The Real Problem -- Lack of a True Point Guard

[snowman]

At least until season's end, why don't we just move Richardson into the 2 slot, keep Smart at the 1. Let those 2 do more of the setting the table for Brown and Tatum. Move Brown back to the 3, Tatum back to the 4 and Rob as the 5. Do away with the 2 big line up. Makes us a quicker team, and a better shooting team to start games off.

This would allow Horford to come off the bench, work against more backup's, with Schroder and the young guys, (sounds like a band, lol) Grant at backup PF, Nesmith at the back up 3 and Langford at the back up 2 and PP in as designated shooter, back up 1.

[sam_I_am]

At least until season's end, why don't we just move Richardson into the 2 slot, keep Smart at the 1. Let those 2 do more of the setting the table for Brown and Tatum. Move Brown back to the 3, Tatum back to the 4 and Rob as the 5. Do away with the 2 big line up. Makes us a quicker team, and a better shooting team to start games off.

This would allow Horford to come off the bench, work against more backup's, with Schroder and the young guys, (sounds like a band, lol) Grant at backup PF, Nesmith at the back up 3 and Langford at the back up 2 and PP in as designated shooter, back up 1.

I 100% agree. Horford’ s value right now is as a great backup to Rob. Both are 20-28 minute players anyway, let them share the job.

Whether you want Grant, JRich, Dennis or whoever as the fifth guy on any given day is fine.

[zoyathedestroya]

At least until season's end, why don't we just move Richardson into the 2 slot, keep Smart at the 1. Let those 2 do more of the setting the table for Brown and Tatum. Move Brown back to the 3, Tatum back to the 4 and Rob as the 5. Do away with the 2 big line up. Makes us a quicker team, and a better shooting team to start games off.

This would allow Horford to come off the bench, work against more backup's, with Schroder and the young guys, (sounds like a band, lol) Grant at backup PF, Nesmith at the back up 3 and Langford at the back up 2 and PP in as designated shooter, back up 1.

We have a very stubborn coach.

[greenroom31]

At least until season's end, why don't we just move Richardson into the 2 slot, keep Smart at the 1. Let those 2 do more of the setting the table for Brown and Tatum. Move Brown back to the 3, Tatum back to the 4 and Rob as the 5. Do away with the 2 big line up. Makes us a quicker team, and a better shooting team to start games off.

This would allow Horford to come off the bench, work against more backup's, with Schroder and the young guys, (sounds like a band, lol) Grant at backup PF, Nesmith at the back up 3 and Langford at the back up 2 and PP in as designated shooter, back up 1.

It may sound like a good plan on paper, but in reality Smart and Richardson will largely end up standing in the corner while Tatum and Brown have to initiate and create for others. Smart and Richardson can't consistently and efficiently get into the paint and get guys open looks so we just keep going back to Jaylen and Jayson and asking them to do it all.

Look, I'd love to see Jaylen and Jayson suddenly add these skills but it takes a long time... years even. So we can either just keep going with these true PG-less squads and pray for development, or we can bring someone else in to help. We've tried the Smart thing this year and he defers to the Jays and becomes an off-ball player where he's mediocre at best offensively.

Obviously the Suns with Chris Paul are the clear example of a team bringing in a PG that helped make everyone else better and took a young scorer in Booker and elevated him instead of heaping more duty on him and then criticizing him for his limitations as a passer. Same could be said for Donovan Mitchell in Utah with Conley. Or even Giannis with Jrue Holiday in Milwaukee helping them get over the hump in the playoffs.

I think we've been pretty patient at seeing if Brown and Tatum can do it all with a combo guard pairing and it's just not working if the goal is to be a true contender. If Brown or Tatum were more like Luka/LeBron/Harden/Kawhi I think a tough defending combo guard like Smart would actually be an ideal partner, but we need someone who can run the offense, get into the paint, hit wide open shots, and not be a major liability on D. We have guys who can do some of those things some of the time, but not night-in, night-out.

