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I was thoroughly displease by the OKC game and oppositely please by the Hornets game. With that said, we're only 2 games in, but with the way this team is established, it's never too early to start looking into out crystal ball.

The roster will of guaranteed contracts at season's end will make up our roster as follows:

C: Spencer Hawes
PF: Jason Thompson, Jon Brockman
SF: Omri Casspi, Andres Nocioni, Donte Greene
SG: Kevin Martin, Francisco Garcia
PG: Tyreke Evans, Beno Udrih

That's 9 players under contract. Add 2 more spots for our draft picks and that's 11 contracts likely to go into Free Agency

Free Agency will be tricky though. We'll ahve 40 milion tied up in our 9 contracts and we'll have to add another 3-4 million for our likely top 7-9 pick. That puts our guaranteed money around 43-44 million.

The salary cap figures to be projected anywhere between 50-55. That leaves us with 6-12 million to sign a free agent(greater than the MLE).

So while prognosticating, I'm looking at the draft first, who should we be considering in the draft next year. I ask this, to allow us to get familiar with the prospects for this coming college basketball season.

Potentially Projected in the lottery

True Centers:

Cole Aldrich - If we want a true blue center this is our guy to target. He's got a sturdy frame and a solid low post game. Not the most athletic, but a guy that could fix a lot of the dearth we've lacked at the 5 in seasons past.

Solomon Alabi - Guy is a potential defensive force a la Theo Ratliff in his prime. Could fix a lot of what we've need from our frontcourt for many seasons now.

Power Forwards:

Ed Davis - This guy is popular. Jury's still out IMO on whether he'll be a superstar or not. I'm excited to see him this college seasons.

Derrick Favors - Probably the consensus #1 big man int he draft. We'd have to land a top 3 pick to even have a shot at him.

Greg Monroe - this is the guy I really like. I think he'll be a Chris Bosh level player for many years. I'd LOVE to be able to pick him up.

Donatas Motiejunas - Not familiar with him at all, but he appears to have a higher ceiling than even an Andrea Bargnani, who went #1 in '06

Small Forwards:

Evan Turner - Might be a good fit next to a Evans/Martin backcourt with his playmaking/shooting ability.

Devin Ebanks - Could be a great talent, but I think he's a poor fit for our roster. Not a big fan of him for our roster.

Aminu - A hybrid forward, he's in the same boat as Ebanks in my book.

Shooting Guards -

Willie Warren - Is the only one worth considering and even then, I dunno. We're set here.

Point Guards -

John Wall - Easily the #1 pick in the draft. No other PG's look lotto worthy IMO.

So with that said - I'd rank the prospects in tentative order for US as:

1) Wall
2) Favors
3) Monroe
4) Davis
5) Montiejunas
6) Aldrich
7) Turner
8) Warren
9) Ebanks
10) Alabi

Let's assume we can get Monroe with our pick probably somewhere in the 3-8 range and then we solidify our frontcourt. Grab a Sherron Collins as a backcourt PG in the 2nd round.

And our roster now looks like:

C: Spencer Hawes,
PF: Greg Monroe, Jason Thompson, Jon Brockman
SF: Omri Casspi, Andres Nocinoni, Donte Greene
SG: Kevin Martin, Francisco Garcia
PG: Tyreke Evans, Beno Urdih, Sherron Collins

Then in Free Agency we just go after the Best Player we can afford. We still need some frontcourt depth, especially at back-up Center. I can see Fesenko being a cheap target and then for a bigger signing in the 6-12 range we could go after, I think David Lee might be our best target that we could afford in the 6-12 range. Likely 8-10 million a year. Joe Johnson is another target, but I don't know if we could afford him unless we're closer to 12 million a year. So let's go o[timistic with Joe Johnson at 5 years and 60 million and Fesenko for 2 years and 2 million.

Final roster:

C: Spencer Hawes, Kryrlo Fesenko
PF: Greg Monroe, Jason Thompson, Jon Brockman
SF: Joe Johnson, Omri Casspi, Andres Nocioni, Donte Greene
SG: Kevin Martin, Francisco Garcia
PG; Tyreke Evans, Beno Udrih, Sherron Collins

THat roster is starting to get somewhere now, IMO.

Don't sleep on Demarcus Cousins and Xavier Henry. From what I've seen these guys are legit. Cousins is like a 270 pound Lamar Odom. I think he is the next great passing big.

We should explore Big Z for Noc trade if SJax doesn't land in Cleveland, they need shooting PF, we need veteran center and expiring.

Good post Smills, I was thinking about this exact thing yesterday. As far as draft goes, I think we should pick the best PF/C available, barring we get the #1, which is possible, who knows. We need more beef up front in whatever form that can come.

Regarding FA, its "possible" we could free up some cap space by trading Nocioni. I like the guy and the way he plays, but his talents are wasted on a young, developing team. The best scenerio I can think of is a contending team wanting to make a move before the deadline and willing to take on the salary. If we move Noci for a expiring, that would give us 12-18 million in cap to go after Bosh. Bosh is the best scenerio for us IMO. Adding him to our backcourt of Evans and Martin with Casspi up and coming at SF would be incredible.

SRV: Thats great Idea. Considering they are probably desperate to win a title this year, that might actually work. They might even take Beno too.

I'm still not so fond of Joe Johnson at the SF because I worry about our defense, but I love Monroe. He can be either a C/PF. But if we got Favors, then we have our defensive big man. I might even consider Favors over Wall.

Lightning Strike wrote:I'm still not so fond of Joe Johnson at the SF because I worry about our defense, but I love Monroe. He can be either a C/PF. But if we got Favors, then we have our defensive big man. I might even consider Favors over Wall.

