Free Agent, Trade & Extensions Thread, 2024-25

[neno]

We'd have whites bird rights come free agency correct?

[Hal14]

We'd have whites bird rights come free agency correct?

Yes..we'll probably extend him before he hits free agency though..

[Hal14]

Doubt that we extend White. Hope I'm wrong, and not saying we won't eventually keep him, but the math doesn't math for us this offseason. We can only start his next contract at a 40% raise off the last year of his current deal. You math that out with the max allowable raises and White would just be much better off waiting a year. He can sign for more by waiting until free agency. I think it comes out to something like $28M/year if he extends this offseason. A max contract, for comparison would start at a projected $46.53M his free agency year and go up form there. So a max player gets over $50M year. White isn't a max player, but if a max is $50M he's not a $28M/year player either. He'd be leaving probably at least $60-70M over the course of a 4 year deal to extend next year vs. play out the year and then re-sign.

This article from today says that White plans on seeking a contract extension this offseason.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10124268-celtics-rumors-derrick-white-to-seek-contract-extension-during-2024-nba-offseason

Makes sense. Most guys try to secure the bag and sign a long term extension as soon as they're able to do so, rather than betting on themself, going into free agency with the hopes of making a few extra bucks.

I mean, you think about it. Over the past few years, star players pretty much always sign an extension with a year left on their current contract. Not many stars these days actually go into free agency. And when they do, it's because something went wrong with negotiations to get an extension done with their current team, so they end up getting traded somewhere else (like what happened with Brunson).

With Brunson, it seemed like it was a combination of him wanting to be THE guy and get out of Luka's shadow..and Dallas just not wanting to pay the kind of $ to Brunson that he was looking for.

But with White, it seems to be very mutual - he loves it in Boston..and the celtics love him. So mine as well make that love official by inking a long term extension. That way both parties can breathe a sigh of relief, sleep. easy at night knowing they got it done..and neither party has a dark cloud hovering over its head throughout the 24-25 season, by having White go into free agency in the summer of 2025.

Sure, White could maybe make a few more bucks if he waits till 2025 offseason. But he doesn't seem like the type of guy to play hard ball over a few extra bucks. He's a simple man..dude walks around in sweatpants and goofy t-shirts all the time and has bad haircuts before finally shaving his. hair off haha. Dude is the most humble player in the league.

Plus, Jrue left some $ on the table on his extension. So did KP last summer. Pritchard signed a team friendly extension too. Seems like all of these guys (except the Jays who will be on supermaxes) are sacrificing a little bit of $ in order for this team to have as good of a roster from top to bottom as possible.

[snowman]

Horford and Holiday are the only players over 30 on the team. White will turn 30 July 2nd. Still a very young team overall. Keep them together as long as possible. I think Brad will try and keep Tillman and Kornet, along with Queta, considering the health of Porzingis and Horford's age. Got to keep them boys fresh as much as possible.

The only ones I see that may not be on the roster next season is;

Svi seems like a bad defender and only decent shooter (probably not back)

Brissett does not shoot well, could be traded after he picks up his player option, although Joe seems to like his hustle. (probably back until / if someone better comes along)

Springer may not work out, and next season is getting paid more than Walsh, Hauser, Queta, Kornet, Tillman and Brissett. He better show out during this off season and summer league if he plays, or he could be traded. He is entering his 4th season, and most players show out the season.

Walsh could be moved but I highly it this offseason. Brad will do the old wait and see what happens and if he can make an upward move.

[hugepatsfan]

Doubt that we extend White. Hope I'm wrong, and not saying we won't eventually keep him, but the math doesn't math for us this offseason. We can only start his next contract at a 40% raise off the last year of his current deal. You math that out with the max allowable raises and White would just be much better off waiting a year. He can sign for more by waiting until free agency. I think it comes out to something like $28M/year if he extends this offseason. A max contract, for comparison would start at a projected $46.53M his free agency year and go up form there. So a max player gets over $50M year. White isn't a max player, but if a max is $50M he's not a $28M/year player either. He'd be leaving probably at least $60-70M over the course of a 4 year deal to extend next year vs. play out the year and then re-sign.