[greenroom31]

Let me reset and refine the list from the initial post with analysis below:

Targets:
-Tyus Jones (Memphis) / 1 year, $8.4M
-Jalen Brunson (Dallas) / 1 year, $1.8M
-Goran Dragic (Toronto) / 1 year, $19.4M
-Coby White (Chicago) / 3 years, $13M, last year is qualifying offer at $10M
-Anfernee Simons (Portland) / 2 years, $9.7M, last year is qualifying offer at $5.8M
-De'Aaron Fox (Sacramento) / 5 years, $163M (would love Haliburton but I think it would take Jaylen or Tatum)
-Russell Westbrook (Lakers) / 2 years, $91M, last year is player option that he is DEFINITELY taking

Tyus Jones is having an incredible year as a backup in Memphis. He's still only 25 and they could afford to re-sign him, but it's unclear that he's worth what he might get paid as a rotational guy behind Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Dillon Brooks. If Memphis wants to get something for him to pair with that group for the longer term, Smart could be an option.

Jalen Brunson is due for a major pay raise and Dallas has a ton of money tied up in Luka, Porzingis, Hardaway, Bullock and others already. Also, there's a question if Brunson is really able to excel on a team with Luka who is so ball dominant. Dallas could look to use Brunson to shed a big salary like the ones listed above or Dwight Powell, and to bring back a guy like Smart who would be a great fit alongside Luka.

Goran Dragic is holding out and allegedly wants to go to Miami so I view this as unlikely, but it would be interesting to take a flier on him if it wasn't too expensive. Toronto knows he's leaving so we likely wouldn't have to give up too much in a deal... expiring salary and maybe a couple 2nds?

Coby White is suddenly behind Lonzo, LaVine, Derozan, and Caruso, and fighting with Dosunmu for rotational minutes. His stock will likely only drop over time if he keeps playing few minutes and he may be on the block per this article: https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2022/01/scottos-latest-bulls-hawks-finney-smith-thunder-rockets.html ... would definitely be a high risk move as he has raw skills, but hasn't shown himself as a great PG at the pro level. A vet like Richardson or Smart might be a lot more interesting to a team like Chicago that wants to compete for a title.

Anfernee Simons has done really well since getting the interim starting role a few weeks ago. Posted this in another thread, but in January he's at 26/3/8 on efficient shooting (50%/43%/93%), and Portland is jammed up with long term commitments to Dame, Powell and McCollum. Could be interesting to take a run at him and possibly bring back either Powell or Covington as well, sending Portland a better complementary player to Dame longer-term like Richardson along with a 1st?

De'Aaron Fox is having a down year and frankly I'd prefer Haliburton but it seems like too much to hope for Sacramento to trade him. That said, the Fox/Haliburton combo hasn't led to a lot of winning, and then you also have Davion Mitchell behind them. This could be a Horford + Romeo + 1st rounder type deal since we're eating so much salary, and hopefully over time Fox remains tradeable if he doesn't totally fall apart. Definitely a risky move due to his $$ but maybe worth it based on what he has shown previously?

Russell Westbrook makes $44M this year and $47M next year. Incredible. Once you get over that though, he definitely has some of the character traits we want this team to adopt as it relates to toughness and competitive spirit. Look at his stint in Washington last year as an example of some positives... 11.7 assists per game (and 4.8 TOs). Financially I think Horford, Schroder and Juancho would work? I don't know, a Westbrook trade feels like doing something just to do it, and it seems really unlikely to make us contenders, but it would undeniably be interesting. If you couldn't tell, I'm not really sold on this option.

[Jammer]

Let me reset and refine the list from the initial post with analysis below:

Targets:
-Tyus Jones (Memphis) / 1 year, $8.4M
-Jalen Brunson (Dallas) / 1 year, $1.8M
-Goran Dragic (Toronto) / 1 year, $19.4M
-Coby White (Chicago) / 3 years, $13M, last year is qualifying offer at $10M
-Anfernee Simons (Portland) / 2 years, $9.7M, last year is qualifying offer at $5.8M
-De'Aaron Fox (Sacramento) / 5 years, $163M (would love Haliburton but I think it would take Jaylen or Tatum)
-Russell Westbrook (Lakers) / 2 years, $91M, last year is player option that he is DEFINITELY taking

Tyus Jones is having an incredible year as a backup in Memphis. He's still only 25 and they could afford to re-sign him, but it's unclear that he's worth what he might get paid as a rotational guy behind Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Dillon Brooks. If Memphis wants to get something for him to pair with that group for the longer term, Smart could be an option.