I think Favors gets more hype, but I'm a fan of Monroe. I think he has the best shot of 'getting' it. Favors reminds me an awful lot of Josh Smith....while still very good, uses more style over substance. Still a substantial player, but I think Monroe is less flash and more substance.

Smills91 wrote:I think Favors gets more hype, but I'm a fan of Monroe. I think he has the best shot of 'getting' it. Favors reminds me an awful lot of Josh Smith....while still very good, uses more style over substance. Still a substantial player, but I think Monroe is less flash and more substance.

I think drafting that high you want the guy with the higher upside. I think Favors has a much higher ceiling than Monroe and would prefer him over Greg. I actually like both UNC bigs as well in Davis and John Henson who will be a matchup nightmare this year and could declare as well. If they get lucky and draft Wall, then Renardo Sidney in the 2nd round could be a nice upside pick as well though his stock should rise as the year progresses.

I'm interested to see what Henson can do. Davis? Terrific shotblocker, has a chance to be the next Theo Ratliff, but just isn't the type of player you draft in the top 5. I fully believe the mocks will show Cousins, Henry, and maybe Patrick Patterson moving up the board pretty quickly. Oh, and Singler too.

I lived in Columbus last year and watched a lot of ohio state basketball. If we aren't drafting in a position to draft one of the top guys we really need to look at Evan Turner. He reminds me of a paul pierce type player. He doesn't have much long range but he's a very solid defender and he's certainly got the ability to play a point forward role. Actually I think a better comparison would be a slightly less athletic Igoudala. If we don't land in say the top 8 picks then we really need to consider drafting him.

If we draft Evan Turner then we really need to look at getting another big in FA.
I would offer a roughly 9-10 million dollar contract to david lee if we draft turner.

Hawes/Thompson
Lee/Thompson
Turner/Casspi
Martin/Garcia
Evans/Beno

I think that in a couple years that team could be a contender. Turner would help to keep the ball moving instead of having mostly finishers in the lineup. Lee is still a good passing big and would also really help to establish this team as a very good rebounding team. I don't think any team could really afford to double any body because everyone is able to score.

This isn't a best case scenario. This is one of those things where the kings don't land one of the best picks but really make good decisions to utilize our assets in the best way possible.

We really need that big man who can bang inside and is a supreme defender, and I don't think hawes or Thompson fit that mold. I honestly think that and a well-rounded scoring SF is our missing piece.

We need a dynamic small forward or a two way big man. I prefer the two way big man for this team. As much I love the potential of Thompson/Hawes duo, I think we need another big that is awesome defensively and is respectable on the offensive side too. Sort of like a more offensive capable Emeka Okafor type of player.

We definitely need an interior presence defensively in the worst way. Right now, I would consider that to be our top priority.

Lightning Strike wrote:We really need that big man who can bang inside and is a supreme defender, and I don't think hawes or Thompson fit that mold. I honestly think that and a well-rounded scoring SF is our missing piece.

There's this kid named Omri Casspi, he's a foreign-born, rookie that seems to GET it and has only played 2 games. I have high hopes that he'll be an answer for our SF position for years to come.

SacKingZZZ wrote:I'm interested to see what Henson can do. Davis? Terrific shotblocker, has a chance to be the next Theo Ratliff, but just isn't the type of player you draft in the top 5. I fully believe the mocks will show Cousins, Henry, and maybe Patrick Patterson moving up the board pretty quickly. Oh, and Singler too.

I could see Davis staying pretty high in the draft. I think he could be similar to Tyrus Thomas who I believe went 4. I agree with Cousins and Henry. Patterson will probably be right around the 12 - 18 range. His height will be a detriment.

Do we have any chance of signing Chris Bosh?

[quote="Smills91"
There's this kid named Omri Casspi, he's a foreign-born, rookie that seems to GET it and has only played 2 games. I have high hopes that he'll be an answer for our SF position for years to come.[/quote]

I agree with you, he is the SF of the future, I see him being a irritating defender in the mold of Prince or Ginobli. But regardless, we still need a enforcer down low to protect the rim from the 4/5 positions.

RE: Bosh. Right now its unlikley. We'd have to make a move or two to free up some extra cap. But I'm all in favor, he would be a awesome addition.

I'd really like if they went after Rudy Gay and drafted someone like Derrick Favors maybe.

PG: Evans
SG: Martin
SF: Gay
PF: Favors
C: Hawes

Athletic as hell and would be a very dangerous team getting up and down the court.

I think the PF/C positions are our biggest opportunity for growth. Other than Evans though nobody's safe. It's too early to say what kind of player Omri Caspi will become. It's not really a sure thing Donte Greene will pan out either. I think we go BPA again unless it's a PG.

Our #1 priority should be to improve defensively - which is getting a player who can defend at the rim. It doesn't necessarily mean blocking shots, but just someone who can give a presence in the paint, alter shots, someone who will be a difference maker both at the rim and in the paint. If we cant get John Wall, I'd rather use our lotto pick on a defensive frontcourt player rather than going BPA for another guard/wing/scoring forward.

Agree with sackings916 and mitchweber. Our inability to defend inside is our biggest weakness. The fact that we can't defend inside hampers our ability to defend outside. If we had someone we could trust to defend the rim, we wouldn't have to collapse as much every time someone drives. I think our lack of interior defense is probably the primary reason we were and still are terrible at defending the 3pt line, if that makes any sense.

Obviously NCAA basketball hasn't started yet, but if there are any Thabeet type guys we should give it heavy consideration. Preemptively I am going to say NO I did NOT want Thabeet over Evans, because I know someone will try to put words in my mouth.

I am just saying, if we wind up in the 5-8 pick range, and there is a defensive big man available who is close to the BPA, then this might be the year to pick such a player.