This article from today says that White plans on seeking a contract extension this offseason.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10124268-celtics-rumors-derrick-white-to-seek-contract-extension-during-2024-nba-offseason

Makes sense. Most guys try to secure the bag and sign a long term extension as soon as they're able to do so, rather than betting on themself, going into free agency with the hopes of making a few extra bucks.

I mean, you think about it. Over the past few years, star players pretty much always sign an extension with a year left on their current contract. Not many stars these days actually go into free agency. And when they do, it's because something went wrong with negotiations to get an extension done with their current team, so they end up getting traded somewhere else (like what happened with Brunson).

With Brunson, it seemed like it was a combination of him wanting to be THE guy and get out of Luka's shadow..and Dallas just not wanting to pay the kind of $ to Brunson that he was looking for.

But with White, it seems to be very mutual - he loves it in Boston..and the celtics love him. So mine as well make that love official by inking a long term extension. That way both parties can breathe a sigh of relief, sleep. easy at night knowing they got it done..and neither party has a dark cloud hovering over its head throughout the 24-25 season, by having White go into free agency in the summer of 2025.

Sure, White could maybe make a few more bucks if he waits till 2025 offseason. But he doesn't seem like the type of guy to play hard ball over a few extra bucks. He's a simple man..dude walks around in sweatpants and goofy t-shirts all the time and has bad haircuts before finally shaving his. hair off haha. Dude is the most humble player in the league.

Plus, Jrue left some $ on the table on his extension. So did KP last summer. Pritchard signed a team friendly extension too. Seems like all of these guys (except the Jays who will be on supermaxes) are sacrificing a little bit of $ in order for this team to have as good of a roster from top to bottom as possible.

That's be great if we can lock him up. Very encouraging report.

I agree he seems like the type to leave some money on the table. I don't think he'd push for every single extra dollar over signing a year early. But it just gets complicated with him because there's a cap to what we can offer. I looked it up and we're limited to a 4 year, $123M extension for him. For comparison, Fred VanVleet just signed this past offseason for $128M... over just 3 years. White will be hitting FA 2 years older, but probably still gets that AAV over a 4 year deal. Probably more, since the new TV deal will mean a higher cap and inflate all salaries. Project it out, and White is leaving at least ~$45M on the table by extending this year vs waiting until free agency.

Entering free agency, White will have made $78.9M career earnings. So you're asking him to forego almost 60% (at least) of his entire career earnings to date. I'm not saying if he did make it to free agency after playing out next year that he wouldn't take somewhat less to stay here. But $45M is a lot of money. Until ink hits paper I'll always be somewhat skeptical that he'll extend early. I do believe we ultimately keep him though.

[hugepatsfan]

We have 12 players under contract for next year right now plus one 1st round pick cap hold. That puts us about $5.4M over the 2nd apron.

Springer is making $4.0M and Pritchard is making $7.0M. If they never traded for Springer and didn't extend Pritchard we wouldn't even be a 2nd apron team. Stevens is obviously consulting with ownership on the moves he makes. He chose to trade for Springer and he chose to extend Pritchard. It's definitely a little "unorthodox" if they stay in the 2nd apron to keep their 7th/8th man and a 3rd unit player. The fact that Stevens is making those deals definitely gives some credibility to the idea that ownership is willing to spend big like they say. If it was all lip service and they weren't really prepared to back the talk up, it just wouldn't make logical sense to do the Pritchard extension or Springer trade. They're not at all the caliber of players you keep if it puts you into the 2nd apron if ownership is uneasy about it. Speaks well to the idea that we'll keep this team together for a while because it shows real willingness to spend.

[Fierce1]

White at 4 years for 123m is a good deal for both sides.

No need for White to risk injury to become an UFA in 2025.

30m per year is a lot of money.

The Jays plus KP, White, and Jrue can win 3 championships if the Cs win this year.

