2020 free agent targets and draft picks

[Case2012]

http://www.espn.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=yy5ubd2a

Another idea I had. Neil likes his own guys so maybe he'd be willing to part with CJ for Griffin?

CJ, Collins, Simons, Little to Detroit in a full rebuild move.

Griffin and lou williams to pdx. Pray Griffin stays healthy and has another all NBA season left in him for a run at a ring. Trent takes the starting role and lou does what we've always envisioned Cj doing, be our sixth man.

Rose goes to LA to team up with kawhi.

Sign Rondo, Melo and Whiteside

Lillard/ Rondo
Trent/ williams
Ariza/ hood
Griffin/ Melo
Nurkic/ Whiteside

[Village Idiot]

Good God man! Hell no to Blake Griffin.

Praying he will stay healthy and be a high quality basketball player again for the next two years/$75 million of his contract is lunacy. He has had so many injuries and surgeries its incredible he can still walk.

You have the value way off. If anything the Pistons would have to pay a team to take him on

[Case2012]

Good God man! Hell no to Blake Griffin.

Praying he will stay healthy and be a high quality basketball player again for the next two years/$75 million of his contract is lunacy. He has had so many injuries and surgeries its incredible he can still walk.

You have the value way off. If anything the Pistons would have to pay a team to take him on

Of course the value is off in conventional terms. But I don't really think in those terms. When I think about building a roster, I think about getting the pieces that I want and how they fit. Obviously Griffin has been plagued injuries his entire career, but he was third team nba year before last when he was healthy. It's a huge gamble, but I think it's worth the risk. If he doesn't pan out next year, he's a massive expiring contract. In fact I don't think we would have anyone under contract in 2 years besides Dame. We could either flip him for assets or let him expire and go big in fa for the last few years of Dame's prime.
It also consolidates our younger players for win now vets. Lou also essentially replaces cj but does it from the bench and Trent gives us the defense we need in the starting line up. The Potential with both the starting and back up units are mouth watering. I can see Rondo playing point with lillard playing the 2 and lob city 2.0 with Griffin and Whiteside. We know what cj brings. I'm not high on Collins at all. Little and Simons are 2 years away from contributing, IF they even pan out. We could try a similar deal with cleveland for love but they just drafted 2 guards and when healthy Griffin is better.

[DaVoiceMaster]

I threw this out on the T&T Forum...

Trade 1 -

Portland trades: Kent Bazemore TPE
Portland receives: Derek Rose

Detroit trades: Derrick Rose
Detroit receives: Kent Bazemore TPE

{b}Trade 2[/b] - I thought a follow-up trade was necessary to provide additional compensation to Detroit in the Rose for a TPE trade.

Portland trades: Zach Collins, Rodney Hood, Mario Hezonja
Portland receives: Tony Snell

Detroit trades: Tony Snell
Detroit receives: Zach Collins, Rodney Hood, Mario Hezonja

Trade 3 -

Portland trades: Trevor Ariza, Gary Trent Jr., Anfernee Simons, Nassir Little, #16 pick
Portland receives: Danillo Gallinari (S&T 3yr/$54 million)

Orlando trades: Aaron Gordon
Orlando receives: Trevor Ariza, Gary Trent Jr., Anfernee Simons, Nassir Little, #16 pick

Oklahoma City trades: Danillo Gallinari
Oklahoma City receives: Aaron Gordon

Why???
Portland: "Win Now" mode. Move young and expiring contracts for experience. They get the best talent out of each deal.
Detroit: Unload $20 million in contracts for $12 million and a young player for the future.
Orlando: Rebuild with young talent in Trent Jr., Simons, Little, and a pick.
Oklahoma City: Exciting younger player

Should the #16 pick go to Detroit instead of Orlando? Or is this whole thing just way off?

MLE - Jae Crowder, 4/$42.7 million with 4th year player option (it could happen)

BAE - Alec Burks, 2/$8 million

Veteran's Minimum Contract - All contracts have a team option for the 2nd year
Meyers Leonard 2/$4.3 million
Malik Beasley 2/$4.3 million - I am totally basing this salary on his off court arrest and perhaps teams shy away from him.
Austin Rivers 2/$4.3 million
Skal Labisserie 2/$4.3 million

Resign - All contracts have a team option for the final year
Carmelo Anthony 2/$4.3 million
Hassan Whiteside 3/$25.5 million
Wenyen Gabriel 3/$6.5 million

PG D. Lillard / D. Rose / A. Rivers
SG CJ McCollum / A. Burks /M. Beasley
SF J. Crowder / T. Snell / C. Anthony
PF D. Gallinari / S. Labisserie / W. Gabriel
_C J. Nurkic / H. Whiteside / Leonard

There is a lot of versatility with that lineup. Lots of size and speed and a whole lot of good shooting.

