If you were the GM -- your 2019 off season

[Dat2U]

Dat -- where did you hide Mahinmi? Bonga?

Bonga could be kept as a two way guy.

Mahinmi I hold onto until the last minute as potential trade bait before cutting him before opening day.

[nate33]

Ok so here's my wild scenario where Ted says build a winner right now or else!

Trade 9 for 20/22. Draft Clarke & Windler.
Acquire 42nd from Philly. Draft Bol.
Resign Bryant 4 yrs - 32 mil
Trade Sato for multiple 2nds.
Use multiple 2nds to S&T for D. Wright.
Acquire Bertans via trade exception.

***Trade Wall, Mahinmi & 3 unprotected picks in 2020, 2022 & 2024 for Westbrook & Gallinari.***

Sign Kyle O'Quinn to vet minimum.

New roster:

Westbrook ... T. Brown Jr
Beal ... D. Wright ... McRae
Gallinari ... Layman ... Windler
Bertans ... Clarke ... Vonleh
Bryant ... O'Quinn ... Bol

Gotta fire Brooks too. I'd hire Dave Joerger as head coach.

If you can get Westbrook to tone down the shot selection a tad, this is a really good team.

It's an interesting idea, but I wouldn't do it.

I don't think you can win with Westbrook. Sure, he's good enough to keep the team in the playoffs, but they would never seriously contend. I think Westbrook would be detrimental to the development of Bryant and Brown. I also think Westbrook is an injury risk going forward. It's a short term fix with a capped upside.

Finally, I don't think Beal resigns with the Westbrook team. In 2021, when Beal makes his decision, his decision will be a forward-looking one, not a backward-looking one. He won't say, "Gee, this team backed into a 6th seed these last two seasons while riding a declining Westbrook, not developing young talent, and having traded away all their future picks. I'm in!" He's going to want to see a team that looks promising in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

[dckingsfan]

First I would look at the Point Guard position. My first step would have been to go to Scott Brooks and say, "I want to start Brown at PG next season, you onboard?" I would have acknowledged that Sato wanted to leave. I am fine with Thomas at the vet minimum. I would have looked to see if any of the other experienced PGs became available at the vet minimum.

PG: Brown, Thomas, Bonga

My owner wants to keep Beal. That's that. McRae is cheap. And there are still plenty of unsigned SGs like Bradley and Shumpert that are still available.

SG: Beal, McRae

At the draft, I actively look to trade down with Boston to 14 & 20. Because I am special, Ainge agrees and I take Sekou Doumbouya & Clarke.

Since I am in rebuild, I take the Lakers trade of Mo Wagner, Isaac Bonga, and Jemerrio Jones.

Bertrans is offered - I take him, goodbye Mr. White.

Next we would look at the Center position - because I think Howard is a cancer, I get rid of him. I think Miles would be a solid SF from previous years where he wasn't injured. Good trade.

C: Bryant, Mahimni, Wagner

Which brings us to SF

SF: Miles, Doumbouya

And PF

PF: Clarke, Bertrans, Jones

---------------------------------

PG: Brown, Thomas (or any of the remaining vet min PGs), Bonga, (Wall)
SG: Beal, McRae
SF: Miles, Doumbouya; Admiral
PF: Clarke, Bertrans, Jones
C: Bryant, Mahimni, Wagner

Following year:

PG: Wall, Brown, Bonga (if he takes strides)
SG: Beal, Brown
SF: Doumbouya, Admiral
PF: Clarke, Jones (if he takes strides)
C: Bryant, Wagner

Plus high first round draft pick.

Okay, those teams aren't going anywhere...

[doclinkin]

PG Sato/Robinson
SG Beal/K.Johnson
SF Brown Jr./Shumpert
PF Hachimura/Parker
C Bryant/Vonleh
End of Bench: Wagner, McRae, Mahinmi, Bonga, Wall

I like this team. I could cheer for that squad.

[Mojo Amok]

I was OK with most of the moves, but would have preferred a cheaper PG option than Ish and wouldn't have gone after Miles. I also don't follow college hoops with much interest and we're now seeing the performances in summer league, so there's too much hindsight if I change that up (I will say I've really liked what I've seen of Keldon Johnson).