A 4th chip in the early 2030s is also a possibility.

4 chips in 8 years should be the goal.

[Hal14]

Doubt that we extend White. Hope I'm wrong, and not saying we won't eventually keep him, but the math doesn't math for us this offseason. We can only start his next contract at a 40% raise off the last year of his current deal. You math that out with the max allowable raises and White would just be much better off waiting a year. He can sign for more by waiting until free agency. I think it comes out to something like $28M/year if he extends this offseason. A max contract, for comparison would start at a projected $46.53M his free agency year and go up form there. So a max player gets over $50M year. White isn't a max player, but if a max is $50M he's not a $28M/year player either. He'd be leaving probably at least $60-70M over the course of a 4 year deal to extend next year vs. play out the year and then re-sign.

This article from today says that White plans on seeking a contract extension this offseason.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10124268-celtics-rumors-derrick-white-to-seek-contract-extension-during-2024-nba-offseason

Makes sense. Most guys try to secure the bag and sign a long term extension as soon as they're able to do so, rather than betting on themself, going into free agency with the hopes of making a few extra bucks.

I mean, you think about it. Over the past few years, star players pretty much always sign an extension with a year left on their current contract. Not many stars these days actually go into free agency. And when they do, it's because something went wrong with negotiations to get an extension done with their current team, so they end up getting traded somewhere else (like what happened with Brunson).

With Brunson, it seemed like it was a combination of him wanting to be THE guy and get out of Luka's shadow..and Dallas just not wanting to pay the kind of $ to Brunson that he was looking for.

But with White, it seems to be very mutual - he loves it in Boston..and the celtics love him. So mine as well make that love official by inking a long term extension. That way both parties can breathe a sigh of relief, sleep. easy at night knowing they got it done..and neither party has a dark cloud hovering over its head throughout the 24-25 season, by having White go into free agency in the summer of 2025.

Sure, White could maybe make a few more bucks if he waits till 2025 offseason. But he doesn't seem like the type of guy to play hard ball over a few extra bucks. He's a simple man..dude walks around in sweatpants and goofy t-shirts all the time and has bad haircuts before finally shaving his. hair off haha. Dude is the most humble player in the league.

Plus, Jrue left some $ on the table on his extension. So did KP last summer. Pritchard signed a team friendly extension too. Seems like all of these guys (except the Jays who will be on supermaxes) are sacrificing a little bit of $ in order for this team to have as good of a roster from top to bottom as possible.

That's be great if we can lock him up. Very encouraging report.

I agree he seems like the type to leave some money on the table. I don't think he'd push for every single extra dollar over signing a year early. But it just gets complicated with him because there's a cap to what we can offer. I looked it up and we're limited to a 4 year, $123M extension for him. For comparison, Fred VanVleet just signed this past offseason for $128M... over just 3 years. White will be hitting FA 2 years older, but probably still gets that AAV over a 4 year deal. Probably more, since the new TV deal will mean a higher cap and inflate all salaries. Project it out, and White is leaving at least ~$45M on the table by extending this year vs waiting until free agency.

Entering free agency, White will have made $78.9M career earnings. So you're asking him to forego almost 60% (at least) of his entire career earnings to date. I'm not saying if he did make it to free agency after playing out next year that he wouldn't take somewhat less to stay here. But $45M is a lot of money. Until ink hits paper I'll always be somewhat skeptical that he'll extend early. I do believe we ultimately keep him though.

Everyone knows that Vanvleet deal was a massive overpay by Houston.

a) Houston went nuts last offseason overpaying for everyone (Vanvleet, Jeff Green, Brooks, Landale, etc.)
b) there was a give and take with that contract. Vanvleet agreed to take less yrs on the deal, in exchange for more $ per year

[Celts17Pride]

Rumor: Thunder most likely to poach Isaiah Hartenstein from Knicks

https://www.nbcsports.com/nba/news/rumor-thunder-most-likely-to-poach-isaiah-hartenstein-from-knicks

Enter the Oklahoma City Thunder, Stephan Bondy of the New York Post writes.

