Fake Trade Thread #6

[Rich4114]

If we get the #2 pick I think we have plenty of options we could use that in a major trade or we could just take Harper and move Melo to sg.

I like the idea of using Harper to get a Devin Booker if possible. I like Booker next to Melo than Harper.

If we can add a player who can move LaMelo off ball, Melo will benefit from reduced wear-and-tear, maybe play more frequently, and possibly have a longer career.

If we select Harper, we won't be trading either player.

I think playing LaMelo off ball part time with another ball dominant playmaker would be amazing. It's why many of us liked the concept of Scoot in the 2023 draft (who is playing much better now btw). Obviously, Flagg would be the preference but whether we get one in the draft or not we need another actual playmaker at guard.

[JustBuzzin]

If we get the #2 pick I think we have plenty of options we could use that in a major trade or we could just take Harper and move Melo to sg.

I like the idea of using Harper to get a Devin Booker if possible. I like Booker next to Melo than Harper.

If we can add a player who can move LaMelo off ball, Melo will benefit from reduced wear-and-tear, maybe play more frequently, and possibly have a longer career.

If we select Harper, we won't be trading either player.

I think playing LaMelo off ball part time with another ball dominant playmaker would be amazing. It's why many of us liked the concept of Scoot in the 2023 draft (who is playing much better now btw). Obviously, Flagg would be the preference but whether we get one in the draft or not we need another actual playmaker at guard.

Don't get me wrong I like the idea of Harper/Melo.

I'm just bringing up the possible scenario. Not even sure if Booker would love the idea of playing here. In that case we just draft Harper at #2.

[Rich4114]

If we can add a player who can move LaMelo off ball, Melo will benefit from reduced wear-and-tear, maybe play more frequently, and possibly have a longer career.

If we select Harper, we won't be trading either player.

I think playing LaMelo off ball part time with another ball dominant playmaker would be amazing. It's why many of us liked the concept of Scoot in the 2023 draft (who is playing much better now btw). Obviously, Flagg would be the preference but whether we get one in the draft or not we need another actual playmaker at guard.

Don't get me wrong I like the idea of Harper/Melo.

I'm just bringing up the possible scenario. Not even sure if Booker would love the idea of playing here. In that case we just draft Harper at #2.

I've seen some quotes recently that make it seem like Booker intends to remain in Phoenix his whole career if he can. But if they decided to blow it up (which honestly, they should given their empty chest of draft picks and assets) then it might not matter. We should've drafted him to begin with anyway, lol

[Braggins]

Has nothing to do with real life but I just started making a custom Hornets team on NBA 2k25 and I'm thinking about doing a trade with the following framework

CHA out: LaMelo Ball + Josh Green
CHA in: Scoot Henderson + Anthony Black

POR out: Scoot Henderson + Anfernee Simons
POR in: LaMelo Ball + Josh Green

ORL out: Anthony Black
ORL in: Anfernee Simons

I already swapped Miles for Tari Eason, Tre Mann for Monk, and undid the PJ Washington trade (using a starting roster w/o injuries). Basically putting my favs on the team and righting the wrongs of the 2022 draft. I like LaMelo of course and hes fun to play with on 2k, but trying a build around Scoot/Miller seems interesting.

[HornetJail]

i think a hell nah is all that deserves

[Braggins]

i think a hell nah is all that deserves

if you are talking about my post that trade isn't even close to being legal irl and wasn't an actual trade proposal for the Hornets. I was talking about a custom NBA 2k25 team I'm making. Maybe I should have posted it in the around the nba thread.

[Rich4114]

Has nothing to do with real life but I just started making a custom Hornets team on NBA 2k25 and I'm thinking about doing a trade with the following framework

CHA out: LaMelo Ball + Josh Green
CHA in: Scoot Henderson + Anthony Black

POR out: Scoot Henderson + Anfernee Simons
POR in: LaMelo Ball + Josh Green

ORL out: Anthony Black
ORL in: Anfernee Simons

I already swapped Miles for Tari Eason, Tre Mann for Monk, and undid the PJ Washington trade (using a starting roster w/o injuries). Basically putting my favs on the team and righting the wrongs of the 2022 draft. I like LaMelo of course and hes fun to play with on 2k, but trying a build around Scoot/Miller seems interesting.

