Next step: Front Court

[WTFsunsFTW]

Time to sober up folks.


This team will be electrifying and probably run at a record pace for the NBA, but our weakness is all too familiar:
no dominating post presence, no game changing superstar.

Reality:

By signing Goran next year to a fatty contract, we are pretty much at the salary cap.
We will not be able to make any impact in free agency except via a sign&trade
We have a metric asston of assets.
We have stacks on stacks of quality guards/wings.
We need an awesome PF/C.

Assumptions:

Definitely Aren’t trading: Morrii (recently signed, hard to trade, great backups) Dragii (duh), IThomas(made commitment that we truly want him here)
Prob aren’t trading: EBled(if it is indeed mutual desire for him to be here and not just press talk/money), TJ Warren (too much potential),
Tradable only for the right upgrade: Len, Goodwin, Tucker, Plumlee
Prob are trading: Tolliver(Team Option = expiring), Green(expiring), Ennis (great potential with no roster room), Randolph(expiring)
Assets: Bogdanovic, PHX 2015 1st, LAL 2015 1st, MIN 2015 1st

Potential 2015 UFA/RFA upgrade PF/Cs (no order)

Nikola Vucevic
Amare Stoudemire
Lamarcus Aldridge (doubtful)
Omer Asik
Tyson Chandler
Marc Gasol (doubtful)
DeAndre Jordan (doubtful)
Brook Lopez (doubtful)
Kenneth Faried
Paul Millsap
Al Horford
Greg Monroe

Removing the doubtfuls, that’s a small group of potential upcoming FAs, and not all of them will even hit free agency. This means our frontcourt problem will not be easily solved.

We will have to pray a premier PF/C gets disgruntled with his current team and demands a trade.

Id be willing to throw some combo of Len, Goodwin, Tucker, Plumlee, Tolliver, Green, Ennis, Randolph, and any of our picks at one of these HIGHLY unlikely scenarios via a hostile takeover S&T

Joakim Noah – (If Rose cant cut it and Pau and Noah don’t get along)
Demarcus Cousins – (potential for team chemistry issues)
Serge Ibaka – (if Durant looks to be on the move OKC might blow it up for youth)
LaMarcus Aldridge (if Portland falls apart this season)
Brook Lopez (Brooklyn desperate for cap relief and picks)

Again, all highly unlikely but would position us to be legit title contenders.

More likely:
Paul Millsap (Reverse Joe Johnson scenario)
Al Horford (Tired of playing Center full time if we could keep one of Len/Plumlee)

Likely but not power shifters:
Greg Monroe S&T
Amare Stoudemire MLE


I am not optimistic. Do we go all-in on PlumLen? Where do you see us solving our frontcourt problem that would make us title contenders?

[TASTIC]

Marc Gasol is the PERFECT C for this team. Defensive, team first, respected, great passer and great b-ball IQ...

[spanishninja]

what about a Green for Monroe trade midseason? Both guys are looking for a big payday, and the other team having a significant need at respective positions. Green going to Detroit would finally make it possible to start Josh Smith at 4 without compromising Drummond, and I still think Monroe would fit well with us, aside from being reliable health-wise.

[kennydorglas]

Marc Gasol is the PERFECT C for this team. Defensive, team first, respected, great passer and great b-ball IQ...

perfect fit
i've been sayin' that for years.

do it, McD

[WTFsunsFTW]

Marc Gasol is the PERFECT C for this team. Defensive, team first, respected, great passer and great b-ball IQ...

Except for the .01% chance he will leave Memphis....

And his attributes are essentially a great fit for any team. Having said that, he is a bit slow and unswift for this team.

[aIvin adams]

his attributes are essentially a great fit for any team.

[WTFsunsFTW]

what about a Green for Monroe trade midseason? Both guys are looking for a big payday, and the other team having a significant need at respective positions. Green going to Detroit would finally make it possible to start Josh Smith at 4 without compromising Drummond, and I still think Monroe would fit well with us, aside from being reliable health-wise.

I am fuzzy on the CBA restrictions on this. If we swap Monroe for Green and filler, do we have his bird rights? He would be a UFA. Can we sign him to a new contract in the middle of the season when he is on his QO? Can we go over the cap to sign him to his new contract?