The Thunder is viewed by NBA sources as the top threat to pry Hartenstein away from the Knicks in free agency... The Thunder has roughly $35 million in cap space and a glut of draft assets to build on its surprising success last season.

“It’s real,” an NBA source said of OKC’s interest in Hartenstein.

[BK_2020]

Rumor: Thunder most likely to poach Isaiah Hartenstein from Knicks

https://www.nbcsports.com/nba/news/rumor-thunder-most-likely-to-poach-isaiah-hartenstein-from-knicks

Enter the Oklahoma City Thunder, Stephan Bondy of the New York Post writes.

The Thunder is viewed by NBA sources as the top threat to pry Hartenstein away from the Knicks in free agency... The Thunder has roughly $35 million in cap space and a glut of draft assets to build on its surprising success last season.

“It’s real,” an NBA source said of OKC’s interest in Hartenstein.

Hartenstein would be a great fit in OKC as a backup. He's not a shooter but he's a good passer and will make their 2nd unit more formidable, possibly even play some double big with Chet although that neuters Chet's strengths somewhat.

[165bows]

We have 12 players under contract for next year right now plus one 1st round pick cap hold. That puts us about $5.4M over the 2nd apron.

Springer is making $4.0M and Pritchard is making $7.0M. If they never traded for Springer and didn't extend Pritchard we wouldn't even be a 2nd apron team. Stevens is obviously consulting with ownership on the moves he makes. He chose to trade for Springer and he chose to extend Pritchard. It's definitely a little "unorthodox" if they stay in the 2nd apron to keep their 7th/8th man and a 3rd unit player. The fact that Stevens is making those deals definitely gives some credibility to the idea that ownership is willing to spend big like they say. If it was all lip service and they weren't really prepared to back the talk up, it just wouldn't make logical sense to do the Pritchard extension or Springer trade. They're not at all the caliber of players you keep if it puts you into the 2nd apron if ownership is uneasy about it. Speaks well to the idea that we'll keep this team together for a while because it shows real willingness to spend.

Totally agree on that interpretation of the Springer trade. If they were close to the limit of what they could spend that move would have made absolutely no sense. Not sure how high they go but they aren't close to penny pinching yet.

Maybe year after next, we will see.

[hugepatsfan]

https://bluffcitymedia.co/jake-laravia-opened-eyes-through-opportunity/#:~:text=For%20the%20season%2C%20Laravia%20averaged,the%20line%20for%20the%20season.

Season review for MEM PF Jake LaRavia. And here's a scouting report going back to when he was the 19th pick in the '22 draft:

https://nbadraftroom.com/jake-laravia/

IDK, seems like maybe he's got some Grant Williams to his game. We don't really have a PF behind Tatum. He's probably on the outskirts of MEM's rotation. He'd come with 2 rookie years. We can acquire him for Jaden Springer from a salary match standpoint, even over the apron. We'd have to add pick(s) to it for it to be worth MEM's while, but maybe a realistic idea to explore?

[Smart2Nesmith43]

That's be great if we can lock him up. Very encouraging report.

I agree he seems like the type to leave some money on the table. I don't think he'd push for every single extra dollar over signing a year early. But it just gets complicated with him because there's a cap to what we can offer. I looked it up and we're limited to a 4 year, $123M extension for him. For comparison, Fred VanVleet just signed this past offseason for $128M... over just 3 years. White will be hitting FA 2 years older, but probably still gets that AAV over a 4 year deal. Probably more, since the new TV deal will mean a higher cap and inflate all salaries. Project it out, and White is leaving at least ~$45M on the table by extending this year vs waiting until free agency.

Entering free agency, White will have made $78.9M career earnings. So you're asking him to forego almost 60% (at least) of his entire career earnings to date. I'm not saying if he did make it to free agency after playing out next year that he wouldn't take somewhat less to stay here. But $45M is a lot of money. Until ink hits paper I'll always be somewhat skeptical that he'll extend early. I do believe we ultimately keep him though.