Because I'm feeling lazy, let's just say I stick with:
The draft
The Johnathan Simmons/42nd Pick trade
The Lakers trade
Signing Isaiah Thomas
Absorbing Davis Bertans (not my absolute favorite, but a respectable tank/development move - Jerami Grant was cheap for what he brings, but not the right time and he has a Player Option)
The Satoransky trade

And then...
Don't Sign Ish for 2 years @ $6 Million
Buy out Howard under the assumption that a full cultural reboot is optimal (ideally saving a little bit of money and obviously not acquiring CJ Miles)

Sign TJ McConnel as a try-hard scrapper who instills some defensive identity and provides leadership.

Soon after, Wojnarowski reported the contract was for two-years in length and a total of $7 million. That's a cheap deal, so it's already a low risk signing for Indiana. Even if McConnell doesn't fit with the organization at all, the contract would end quickly. $3.5 million per season is a manageable figure. Both the length and value are reasonable.

Somehow, though, the deal looked better a few hours later. Michael Scotto of The Athletic reported that the second year of the contract is only $1 million guaranteed. McConnell effectively got one season and about $4.5 million guaranteed.

At that point, I'd probably save the rest of the space under the tax line so that we could use the TPE at the deadline for a bad money absorption trade. You could try and get Vonleh on a multiyear deal for cheap, but he probably doesn't go for it and would rather be a free agent during that dud class of 2020 year. I would also have been semi-tempted to get Stanley Johnson despite his weakness just to double down on defensive culture (the only guys I want on one year deals or 1+1 PO deals are defense first guys). However, in the end I'd rather just go with using the the TPE for a pick unless Beal was going to be happier with an actual player.

The team would most likely be a little bit worse, but have a higher chance of getting another future asset come February. It's not really much of a changeup from what Tommy Boy did, though.

[Dat2U]

PG Sato/Robinson
SG Beal/K.Johnson
SF Brown Jr./Shumpert
PF Hachimura/Parker
C Bryant/Vonleh
End of Bench: Wagner, McRae, Mahinmi, Bonga, Wall

I like this team. I could cheer for that squad.

I do like the Shumpert pickup. Keldon Johnson is the very next guy I have after Windler, I would have been happy with either.

I'd have been cool with keeping Sato although Delon was my first choice.

To tinker, I'd let Brown run the second unit and see what he could do as a PG and sign Jake Layman to fill our the starting lineup.

Still don't think much of Jabari. Bertans isn't the shor creator but he can knock down open shots.

G Satoransky ... T. Brown Jr ... Ju. Robinson
G Beal ... Shumpert ... McRae
F Layman ... K. Johnson ... Je. Jones ... Bonga
F Bertans ... Vonleh ... Clarke
C Bryant ... Bol ... Wagner ... Mahinmi

[doclinkin]

G Satoransky ... T. Brown Jr ... Ju. Robinson
G Beal ... Shumpert ... McRae
F Layman ... K. Johnson ... Je. Jones ... Bonga
F Bertans ... Vonleh ... Clarke
C Bryant ... Bol ... Wagner ... Mahinmi

That's a good team. Without having a tank option 2nd squad. Nowadays though that matters less.

In the shaken up East though this team is a threat to make the playoffs. I liked the Jabari option since he is both exciting to watch and contributes to losses if used heavily. There's the chance he has always been half terrible because of knee repair. His dad is a coach, he knows fundamental play, he just has never given effort on Defense until he played here. I wouldn't bank on him to improve, but he was better in this regard at Duke before two surgeries. And if not, then we earn lotto tickets.

But yes ^^^ this is a better team.

[dckingsfan]

G Satoransky ... T. Brown Jr ... Ju. Robinson
G Beal ... Shumpert ... McRae
F Layman ... K. Johnson ... Je. Jones ... Bonga
F Bertans ... Vonleh ... Clarke
C Bryant ... Bol ... Wagner ... Mahinmi

That team would make the playoffs in the east...

[Dat2U]

G Satoransky ... T. Brown Jr ... Ju. Robinson
G Beal ... Shumpert ... McRae
F Layman ... K. Johnson ... Je. Jones ... Bonga
F Bertans ... Vonleh ... Clarke
C Bryant ... Bol ... Wagner ... Mahinmi

That team would make the playoffs in the east...

