Future Free Agent Thread

[Rauxcee]

Does Brooklyn have space for 2 max players, or just 1?

[SoCalJazzFan]

Does Brooklyn have space for 2 max players, or just 1?

Technically, the Nets and Clippers only have cap space for just 1 max player, although they are both close (like within $5M) of being able to have space for 2.

[CAE15]

Rozier does have a better nickname than Rubio, so there's that.

Spanish Samurai is way better than Scary Terry

Why do people think Harrison Barnes is declining his 25 million dollar player option?

I don't see Looney being a Siakam type, just a high energy backup big. Certainly could do worse. But I don't see him taking a leap even somewhat close to that. Kicking the tires on Jordan Bell however, could be interesting.

I'd really like Bobby Portis but I don't think that's realistic as Wizards are likely to match anything we'd offer.

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[KqWIN]

Rozier does have a better nickname than Rubio, so there's that.

Spanish Samurai is way better than Scary Terry

Why do people think Harrison Barnes is declining his 25 million dollar player option?

I don't see Looney being a Siakam type, just a high energy backup big. Certainly could do worse. But I don't see him taking a leap even somewhat close to that. Kicking the tires on Jordan Bell however, could be interesting.

I'd really like Bobby Portis but I don't think that's realistic as Wizards are likely to match anything we'd offer.

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Nobody calls Rubio Spanish Samuri, everybody calls Rozier Scary Terry

[sipclip]

Read on Twitter

this is about Rozier... me no likey... I'd rather have Rubio.

Read on Twitter

I would much rather have Rubio than Rozier. Rozier had that nice little run to end the 17/18 season, but he was weak this entire 18/19 season. His TS% for both regular season and playoffs is lower than Ricky's. His assists per minute is way lower than Ricky's. He is a bit selfish and just isn't as good as he thinks he is. Rozier is a better three point shooter than Ricky, but that is about it.

http://bkref.com/tiny/KEJjf

I would rather take the chance on the upside of Rozier than Rubio. I really like his aggressive style of playing when he gets going and I think he has the potential to be a beast defensively.

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[sipclip]

If the Jazz strike out on their preferred versatile forward players, I think a player that should be considered as probably up and coming (and probably cheap) would be Kevon Looney. I think that he has Pascal Siakam level potential. Crazy to think that he could have been picked up last summer for nothing.

I like Looney and would love to add him but he doesn't have even close to Siakam potential. They are two very different players and most notably different types of athletes.

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[SoCalJazzFan]

I don't see Looney being a Siakam type, just a high energy backup big. Certainly could do worse. But I don't see him taking a leap even somewhat close to that. Kicking the tires on Jordan Bell however, could be interesting.

I'd really like Bobby Portis but I don't think that's realistic as Wizards are likely to match anything we'd offer.

If the Jazz strike out on their preferred versatile forward players, I think a player that should be considered as probably up and coming (and probably cheap) would be Kevon Looney. I think that he has Pascal Siakam level potential. Crazy to think that he could have been picked up last summer for nothing.

I like Looney and would love to add him but he doesn't have even close to Siakam potential. They are two very different players and most notably different types of athletes.

I guess what I am trying to say is that I think that Looney has the potential to be what we would like Favors to be in that he can protect the rim, guard the perimeter (anyone) and has the potential, I believe, to hit outside shots and score more if given the chance. I chose Siakam as he is about the same size and has both rim protection, outside shooting and perimeter defense capabilities, which I think Looney could have. Perhaps better said that Looney could be like Favors with an outside shot and perhaps even better perimeter defense (maybe a meld of Favors and Mirotic).

Who would have thought Siakam would be able to do what he has coming out of college? I think that Looney's hip issues and being on the splash bros team has limited him and he is due to break out.

[CAE15]

I don't see Looney being a Siakam type, just a high energy backup big. Certainly could do worse. But I don't see him taking a leap even somewhat close to that. Kicking the tires on Jordan Bell however, could be interesting.

I'd really like Bobby Portis but I don't think that's realistic as Wizards are likely to match anything we'd offer.

If the Jazz strike out on their preferred versatile forward players, I think a player that should be considered as probably up and coming (and probably cheap) would be Kevon Looney. I think that he has Pascal Siakam level potential. Crazy to think that he could have been picked up last summer for nothing.

I like Looney and would love to add him but he doesn't have even close to Siakam potential. They are two very different players and most notably different types of athletes.

I guess what I am trying to say is that I think that Looney has the potential to be what we would like Favors to be in that he can protect the rim, guard the perimeter (anyone) and has the potential, I believe, to hit outside shots and score more if given the chance. I chose Siakam as he is about the same size and has both rim protection, outside shooting and perimeter defense capabilities, which I think Looney could have. Perhaps better said that Looney could be like Favors with an outside shot and perhaps even better perimeter defense (maybe a meld of Favors and Mirotic).