The guard rotation is Lillard, McCollum, and Rose with Rivers & Burks available as needed. That's a pretty smokin guard rotation.

The forward rotation is Crowder, Gallinari, and some combination of Snell, Athony, and maybe Labisserie with Gabriel still developing.

The center rotation is mostly Nurk and some Whiteside. Leonard is a great cheerleader and just a good guy to have on the roster. He can get a few minutes here and there for good measure or comedy relief.

Thoughts?

[BlazersBroncos]

I tihnk that DET and OKC trades are very big overpays. In the end the roster construction hinges way too much on Crowder deciding to come here over a half dozen better teams trying to snag him.

In the DET deal, I think moving Zach for the corpse of Rose and Snell is nuts. In the OKC deal, I think the value of Gallo is closer to Simons or arguably #16 rather than GTJ, Simons, Little, #16. And I love Gallo, would love to S&T him here, but that is 4 of our like 5 young'ish assets for him. That just seems absurd.

Also, Beasley was getting 20ppg on good offensive metrics once he got to Denver. He will get closer to 15M per year than the vet min. His arrest wasnt on child porn charges, it was weed bruh.

I think even Rivers demands more than that, some contender will like his moxie and motor IMO.

That team is just too deep with guys worthy of minutes. I love depth, but there is a point where its inevitable people start bitching. Even if we could get Malik and Rivers for that price do we really think Rose, Melo, Burks, Rivers, Malik are the types of guys to be content with 10-12mpg roles, maybe even less? Each of those guys is getting 20, probably 25, minutes at least next season wherever they land.

Love your continual mock offseason efforts and don't mean this in a mean way but this is not one of your best.

[DaVoiceMaster]

I tihnk that DET and OKC trades are very big overpays. In the end the roster construction hinges way too much on Crowder deciding to come here over a half dozen better teams trying to snag him.

In the DET deal, I think moving Zach for the corpse of Rose and Snell is nuts. In the OKC deal, I think the value of Gallo is closer to Simons or arguably #16 rather than GTJ, Simons, Little, #16. And I love Gallo, would love to S&T him here, but that is 4 of our like 5 young'ish assets for him. That just seems absurd.

Also, Beasley was getting 20ppg on good offensive metrics once he got to Denver. He will get closer to 15M per year than the vet min. His arrest wasnt on child porn charges, it was weed bruh.

I think even Rivers demands more than that, some contender will like his moxie and motor IMO.

That team is just too deep with guys worthy of minutes. I love depth, but there is a point where its inevitable people start bitching. Even if we could get Malik and Rivers for that price do we really think Rose, Melo, Burks, Rivers, Malik are the types of guys to be content with 10-12mpg roles, maybe even less? Each of those guys is getting 20, probably 25, minutes at least next season wherever they land.

Love your continual mock offseason efforts and don't mean this in a mean way but this is not one of your best.

Thanks BB. I'll admit, I am no evaluator on a players worth. I figured something more was needed to get Rose for the TPE. If that's not the case, I have no need for Snell and that allows the Blazers to hang on to Collins. If we can get Gallinari (via Orlando mind you) for less than Trent Jr, Simons, Little, and the #16 pick, that is fantastic. That just leaves young talent on the table. If Trent Jr is not moved, there is no need to spend money on Alec Burks. I am really surprised Rivers does not make more, but his salary is down there near the minimum so that's why I added him. Lillard, CJ, Rose, and Trent Jr is a good enough guard combination. They could add someone like Shabazz Napier or Tim Frazier if they wanted to for insurance. I went with Rivers simply for defensive purposes since that's pretty much the only role he would have with the Blazers. I agree with Crowder comments. I do not expect him to come here when he should have other opportunities at big markets, but I'm aimin' high.

[Case2012]

I could really care less about draft picks and youth right now.

If I'm the GM. I'm trading Collins, little, Simons, and this year's picks for cap space and future picks. Ideally I'd like to package these along with CJ to grab a butler or George, but we all know Neil isn't trading cj. Jrue Holiday would be my first and most realistic target but again, Neil doesn't have the swagger for that.