[phrazbit]

what about a Green for Monroe trade midseason? Both guys are looking for a big payday, and the other team having a significant need at respective positions. Green going to Detroit would finally make it possible to start Josh Smith at 4 without compromising Drummond, and I still think Monroe would fit well with us, aside from being reliable health-wise.

I am fuzzy on the CBA restrictions on this. If we swap Monroe for Green and filler, do we have his bird rights? He would be a UFA. Can we sign him to a new contract in the middle of the season when he is on his QO? Can we go over the cap to sign him to his new contract?

I believe we would not have his bird rights, he would be unrestricted.

I'm also of the opinion that Greg Monroe is not all that good. A player that would serve as only a mild upgrade over Markieff... and I'm not a huge Markieff guy.

[phrazbit]

I also think the only two players on this team our front office views as just about untouchable are Goran and Bledsoe. Anyone else would probably be on the table if a good opportunity comes along.

[WTFsunsFTW]

I really dont know if Bledsoe is untouchable. I'd still consider Love-Bledsoe/filler deal and I dont think the FO would hang up.

[MrMiyagi]

BUT WE HAVE ALEX LEN!!!!!!!!!

Only half joking, but can't we give this guy a shot first? I don't mind trading for a big, but I'm not ready to give up on him.

[WTFsunsFTW]

The PlumLen option is a viable one, but one that certainly wouldnt pay off for a few years. Our core is young enough to still have a window if Len peaks in a few years. With the lack of other options out there, this is the most obvious route and certainly a route with one of the highest potential risk/rewards. Len's ceiling is a lot higher than many other plausible S&T options out there.

[bwgood77]

Marc Gasol is the PERFECT C for this team. Defensive, team first, respected, great passer and great b-ball IQ...

perfect fit
i've been sayin' that for years.

do it, McD

What makes you guys think Memphis would EVER trade him or he'd ever leave? I don't understand these things. Noah would be the perfect fit too, but Chicago isn't trading him either. Same with Ibaka, etc.

We likely need to develop are own guy or trade for someone hitting free agency that a team may not be able to re-sign. We are not going to get a cornerstone from another team.

[Stix]

FWIW, I still like the idea of Josh Smith here

Sent from my HTC6525LVW using RealGM Forums mobile app

[LukasBMW]

Completely agree with OP.

But I think we need to wait for the right opportunity to upgrade our front line with a REAL impact player like Boogie, Gasol, or Lopez. I want star power on the front line. No half-assed guys or aging players who made 2 or 3 all star games.

I want a true dominant force up front or an up and coming powerhouse.

[bigfoot]

Premature rosterbation is what this thread should be called ... always looking for the magic pill.

Plumlee, Len, Randolph, Kief, Marcus, Tolliver, Green, PJ, and TJ are all front court players. Yes a SF is considered a front court player.

This year will probably define the ceilings for Markieff and Marcus. Markieff is stepping into a starting role and could be close to a 20/10 guy with the extra minutes.

Plumlee is a third year player. He's a 12/12/2 guy per 36 minutes and has lots of room for improvement.

Len and TJ are the great unknowns. Either of these two could step up and coupled with Bledsoe and Dragic could be our big three for the next five years.

What we need now more than anything is patience and teaching for these young guys. Quit with the damn year-to-year roster turnover and build a cohesive team.

[mybloodisorange]

I would rather go for a non A-list star like Farried; I could see his offensive rebounding and energy working well with our high scoring guards. Plus we would still have the Morri for more offensive options at that position.
If Len can stay healthy and continues his development I think he and Farried would be a strong complement for our guard core.
I wouldn't give up more than Green, Ennis, Archie, and picks. Green is also in a contract year so if he agrees we could resign him in a sign and trade to make the numbers work.

Dragic/Thomas
Bledsoe/Dragic
PJ/TJ
Farried/Morri
Plum/Len

That would be the most energetic roster in the NBA; it's fun to dream!

[Miklo]

I agree with a combination of the different sentiments here - if we could somehow land a high tier big like MGasol, then hell yes do it. We could stand to give up Bledsoe or Isaiah Thomas (or a lesser guard, but that's just unrealistic) in some type of deal for a star or almost-star big, IMO.

If not, we need to give our young guys time to develop. I don't want to bring in a player who's just currently slightly better than PlumLen, because we haven't identified those guys' ceilings yet (particularly Len) - and probably won't if they get stuck with backup minutes.

[gaspar]

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[wordsenuff]

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