Who would have thought Siakam would be able to do what he has coming out of college? I think that Looney's hip issues and being on the splash bros team has limited him and he is due to break out.

He could be a good big for switching, I agree, but what about him makes you think he can possibly stretch the floor? He has made a total of 5 career 3 point attempts. Something like 75% of his shots that he takes are within 3 feet of the basket. He's a below 62% free throw shooter. Nothing of his game to me shows he can turn into a shooting big. If we want someone capable of Favors on defense but also hitting the 3 it's Dedmon.

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[SoCalJazzFan]

He could be a good big for switching, I agree, but what about him makes you think he can possibly stretch the floor? He has made a total of 5 career 3 point attempts. Something like 75% of his shots that he takes are within 3 feet of the basket. He's a below 62% free throw shooter. Nothing of his game to me shows he can turn into a shooting big. If we want someone capable of Favors on defense but also hitting the 3 it's Dedmon.

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The low free throw shooting percentage is concerning, I'll admit. I don't put too much stock into his extremely low volume of three point attempts over the past 3 years either (roughly once every 8-10 games) as that clearly wasn't his role (who would be comfortable shooting 3s as a center when you have Curry, Klay and KD on the floor?).

The reason I think that he could shoot the 3 at a decent enough rate to create space (e.g. at least 30%) is that he was a point guard in high school (even though he was 6'8") and shot 30% and at UCLA shot 22/53 (41.5%) during his only year there (oddly only shot 63% free throws there too). He wears the #5 as in high school he played all 5 positions on both sides of the court. He looks comfortable pulling up and shooting from mid-range. I have read that the Warriors coaches and players have said that they see him in practice and have encouraged him to shoot more threes, but once again, that is not his role and would anyone do that instead of finding an open Steph, Klay or KD or even Draymond?

Admittedly, it would be a bit of a gamble, but taking a once top 10 high school recruit who can literally play any position on defense and potentially fits very well the modern big man, but who has been hampered by hip issues (that hopefully his two hip surgeries have corrected), and played in a system that has pigeonholed him and who could potentially be had for cheap at only 22/23 yrs old is a type of gamble that I think the Jazz should take if they can't land a top tier free agent. The downside is having a backup big man that is still very effective for perhaps as much $10M-$13M/yr that doesn't live up to the perfect stretch forward role. One would think that the Jazz could structure the deal to overpay for 2 years to pry him away from the Warriors, with a team option for 3rd year as an out if it doesn't work out as planned.

[SoCalJazzFan]

I dug a little deeper on Looney, and he actually shot 43% from 3 pt his senior year in high school (up from 32% his jr yr). He averaged nearly 28 pts, 13 rbs, 8 blks and 7 asts his senior year. Below are some vids showing his shooting and other skills back then.

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

A natural reaction would be that was high school, what has he shown in the NBA? He was projected to be the #7 pick in the 2015 draft until it was discovered that he had injured his hip at UCLA, causing him to drop to #30. He had two hip surgeries (repair torn labrum in each hip) his first year at the Warriors, the last being in April of 2016. He played around 50 games and only 8 MPG the following season. He increased his playing time throughout the 2017/2018 season, becoming the go to big off the bench in the playoffs. This year he has become the 6th man for the Warriors. I really do believe he is due for a breakout if given the chance. He is young, will probably be cheap and could make some GM look like a genius.

[KqWIN]

Thon Maker could be a blend between KD and KG. Maybe we should look at him too

[Inigo Montoya]

Thon Maker could be a blend between KD and KG. Maybe we should look at him too

You joke, but Maker actually makes sense for this team. He can play defense, block shots, rebound and has much better range on his shot than Favors. Sure, he's 41 so there isn't much potential for growth there, but he'll be a cost effective alternative for the 4-5 positions whose skills and physical profile fits what we say we want from those positions.

[SoCalJazzFan]

Thon Maker could be a blend between KD and KG. Maybe we should look at him too

I hear what you're saying about those old highlight tapes, but I'm not expecting Looney to be the next Kevin Durant. I am looking for him to be Derrick Favors with shooting range to space the floor. If Favors could shoot 32% 3PT (like Thon) and still have his rim protection and versatile defense (Looney is probably a better perimeter defender than Favors and certainly better than Thon), then we wouldn't be worrying about upgrading at that position.

[Inigo Montoya]

A Looney-Maker front-court will make the other teams go crazy.