Jalen Brunson is due for a major pay raise and Dallas has a ton of money tied up in Luka, Porzingis, Hardaway, Bullock and others already. Also, there's a question if Brunson is really able to excel on a team with Luka who is so ball dominant. Dallas could look to use Brunson to shed a big salary like the ones listed above or Dwight Powell, and to bring back a guy like Smart who would be a great fit alongside Luka.

Goran Dragic is holding out and allegedly wants to go to Miami so I view this as unlikely, but it would be interesting to take a flier on him if it wasn't too expensive. Toronto knows he's leaving so we likely wouldn't have to give up too much in a deal... expiring salary and maybe a couple 2nds?

Coby White is suddenly behind Lonzo, LaVine, Derozan, and Caruso, and fighting with Dosunmu for rotational minutes. His stock will likely only drop over time if he keeps playing few minutes and he may be on the block per this article: https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2022/01/scottos-latest-bulls-hawks-finney-smith-thunder-rockets.html ... would definitely be a high risk move as he has raw skills, but hasn't shown himself as a great PG at the pro level. A vet like Richardson or Smart might be a lot more interesting to a team like Chicago that wants to compete for a title.

Anfernee Simons has done really well since getting the interim starting role a few weeks ago. Posted this in another thread, but in January he's at 26/3/8 on efficient shooting (50%/43%/93%), and Portland is jammed up with long term commitments to Dame, Powell and McCollum. Could be interesting to take a run at him and possibly bring back either Powell or Covington as well, sending Portland a better complementary player to Dame longer-term like Richardson along with a 1st?

De'Aaron Fox is having a down year and frankly I'd prefer Haliburton but it seems like too much to hope for Sacramento to trade him. That said, the Fox/Haliburton combo hasn't led to a lot of winning, and then you also have Davion Mitchell behind them. This could be a Horford + Romeo + 1st rounder type deal since we're eating so much salary, and hopefully over time Fox remains traceable if he doesn't totally fall apart. Definitely a risky move due to his $$ but maybe worth it based on what he has shown previously?

Russell Westbrook makes $44M this year and $47M next year. Incredible. Once you get over that though, he definitely has some of the character traits we want this team to adopt as it relates to toughness and competitive spirit. Look at his stint in Washington last year as an example of some positives... 11.7 assists per game (and 4.8 TOs). Financially I Horford, Schroder and Juancho would work? I don't know, a Westbrook trade feels like doing something to do it and it seems really unlikely that it would make us contenders, but it would undeniably be interesting. If you couldn't tell, I'm not really sold on this option.

Nice Work.

Knicks are supposedly interested in Brunson, whose Dad has been an assistant coach on Tom Thibodeau's staff dating back to his Chicago days (Brunson senior also played for the Knicks and parts of 2 seasons in Chicago as well).

Rumor on Dragic is he's waiting for a buyout to hook up in Dallas with Luca Doncic and Cry Baby Porzingis (who employs his jerk brother Janis Porzingis as his Agent).

[LewisnotMiller]

I fully agree that we need more than just a PG -- shooting is top on the list following PG for me. My point is that by adding a true PG we may solve (or improve) other areas. For example: I bet Jaylen and Jayson get more efficient, and that some of the other wings start shooting a better percentage due to better looks. Just look at Phoenix as an example of a team that went from fringe playoffs to true contenders thanks to adding a real PG. Phoenix went from 10th place (34-39) to 2nd place (51-21).

Also, this isn't a knock on Smart so much as it is recognizing what he is. Just watch the games for proof -- he rarely initiates the offense or brings the ball up. There's a reason for that. So going back to the original point of the thread and starting with the first group of "Rotational Guys":

-Tyus Jones (Memphis) / 1 year, $8.4M
-Jalen Brunson (Dallas) / 1 year, $1.8M
-Cam Payne (Phoenix) / 3 years, $19M
-Patrick Beverly (Minnesota) / 1 year, $14.3M
-Goran Dragic (Toronto) / 1 year, $19.4M
-Coby White (Chicago) / 3 years, $13M, last year is qualifying offer at $10M
-Cory Joseph (Detroit) / 2 years, $12.5M, last year is player option

I'd focus on Tyus Jones, Goran Dragic and Coby White out of this group. Dragic seems headed for Miami or another bonafide contender, so is unlikely, but I could see either Memphis or Chicago trying to improve their rosters for a hopeful playoff run and being open to move Tyus and Coby respectively.

