2024-25 Season: Draft, Trades, and FA Ideas Thread V1.0

[sidsid]

Trying to get 3 big moves done with Giannis is tough because we don't have that much room to absorb extra incoming salary, which is needed in a bunch of these trades. Assume the base salary for Giannis is Barnes, Dick, Ochai, maybe Walter or Shead if we have to, that leaves you with enough flexibility for other moves.

Durant has Jak as main smaller salary, and it's tougher again to make the room work without IQ instead of RJ. So IQ it is.

Then that leaves you some room for the type of trades that bridges the pick value for Giannis (maybe Durant too) and also makes him happy and fills some of our needs: RJ fro Jrue, his old teammate he probably regrets trading, and a pick(s). Shaves the salary the Celtics want and term.

The team is quite thin after these trades and we've got often injured skillset duplication in a now 3rd scorer role BI, on a team that is suddenly much older and brittle. This is where you look to leverage your 2-3 year timeline YOLO tax apron future.

- BI for White/Williams/Smith and a good pick (this year's or the Portland one). Again, the pick is value you can add to the Giannis package, or potentially add to the bench.

The Bulls want to shed salary for future cap years, and Williams is an awful contract with term. We likely don't care about overpaying White in FA next year (YOLO tax team). They're essentially paying BI 20 million if you consider sheading the Williams contract part of it. We get a stretch big for Giannis and replace our guard scoring. Whatever we get out of Williams off the bench is gravy.

The last piece is I can't find the salary to get another spacing C, so you beg Lopez to come for one more year on a minimum.

Lopez/Smith/Giannis
Giannis/Mogbo/Durant
Durant/Williams
Jrue/Walter or Battle (maybe both)
White/Shead (Maybe)

Add ring chasers to the rest.

That's as good as I could get and we likely keep all our post 2027 or 2028 picks with this. A lot of guys on decline, but plenty of playoff experience. But also enough youth to the mix to keep the energy you need for long playoff runs.

Then tank after the window where you don't care about the White/Williams contracts.

[gerrit4]

Raps need to do a consolidation trade. We have sufficient depth. Raps haven’t had an alpha scorer since Kawhi and in the history of the team outside of him and Vince we’ve only had secondary scoring options.

Ingram can maybe be that guy, but not totally sold.

I think you're right, but we should probably be a bit more patient, considering how poorly the team has performed so far. I think we need to figure out what works before we start consolidating.

Yes, I'm purposefully avoiding the word "evaluate."

I think the time to make a consolidation move will be once we see how these guys work together, as nobody knows how Ingram fits with any of these guys yet. He might be this group's "Rudy Gay," and maybe we'll move on from him sooner, or he could be this group's "Ibaka" and is an important piece in some playoff runs. I think they need to actually play to figure it out. But hey, if there is a great move available, we should go for it.

The team has done a great job of asset accumulation and payroll management, but has done a poor job of addressing need and balance.

I think when considering what a competitive would look like it is a lot simpler than people realize:

Roster composition:

When building out a team PG and C are your two most important positions to fill. You should never compromise and round up the solution and round down the problem. Our issue for many years is avoiding the importance of the there positions. When we won the championship, yes kawhi was a beast, but without a Lowry, Fred Tandem and a Gasol/Ibaka you weren't winning anything.

PG - I've been saying this since day one. IQ is not going to cut it. It's not like we need a JA or a Fox, but we need a PG that facilitates and can also disrupt the other teams PG. Boston with the Jrue and White combo. OKC with Caruso and Wallace. My recommendation is Chris Paul, Brogdon and Shead. To acquire a Paul and Brogdon will not be super costly, but what they bring to the team will be night and day.

C - People crap on Jakob all the time, but the reality is that he has been our most impactful and consistent player. What we need is depth and some spacing. Brook Lopez or Bobby Portis come to mind. I'll come back to this point later, but if we have a Brook and Jakob or Jakob and Bobby combo this will do wonders

Now comes to filling out the rest of your roster.

Alpha scorer - We have always lacked an alpha scorer outside of Vince and Kawhi. Ingram can kind of play a poor's man version of that role, but he is best suited as your second best scorer.

Floor Spacing - We actually are more than sufficient when it comes to this. Dick, Jakobe, Battle all can play that role. Especially with the addition of Ingram in the off-season. One guy I would consider trying to add for depth is a Paul Reed type of PF that can stretch the floor. Boucher is equally good at that, but not as the starter. Hence the need for a Bobby or Lopez.

Defensive Swing - I actually don't think this is as hard to acquire as people feel. A Mattise Thybulle, Kelly Oubre. Doesn't have to be a DPOY, but I think there are enough defensive swings that we can target.

MVP - This is the hardest piece, but also the piece you have to always start with. We ain't winning anything without a MVP type level player. Every team that has won has one: SGA, Tatum, Joker etc... So when one becomes available, yes you gut the roster to acquire cause the rest of the pieces are easier to get.

