Fake Trade Thread 16/17 pt.1

[catch20two]

I’m surprised I haven’t seen a plethora of trade proposals for Mario Hezonja yet.

Not much point in trading for a guy that will be an UFA next offseason.

It is if he has the skill level I was told to believe he does. He’s grown a few inches and could be used as a stretch 4 nowadays as well.

[HornetJail]

I’m surprised I haven’t seen a plethora of trade proposals for Mario Hezonja yet.

i'd be all over him if we didn't have six different wings that we already will struggle to give enough minutes to once we're healthy

[yosemiteben]

I’m surprised I haven’t seen a plethora of trade proposals for Mario Hezonja yet.

Not much point in trading for a guy that will be an UFA next offseason.

It is if he has the skill level I was told to believe he does. He’s grown a few inches and could be used as a stretch 4 nowadays as well.

I mean it seems pretty clear at this point this his talent level was exaggerated, no?

It's not like ORL is desperate for roster spots or in a position to cut bait on a top 5 pick.

[Braggins]

Kemba + Kaminsky for Hezonja + ... BIYOMBO!!!!!

[bravor]

Hezonja is a real talent, but as he is defensively limited (much better than Belinelli though), they had to chose between him and Fournier - defensive liability like everyone knows - in terms of development i assume. In Europe, he deservedly was a star.
He is still a pretty good offensive weapon in the right place (i would say Detroit on top of my head), but he would be a bad fit here.

He has more talent than Bogdanovic (his countrymate the croat, not the serb).

[Vanderbilt_Grad]

From the Magic board, with one poster answering another:

Mario doesn't look like an NBA player, how is he perfect?

- The kid has clearly had his growth stunted with the coaching/front office mess - really? he looked trash then looks trash now
- He's a legit 6'9/6'10 and very athletic - so are many other guys who drop out of the nba
- He can shoot the 3 and see the floor like a PG. - he can barely dribble and he is the most inconsistent hyped "shooter" i've seen in years
- How many position's can he legitimately play? Switching IS the NBA. - I don't think he can legit play a single position in the nba right now
- He struggles defensively but it's between the ears and he's getting slowly better. - he's had how many chances to show some effort on d now?
- He's still just a kid who's had zero consistency of playing time or support for him. - he had stretches of consistency and he looked trash, at no point has he looked like he deserves more minutes, he hangs his head and sulks, shows zero effort on d, barely moves off the ball, he just isn't good

Declining his option is fine because no one else will be lining up to pay him big and there's a real chance unless he improves somehow during this season he could be back in europe.

And another

I feel bad for Mario. I think he really felt he was going to be a star and could hang in this league.

I don't think he realised how tough the NBA is, I can excuse the lack of dribbling ability and sketchy shooting if he was putting in hustle in other areas but he just never showed like he wanted to work hard to earn minutes.

[Braggins]

I'd be down to sign Hezonja to a cheap deal on the off chance that he gets his head straight. Seems his problem is probably more of a mental thing than a lack of ability. He probably thought he could come to the league and be really good right away just off sheer talent and hasn't been able to deal with the realization that he actually needs to put in a ton of work and be willing to learn/change in order to be an NBA player (like 98% of prospects that come into the league). He probably won't ever make the adjustment, but he has too much size/athleticism and possible shooting ability to completely give up on so young. I understand it from Orlando's perspective, but it seems like some team should keep him around for another year or two if he still wants to try to make it in the league.

[spaceballer]

In addition to him not being as good as early expectations, you also have the fact that Orlando had a management change this year.

So the top-5 pick label doesn't hold as much weight nor give the benefit of the doubt in any edge cases to hold on longer for a roll of the dice, since the new Gm is not as invested in his predecessor's picks. He may not share his predecessor's vision and won't suffer reputation effects as much for the failure of a top-5 draft pick failure where the blame can be ascribed to the previous regime.

There are many cases of regime changes with new management coming in and cleaning house with a desire to make their own mark on the franchise and enact a their own vision. Happens with many franchises and even organizations outside basketball (just look at the changing of the guard whenever a new government is voted in, or when a a new network executive takes over and axes the TV shows greenlit by a predecessor). So if it is a coinflip between cutting bait or continuing to invest in a failed draft pick by a predecessor, the underwhelming player usually isn't favored.