If Chicago re-signs LaVine as they presumably will, going forward that leaves Coby White behind Lonzo and LaVine, fighting with Caruso, Dosunmu and others for backup minutes. Would they do Schroder straight up for White? Or we could add Kanter for more depth at C? Or a 2nd rounder as well? Maybe take back Troy Brown to save them a little loot?

For Memphis we could offer something similar. Schroder may not be enough for them though, given how well Tyus has been playing and how well Memphis is rolling at the moment. Think we might need to either add a prospect (Romeo?) cheap big man (Kanter?) and/or 2nd round picks? Still might not get them to move. If we offered Smart they'd be all over it but then we'd need more back and I'm not sure they get there.

Thoughts on Coby White or Tyus Jones? Or any of the other Rotational Guys?

I'd be a little careful who I plugged into the point out of those guys, expecting much change. For example, as much as I think White has some talent, he strikes me as more a combo guard type. Pretty much what Smart is (albeit in a very different way). Brunson is the one that looks to have the point guard game and starter-level talent of those guys to me, and he might be gettable. Now, do I want to be the team paying his next contract? Yeah, not sure on that. And does playing with a smaller point guard end up introducing substantial issues at the defensive end that playing Smart avoids? Quite possibly. But he's a cut above the rest for me, and at least potentially available.

Otherwise I'd think Dragic is interesting, but we'd need Toronto to take on a little more salary than us I would imagine, and I don't see why they would. Richardson, Juancho and Langford for Dragic and Banton, maybe? But the only point of that for us is to see what happens with a point guard on the floor, and Dragic sure as heck isn't playing major minutes. Hence my comment about salary (since the Celts are going to want to get under the tax at some point, and Dragic ain't making that easy).

I like Tyus Jones, incidentally. One of the better backup point guards going around. I think he's well placed in Memphis and should stay there. Can't see him as a starter, but good solid player.

[Joshyjess]

I haven't had a chance to watch the Main team this year, but are there any "pure" PG's that might be worth giving a chance? (not that Ime would actually give him any floor time )
Sometimes the answer is right there in front of our noses and we don't even see it...or perhaps not.

[Larry_Russell]

Let me reset and refine the list from the initial post with analysis below:

Targets:
-Tyus Jones (Memphis) / 1 year, $8.4M
-Jalen Brunson (Dallas) / 1 year, $1.8M
-Goran Dragic (Toronto) / 1 year, $19.4M
-Coby White (Chicago) / 3 years, $13M, last year is qualifying offer at $10M
-Anfernee Simons (Portland) / 2 years, $9.7M, last year is qualifying offer at $5.8M
-De'Aaron Fox (Sacramento) / 5 years, $163M (would love Haliburton but I think it would take Jaylen or Tatum)
-Russell Westbrook (Lakers) / 2 years, $91M, last year is player option that he is DEFINITELY taking

Tyus Jones is having an incredible year as a backup in Memphis. He's still only 25 and they could afford to re-sign him, but it's unclear that he's worth what he might get paid as a rotational guy behind Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Dillon Brooks. If Memphis wants to get something for him to pair with that group for the longer term, Smart could be an option.

Jalen Brunson is due for a major pay raise and Dallas has a ton of money tied up in Luka, Porzingis, Hardaway, Bullock and others already. Also, there's a question if Brunson is really able to excel on a team with Luka who is so ball dominant. Dallas could look to use Brunson to shed a big salary like the ones listed above or Dwight Powell, and to bring back a guy like Smart who would be a great fit alongside Luka.

Goran Dragic is holding out and allegedly wants to go to Miami so I view this as unlikely, but it would be interesting to take a flier on him if it wasn't too expensive. Toronto knows he's leaving so we likely wouldn't have to give up too much in a deal... expiring salary and maybe a couple 2nds?

Coby White is suddenly behind Lonzo, LaVine, Derozan, and Caruso, and fighting with Dosunmu for rotational minutes. His stock will likely only drop over time if he keeps playing few minutes and he may be on the block per this article: https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2022/01/scottos-latest-bulls-hawks-finney-smith-thunder-rockets.html ... would definitely be a high risk move as he has raw skills, but hasn't shown himself as a great PG at the pro level. A vet like Richardson or Smart might be a lot more interesting to a team like Chicago that wants to compete for a title.