That would be GM of the year type stuff to make the playoffs after starting the offseason with Beal, Brown, a draft pick and no cap space to sign FAs.

[gambitx777]

The main thing I would have done different is I wouldn't have signed Smith. I would have gone after grant/cook/or just signed IT and kept both Robinson's and Phillips. We also have bongs and brown who can play pg. IT was a fine move imo. I would have preferred to go after layman, and Grant with that money. Or another big but over all Smith while not a bad move is the only one I'd really take back. I love getting the Latvian dude ! Good solid move. We needed wing help so trade Howard for miles was ok. I would have rather signed someone else but it's not a bad move co soldering at the dead like that's a little more money to use to get players with, if someone wants a vet wing.

Sent from my SM-G965U1 using RealGM mobile app

[payitforward]

BTW, I love Dat2U's idea of basically trading Sato for Wright. I was going to do that myself but I didn't want to copy him. The one small downside is that it takes up the MLE. I could use the BAE on Vonleh instead, but then it could only be a 2-year deal. I would be unable to sign Shumpert (unless he took the minimum, which is unlikely).

nate -- although I understand why you didn't want to copy Dat, but in a sense one interesting outcome of this thread might be to agree on, as it were, the optimum off-season. That would combine elements of everyone's individual versions.

[payitforward]

Ok so here's my wild scenario where Ted says build a winner right now or else!

Trade 9 for 20/22. Draft Clarke & Windler.
Acquire 42nd from Philly. Draft Bol.
Resign Bryant 4 yrs - 32 mil
Trade Sato for multiple 2nds.
Use multiple 2nds to S&T for D. Wright.
Acquire Bertans via trade exception.

***Trade Wall, Mahinmi & 3 unprotected picks in 2020, 2022 & 2024 for Westbrook & Gallinari.***

Sign Kyle O'Quinn to vet minimum.

New roster:

Westbrook ... T. Brown Jr
Beal ... D. Wright ... McRae
Gallinari ... Layman ... Windler
Bertans ... Clarke ... Vonleh
Bryant ... O'Quinn ... Bol

Gotta fire Brooks too. I'd hire Dave Joerger as head coach.

If you can get Westbrook to tone down the shot selection a tad, this is a really good team.

off-topic, but I love it!

[payitforward]

...At the draft, I actively look to trade down with Boston to 14 & 20. Because I am special, Ainge agrees and I take Sekou Doumbouya & Clarke...

Sorry, no.

You want that #14/20 combo, you gotta have more to give than the #9. Not to mention that, anyway, when you make the trade you have no idea that Doumbouya will be there at #14 -- he's not your target.

Easy fantasies are not what's wanted in this thread. This thread is what you would/could really do as an actual GM.

[payitforward]

Dat -- where did you hide Mahinmi? Bonga?

Bonga could be kept as a two way guy.

Mahinmi I hold onto until the last minute as potential trade bait before cutting him before opening day.

Nope on Bonga -- he has a guaranteed contract.
My point about Mahinmi was that you were sporting a 15-player roster w/o counting him. Can't let you do that, my man!

So, you have to solve these 2 problems, or else your off-season is an un-doable fantasy. Not what you want, I know!

[dckingsfan]

...At the draft, I actively look to trade down with Boston to 14 & 20. Because I am special, Ainge agrees and I take Sekou Doumbouya & Clarke...

Sorry, no.

You want that #14/20 combo, you gotta have more to give than the #9. Not to mention that, anyway, when you make the trade you have no idea that Doumbouya will be there at #14 -- he's not your target.

Easy fantasies are not what's wanted in this thread. This thread is what you would/could really do as an actual GM.

Actually, he was - remember, I am a huge Eurohoops junkie.

But rules are rules... and you are right looking backward it was an "easy fantasy".

My goal would have been to trade down and grab a pair of forwards and move Brown Jr to the PG position. I think with the right development Doumbouya could be pretty good in a couple of years.

[payitforward]

Ok so no Milwaukee trade. I'm ok with the Bertans deal instead.

For Boston, if their only offering the 20, 22 they need
would have needed come up with another asset or pick. Maybe a future 2nd. I'd go Clarke & Windler.