So how we make this happen:

Let's start with Giannis trade: Bucks, want young players with star potential, picks and need salaries to match:

IQ, Barnes, Dick and 4 first round picks - For Giannis, Portis and Pat C. Need to move a few smaller pieces to make salaries work cause Bucks are in second apron, but doable. Also, don't see many teams topping that offer. If there is a way to keep this years pick and give later picks even better.

Move RJ - I think the market for someone like RJ is pretty good - I'm thinking RJ, Ochai and Pat C to Spurs for Paul and Vassell. This deal in some ways makes a lot of sense for both sides. Spurs have a glut of guards. They are most likely taking Harper at 2. So a trio of Castle, Fox and Harper eat up pretty much all of minutes. Paul was an one year bridge player. RJ gives the Spurs a big SF that can drive and penetrate being a 3rd or 4th option. His salary is reasonable and he is experienced enough to play with the time line of their roster. Vassell is more effective when utilized in the offense. However, him being buried kind of makes him like another John Collins for the Spurs.

Free agents, round it out with a Malcolm Brogdon, Paul Reed and maybe a Jae'Sean Tate. These guys will come super cheap, especially if we have a contending roster. The last two probably at the minimum as they could be out of the league.

Paul -Shead - Brogdon
Vassell - Walter - Wilson
Ingram - Battle - Tate
Giannis - Mogbo - Reed
Jakob - Portis - Yang/Chomche

I realize this is a complete turnover of our roster, but we are moving assets and consolidating assets. If our window is 3-4 years, I would definitely run with this roster.

Well, I don't disagree with your post - and I love that roster. I'm not quite sure about Paul starting at 40 years old, but I think Brogdon is good (when healthy) and maybe Shead could take a step up. I guess that having a guy like Giannis probably means you don't need an amazing point guard.

To my eyes, that's a championship calibre team that still is young with room to grow. I just don't know if the Bucks/Spurs would make those moves.

[Pericles]

Moving down 10 spots in the draft to trade RJ Barrett for Cam Johnson sounds ridiculous to me.

[TGM]

Here is a crazy idea and I think Masai would be ballsy enough to pull off:

Trade 1

Ingram, Jakob and Castleton 2027 pick and 2029 swap, 2028th 2nd for KD and Richard’s. Should work July 1st when 2025 salaries kick in.

Suns get a poor man’s KD that is 10 years younger, a true center and some draft capital. Raps get KD and extend him for two more years. KD looks like he can still play at a high level going into 40.

Trade 2

Barnes, Barrett, Walter, 2025 first, 2029 first and 2028 swap for Giannis, Portis and Kevin Porter.

Bucks get two young guys proven guys and an upside guard in Walter. They get a lotto pick in a deep draft this year plus a pick in 2029 and a swap.

Raps go all-in with these trades and retain depth and balance.

IQ - Shead - Brogdon (FA)
Ochai - Dick - Porter
KD - Battle - Lawson
Giannis - Mogbo - 2nd rd pick
Richards - Portis - Chomche.

Raps should be able to compete and are a top contender for the next 2-3 years. With IQ, KD, Giannis being the offensive options, Ochai fits great as a starter playing defense and hitting 3s. Richard’s does the dirty work rebounding and blocking. Portis could also start if we need to space out the line-up.

[Psubs]

Ochai and Dick for #16 and Goga Bitadze

PG IQ - Shead - JaKobe
SG Barrett - JaKobe - #39
SF Ingram - Battle - Bryant
PF Scottie - Mogbo - Fleming
C Poeltl - Bitadze - Chomche

[djsunyc]

Ochai and Dick for #16 and Goga Bitadze

PG IQ - Shead - JaKobe
SG Barrett - JaKobe - #39
SF Ingram - Battle - Bryant
PF Scottie - Mogbo - Fleming
C Poeltl - Bitadze - Chomche

no thanks. not awful but too much for a backup center and a gamble pick.

[DreamTeam09]

Ochai and Dick for #16 and Goga Bitadze

PG IQ - Shead - JaKobe
SG Barrett - JaKobe - #39
SF Ingram - Battle - Bryant
PF Scottie - Mogbo - Fleming
C Poeltl - Bitadze - Chomche

no thanks. not awful but too much for a backup center and a gamble pick.

Definitely awful / 16 doesn't replace GD, maybe noteven Ochai / and gigs is a bench big that we should be able to find with 9 or in FA

[Merit]

Here’s one idea for Giannis:

To Milwaukee:

CJ McCollum
Immanuel Quickley
Gradey Dick
Pick swap rights from NOP returned for 2026 or 2027.
Raptors #9 Pick, Raptors 2027 1st
TPE for Connaughton

They rebuild their depth in one trade, can tank next season and as a bonus, can move Dame to the highest bidder in the off-season.