Anfernee Simons has done really well since getting the interim starting role a few weeks ago. Posted this in another thread, but in January he's at 26/3/8 on efficient shooting (50%/43%/93%), and Portland is jammed up with long term commitments to Dame, Powell and McCollum. Could be interesting to take a run at him and possibly bring back either Powell or Covington as well, sending Portland a better complementary player to Dame longer-term like Richardson along with a 1st?

De'Aaron Fox is having a down year and frankly I'd prefer Haliburton but it seems like too much to hope for Sacramento to trade him. That said, the Fox/Haliburton combo hasn't led to a lot of winning, and then you also have Davion Mitchell behind them. This could be a Horford + Romeo + 1st rounder type deal since we're eating so much salary, and hopefully over time Fox remains tradeable if he doesn't totally fall apart. Definitely a risky move due to his $$ but maybe worth it based on what he has shown previously?

Russell Westbrook makes $44M this year and $47M next year. Incredible. Once you get over that though, he definitely has some of the character traits we want this team to adopt as it relates to toughness and competitive spirit. Look at his stint in Washington last year as an example of some positives... 11.7 assists per game (and 4.8 TOs). Financially I think Horford, Schroder and Juancho would work? I don't know, a Westbrook trade feels like doing something just to do it, and it seems really unlikely to make us contenders, but it would undeniably be interesting. If you couldn't tell, I'm not really sold on this option.

Smart for brunson is intriguing, especially if avle to bring in a 3and d wing

Brunson
Brown
??
Tatum
Timelord

Although i think i prefer white as brunson is seeking 20 million per and is smaller than white

Davion mitchell is a guy i love too

[LewisnotMiller]

Let me reset and refine the list from the initial post with analysis below:

Targets:
-Tyus Jones (Memphis) / 1 year, $8.4M
-Jalen Brunson (Dallas) / 1 year, $1.8M
-Goran Dragic (Toronto) / 1 year, $19.4M
-Coby White (Chicago) / 3 years, $13M, last year is qualifying offer at $10M
-Anfernee Simons (Portland) / 2 years, $9.7M, last year is qualifying offer at $5.8M
-De'Aaron Fox (Sacramento) / 5 years, $163M (would love Haliburton but I think it would take Jaylen or Tatum)
-Russell Westbrook (Lakers) / 2 years, $91M, last year is player option that he is DEFINITELY taking

Tyus Jones is having an incredible year as a backup in Memphis. He's still only 25 and they could afford to re-sign him, but it's unclear that he's worth what he might get paid as a rotational guy behind Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Dillon Brooks. If Memphis wants to get something for him to pair with that group for the longer term, Smart could be an option.

Jalen Brunson is due for a major pay raise and Dallas has a ton of money tied up in Luka, Porzingis, Hardaway, Bullock and others already. Also, there's a question if Brunson is really able to excel on a team with Luka who is so ball dominant. Dallas could look to use Brunson to shed a big salary like the ones listed above or Dwight Powell, and to bring back a guy like Smart who would be a great fit alongside Luka.

Goran Dragic is holding out and allegedly wants to go to Miami so I view this as unlikely, but it would be interesting to take a flier on him if it wasn't too expensive. Toronto knows he's leaving so we likely wouldn't have to give up too much in a deal... expiring salary and maybe a couple 2nds?

Coby White is suddenly behind Lonzo, LaVine, Derozan, and Caruso, and fighting with Dosunmu for rotational minutes. His stock will likely only drop over time if he keeps playing few minutes and he may be on the block per this article: https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2022/01/scottos-latest-bulls-hawks-finney-smith-thunder-rockets.html ... would definitely be a high risk move as he has raw skills, but hasn't shown himself as a great PG at the pro level. A vet like Richardson or Smart might be a lot more interesting to a team like Chicago that wants to compete for a title.

Anfernee Simons has done really well since getting the interim starting role a few weeks ago. Posted this in another thread, but in January he's at 26/3/8 on efficient shooting (50%/43%/93%), and Portland is jammed up with long term commitments to Dame, Powell and McCollum. Could be interesting to take a run at him and possibly bring back either Powell or Covington as well, sending Portland a better complementary player to Dame longer-term like Richardson along with a 1st?

