Fake Trade Thread #7

[fatlever]

Shocked we didn't get folded into megatrade

Sent from my SM-G973U using RealGM mobile app

[Bassman]

Shocked we didn't get folded into megatrade

Sent from my SM-G973U using RealGM mobile app

Jeffie’s line was busy from all the calls he was making to add players.

[JDR720]

I'd pass on Claxton.

He averages 10/7 in 25mins per game and is a very bad FT shooter.

Feels like Diabate can average those same stats for a fraction of the contract.

[HornetJail]

I'd pass on Claxton.

He averages 10/7 in 25mins per game and is a very bad FT shooter.

Feels like Diabate can average those same stats for a fraction of the contract.

i'd flip the points and rebounds for Moose but yeah, I don't see the need to pay assets for Claxton. Aim higher

[Bassman]

Well, if we don’t see that consolidation trade this week, especially if the target is a big, you will all probably get your wish for no Claxton or equivalent. Getting that sinking feeling Jeffie didn’t have a deal or two in his pocket when he went on his shopping spree. Not too smart if that’s the case. Every day that passes rosters become more set and locked in.

So get it done Jeffie Peterson, or a “big thunder boomer is going to form over the center of your team” this season. (Nod to the late meteorologist Jerry Peterson of WSOC 9).

[JDR720]

Our options are very limited unless we plan on including Miles. Our group of guards (Green, Sexton, NSJ, Okogie etc.) aren't very valuable. We'll probably try to be involved in multi-team trades for more draft picks, our guys as fillers, to clear out roster spots.

And a part of a consolidation trade is the team we're trading with needs to have the roster spots available for a 2/3/4 for 1 trade.

So more likely than not we're set at C, or at least aren't planning on acquiring anyone notable. There's no reason to trade assets for a likely overpriced addition.

[JDR720]

And by overpriced, I mean basically anyone who isn't top 10 at their position isn't worth getting.

We haven't horded all these 1st round picks (even if the Dallas one isn't very valuable anymore) to turn them into an average starter.

Bam, even Gobert (in certain situations), Allen, etc. should be who we try to get, if anyone.

[HornetJail]

we missed the prime opportunity to finally snag Myles Turner if there ever was one

[JDR720]

A more realistic consolidation trade is probably for a PF/SF who can defend and shoot 3's.

Don't know who that would be, but there's more of those guys than centers.

[yosemiteben]

we missed the prime opportunity to finally snag Myles Turner if there ever was one

He had to want to come here. Makes a lot of sense for him to prefer MIL.

[wilson115]

A more realistic consolidation trade is probably for a PF/SF who can defend and shoot 3's.

Don't know who that would be, but there's more of those guys than centers.

Wanted that too but who'd want to come over to play behind Miles? The center starting spot's wide open at least, has to be someone bigger than Moose which also rules out Claxton for me.

[JDR720]

A more realistic consolidation trade is probably for a PF/SF who can defend and shoot 3's.

Don't know who that would be, but there's more of those guys than centers.

Wanted that too but who'd want to come over to play behind Miles? The center starting spot's wide open at least, has to be someone bigger than Moose which also rules out Claxton for me.

I think Miles is going to be traded eventually. He just doesn't fit the team well.

Too small to be a "real" PF, and also plays best as the #1 or #2 option, not the #3/4 option which is what he is when we're healthy.

[Bassman]

And by overpriced, I mean basically anyone who isn't top 10 at their position isn't worth getting.

We haven't horded all these 1st round picks (even if the Dallas one isn't very valuable anymore) to turn them into an average starter.

Bam, even Gobert (in certain situations), Allen, etc. should be who we try to get, if anyone.

OK, let’s go get Bam and give them 5 first round picks plus the salary match guards. I’m good with an overpay, cause NOBODY is coming here in free agency, and NO CENTERS are likely coming up next year for trade unless a team says F it and let’s sell out.