It cuts both way. By waiting an extra year before extending, you are asking him to pass on the chance to lock in a contract that would basically triple his career earnings. That's not easy to do.

45 millions is a lot of money but context matters. Going from 0 to 45 millions is a lot different than from 130 to 175. In the second case, it doesn't really affect your lifestyle (anything you can afford to buy when making 40 millions a year you can afford to buy when making 30 millions a year). There's just not enough upside and too much downside* to justify passing on that extension especially if he enjoys playing on his current team which by all accounts he does.

* I love White but he is not the kind of guy that will get max offers regardless of what happens next season. If his shooting slumps, he gets injured, or whatever else might come up, I think GMs can and will (stupidly) talk themselves out of giving him a massive contract and he might be looking at a Schröder situation instead of an increased pay day.

[Hal14]

We have 12 players under contract for next year right now plus one 1st round pick cap hold. That puts us about $5.4M over the 2nd apron.

Springer is making $4.0M and Pritchard is making $7.0M. If they never traded for Springer and didn't extend Pritchard we wouldn't even be a 2nd apron team. Stevens is obviously consulting with ownership on the moves he makes. He chose to trade for Springer and he chose to extend Pritchard. It's definitely a little "unorthodox" if they stay in the 2nd apron to keep their 7th/8th man and a 3rd unit player. The fact that Stevens is making those deals definitely gives some credibility to the idea that ownership is willing to spend big like they say. If it was all lip service and they weren't really prepared to back the talk up, it just wouldn't make logical sense to do the Pritchard extension or Springer trade. They're not at all the caliber of players you keep if it puts you into the 2nd apron if ownership is uneasy about it. Speaks well to the idea that we'll keep this team together for a while because it shows real willingness to spend.

Good post.

IMO, those moves:

a) Show that ownership is truly willing to spend
b) shows that Brad/Joe truly see something in both Pritchard and Springer..and they see both of them as guys who can contribute for this team
c) Plus, their contracts are both good for salary matching. So it's a win-win for the Celtics. Either they play well and contribute to championships, or we use their salary in a trade..

[Hal14]

https://bluffcitymedia.co/jake-laravia-opened-eyes-through-opportunity/#:~:text=For%20the%20season%2C%20Laravia%20averaged,the%20line%20for%20the%20season.

Season review for MEM PF Jake LaRavia. And here's a scouting report going back to when he was the 19th pick in the '22 draft:

https://nbadraftroom.com/jake-laravia/

IDK, seems like maybe he's got some Grant Williams to his game. We don't really have a PF behind Tatum. He's probably on the outskirts of MEM's rotation. He'd come with 2 rookie years. We can acquire him for Jaden Springer from a salary match standpoint, even over the apron. We'd have to add pick(s) to it for it to be worth MEM's while, but maybe a realistic idea to explore?

Interesting idea.

LaRavia did come on strong towards the end of the season..had some big games for them..like 3 or 4 games where he had 20+ points, was shooting it well.

But idk, that seems like a pretty lateral move, going from Springer to LaRavia. Springer is arguably the better player, and he's younger..so I doubt we would be cool with adding picks trading away picks in this deal.

Also, you don't want to get too excited over a few big games in April by a guy on a ranking team. We always see pretty random guys have flukey performances in April on lottery teams.

And if we preferred LaRavia to Springer, I'm sure we would have traded for LaRavia instead of Springer at the trade deadline.

Lastly, LaRavia has some talent, for sure. But I think we have pretty much everything covered that he brings to the table, with Hauser..

[threrf23]

I would take LaRavia over Springer in a heartbeat if we are talking straight up, he is good enough to be a rotation player off of the bat, and he probably has better upside in addition. He is something like a better version of the Scal/Brian Cardinal prototype, IMO.

Nothing against Springer: a.) he makes for a good situational role player as is, b.) brings defense and energy to our practice floor, c.) would be spoken of as a good first round pick if he were draft eligible, and d.) he gives us a tradeable contract. LaRavia is just more valuable.