My free agent list starts with Rondo. Hall of fame pg. Top perimeter defender. Reliable 3. One of the best assist men of all time imo. Can run the second unit or play in a3 guard line up off ball.
Next Melo. Not very efficient but he's shown he can be clutch and demands respect from the other team. Hopefully he agrees to come off the bench as a sixth man. He could also help attract free agents since he's had such positive things to say about portland
Then Ibaka. I have him starting next to ariza and nurkic. Not sure how much he has left but he can be a defensive stretch 4. Good on switches and provides some rim protection.
Lastly Whiteside, Kanter or Favors. I'd be happy with any of those, but Rondo throwing lobs to Whiteside all season would be really fun and something we haven't seen in Portland for a long time. Plus he's very efficient and had the second highest per last season.
Throw in some older vet minimum deals that don't expect time but could contribute if needed.

Dame/ Rondo
Cj/ Trent/ Jamal crawford?
Ariza/ Hood/ Demarre Carroll?
Ibaka/ Melo/ Skal?
Nurkic/ Whiteside/ Noah?

I don't see why that isn't achievable as a GM. Having a superstar like Dame should make it easier to attract free agents and the ones I listed aren't exactly A list. The motive behind this route is to win now, but do it based on depth and ball movement as opposed to getting a second star and running nothing but iso all game. Not sure stotts is the man for the job but this would be by far the best roster he's had since Lamarcus left.

Plenty of scoring, 3 point shooting, perimeter defense, rim protection and play making. Well rounded and deep. Not sure how realistic it is based on salary but I think a lot of those free agents could be had relatively cheap.

???

[BlazersBroncos]

If we can get Gallinari (via Orlando mind you) for less than Trent Jr, Simons, Little, and the #16 pick, that is fantastic.

I honestly dont think OKC would have interest in AG. With Gallo indicating he is likely moving on, to me that means OKC is going to blow up their cinderella squad and do a true rebuild. If that is the case, they likely would prefer young talent or picks in a Gallo trade.

Ariza (12.8) + Simons (2.25) + Future Protected FRP (Top-20 protection ideally) should do it, and allows Gallo to sign a deal starting in the 15-18M per year range. I would try to offer closer to 18M with the caveat that the 3rd year is unguaranteed or partially guaranteed.

We need all the flexibility we can summer 2022 when Nurkic will demand a raise that puts this squad in perpetual purgatory (Assuming Nurkic gets over 20M, say 22M, that puts our nowhere-near-a-big-3 'big-3' at 102.58M combined summer 2022. Being VERY optimistic given the COVID issues and assuming a salary cap around 125M in 2022, thats 82% of the cap on 3 players)

[Norm2953]

If one believes wiretap, this will be the off season with lots of movement with less money spent for NBA teams lost $700 million from loss of stadium revenue. Anthony Davis might be the only free agent that gets paid market value and its possible guys like Whiteside circle back to Portland for a one year deal if a deal can be crafted to not put Portland in the tax. I really think a MLE contract is going be a great contract for most guys this summer

[BlazersBroncos]

If one believes wiretap, this will be the off season with lots of movement with less money spent for NBA teams lost $700 million from loss of stadium revenue. Anthony Davis might be the only free agent that gets paid market value and its possible guys like Whiteside circle back to Portland for a one year deal if a deal can be crafted to not put Portland in the tax. I really think a MLE contract is going be a great contract for most guys this summer

The class just sucks though, so its an unfortunate year for this to happen. A ton of backup PG's and C's, but few Forwards of note.

I think guys like Bertans, Crowder, Gallo, Ibaka still finds ways to get more than the MLE. Those 4 guys are the best fits for our team of attainable'ish UFA's and thats not surprising because they are the best fits for most teams trying to win.

I have always thought Hassan would have little market and likely return, but I would rather move the TPE for Kanter. I just cant stand Whiteside's pouty body language and inability to show any happiness for his teammates when on the sideline. He is like the anti-Meyers Leonard.

[Village Idiot]

I think guys like Bertans, Crowder, Gallo, Ibaka still finds ways to get more than the MLE. Those 4 guys are the best fits for our team of attainable'ish UFA's and thats not surprising because they are the best fits for most teams trying to win.

The only way those guys get more than the MLE will be if their existing teams sign them to more. This is going to be a brutal off-season for free-agents. With revenue plummetting that has to be reflected in the BRI which in turn will negatively impact the cap and tax numbers. There may be some sort of smoothing or escrow mechanism but teams will still be on hook for the money. A $10-20 million decrease is all but certain.

