, And has slightly worse stats than Conley too.


So with respect to those factors, I just don't feel that he's the right type of leader for our young team.


But having said that, His contract is definitely shorter, And even though he'd expire in 2020. The free agency in 2020 is fairly lousy.

The only players that are worth signing are unfortunately restricted too, For instance.........


- Ben Simmons ( restricted) would we offer a full max and hope that they don't match???

- Jamal Murray ( restricted) the same as above???

- Buddy Hield( Restricted).

- Anthony Davis( Player option). But at that point, Wouldn't he just either head to LA or New York???

Now if A.D. was willing to give us an early indication that he would sign with us, Then I'd definitely look at Lowry in order to clear space for him.

But not unless he indicated as such.

Ben Simmons is absolutely someone I'd offer the max to and ya philly might not match especially if they resign butler and tobias this summer. I'd even trade for him so we can offer him more then other teams.

Baring that though to me Conley is better then Lowry but as others have said he says he wants to play for a contender. If he doesnt mind spending the rest of his career teaching youngsters then why wouldn't he just do that Memphis? The team he spent his entire career on, where his family is, where he knows the entire organization-as opposed to packing up and heading to the other side of the country.

Lowry, if Toronto loses Kawhi just seems more tenable for us. We get him for 1 yr and hopefully he can pass on enough to Okobo and Melton to make them passable. Worse comes to worse, next yr we can grab one of the PGs that are coming out.

If Philly doesn't plan on giving Simmons a max then they should probably trade him this summer. I don't think it's any certain thing that both butler and Harris return but I do think they both fit embiid better than Simmons.


I can't see brogdon getting a max but I do think he gets a nice contract. Milwaukee probably keeps him no matter what. Their owners are hedge fund billionaires who just got a new arena partially paid for with public money. If they aren't willing to spend into to the tax to keep a contender together it's shameful honestly.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using RealGM mobile app

[Ghost of Kleine]

Maybe. We do have significantly more talent then Memphis. Another idea would be to help Boston get AD and take Marcus Smart as payment for doing so, his defense and toughness would be useful. I'd be a little worried about handing our offense over to Smart though...

I toyed around with that idea a bit, and actually like it. Agreed, Not a fan of his lack of offense though, But the defense he'd bring next to Booker would be pretty nice.

I do think that we'd have to send out a sweetener though, As I believe that he's inclusive to their package for Davis.

But aside from adding a sweetener, Warren for Smart matches up pretty much to the dollar almost. All in all with Warren going to the Pels, And Smart coming to Phoenix.

[Slim Charless]

Definitely a lot of possabilities to be sure I think.

And at that point, If that were to happen, Then honestly, good for Conley. And I would then of course look at Lowry( But mainly for his expiring contract)

But with respect to Memphis, I honestly doubt that they'd be willing to take Hayward's 30 million at back, As their looking to go young and rebuild around picks and cap space.

And even though getting their pick back would be very tempting, I really believe that IF Boston misses out on Davis, AND Kyrie Irving does leave( he's definitely leaving!!!). They'll go in this direction.

A scenario that I think people haven't really considered yet! And that is......

That they'll use some of those picks and a player or two for Beal honestly.

For Beal, They'd offer something like:

The Sacramento kings pick/ the Memphis pick/ and Tatum/ Smart/ And a future Boston unprotected first.


If it's between Lowry and Conley, Then I'd honestly prefer Conley. As Lowry is already 33 yrs old.

Also Lowry also is said to have a somewhat sour and abrasive attitude. And he has yet to prove that he is close to the leader that Conley is, And has slightly worse stats than Conley too.


So with respect to those factors, I just don't feel that he's the right type of leader for our young team.


But having said that, His contract is definitely shorter, And even though he'd expire in 2020. The free agency in 2020 is fairly lousy.

The only players that are worth signing are unfortunately restricted too, For instance.........


- Ben Simmons ( restricted) would we offer a full max and hope that they don't match???

- Jamal Murray ( restricted) the same as above???

- Buddy Hield( Restricted).

- Anthony Davis( Player option). But at that point, Wouldn't he just either head to LA or New York???

Now if A.D. was willing to give us an early indication that he would sign with us, Then I'd definitely look at Lowry in order to clear space for him.

But not unless he indicated as such.

Ben Simmons is absolutely someone I'd offer the max to and ya philly might not match especially if they resign butler and tobias this summer. I'd even trade for him so we can offer him more then other teams.

Baring that though to me Conley is better then Lowry but as others have said he says he wants to play for a contender. If he doesnt mind spending the rest of his career teaching youngsters then why wouldn't he just do that Memphis? The team he spent his entire career on, where his family is, where he knows the entire organization-as opposed to packing up and heading to the other side of the country.

Lowry, if Toronto loses Kawhi just seems more tenable for us. We get him for 1 yr and hopefully he can pass on enough to Okobo and Melton to make them passable. Worse comes to worse, next yr we can grab one of the PGs that are coming out.

If Philly doesn't plan on giving Simmons a max then they should probably trade him this summer. I don't think it's any certain thing that both butler and Harris return but I do think they both fit embiid better than Simmons.


I can't see brogdon getting a max but I do think he gets a nice contract. Milwaukee probably keeps him no matter what. Their owners are hedge fund billionaires who just got a new arena partially paid for with public money. If they aren't willing to spend into to the tax to keep a contender together it's shameful honestly.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using RealGM mobile app

Agree. I think they'll spend and he'll stay. The bucks haven't been good in forever, their owners will wanna reap the benefits of being a title contender. Anything to keep Giannis happy, if they lose him those ppl might burn down that shiny, new stadium lol.

With Simmons, it'll be tough decision for philly but it doesn't look like him and Embiid play together that effectively and since they already paid Embiid, it makes more sense to build around him. Plus they gave up a lot for butler and harris, to let them both leave for nothing this summer is not a good look. I don't know if we have the right assets the sixers are looking for in a trade but I'd hope that we would try to make that happen if they put Simmons on the block.

[Slim Charless]

Maybe. We do have significantly more talent then Memphis. Another idea would be to help Boston get AD and take Marcus Smart as payment for doing so, his defense and toughness would be useful. I'd be a little worried about handing our offense over to Smart though...

I toyed around with that idea a bit, and actually like it. Agreed, Not a fan of his lack of offense though, But the defense he'd bring next to Booker would be pretty nice.

I do think that we'd have to send out a sweetener though, As I believe that he's inclusive to their package for Davis.

But aside from adding a sweetener, Warren for Smart matches up pretty much to the dollar almost. All in all with Warren going to the Pels, And Smart coming to Phoenix.

That might work especially if they end giving both brown and tatum to NOLA for AD, they'll need a productive SF as Hayward hasn't been the same. I wouldn't mind keeping Warren too though, I get salary wise him and Smart match up nicely but his 3pt % was pretty nice this yr-we need more guys that shoot good not less. Don't suppose Jackson by himself gets it done huh lol?

[BobbieL]

Zach Collins is the future 4 in Portland

Meyers Leonard played well in G3 against GSW but is that sustainable. He probably is more 5 than 4. Point being, Aminu might be on the market and he would still be a solid 4.

Just would need a PG and I think another shooter unless Warren is still on team and if he is, maybe is Bender on a one year deal.