At least in this scenario, we have a real PG rotation. I would not move LaMelo for that though.

[MasterIchiro]

I think Peterson did the right thing removing clutter at the deadline: Richards, Martin, Micic. All those guys had options on their contracts. None of us wanted to watch a rerun next year.

Personally, I do not want to see stagnation. Cut ties with the players who have no longterm future here. Give minutes to the players who might. Diabaté over Richards. NSJ over Cody Martin.

You may start to unearth precious resources buried beneath your feet.

Okogie and Nurk make us more dynamic and plug holes. Okogie can attack the rim which helps supply missing rim pressure. We desperately need it, as we see the benefits from LaMelo driving more, chucking less.

Nurk worked on a triple double through 15 minutes of play in Denver last night. He can pass and spread. The only explanation for Plumlee playing over him is the coach. Supposedly Nurkic said they had no relationship. But the man is super well-rounded and still only 30.

I want to see JP continue to work the margins of the roster.

If he surrenders a longterm core player, the return should be as lopsided as the one he demanded for Mark Williams. It should be a Godfather offer or pass.

Nobody bids on LaMelo, Miller, Miles, Mark at a discount. I would need incentive to move even unproven young players like NSJ. I'm not touching any bids for Tre Mann. You just don't know what you have yet, other than players improving steadily or drastically given more minutes.

[Rich4114]

This roster will require a decent shakeup after the top 4-5 in order for us to have a chance next season. Detroit added experienced, productive vets with special skills to complement their young core and it's worked well. They're going to get valuable playoff experience now while our growth continues to be stunted because we're expecting 22 year olds to carry a roster of g leaguers.

[HornetJail]

This roster will require a decent shakeup after the top 4-5 in order for us to have a chance next season. Detroit added experienced, productive vets with special skills to complement their young core and it's worked well. They're going to get valuable playoff experience now while our growth continues to be stunted because we're expecting 22 year olds to carry a roster of g leaguers.

Detroit is a nice one to study because their biggest change wasn't even their personnel changes. It was firing their obviously underachieving head coach.

They're also a nice study because they're above .500 with arguably the third worst roster in the league (after Washington and Brooklyn) and are a play-in team with Tobias Harris and Malik Beasley as its second and third best players, because their role players fit, they've fixed up the back end of their rotation, and haven't had to rely on the end of their bench to play much.

It shows that a shred of competence is all you need to be respectable in the East, it really shouldn't take much. There is no reason aside from health that we can't be at that level with the talent we have at the top end.

[Rich4114]

This roster will require a decent shakeup after the top 4-5 in order for us to have a chance next season. Detroit added experienced, productive vets with special skills to complement their young core and it's worked well. They're going to get valuable playoff experience now while our growth continues to be stunted because we're expecting 22 year olds to carry a roster of g leaguers.

Detroit is a nice one to study because their biggest change wasn't even their personnel changes. It was firing their obviously underachieving head coach.

They're also a nice study because they're above .500 with arguably the third worst roster in the league (after Washington and Brooklyn) and are a play-in team with Tobias Harris and Malik Beasley as its second and third best players, because their role players fit, they've fixed up the back end of their rotation, and haven't had to rely on the end of their bench to play much.

It shows that a shred of competence is all you need to be respectable in the East, it really shouldn't take much. There is no reason aside from health that we can't be at that level with the talent we have at the top end.

I mean, I agree with this and I'll include Indy in that conversation as well. Their talent level is mostly flat but their coach is really good and the system they run opens everything up + favors their strength. We can't be starting guys like Josh Green or Nurkic though, that has to be upgraded.

[JMAC3]

This roster will require a decent shakeup after the top 4-5 in order for us to have a chance next season. Detroit added experienced, productive vets with special skills to complement their young core and it's worked well. They're going to get valuable playoff experience now while our growth continues to be stunted because we're expecting 22 year olds to carry a roster of g leaguers.

Detroit is a nice one to study because their biggest change wasn't even their personnel changes. It was firing their obviously underachieving head coach.