The picks used to acquire Delon come from the Sato deal.

The pick sent to Portland comes from the Wagner deal.

I'd do the deal for the #42 and draft Bol Bol since I missed out on Bitadze.

The Shumpert deal at 1 yr makes alot of sense, he can swing b/w the 2/3

G Delon Wright ... Troy Brown Jr ... John Wall
G Bradley Beal ... Iman Shumpert ... Jordan McRae
F Jake Layman ... Dylan Windler ... Jermerrio Jones
F Davis Bertans ... Brandon Clarke ... Noah Vonleh
C Thomas Bryant ... Bol Bol ... Moritz Wagner

This team may be a little better than the original
albeit Bol is a much more riskier bet than Bitadze.

Dat... this is the picture that needs to be changed: you've got 15 guys here, without Mahinmi, Bonga & Howard.

Your 15 guys (assuming Shumpert signs for $2m) costs just over $115m. Good!

But... Mahinmi, Bonga & Howard are owed a combined $23.5m. You are @$6m into the luxury tax. Bad!

We're not paying the luxury tax, so... Mr. GM -- what are you going to do?

Oh, and sorry no extra asset from Ainge. You turning down the trade in that case? Nah, I didn't think so.

[payitforward]

...At the draft, I actively look to trade down with Boston to 14 & 20. Because I am special, Ainge agrees and I take Sekou Doumbouya & Clarke...

Sorry, no.

You want that #14/20 combo, you gotta have more to give than the #9. Not to mention that, anyway, when you make the trade you have no idea that Doumbouya will be there at #14 -- he's not your target.

Easy fantasies are not what's wanted in this thread. This thread is what you would/could really do as an actual GM.

Actually, he was - remember, I am a huge Eurohoops junkie.

But rules are rules... and you are right looking backward it was an "easy fantasy".

My goal would have been to trade down and grab a pair of forwards and move Brown Jr to the PG position. I think with the right development Doumbouya could be pretty good in a couple of years.

Sekou wasn't your target at #14 -- you had him going higher. That means 2 things: 1) you actually had some other players in mind; Sekou fell to you, so you took him. But, if you really wanted Sekou you wouldn't have made the trade.

IOW, we're not asking, "What would have been optimal if you knew in advance how every pick would go?" There's nothing to that. We're asking: what would you do as the GM in a situation of uncertainty?

Nor are you getting the #14 & 20. Sorry. Best you get from Boston is 20 & 22. Moreover, "trade down and grab a pair of forwards" ain't a plan. Who are you thinking you might get? You do get lucky and find Clarke there at #20, but, in truth, I doubt you are projecting him that low.

So, tell me... you really like Sekou. What do you really do? Do you stand pat & take Sekou @#9? Or do you trade down to 20 & 22 & assume you'll do well? Whichever you choose, that's the beginning of your 2019 off season.

Come on, man, do it. What's your real off season. I'm thinking you take Sekou at #9. & then... what?

[Dat2U]

Dat -- where did you hide Mahinmi? Bonga?

Bonga could be kept as a two way guy.

Mahinmi I hold onto until the last minute as potential trade bait before cutting him before opening day.

Nope on Bonga -- he has a guaranteed contract.
My point about Mahinmi was that you were sporting a 15-player roster w/o counting him. Can't let you do that, my man!

So, you have to solve these 2 problems, or else your off-season is an un-doable fantasy. Not what you want, I know!

Ok, ok, so last & final revision (I gotta steal the Shumpert idea)

G D. Wright ... T. Brown Jr ... Wall
G Beal ... Shumpert ... McRae
F Layman ... Windler ... Jones
F Bertans ... Clarke ... Vonleh
C Bryant ... O'Quinn ... Bol

Bonga & Phillip are released.

I actually decide to dump both Mahinmi & Wagner as well and go with a vet capable of 15 minutes a night & solid leadership in O'Quinn. I don't see any real chance Wagner becomes playable defensively.

Shamorie Ponds & Ethan Happ are signed as two way guys.

[Dat2U]

Ok so no Milwaukee trade. I'm ok with the Bertans deal instead.