But I agree that LaRavia would be a bit redundant and maybe useless alongside Hauser and Tillman.

[Hal14]

Ok so I've got this theory..(more anecdotal, no data to back it up) but it seems to me like bigs are more injury prone than other positions.

Embiid is always hurt, so is Time Lord, Porzingis. Past couple yrs Steven Adams is always injured. Anthony Davis has been hurt a lot over the years. Nerlens Noel, Cousins, Whiteside, Wendell Carter Jr, injury prone. KAT too.

Pretty much every big except Horford and Jokic is hurt a lot.

So this is what I think we should maybe do: punt the center position. Trade KP this offseason. Put almost all of our $ into the other 4 positions. Just carry a few centers on the roster but all on cheap contracts (guys like Al till he retires, Kornet, Tillman, Queta).

Guys on cheap contracts who know our system, can go in there and just do their job, not mess anything up too bad. We have a few of them and just rotate them in and out of the lineup..none of them will be stars so none will be playing big mins each game, so we'll rotate 2 or 3 of them each game.

No more double big lineups..or at least if we go double big, it'll be VERY rare. Even try Brissett more as a small ball 5 (assuming he picks up his option next year). He's got a 7'0" wingspan and rebounds like a mad man, so no reason he can't play small ball 5 in short stints here and there. And Tatum rebounds well, is about 6'9" and 235 lbs so he can also play some small ball 5.

We can do what Golden State did for a couple of years. They cared very little about who was gonna play the 5..put all their energy and their $ into the other 4 positions..just put in guys like Zaza Pachulia, Looney, Andrew Bogut and past his prime Cousins at the 5..rotating them in and out, sometimes with Draymond as a small ball 5. And they won 4 titles.

Brad might be thinking this as well, as he's brought in like 6 guys for a pre-draft workout this year who are PF / small ball 5 type of guys and only 1 true center..and that one true center (Jesse Edwards) is not even projected to get drafted (would likely be a UDFA pickup) and Edwards size, the way he moves, his play style is very similar to Luke Kornet.

Lastly, Brad has also shown that he has no problem with trading a guy who is damaged goods. He did it with Kemba (got rid of bad knees Kemba literally as soon as he took a front office job), he did it with Gallo, he did it with Rob and Malcolm. Smart also was pretty injury prone over the last few yrs he was in Boston. It wouldn't shock me if the trend (of Brad trading injured guys) continues with KP..

[165bows]

https://bluffcitymedia.co/jake-laravia-opened-eyes-through-opportunity/#:~:text=For%20the%20season%2C%20Laravia%20averaged,the%20line%20for%20the%20season.

Season review for MEM PF Jake LaRavia. And here's a scouting report going back to when he was the 19th pick in the '22 draft:

https://nbadraftroom.com/jake-laravia/

IDK, seems like maybe he's got some Grant Williams to his game. We don't really have a PF behind Tatum. He's probably on the outskirts of MEM's rotation. He'd come with 2 rookie years. We can acquire him for Jaden Springer from a salary match standpoint, even over the apron. We'd have to add pick(s) to it for it to be worth MEM's while, but maybe a realistic idea to explore?

I know some people hate him but my man Dean on Draft loved this guy pre-draft I remember that. Doesn’t seem to have panned out that well yet.

Celtics’ trouble with these guys is the opposite of most good teams that get top heavy and desperate for depth. Meanwhile Brad’s got this team where there is no room for guys to get minutes and hardly any free roster spots for developmental guys.

Long story short I’m okay with Laravia mainly due to nostalgia but I like what’s he’s done with having some raw-er athlete types on the back burner in Queta, Springer and Walsh.

Imo Brad thinks this team will need some additional athleticism and physicality and has stacked a few lotto tickets in that direction to supplement his core group.

[165bows]

Ok so I've got this theory..(more anecdotal, no data to back it up) but it seems to me like bigs are more injury prone than other positions.