Bertans - Washington will be at current luxury tax level with Bertans 13.3 million cap hold. If the cap decreases things will get tight. They probably will keep him at just over MLE level since he clearly is one of the best in the NBA at the most desired skill- shooting

Crowder- If the rumors are to be believed the Heat will want to keep as much cap space open as possible for next summer to pursue Giannis. I can see them giving him a big one year deal with a team option for 21/22. He and his agent might rather take the full MLE to secure more long-term money betting on both the cap level and Crowder's value being at an all-time high. I'd say the chances are pretty good he ends up elsewhere.

Gallo - The guy is 32 years old. He's a great offensive player but is horrible on defense in the modern NBA. He recorded 5 blocks. All season. He's not all that much better than Carmelo. I belive the Thunder will trade Chris Paul and bottom out this year so I have a hard time seeing the Thunder keeping him so he should be attainable. If he is the answer I have to wonder what the question is. This team needs defense, not more offense. I can't believe some of the crazy ideas I've seen on this board to acquire him.

Ibaka - His future will also be impacted by Giannis but he is definitely worth more than the MLE. Toronto has no centers under contract next season so it seems very likely they resign him to something like 4/$60 million. I'd love to have him though.

[Norm2953]

I think most guys will end up signing one year deals and punt their free agency into next summer but who
knows when the fans will be allowed back into NBA arenas for the 2020-21 season might see even more
lost revenue if let's say the first 30 games of the season are played before empty arenas. Most teams like
Portland might just look to fill out their rosters with veteran guys on deals a bit more than the minimum or
rookies to avoid at all costs, paying luxury taxes.

[BlazersBroncos]

Bertans - Washington will be at current luxury tax level with Bertans 13.3 million cap hold. If the cap decreases things will get tight. They probably will keep him at just over MLE level since he clearly is one of the best in the NBA at the most desired skill- shooting

Agreed, but even if they dont resign him for slightly more than the MLE, I think there are a number of good teams that can put a decent S&T package together. I would be astonished if he settled for the MLE.

Crowder- If the rumors are to be believed the Heat will want to keep as much cap space open as possible for next summer to pursue Giannis. I can see them giving him a big one year deal with a team option for 21/22. He and his agent might rather take the full MLE to secure more long-term money betting on both the cap level and Crowder's value being at an all-time high. I'd say the chances are pretty good he ends up elsewhere.

Culture speaks and Crowder has bounced around a bit. I think getting a huge 1 year deal and then settling for the room-MLE may be his best move. Even if he hits FA and isnt offered more than the MLE, I think he will have more attractive suitors than us. He probably will be the most sought MLE level FA and every real contender (LAL, LAC, DAL, MIL, DEN, etc) will show interest.

Gallo - The guy is 32 years old. He's a great offensive player but is horrible on defense in the modern NBA. He recorded 5 blocks. All season. He's not all that much better than Carmelo. I belive the Thunder will trade Chris Paul and bottom out this year so I have a hard time seeing the Thunder keeping him so he should be attainable. If he is the answer I have to wonder what the question is. This team needs defense, not more offense. I can't believe some of the crazy ideas I've seen on this board to acquire him.

The team needs talent and he is as good a player as McCollum. He is much better than Melo going off advanced and raw stats. His shooting is borderline elite and he gets to the line at a rate that would greatly improve our iso based offense. If 32 is too old we better hurry up and build a decent team around Dame who is now 30.

Ibaka - His future will also be impacted by Giannis but he is definitely worth more than the MLE. Toronto has no centers under contract next season so it seems very likely they resign him to something like 4/$60 million. I'd love to have him though.

I can see teams w/ cap space (PHX and ATL especially) chasing him. After them, its the same situation as Crowder. He may have to settle for the MLE, but there will be much better teams than Portland offering him that. Much bigger cities as well. If Toronto wants to keep salary open for Giannis / 2021 in general, I wonder if we could entice them in a S&T. Then again he has been much better since moving from PF to C and we cant use assets to acquire a pure C.

[BlazersBroncos]

Does anyone think this package could get us high enough for OO, Deni or Vassell?

Zach Collins, Anfernee Simons, #16

A cheap high end talent that fills one of our forward positions would be huge. Avoiding having to pay Collins is something that is starting to become a priority for me as well right now. Not that I dont think he can develop into a good player, but if we have the chance to move him in a trade up for a guy we assume to be better (And IMO all 3 of these guys are going to be better) then do it and avoid the new contract.