They're also a nice study because they're above .500 with arguably the third worst roster in the league (after Washington and Brooklyn) and are a play-in team with Tobias Harris and Malik Beasley as its second and third best players, because their role players fit, they've fixed up the back end of their rotation, and haven't had to rely on the end of their bench to play much.

It shows that a shred of competence is all you need to be respectable in the East, it really shouldn't take much. There is no reason aside from health that we can't be at that level with the talent we have at the top end.

We have just as good of a roster as Detroit when healthy,
Issue is they have 4 starters with 50 plus starts.
We have 2 starters with 35+ starts.

[NCHeels2008]

This roster will require a decent shakeup after the top 4-5 in order for us to have a chance next season. Detroit added experienced, productive vets with special skills to complement their young core and it's worked well. They're going to get valuable playoff experience now while our growth continues to be stunted because we're expecting 22 year olds to carry a roster of g leaguers.

Detroit is a nice one to study because their biggest change wasn't even their personnel changes. It was firing their obviously underachieving head coach.

They're also a nice study because they're above .500 with arguably the third worst roster in the league (after Washington and Brooklyn) and are a play-in team with Tobias Harris and Malik Beasley as its second and third best players, because their role players fit, they've fixed up the back end of their rotation, and haven't had to rely on the end of their bench to play much.

It shows that a shred of competence is all you need to be respectable in the East, it really shouldn't take much. There is no reason aside from health that we can't be at that level with the talent we have at the top end.

Not to be all doom gloomy but I don't think we have that level of talent at the top unless we get another creator who can play 80%+ of the games, Anthony Edwards has already played ~140 more games than Ball. Ball is incredible but we really need to build the roster like the Raptors team could hold up well without Kawhi in '19.

[Liver_Pooty]

This roster will require a decent shakeup after the top 4-5 in order for us to have a chance next season. Detroit added experienced, productive vets with special skills to complement their young core and it's worked well. They're going to get valuable playoff experience now while our growth continues to be stunted because we're expecting 22 year olds to carry a roster of g leaguers.

Detroit is a nice one to study because their biggest change wasn't even their personnel changes. It was firing their obviously underachieving head coach.

They're also a nice study because they're above .500 with arguably the third worst roster in the league (after Washington and Brooklyn) and are a play-in team with Tobias Harris and Malik Beasley as its second and third best players, because their role players fit, they've fixed up the back end of their rotation, and haven't had to rely on the end of their bench to play much.

It shows that a shred of competence is all you need to be respectable in the East, it really shouldn't take much. There is no reason aside from health that we can't be at that level with the talent we have at the top end.

Not to be all doom gloomy but I don't think we have that level of talent at the top unless we get another creator who can play 80%+ of the games, Anthony Edwards has already played ~140 more games than Ball. Ball is incredible but we really need to build the roster like the Raptors team could hold up well without Kawhi in '19.

We don’t have the talent. Not even close. All of us me included have homer glasses on.

[NCHeels2008]

Detroit is a nice one to study because their biggest change wasn't even their personnel changes. It was firing their obviously underachieving head coach.

They're also a nice study because they're above .500 with arguably the third worst roster in the league (after Washington and Brooklyn) and are a play-in team with Tobias Harris and Malik Beasley as its second and third best players, because their role players fit, they've fixed up the back end of their rotation, and haven't had to rely on the end of their bench to play much.

It shows that a shred of competence is all you need to be respectable in the East, it really shouldn't take much. There is no reason aside from health that we can't be at that level with the talent we have at the top end.

Not to be all doom gloomy but I don't think we have that level of talent at the top unless we get another creator who can play 80%+ of the games, Anthony Edwards has already played ~140 more games than Ball. Ball is incredible but we really need to build the roster like the Raptors team could hold up well without Kawhi in '19.

We don’t have the talent. Not even close. All of us me included have homer glasses on.

I think Miller is special, Ball can be? but not sure he's a winning player, Bridges feels like a good stats bad team guy, Mark Williams could be special but he might be made of glass, NSJ and TJ are total TBDs, Mann seems like a nice-great find. Like I can see a path but it requires a lot of luck.

