What to do to fix our cap problems.

[yosemiteben]

Maybe, but that happens every year, no? Yet here we are with what I would guess is the best record for an 8 seed in the East in a long time.

Lol dude, look at all the tanking teams this year. You don't think that has to do anything with average teams having a record over .500?

Are there really that many more in the East than in the West? SAC, PHO, MEM, and DAL are all outright tanking, while LAL is just not good. I think this is the one year where the argument that the East is tanking to catch up to the West doesn't hold true.

WAS was blazing hot with Wall, their injuries are the only reason they are just 4 games over .500 and not 12 or 15. They are 2-8 in their last ten.

I do think the East is getting stronger. There were injuries at the top, but the conference as a whole is stronger.

[316Hornets]

Maybe, but that happens every year, no? Yet here we are with what I would guess is the best record for an 8 seed in the East in a long time.

Lol dude, look at all the tanking teams this year. You don't think that has to do anything with average teams having a record over .500?

Are there really that many more in the East than in the West? SAC, PHO, MEM, and DAL are all outright tanking, while LAL is just not good. I think this is the one year where the argument that the East is tanking to catch up to the West doesn't hold true.

WAS was blazing hot with Wall, their injuries are the only reason they are just 4 games over .500 and not 12 or 15. They are 2-8 in their last ten.

I do think the East is getting stronger. There were injuries at the top, but the conference as a whole is stronger.

Looking at the conferences as a whole. The Rockets and Warriors are in a class by themselves.

Cleveland has dropped off big this season, ATL, ORL, CHI, NYK(After Porzingis injury) are all outright tanking. Brooklyn is just bad. Then you throw in the star injuries to teams in the East (Wall, Whiteside, Parker, Hayward), and Philly is young.

If you think the East is good this year, wait until you see next season if Lebron stays in the East.

Edit: Cleveland had dropped off big until they made the trade at the ASB.

[BlackOutBuzz]

Am I the only one who doesn't see our salary after 2019 being a big deal at all?

You're right, but I REALLY doubt MJ is gonna be content with holding tight and going into next season with a .430 roster in hopes they can improve without any major changes. Plus if they still suck they run the risk of Kemba losing his patience and bolting.

It'd probably be best in the long-term to ride out another year and getting out from under a few contracts, but I have a hard time seeing them going that route. Instead I think we'll see some short-sighted moves that improve our standing for 18-19 but likely add salary to the years beyond that.

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[JDR720]

Lol dude, look at all the tanking teams this year. You don't think that has to do anything with average teams having a record over .500?

Are there really that many more in the East than in the West? SAC, PHO, MEM, and DAL are all outright tanking, while LAL is just not good. I think this is the one year where the argument that the East is tanking to catch up to the West doesn't hold true.

WAS was blazing hot with Wall, their injuries are the only reason they are just 4 games over .500 and not 12 or 15. They are 2-8 in their last ten.

I do think the East is getting stronger. There were injuries at the top, but the conference as a whole is stronger.

Looking at the conferences as a whole. The Rockets and Warriors are in a class by themselves.

Cleveland has dropped off big this season, ATL, ORL, CHI, NYK(After Porzingis injury) are all outright tanking. Brooklyn is just bad. Then you throw in the star injuries to teams in the East (Wall, Whiteside, Parker, Hayward), and Philly is young.

If you think the East is good this year, wait until you see next season if Lebron stays in the East.

Edit: Cleveland had dropped off big until they made the trade at the ASB.

We have been in this situation for the past several years. We dont really have any way to improve outside of internal development while the East teams get better and that means we get worse even though the teams talent level stays around the same.

another way to look at it: we are the worse non-tanking team in the East (2nd worst if you count the Nets) and at least one or two of those tanking teams will definitely be better next season (Knicks, with Kristaps back) and I dont really see any reason for the teams higher than us to fall off. Obviously the 76ers will be very good next season, Cleveland still has LeBron (probably), Celtics still good, dont see why Indy the Wiz or Raps fall off, the Bucks have Giannis and Miami just keeps winning for no apparent reason.

the only East team that is in a comparable situation to us is the Pistons.

[Eoghan]

Moving Zeller should help. He's too injury prone and might return something decent.

[Vanderbilt_Grad]

Moving Zeller should help. He's too injury prone and might return something decent.

Healthy Zeller is the best center on the team. I would hate to see him go, but I agree that it's a logical move given his health.

[Soul Rebel]

Am I the only one who doesn't see our salary after 2019 being a big deal at all?

You're right, but I REALLY doubt MJ is gonna be content with holding tight and going into next season with a .430 roster in hopes they can improve without any major changes. Plus if they still suck they run the risk of Kemba losing his patience and bolting.

It'd probably be best in the long-term to ride out another year and getting out from under a few contracts, but I have a hard time seeing them going that route. Instead I think we'll see some short-sighted moves that improve our standing for 18-19 but likely add salary to the years beyond that.

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So, kinda like re-living the 2016 offseason when we re-signed Batum and Marvin. Ouch....I hope not.

I hope that we can move MKG or Dwight in a package with Batum to get that off our books without having to give up a top draft pick. If we're stuck in cap hell, we can't give up top-10 picks can we? We need promising youngsters on cheap deals. Preferably not Frank, Vonleh, or DJ and more Kemba/Monk level of potential.

[Vanderbilt_Grad]

Not sure how you trade Batum without attaching a pick, especially if you don't want to take back contracts just as bad ... most of which are attached to guys playing much worse than he is. Trading Batum could be the most significant things the team could do cap wise, but I'm betting it would also be one of the more difficult.

Trading Howard is problematic cap wise, unless he's traded for another expiring like George Hill. On the other hand, if MJ is willing to pay the tax for a year or two its likely that Howard could be traded for a longer contract.

Trading one or more of MKG, Zeller, or Marv for slightly less salary back could help the team avoid the tax. MKG is the guy I want moved the most of those 3.

Easiest solution to tax issues would be to trade Lamb for space or a draft pick, but it's one of the ones I'm least comfortable with. He played better than any of the guys mentioned above last year. If the team wants to win in order to keep Kemba, then trading Lamb would have more negative impact than any of the other potential moves.

The team is in a bad spot now and I'll be interested to see what Mitch does with it. I hope they don't trade Kemba to get out of this, but I accept that it's a realistic possibility depending on how he feels about staying and what kinds of deals are out there for any of the other guys mentioned.

[Lwcasu]

Moving Zeller should help. He's too injury prone and might return something decent.

Healthy Zeller is the best center on the team. I would hate to see him go, but I agree that it's a logical move given his health.

You're right, but he doesn't have the most potential; Hernangomez does. At this point, if we can move away from Zeller and his salary without taking anything back, it would be a no-brainer.

[HornetJail]

How quickly we forget how good healthy Zeller is

[countryboi]

How quickly we forget how good healthy Zeller is

the best ability is availability, he hasnt been healthy in a year and a half.

[HornetJail]

How quickly we forget how good healthy Zeller is

the best ability is availability, he hasnt been healthy in a year and a half.

Not wrong, but when we're talking about "potential", we're usually talking about a realistic best scenario. I think a realistic best scenario includes Zeller staying relatively healthy- it's not like he has a chronic issue that can't be fixed. I like Willy but his skillset isn't that of a starting center.

[Eoghan]

Healthy Zeller is still a questionable starter.