[SoCalJazzFan]

Thon Maker could be a blend between KD and KG. Maybe we should look at him too

I hear what you're saying about those old highlight tapes, but I'm not expecting Looney to be the next Kevin Durant. I am looking for him to be Derrick Favors with shooting range to space the floor. If Favors could shoot 32% 3PT (like Thon) and still have his rim protection and versatile defense (Looney is probably a better perimeter defender than Favors and certainly better than Thon), then we wouldn't be worrying about upgrading at that position.

BTW, the Looney as a backup plan would most likely mean that the Jazz still have Favors next season.

[KqWIN]

Thon Maker could be a blend between KD and KG. Maybe we should look at him too

I hear what you're saying about those old highlight tapes, but I'm not expecting Looney to be the next Kevin Durant. I am looking for him to be Derrick Favors with shooting range to space the floor. If Favors could shoot 32% 3PT (like Thon) and still have his rim protection and versatile defense (Looney is probably a better perimeter defender than Favors and certainly better than Thon), then we wouldn't be worrying about upgrading at that position.

BTW, the Looney as a backup plan would most likely mean that the Jazz still have Favors next season.

If we're singing Looney and keeping Favors, where are his minutes coming from? Already have enough C minutes. I like Looney, but I wouldn't play Looney a second with either Favors or Gobert.

[babyjax13]

Read on Twitter

this is about Rozier... me no likey... I'd rather have Rubio.

Read on Twitter

I would much rather have Rubio than Rozier. Rozier had that nice little run to end the 17/18 season, but he was weak this entire 18/19 season. His TS% for both regular season and playoffs is lower than Ricky's. His assists per minute is way lower than Ricky's. He is a bit selfish and just isn't as good as he thinks he is. Rozier is a better three point shooter than Ricky, but that is about it.

http://bkref.com/tiny/KEJjf

I would rather take the chance on the upside of Rozier than Rubio. I really like his aggressive style of playing when he gets going and I think he has the potential to be a beast defensively.

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If we are playing that game, I'd take Elfrid Payton. Better defender, better passer, better driver, better finisher. His three point shooting has improved, but it's still not great. Rubio improved his three point shooting here by about 2% (you can argue whether that improvement is real), if Payton does the same he'd be at about 33%. Rozier can hit that open shot, but he sucks at literally everything. He's such a bad player.

[babyjax13]

Thon Maker could be a blend between KD and KG. Maybe we should look at him too

I hear what you're saying about those old highlight tapes, but I'm not expecting Looney to be the next Kevin Durant. I am looking for him to be Derrick Favors with shooting range to space the floor. If Favors could shoot 32% 3PT (like Thon) and still have his rim protection and versatile defense (Looney is probably a better perimeter defender than Favors and certainly better than Thon), then we wouldn't be worrying about upgrading at that position.

Then Noah Vonleh is probably the player you want most, out of those three.

[SoCalJazzFan]

I hear what you're saying about those old highlight tapes, but I'm not expecting Looney to be the next Kevin Durant. I am looking for him to be Derrick Favors with shooting range to space the floor. If Favors could shoot 32% 3PT (like Thon) and still have his rim protection and versatile defense (Looney is probably a better perimeter defender than Favors and certainly better than Thon), then we wouldn't be worrying about upgrading at that position.

BTW, the Looney as a backup plan would most likely mean that the Jazz still have Favors next season.

If we're singing Looney and keeping Favors, where are his minutes coming from? Already have enough C minutes. I like Looney, but I wouldn't play Looney a second with either Favors or Gobert.

Unless Favors is able to hit 30%+ on his 3pt next season (very doubtful at this point), you have either Jae or Looney at the PF spot. The Jazz will once again have the best backup center in the league for the season, or until he is traded. The hope would be that Looney can play with Gobert and make Jae a backup, at least eventually.

Otherwise, what is the plan B when the Jazz don't land Tobias Harris?

[KqWIN]

BTW, the Looney as a backup plan would most likely mean that the Jazz still have Favors next season.

If we're singing Looney and keeping Favors, where are his minutes coming from? Already have enough C minutes. I like Looney, but I wouldn't play Looney a second with either Favors or Gobert.

Unless Favors is able to hit 30%+ on his 3pt next season (very doubtful at this point), you have either Jae or Looney at the PF spot. The Jazz will once again have the best backup center in the league for the season, or until he is traded. The hope would be that Looney can play with Gobert and make Jae a backup, at least eventually.

Otherwise, what is the plan B when the Jazz don't land Tobias Harris?

I don’t think Looney has value as a 4. It would be like doubling down on a roster inefficiency we already have. Favors doesn’t either, but we’re giving him token minutes because I guess we have to.

There isn’t a great plan B, but I’d be remissed if we decided to use our resources on another C while also keeping Favors.