[JMAC3]

Detroit is a nice one to study because their biggest change wasn't even their personnel changes. It was firing their obviously underachieving head coach.

They're also a nice study because they're above .500 with arguably the third worst roster in the league (after Washington and Brooklyn) and are a play-in team with Tobias Harris and Malik Beasley as its second and third best players, because their role players fit, they've fixed up the back end of their rotation, and haven't had to rely on the end of their bench to play much.

It shows that a shred of competence is all you need to be respectable in the East, it really shouldn't take much. There is no reason aside from health that we can't be at that level with the talent we have at the top end.

Not to be all doom gloomy but I don't think we have that level of talent at the top unless we get another creator who can play 80%+ of the games, Anthony Edwards has already played ~140 more games than Ball. Ball is incredible but we really need to build the roster like the Raptors team could hold up well without Kawhi in '19.

We don’t have the talent. Not even close. All of us me included have homer glasses on.

This is more about the overall roster then it is the top of our roster. Guys like Miller, Ball, Mark, Bridges are all plenty good and would be awesome players on nearly every team you put them on across the league.

The issue is depth and health. When Josh Green is leading your team in minutes played and has a PER of 8 while making 15 million dollars you are probably not a good team.

We are paying nearly 60 million to Nurkic, Green, Mann, Grant and Okogie... none of which are making any type of impact this year.

Another 14 million in dead cap to Bertans, Devonte, Charlie Brown, Duane Brown and Reggie Jackson.

All while hoarding 10 firsts and 20+ 2nds.

The reasons why we aren't good are honestly so obvious and probably very fixable if that is actually what the front office wants to do.

[MasterIchiro]

This roster will require a decent shakeup after the top 4-5 in order for us to have a chance next season. Detroit added experienced, productive vets with special skills to complement their young core and it's worked well. They're going to get valuable playoff experience now while our growth continues to be stunted because we're expecting 22 year olds to carry a roster of g leaguers.

Outside of: Ball, Miller, Miles, Mark, Mann plus the 2025 lottery pick, I can see the front office liquidating modest draft capital for a couple upgrades to the rotation.

However, I believe they won't be aggressive in the summer and we won't see much turnover.

Instead, they will upgrade in phases, one preliminary in summer, then a deeper cleanse at the next trade deadline.

Just considering Nurkic alone as a temporary piece, that's 19 million tied up. Easier to move him when that bill is half paid, and after sufficient time elapses for Charlotte to rehab his value.

Grant is another big salary that is on hold due to rehab from ACL.

Green will earn 13.6 next year and is owed 2 years. He's the obvious budget line that could be upgraded in a preliminary phase this summer.

Nurk and Grant need time to rehab. They won't be in play for bigger trades until the deadline.

You move any of those 3 before you move Miles.

Miles is fast becoming one of those players where you demand an overpay or keep him. Similar to Nurkic and Grant, Miles will be worth more at the deadline when his contract is paid down further.

That leaves Green.

Man, how do we get rid of this guy?

We need some good Green proposals. I really feel they overvalue him and don't even fathom moving him.

But why not? Okogie gives similar value and earns far less than Green, and Okogie is owed one less year.

Green is expendable.

[MasterIchiro]

Need (10) for a solid rotation

(7) Ball - Miller - Harper - Miles - Mark - Mann - MLE player

(3) target salaries for upgrade: Nurkic, Grant, Green. 19m for Nurk. 27m combined for Grant&Green. Sprinkle draft capital.

Flex: picks #32 & #34, Diabaté, NSJ, Salaün, Okogie. Need to see how this group develops, hope for rising value.

That's 16. So either bundle 32 & 34 for one prospect or bundle Green & one flex piece. More likely they bundle 32 & 34 for one player to fit under the 15 max roster spots. This relieves pressure to trade after the draft requiring movement of bigger salaries.

[LofJ]

What would it cost to trade for Bam? He's the kind of player we need on this team to solidify a much needed culture change.

Would Nurkic, Green, Mark, and 3 firsts be in the ballpark?

[SWedd523]

prior to Mark trade take back? Maybe

Now? don't think so