[Norm2953]

I'm of the opinion it would take GTJ to get up to around 7 or 8 with the Knicks a better bet to say yes.

I doubt OO or Deni will be there but Vassell or Williams might be a great fit for Portland's needs for with
Dame/CJ and a likely extension for Nurk, I don't see any way Portland can afford to pay GTJ or Zach and '
avoid paying taxes. Portland continues to have a crying need for a forward who can start for a playoff
caliber team for nobody knows how well Hood will play after his injury.

[BlazersBroncos]

I'm of the opinion it would take GTJ to get up to around 7 or 8 with the Knicks a better bet to say yes.

I would do that in an instant. Unless GTJ can prove himself capable of being a starting SF, we just cant afford to sign him in 2021 when looking towards the impending Dame super-max, CJ extension kicking in and Nurkic needing a huge raise.

I am also starting to feel the best option at SF may simply be to throw GTJ out there and hope it works. But even then, taking money into account I think moving up using him and potentially Zach+16 could be the best move.

[Norm2953]

Who would you take at 7 or 8?

I'm extremely doubtful OO or Deni will be there and think moving up to get a Haliburton makes no
sense when Portland is paying Dame/CJ. Normally Portland targets a player in the draft process
but I wonder with the virus impacting in person workouts, will they really know if that guy can
be identified that can really help them for they already know what they have in GTJ and ZC.

[BlazersBroncos]

Who would you take at 7 or 8?

I'm extremely doubtful OO or Deni will be there and think moving up to get a Haliburton makes no
sense when Portland is paying Dame/CJ. Normally Portland targets a player in the draft process
but I wonder with the virus impacting in person workouts, will they really know if that guy can
be identified that can really help them for they already know what they have in GTJ and ZC.

It would have to be a trade up for a player, not a pick. I personally would target OO, Deni and Vassell. I think all are plug-and-play guys.

Yes, we know what we have in ZC and GTJ. At the same time, both are FA in 2021 and with the money surplus around the league getting them back at a combined 20M would be a huge bargain. Even at that amount, adding that 20M and the Nurkic 20M puts the team at the salary cap line in 2022. If GTJ isnt a starting caliber SF and if ZC is still a C masquerading as a PF we just cant afford the money allocation needed to resign two guys who are not starting on this team.

An Idea I came up with is this (Assuming one of the 3 guys outlined above is avaliable)

PDX TRADES - Zach Collins, Gary Trent Jr, #16
PDX RECEIVES - Daniel Gafford, #5, 2 Future SRP

GSW TRADES - TPE, #2
GSW RECEIVES - Zach Collins, Gary Trent Jr, #16, Future CHI Top-20 Protected FRP

CHI TRADES - Daniel Gafford, #5, Future CHI Top-20 Protected FRP, 2 Future SRP
CHI RECEIVES - #2

We consolidate for a trade up and get a backup C locked in very cheap for another 3 years. GSW moves their pick for two high caliber role players, still get a middle 1st and a future 1st. Chicago moves #5 and some mediocre assets to get up to #2 and likely take Ball. I would also call BRK and see if they wanted to save money and move Prince for Ariza, we had interest in the past, NO loves to buy low and he expires once Nurkic is due money. Try to get like 2 SRP from them for taking on his extra year of money.

G - Damian Lillard / Shabazz Napier (Vet Min) / Malachi Flynn (46)
G - CJ McCollum / Anfernee Simons
F - Taurean Prince / Rodney Hood / Nassir Little
F - Onyeka Okongwu (5) / Carmelo Anthony / Weynen Gabriel
C - Jusuf Nurkic / Daniel Gafford

[JasonStern]

Read on Twitter

[BlazersBroncos]

I mean, I trust NO in R2. If he likes this kid, take him. I have to assume they like him with 46.

This could mean we are planning on moving from Simons or GTJ, but likely means nothing. I have recently concluded that we should sell high on GTJ if we dont see him as a SF moving forward as we cant afford to pay a backup SG in 2021. If we move on from him taking a SG in R2 to push Simons seems reasonable. I would much prefer Merrill despite his age, he has a J that will absolutely translate to the NBA.

He has a pretty impressive scouting video from NBA Draft Junkies. Nice looking shot, good handle, great body control attacking the rim. His J really looks like Michael Redd, not sure if I like the release though seems a bit slow.

If we are looking at him for 16 we need to put NO in a retirement home. Even ignoring the player, using 16 on the position would be nuts.