De'Aaron Fox is having a down year and frankly I'd prefer Haliburton but it seems like too much to hope for Sacramento to trade him. That said, the Fox/Haliburton combo hasn't led to a lot of winning, and then you also have Davion Mitchell behind them. This could be a Horford + Romeo + 1st rounder type deal since we're eating so much salary, and hopefully over time Fox remains tradeable if he doesn't totally fall apart. Definitely a risky move due to his $$ but maybe worth it based on what he has shown previously?

Russell Westbrook makes $44M this year and $47M next year. Incredible. Once you get over that though, he definitely has some of the character traits we want this team to adopt as it relates to toughness and competitive spirit. Look at his stint in Washington last year as an example of some positives... 11.7 assists per game (and 4.8 TOs). Financially I think Horford, Schroder and Juancho would work? I don't know, a Westbrook trade feels like doing something just to do it, and it seems really unlikely to make us contenders, but it would undeniably be interesting. If you couldn't tell, I'm not really sold on this option.

Smart for brunson is intriguing, especially if avle to bring in a 3and d wing

Brunson
Brown
??
Tatum
Timelord

Although i think i prefer white as brunson is seeking 20 million per and is smaller than white

Davion mitchell is a guy i love too

Yeah, the money is problematic. But does White in, Smart out actually improve us?

[Larry_Russell]

Spoiler:

Let me reset and refine the list from the initial post with analysis below:

Targets:
-Tyus Jones (Memphis) / 1 year, $8.4M
-Jalen Brunson (Dallas) / 1 year, $1.8M
-Goran Dragic (Toronto) / 1 year, $19.4M
-Coby White (Chicago) / 3 years, $13M, last year is qualifying offer at $10M
-Anfernee Simons (Portland) / 2 years, $9.7M, last year is qualifying offer at $5.8M
-De'Aaron Fox (Sacramento) / 5 years, $163M (would love Haliburton but I think it would take Jaylen or Tatum)
-Russell Westbrook (Lakers) / 2 years, $91M, last year is player option that he is DEFINITELY taking

Tyus Jones is having an incredible year as a backup in Memphis. He's still only 25 and they could afford to re-sign him, but it's unclear that he's worth what he might get paid as a rotational guy behind Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Dillon Brooks. If Memphis wants to get something for him to pair with that group for the longer term, Smart could be an option.

Jalen Brunson is due for a major pay raise and Dallas has a ton of money tied up in Luka, Porzingis, Hardaway, Bullock and others already. Also, there's a question if Brunson is really able to excel on a team with Luka who is so ball dominant. Dallas could look to use Brunson to shed a big salary like the ones listed above or Dwight Powell, and to bring back a guy like Smart who would be a great fit alongside Luka.

Goran Dragic is holding out and allegedly wants to go to Miami so I view this as unlikely, but it would be interesting to take a flier on him if it wasn't too expensive. Toronto knows he's leaving so we likely wouldn't have to give up too much in a deal... expiring salary and maybe a couple 2nds?

Coby White is suddenly behind Lonzo, LaVine, Derozan, and Caruso, and fighting with Dosunmu for rotational minutes. His stock will likely only drop over time if he keeps playing few minutes and he may be on the block per this article: https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2022/01/scottos-latest-bulls-hawks-finney-smith-thunder-rockets.html ... would definitely be a high risk move as he has raw skills, but hasn't shown himself as a great PG at the pro level. A vet like Richardson or Smart might be a lot more interesting to a team like Chicago that wants to compete for a title.

Anfernee Simons has done really well since getting the interim starting role a few weeks ago. Posted this in another thread, but in January he's at 26/3/8 on efficient shooting (50%/43%/93%), and Portland is jammed up with long term commitments to Dame, Powell and McCollum. Could be interesting to take a run at him and possibly bring back either Powell or Covington as well, sending Portland a better complementary player to Dame longer-term like Richardson along with a 1st?