Embiid is always hurt, so is Time Lord, Porzingis. Past couple yrs Steven Adams is always injured. Anthony Davis has been hurt a lot over the years. Nerlens Noel, Cousins, Whiteside, Wendell Carter Jr, injury prone. KAT too.

Pretty much every big except Horford and Jokic is hurt a lot.

So this is what I think we should maybe do: punt the center position. Trade KP this offseason. Put almost all of our $ into the other 4 positions. Just carry a few centers on the roster but all on cheap contracts (guys like Al till he retires, Kornet, Tillman, Queta).

Guys on cheap contracts who know our system, can go in there and just do their job, not mess anything up too bad. We have a few of them and just rotate them in and out of the lineup..none of them will be stars so none will be playing big mins each game, so we'll rotate 2 or 3 of them each game.

No more double big lineups..or at least if we go double big, it'll be VERY rare. Even try Brissett more as a small ball 5 (assuming he picks up his option next year). He's got a 7'0" wingspan and rebounds like a mad man, so no reason he can't play small ball 5 in short stints here and there. And Tatum rebounds well, is about 6'9" and 235 lbs so he can also play some small ball 5.

We can do what Golden State did for a couple of years. They cared very little about who was gonna play the 5..put all their energy and their $ into the other 4 positions..just put in guys like Zaza Pachulia, Looney, Andrew Bogut and past his prime Cousins at the 5..rotating them in and out, sometimes with Draymond as a small ball 5. And they won 4 titles.

Brad might be thinking this as well, as he's brought in like 6 guys for a pre-draft workout this year who are PF / small ball 5 type of guys and only 1 true center..and that one true center (Jesse Edwards) is not even projected to get drafted (would likely be a UDFA pickup) and Edwards size, the way he moves, his play style is very similar to Luke Kornet.

Edwards reminds me a lot of Dwight Powell. Similar kind of long neck and head lol.

[Hal14]

Ok so I've got this theory..(more anecdotal, no data to back it up) but it seems to me like bigs are more injury prone than other positions.

Embiid is always hurt, so is Time Lord, Porzingis. Past couple yrs Steven Adams is always injured. Anthony Davis has been hurt a lot over the years. Nerlens Noel, Cousins, Whiteside, Wendell Carter Jr, injury prone. KAT too.

Pretty much every big except Horford and Jokic is hurt a lot.

So this is what I think we should maybe do: punt the center position. Trade KP this offseason. Put almost all of our $ into the other 4 positions. Just carry a few centers on the roster but all on cheap contracts (guys like Al till he retires, Kornet, Tillman, Queta).

Guys on cheap contracts who know our system, can go in there and just do their job, not mess anything up too bad. We have a few of them and just rotate them in and out of the lineup..none of them will be stars so none will be playing big mins each game, so we'll rotate 2 or 3 of them each game.

No more double big lineups..or at least if we go double big, it'll be VERY rare. Even try Brissett more as a small ball 5 (assuming he picks up his option next year). He's got a 7'0" wingspan and rebounds like a mad man, so no reason he can't play small ball 5 in short stints here and there. And Tatum rebounds well, is about 6'9" and 235 lbs so he can also play some small ball 5.

We can do what Golden State did for a couple of years. They cared very little about who was gonna play the 5..put all their energy and their $ into the other 4 positions..just put in guys like Zaza Pachulia, Looney, Andrew Bogut and past his prime Cousins at the 5..rotating them in and out, sometimes with Draymond as a small ball 5. And they won 4 titles.

Brad might be thinking this as well, as he's brought in like 6 guys for a pre-draft workout this year who are PF / small ball 5 type of guys and only 1 true center..and that one true center (Jesse Edwards) is not even projected to get drafted (would likely be a UDFA pickup) and Edwards size, the way he moves, his play style is very similar to Luke Kornet.

Edwards reminds me a lot of Dwight Powell. Similar kind of long neck and head lol.

Yeah..Edwards reminds me more of Kornet, but I can see the Powell comp as well.

If he's like them, it's a great UDFA pickup.

Edwards looks more like Powell in the face, at least haha..