To NOP:

RJ Barrett
Pat Connaughton
Raptors 2nd rounder #39

They get out of CJ’s contract and replace him with RJ, who is ten years younger and a friend of Zion’s. They get a second-rounder this year to let the Bucks tank next year. Connaughton is solid bench depth absorbed into JV’s TPE, and their rotation is excellent. They don’t even lose a first to get out of CJ.

To Toronto:

Giannis Antetokounpo
AJ Green
Jose Alvarado

Raptors Roster post-trade:

PG Scottie/Alvarado/Shead
SG Ochai/AJ Green
SF Ingram/Walter/Battle
PF Giannis/Mogbo
C Poeltl/MLE (Horford)/Chomche

Toronto gets a point of attack defender in Alvarado, a movement shooter at the 2 in AJ to replace Gradey at the 3, and Giannis. They keep Scottie. They win the chip, LOL. Sad to see RJ and IQ go, but I’ll take Giannis over BBBQ Poeltl any day.

[Rapsobsessed7]

To PHX: Barrett + Poeltl + Dick + 2027 1st round pick
To TOR: Durant + Richards

Done in 2 separate deals

Draft Maluach @ #9

IQ / Shead
Ingram / Walter
KD / Ochai
Barnes / Mogbo
Richards / Maluach

I like the look of that team. Doesn’t cost you a ton but for PHX I see this as a similar / better package than what Siakam got.

[Tripod]

Phx wants a better C because Richard's isn't a good starter. Why would it be any different in Toronto?

He is a backup

[NotMyKawhi]

Strong reports of Cam and KD coming to Toronto

Raptors kd, cam 19 and 26

Suns IQ, Dick, Ocahi, Battle. Raps 26, swap 27.

Bk RJ, 9.

Scottie, Cam, BI, KD, Poeltl
Shead, jakobe, 19, 26, mogbo, blazers, boucher

[Tripod]

Strong reports of Cam and KD coming to Toronto

Raptors kd, cam 19 and 26

Suns IQ, Dick, Ocahi, Battle. Raps 26, swap 27.

Bk RJ, 9.

Scottie, Cam, BI, KD, Poeltl
Shead, jakobe, 19, 26, mogbo, blazers, boucher

So we deplete our depth, trade away lots of shooting, lose control of the next 2 drafts, and end up with no proper starting PG and no reliable backup C.

Sorry, don't like it.

Sometimes less is more and this is too much turnover.

Also, who is Blazers?

[navyblue]

Strong reports of Cam and KD coming to Toronto

Raptors kd, cam 19 and 26

Suns IQ, Dick, Ocahi, Battle. Raps 26, swap 27.

Bk RJ, 9.

Scottie, Cam, BI, KD, Poeltl
Shead, jakobe, 19, 26, mogbo, blazers, boucher

So we deplete our depth, trade away lots of shooting, lose control of the next 2 drafts, and end up with no proper starting PG and no reliable backup C.

Sorry, don't like it.

Sometimes less is more and this is too much turnover.

Also, who is Blazers?

Blazers I assume is our 2nd round pick from blazers.
Also I don't think Durant costs that much.
And that is a terrible defensive team, 4 PF and a center essentially.

[Tripod]

Strong reports of Cam and KD coming to Toronto

Raptors kd, cam 19 and 26

Suns IQ, Dick, Ocahi, Battle. Raps 26, swap 27.

Bk RJ, 9.

Scottie, Cam, BI, KD, Poeltl
Shead, jakobe, 19, 26, mogbo, blazers, boucher

So we deplete our depth, trade away lots of shooting, lose control of the next 2 drafts, and end up with no proper starting PG and no reliable backup C.

Sorry, don't like it.

Sometimes less is more and this is too much turnover.

Also, who is Blazers?

Blazers I assume is our 2nd round pick from blazers.
Also I don't think Durant costs that much.
And that is a terrible defensive team, 4 PF and a center essentially.

Ok that makes sense....lol.

Yeah just a poorly constructed team where we do trades just for the sake of doing trades.

[TNRaps4life]

To PHX: Barrett + Poeltl + Dick + 2027 1st round pick
To TOR: Durant + Richards

Done in 2 separate deals

Draft Maluach @ #9

IQ / Shead
Ingram / Walter
KD / Ochai
Barnes / Mogbo
Richards / Maluach

I like the look of that team. Doesn’t cost you a ton but for PHX I see this as a similar / better package than what Siakam got.

Phoenix is 2nd apron team. They cannot add anyone to KD trade

[NotMyKawhi]

Strong reports of Cam and KD coming to Toronto

Raptors kd, cam 19 and 26

Suns IQ, Dick, Ocahi, Battle. Raps 26, swap 27.

Bk RJ, 9.