De'Aaron Fox is having a down year and frankly I'd prefer Haliburton but it seems like too much to hope for Sacramento to trade him. That said, the Fox/Haliburton combo hasn't led to a lot of winning, and then you also have Davion Mitchell behind them. This could be a Horford + Romeo + 1st rounder type deal since we're eating so much salary, and hopefully over time Fox remains tradeable if he doesn't totally fall apart. Definitely a risky move due to his $$ but maybe worth it based on what he has shown previously?

Russell Westbrook makes $44M this year and $47M next year. Incredible. Once you get over that though, he definitely has some of the character traits we want this team to adopt as it relates to toughness and competitive spirit. Look at his stint in Washington last year as an example of some positives... 11.7 assists per game (and 4.8 TOs). Financially I think Horford, Schroder and Juancho would work? I don't know, a Westbrook trade feels like doing something just to do it, and it seems really unlikely to make us contenders, but it would undeniably be interesting. If you couldn't tell, I'm not really sold on this option.

Smart for brunson is intriguing, especially if avle to bring in a 3and d wing

Brunson
Brown
??
Tatum
Timelord

Although i think i prefer white as brunson is seeking 20 million per and is smaller than white

Davion mitchell is a guy i love too

Yeah, the money is problematic. But does White in, Smart out actually improve us?

I wouldnt want Smart out to get White. I would want to nab him some other way. Chicago needs a PF who can defend and make shots, and dont need backcourt help.

I think Boston would have to facilitate a 3 team deal to get Chicago what they need while getting what they need.

For Example, Portlant wants to shed some salary to save money and ROco is the guy potentially to be moved.

Roco to Chicago
White and Brown Jr to Boston
TPE to Portland

Could get that additional salary back by trading pieces into TPE's out there. example Richardson into Pelicans TPE, Or Dennis and Romeo into a tpe

so Salary impact is 600K savings for Boston
Pelicans get Richardson for free-ish (Second rounder maybe)
Portland saves money
Chicago gets a piece for a chapionship run.

Can do the same with Morris from the clippers.

Boston takes morris into TPE
Sends Bruno and DOzier to CLippers

Marcus MOrris to Chicago

White, Brown Jr, Green to Boston

Romeo and SChroder out for no salary saves the team the additional cash they took in.

[SatchSanders]

Let me reset and refine the list from the initial post with analysis below:

Targets:
-Tyus Jones (Memphis) / 1 year, $8.4M
-Jalen Brunson (Dallas) / 1 year, $1.8M
-Goran Dragic (Toronto) / 1 year, $19.4M
-Coby White (Chicago) / 3 years, $13M, last year is qualifying offer at $10M
-Anfernee Simons (Portland) / 2 years, $9.7M, last year is qualifying offer at $5.8M
-De'Aaron Fox (Sacramento) / 5 years, $163M (would love Haliburton but I think it would take Jaylen or Tatum)
-Russell Westbrook (Lakers) / 2 years, $91M, last year is player option that he is DEFINITELY taking

Tyus Jones is having an incredible year as a backup in Memphis. He's still only 25 and they could afford to re-sign him, but it's unclear that he's worth what he might get paid as a rotational guy behind Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Dillon Brooks. If Memphis wants to get something for him to pair with that group for the longer term, Smart could be an option.

Jalen Brunson is due for a major pay raise and Dallas has a ton of money tied up in Luka, Porzingis, Hardaway, Bullock and others already. Also, there's a question if Brunson is really able to excel on a team with Luka who is so ball dominant. Dallas could look to use Brunson to shed a big salary like the ones listed above or Dwight Powell, and to bring back a guy like Smart who would be a great fit alongside Luka.

Goran Dragic is holding out and allegedly wants to go to Miami so I view this as unlikely, but it would be interesting to take a flier on him if it wasn't too expensive. Toronto knows he's leaving so we likely wouldn't have to give up too much in a deal... expiring salary and maybe a couple 2nds?

Coby White is suddenly behind Lonzo, LaVine, Derozan, and Caruso, and fighting with Dosunmu for rotational minutes. His stock will likely only drop over time if he keeps playing few minutes and he may be on the block per this article: https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2022/01/scottos-latest-bulls-hawks-finney-smith-thunder-rockets.html ... would definitely be a high risk move as he has raw skills, but hasn't shown himself as a great PG at the pro level. A vet like Richardson or Smart might be a lot more interesting to a team like Chicago that wants to compete for a title.