For Boston, if their only offering the 20, 22 they need
would have needed come up with another asset or pick. Maybe a future 2nd. I'd go Clarke & Windler.

The picks used to acquire Delon come from the Sato deal.

The pick sent to Portland comes from the Wagner deal.

I'd do the deal for the #42 and draft Bol Bol since I missed out on Bitadze.

The Shumpert deal at 1 yr makes alot of sense, he can swing b/w the 2/3

G Delon Wright ... Troy Brown Jr ... John Wall
G Bradley Beal ... Iman Shumpert ... Jordan McRae
F Jake Layman ... Dylan Windler ... Jermerrio Jones
F Davis Bertans ... Brandon Clarke ... Noah Vonleh
C Thomas Bryant ... Bol Bol ... Moritz Wagner

This team may be a little better than the original
albeit Bol is a much more riskier bet than Bitadze.

Dat... this is the picture that needs to be changed: you've got 15 guys here, without Mahinmi, Bonga & Howard.

Your 15 guys (assuming Shumpert signs for $2m) costs just over $115m. Good!

But... Mahinmi, Bonga & Howard are owed a combined $23.5m. You are @$6m into the luxury tax. Bad!

We're not paying the luxury tax, so... Mr. GM -- what are you going to do?

Oh, and sorry no extra asset from Ainge. You turning down the trade in that case? Nah, I didn't think so.

Howard was dealt for Layman. I dump Wagner's deal on anyone who wants to take a shot on him and absorb his salary. That should give me some breathing room.

Lastly I accepted Boston's crappy offer lol!

[payitforward]

My strategy isn't all that different from what we did in real life because I'm starting to like the Hachimura pick.

1. Trade down from #9 to the 12-14 range and add another pick. Let's assume it's with Charlotte for #12 and #36.
2. Buy Simmons and the #42 pick from Philly for cash.
3. Make the Lakers deal for Bonga/Jones/Wagner and the 2nd round pick
4. Draft Hachimura at #12
5. Trade #36 and #42 for the #28 and draft Keldon Johnson
6. Sign Justin Robinson
7. Resign Bryant to 4/36. (I don't think 4/32 is realistic. He signed a 3/25 deal. To get the 4th year, it would cost.)
8. Resign Sato to 3/30 with the last season only $5M guaranteed.
9. Sign Noah Vonleh with a portion of the MLE: 3/10M
10. Resign Jabari Parker with Bird Rights: 3/21 with third year a TO
11. Cut Howard. Hope someone signs him for the vet minimum so we get back $2.3M in luxtax flexibility
12. Sign Iman Shumpert to a 1-year deal at $3M
13. Retain McRae

PG Sato/Robinson
SG Beal/K.Johnson
SF Brown Jr./Shumpert
PF Hachimura/Parker
C Bryant/Vonleh
End of Bench: Wagner, McRae, Mahinmi, Bonga, Wall

My team is like our current team, banking on the development of Hachimura, Bryant and Brown; except it also has Keldon Johnson who I think is a legit mid first round talent. It also has young veterans with upside in Jabari Parker and Vonleh, signed to team friendly deals for the next 3 years. Even if they never take it to the next level, they're still quality role players in this league and worth their contracts. Finally, the team has a couple of stable vets in Sato and Shumpert as lead-by-example guys who play the right way. McRae and Wagner are useful situational players at the end of the bench. A big weakness is backup PG, but Brown can soak up some minutes there or maybe Justin Robinson surprises to the upside.

The team won't suck this year though they will miss the playoffs. But everyone except Shumpert and Sato should improve over the next few years and they're all affordable for 3 more years. Shumpert and Mahinmi come off the books next year and the cap jumps, so there's some more flexibility. Next year, Wall gets back, Sato moves to backup both the 1 and 2, Johnson becomes a backup 2/3 and the entire front court improves as they mature.

I really believe that Parker can become a trade chip down the road. Guys that can score in this league have real value, and Parker can get buckets. If he just performs like he did in March and April, he will be an asset at that contract. It's why I went with Parker instead of taking the Bertans deal.

With your response to my question, you get either Hachimura or Clarke. This is good, I'd say: I believe that w/ Howard's salary, we may just slip past the tax barrier, but it's very very close!