Is that really Jeffie’s strategy for a center? Hope some team craps the bed, is ready to reset (like the Nets apparently are this season), and has a top 10 center they’d swap for 5 first round picks? Or is it to hope for “luck” in the lottery again? Skeletor says “odds are odds”. He’s signaling Hornets fans to “dream on”. Pardon me if I don’t want them to gamble on such luck.

Maybe Kalkbrenner (who I really like) is the surprise of the NBA…the ROCKY in our rebuild, and we get really good via good fortune. I would love that! But….what if he isn’t the next Joker? Rely on the Plumber? Moose cause he popped stats a few times last season?

My dear Hornets friends…lend me your ears. Tell me, why did Jeffie bring in Sexton, Dinwiddie, Conn with a C, sign Mann and draft all those rookies? DNA, culture? OK…but what happens if our weak center disrupts everything those guys are trying to build because it’s SO WEAK?? What decisions potentially result from leaving that spot a mess? I’ll tell you. Maybe they throw out some good players who, with the right center, may have been part of the ultimate ANSWER for this long suffering franchise. IMBALANCE kills. So do injuries, of course.

So pay up Jeffie. Get Bam, a top 10 at major cost, or Claxton at a somewhat lesser cost. But saving all those picks for a better time, for “someday”, for “tomorrow”, doesn’t always work out. Garth Brooks wrote “If Tomorrow Never Comes” from experience.

[JDR720]

^ That assumes the team actually wants to compete this season.

We aren't trading a lot of draft picks unless we're sure we'll be competitive, not only this season, but future ones.

If we trade 5 picks for Bam, and then Melo turns around and plays 30 games again, did we actually make any progress? Or are we basically back where we started, but without the assets?

I think this season is "See if Melo, Miller etc." can be healthy for once. Hence us getting all these guards to help them, or to replace them if the answer is "no".

Our last two attempts at a rebuild blew up in our face because we took our shot too soon. The Al Jefferson signing, which worked for one season, and the Gordon signing, which also worked for one season. We don't need to get into one of those situations again, especially since there are legit concerns on whether our core is actually viable.

So I'm perfectly fine sticking with our current group of centers until Melo/Miller can prove they're healthy enough to warrant a major acquisition. If they (especially Melo) can't stay healthy this season, I'd try to trade them. Maybe even for a center.

[MasterIchiro]

Glad you're fine.

I feel a fair evaluation of LaMelo & Miller requires the proper context.

Are they set up for success?

I don't think so.

As far as Bam and Claxton go, it may not matter how far we're willing to bid if the Heat and Nets simply aren't taking any bids.

Miami is easy to explain. They never tank.

The Nets are clearly tanking but not for long given the Rockets can swap 1st round picks with BKN in the 2027 draft.

I want to see follow through. We didn't give JB a real center. We gave him Plumlee and he still managed to win 43 games but we fired him. We're still paying for that after 2 seasons of Clifford and one with a rookie coach, trying to hold together a thin roster on a shoestring budget.

Kind of fatigued by it.

Now we're giving LaMelo and Miller (and Lee) the same handicap.

I'm not fine with the handicap because it skews an evaluation of the team. I don't think we're averse to winning right now.

I think Peterson got himself into a roster crunch because the owners want half the roster making peanuts.

**** douche bags.

[JustBuzzin]

I think Bam is realistic given the emergence of Ware in Miami. Sure they can play him at pf, but Ware looks like one of the better young centers in the league. Kid has legit 3pt range and can block shots.

I think Riley would bite on our picks. Not sure how he feels about Miles, but he's a player they can flip if they don't want him with that culture.

I would love if Peterson went all in on Bam.

[MasterIchiro]

I think Bam is realistic given the emergence of Ware in Miami. Sure they can play him at pf, but Ware looks like one of the better young centers in the league. Kid has legit 3pt range and can block shots.

I think Riley would bite on our picks. Not sure how he feels about Miles, but he's a player they can flip if they don't want him with that culture.

I would love if Peterson went all in on Bam.