Anfernee Simons has done really well since getting the interim starting role a few weeks ago. Posted this in another thread, but in January he's at 26/3/8 on efficient shooting (50%/43%/93%), and Portland is jammed up with long term commitments to Dame, Powell and McCollum. Could be interesting to take a run at him and possibly bring back either Powell or Covington as well, sending Portland a better complementary player to Dame longer-term like Richardson along with a 1st?

De'Aaron Fox is having a down year and frankly I'd prefer Haliburton but it seems like too much to hope for Sacramento to trade him. That said, the Fox/Haliburton combo hasn't led to a lot of winning, and then you also have Davion Mitchell behind them. This could be a Horford + Romeo + 1st rounder type deal since we're eating so much salary, and hopefully over time Fox remains tradeable if he doesn't totally fall apart. Definitely a risky move due to his $$ but maybe worth it based on what he has shown previously?

Russell Westbrook makes $44M this year and $47M next year. Incredible. Once you get over that though, he definitely has some of the character traits we want this team to adopt as it relates to toughness and competitive spirit. Look at his stint in Washington last year as an example of some positives... 11.7 assists per game (and 4.8 TOs). Financially I think Horford, Schroder and Juancho would work? I don't know, a Westbrook trade feels like doing something just to do it, and it seems really unlikely to make us contenders, but it would undeniably be interesting. If you couldn't tell, I'm not really sold on this option.

Smart for brunson is intriguing, especially if avle to bring in a 3and d wing

Brunson
Brown
??
Tatum
Timelord

Although i think i prefer white as brunson is seeking 20 million per and is smaller than white

Davion mitchell is a guy i love too

Yeah, the money is problematic. But does White in, Smart out actually improve us?

It hurts us. Smart is more multifaceted as a player, more of a distributor, and holds up on defense across the board. The problem with most of the point guards on the list is that they either fight with the J's for their shots while serving as the PG, and most also give up much of their offensive gains on the defensive end. Steph Curry's offense greatly outweighs any defensive issues, and Chris Paul defends really well in addition to being a major plus on offense. Guys like those two, as we all know, are exceedingly rare.

Smart's value is maximized if we use him as a DJ-style point. Where he knows his job is to distribute, post up, and fill in gaps rather than stand on the perimeter waiting to shoot a 3. He's OK in the corner with shooting, but that restricts his ability to do anything else.

It's a point forward that we really need, not a PG. Basically the closest facsimile to Hayward that we can get. Someone who can keep the ball moving to get better shots, can hurt defenses who drop off him, can handle the ball and can hold up on the defensive end.

Tell me how much the C's are willing to spend in $ and assets, and then we can discuss who to get.

[Parliament10]

I want to see a more Natural & Pure PG, as our Starting PG.
Smart can do it. But, he's Best as our 6th-Man. He's more Naturally a Combo-Guard.

It just doesn't take 8 years to "learn" to be a Starting PG.
You either have it in you, from Jump. Or you Don't.

[Marvel]

I like Brunson and my #1 target Haliburton.

[Marvel]

3rd target would be D Murray.

[jfs1000d]

I don’t know. They have ceded the ball to smart and it is terrific. We need a backup pg.


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[Larry_Russell]

I don’t know. They have ceded the ball to smart and it is terrific. We need a backup pg.


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Maybe, but absolutely need to give time to Pritchard and Aaron and bring in a backup PF (put Horford at backup center and start Grant)

[ddb]

I like Brunson and my #1 target Haliburton.

Haliburton isn't going anywhere unless the Kings are getting Simmons, Dame, Beal, or Jaylen Brown back. Haliburton is a valued player right now...A guy that Sacto wants to keep. They want to move Fox. They want to move Bagley. They want to move Heild. Barnes they like but he's a guy a lot of teams would like back in return. For the most part, Kings are open for business. Even for Haliburton, but it would be for a star in return.

[ddb]

Beal's value is down from this summer. The plan is working! He's going to look great in Celtics green

[Larry_Russell]

Beal's value is down from this summer. The plan is working! He's going to look great in Celtics green

Horford, Romeo and 2 -1sts for Beal.

XD

Smart/Pritchard
Beal/Richardson
Brown/Nesmith or Romeo
Tatum/Grant
Timelord/

I dont know, would be pretty weak at backup Center. gonna have to pass.