Scottie, Cam, BI, KD, Poeltl
Shead, jakobe, 19, 26, mogbo, blazers, boucher

So we deplete our depth, trade away lots of shooting, lose control of the next 2 drafts, and end up with no proper starting PG and no reliable backup C.

Sorry, don't like it.

Sometimes less is more and this is too much turnover.

Also, who is Blazers?

We arent losing our depth. 19 is gonna be a guy. Most likely 26 as well.

Scottie, Cam, BI, KD, Poeltl
Shead, jakobe, 19, mogbo 26

There's lots of sf and bigs late. How do we ruin our shooting trading for KD and Cam? How is our defence worse trading rj for cam?

[Bowdystuda]

2 TRADES and 1 free agent SIGNING to make us a contender in the East.


TO TORONTO: Giannis, Derozan and K. Ellis

TO MILWAUKEE: Scottie, Dick, Ochai, 9th pick and 2 future 1sts.

TO SACRAMENTO: RJ Barrett and two 2nd round picks.

PG: Quickley/Shead
SG: Ellis/Walter/Lawson
SF: Ingram/Derozan
PF: Giannis/Mogbo/Boucher
C: Poetl/Lopez/Castleton

Derozan becomes 6th man and a major scoring option off the bench. Plus a homecoming for one of our best players of all time.

Ellis is a great 3 point shooter at 43% last year and can play great defence. He would guard the best guard from the opposing team. He is still young and improving and a Great fit around Giannis.

Lopez has shown he can work with Giannis as a spacer. He could start if needed, and adds 4 shooters around Giannis, if Poeltl gets traded or goes to the bench at times.

All we need is 1 more point guard for depth and that's a team that can challenge in the East. We would also have some swaps to deal if needed.

[Tripod]

Strong reports of Cam and KD coming to Toronto

Raptors kd, cam 19 and 26

Suns IQ, Dick, Ocahi, Battle. Raps 26, swap 27.

Bk RJ, 9.

Scottie, Cam, BI, KD, Poeltl
Shead, jakobe, 19, 26, mogbo, blazers, boucher

So we deplete our depth, trade away lots of shooting, lose control of the next 2 drafts, and end up with no proper starting PG and no reliable backup C.

Sorry, don't like it.

Sometimes less is more and this is too much turnover.

Also, who is Blazers?

We arent losing our depth. 19 is gonna be a guy. Most likely 26 as well.

Scottie, Cam, BI, KD, Poeltl
Shead, jakobe, 19, mogbo 26

There's lots of sf and bigs late. How do we ruin our shooting trading for KD and Cam? How is our defence worse trading rj for cam?

Any team looking to win a championship next year...won't have a bench of 2 rookies and 3 sophomores.

How do we stop POA vs faster guards?
How do we cope when injuries occur...and they will.

I would not trade IQ, Ochai, Gradey, Battle, 1st, swap...for about to turn 38 KD with 1 year left. That's essentially what this deal is. Big overpay.

[Tripod]

2 TRADES and 1 free agent SIGNING to make us a contender in the East.


TO TORONTO: Giannis, Derozan and K. Ellis

TO MILWAUKEE: Scottie, Dick, Ochai, 9th pick and 2 future 1sts.

TO SACRAMENTO: RJ Barrett and two 2nd round picks.

PG: Quickley/Shead
SG: Ellis/Walter/Lawson
SF: Ingram/Derozan
PF: Giannis/Mogbo/Boucher
C: Poetl/Lopez/Castleton

Derozan becomes 6th man and a major scoring option off the bench. Plus a homecoming for one of our best players of all time.

Ellis is a great 3 point shooter at 43% last year and can play great defence. He would guard the best guard from the opposing team. He is still young and improving and a Great fit around Giannis.

Lopez has shown he can work with Giannis as a spacer. He could start if needed, and adds 4 shooters around Giannis, if Poeltl gets traded or goes to the bench at times.

All we need is 1 more point guard for depth and that's a team that can challenge in the East. We would also have some swaps to deal if needed.

Much better balanced team and depth...and still have Battle+#39. Use #39 on a C to replace Lopez at some point.

Side note: I honestly think we signed Castleton and Lawson to use in trades this offseason as filler(4.4 million) and would not shock me to see ORob back as the #3C this year.

[Rapsobsessed7]

To PHX: Barrett + Poeltl + Dick + 2027 1st round pick
To TOR: Durant + Richards

Done in 2 separate deals

Draft Maluach @ #9

IQ / Shead
Ingram / Walter
KD / Ochai
Barnes / Mogbo
Richards / Maluach

I like the look of that team. Doesn’t cost you a ton but for PHX I see this as a similar / better package than what Siakam got.

Phoenix is 2nd apron team. They cannot add anyone to KD trade

Care to read the 3rd line where I say done in 2 separate deals?