Could've just drafted Ware.

I know. It's too much to ask to expect Peterson to run a scouting department like Pat Riley.

And I don't think they will split their frontcourt with Bam being 6' 9" and shooting well enough to play the 4.

[JDR720]

Glad you're fine.

I feel a fair evaluation of LaMelo & Miller requires the proper context.

Are they set up for success?

I don't think so.

As far as Bam and Claxton go, it may not matter how far we're willing to bid if the Heat and Nets simply aren't taking any bids.

Miami is easy to explain. They never tank.

The Nets are clearly tanking but not for long given the Rockets can swap 1st round picks with BKN in the 2027 draft.

I want to see follow through. We didn't give JB a real center. We gave him Plumlee and he still managed to win 43 games but we fired him. We're still paying for that after 2 seasons of Clifford and one with a rookie coach, trying to hold together a thin roster on a shoestring budget.

Kind of fatigued by it.

Now we're giving LaMelo and Miller (and Lee) the same handicap.

I'm not fine with the handicap because it skews an evaluation of the team. I don't think we're averse to winning right now.

I think Peterson got himself into a roster crunch because the owners want half the roster making peanuts.

**** douche bags.

It's about not being set up for success or even evaluating their games, we know, when healthy, they are good. Especially Melo, he may be All-NBA level.

My point is if they can't stay healthy, not much else actually matters. They cannot succeed 100% of the time they aren't on the court, and trading lots of assets to build around injured players isn't going to help us.

And I think this roster, even in a bloated state, is talented enough offensively to see if Melo/Miller can actually do anything. And talented enough to see if Lee can coach an offense.

Like we talked about a couple pages ago (or in the Offseason thread) we have 8 guys who can realistically, if given minutes, score 10+ pts per game.

And more so, who are the available centers? Miami isn't trading Bam, Cleveland aren't trading Allen this offseason. I doubt Minnesota would trade Gobert without getting something serious back.

The best we could get right now is probably someone like Vucevic, and that isn't very good.

I'd wait until the deadline or next offseason to see if Cleveland want to trade Allen if/when they flame out in the playoffs or underachieve again.

[Bassman]

We’ve reached circular discussion stage, where the points MasterIchiro, I and others make are not accepted by JDR720 and those who align with his position. That’s OK, as it is the essence of civil debate.

Essentially we claim a quality center is needed via consolidation trade to both better compete and truly determine the value of our core, all those new guards traded for or signed, and our rookies. Their performance will be highly diminished with a gaping void at the 5. We are fine with dealing significant draft picks from the assets to achieve this.

Others claim the cost of a quality center would be too high, that none are likely even available in trade, that the talent brought in should be able to sustain good basketball, and that this season is really about determining the long term viability of Melo and Miller. Ongoing player development plus the vets imported should help improve the team.

I agree that the latter position is likely where Jeffie Peterson is, since there is no hint or rumor of a center deal forming up. It could be the Hornets strategy was all about trying to do a sign and trade for Myles Turner, throwing down offers that were probably weak relative to picks included, or just a FA offer that was never going to compete (major free agents don’t come here). When that didn’t fly they pivoted to a shopping spree, picking up Mason on the clearance shelf.

I have no doubt the owners got sick of losing, and pushed Jeffie to shake things up. But lacking one more significant move, Jeffie will be left standing in his underwear. You can’t go to work without trousers, and you can’t field a good NBA team with a weak center.

[MasterIchiro]

Jeff gets an incomplete on the offseason because the frontcourt is incomplete. The roster needs to be re-balanced from a surplus of draft capital.

I agree they won't take "short cuts" nor go "all-in" but I am not advocating for them to empty the whole surplus of 8 firsts + 12 seconds.

But for rebalancing purposes, I think I'd be fine with Jeff allocating 4 of the firsts + 4-5 seconds.

He has work to do because the froncourt is especially weak. Moussa starting at C is a blatant insult to Melo and Miller. Insult to the fans too.

Incomplete.