A high draft slot is no protection, nor should it be, since you can now judge them by the body of their work, like with Anthony Bennett or Thomas Robinson. Sometimes a change in environment and further development works (many guys cut early found new life and a resurgence later in their career), sometimes it doesn't.

[amcoolio]

Wonder if CLE keeps struggling they try to get more bodies and defense around Lebron. Kevin Love would be a good fit next to Dwight and the "LeBron effect" could work for him as it did Kyrie. Marvin Williams, Cody Zeller for Love?

Even with Batum coming back we don't have the talent to match up with the best teams in the East with our roster, but this gives us a crunch time lineup of Kemba/Batum/MKG or Lamb/Love/Dwight and lets Frank play his natural position of C off the bench

[316Hornets]

Jeremy Lamb & MKG(or Marvin)
for
Devin Harris & Wes Matthews & Dallas 2018 1st(top 8 protected). If 2018 doesn't transfer, then 2019(top 5 protected), otherwise 2020.

I do this trade to get max value for Lamb since we probably can't afford his next contract anyway. Get a good draft piece to build around Kemba's max contract and peak years.

[yosemiteben]

That is a terrible trade IMO. Just poor value for us.

[catch20two]

I do this trade to get max value for Lamb since we probably can't afford his next contract anyway. Get a good draft piece to build around Kemba's max contract and peak years.

I’d rather try to afford Lamb’s next contract entering his prime than pay Batum his current contract going into his demise. Lamb should be a keeper for this organization but I’ve been in the minority about that for years.

[yosemiteben]

I’d rather try to afford Lamb’s next contract entering his prime than pay Batum his current contract going into his demise.

Lamb and Batum are only three years apart in age though.

[316Hornets]

I do this trade to get max value for Lamb since we probably can't afford his next contract anyway. Get a good draft piece to build around Kemba's max contract and peak years.

I’d rather try to afford Lamb’s next contract entering his prime than pay Batum his current contract going into his demise. Lamb should be a keeper for this organization but I’ve been in the minority about that for years.

I'm all for that plan, but we picked Monk and all signs say he's going to be a starter before his rookie contract ends. So, there's no reason to have a Lamb in his prime and Monk trying to earn minutes too. I'd rather trade Lamb now at max value and then focus on building around Kemba and Monk for the next 4-5 years. We take a step back this year and possibly next, but it's not like we have a great shot at getting past Cleveland or GS anyway.

Nobody is going to take Batum's contract unless we throw in a 1st and Frank or Zeller.

[316Hornets]

I’d rather try to afford Lamb’s next contract entering his prime than pay Batum his current contract going into his demise.

Lamb and Batum are only three years apart in age though.

Lamb is 25, Batum turns 29 next month.

[Joest2003]

I’d rather try to afford Lamb’s next contract entering his prime than pay Batum his current contract going into his demise.

Lamb and Batum are only three years apart in age though.

OK so we should trade Lamb then right?

[catch20two]

I’d rather try to afford Lamb’s next contract entering his prime than pay Batum his current contract going into his demise.

Lamb and Batum are only three years apart in age though.

A lot of wear and tear on Batum’s body between being in the league for a decade and playing for France during several offseasons.

[316Hornets]

If Rich Cho could pull off another miracle, like he did with Plumlee, to trade Batum away without destroying our depth, then that would be amazing. Otherwise, we have to figure out how Lamb and Monk fit into our future plans.

[catch20two]

Monk...all signs say he's going to be a starter before his rookie contract ends.

I disagree with “all signs” saying that he’ll be a starter before his rookie contract ends. He may very well just become only a great scoring combo guard off the bench. Lamb can play either wing position and is one of the better rebounding wings in the league advanced numbers considered so it wouldn’t be that difficult for him to be the other starting wing alongside Monk.

[yosemiteben]

I’d rather try to afford Lamb’s next contract entering his prime than pay Batum his current contract going into his demise.

Lamb and Batum are only three years apart in age though.

OK so we should trade Lamb then right?

I mean I'd consider it just like I would a Batum trade. Don't want to trade either, but would depending on what comes back. I think we are in desperate need of passing and ball movement, so trading Batum doesn't make a ton of sense to me from a team building perspective.

I can't wait for all the Dwight - Batum lobs.