Official Speculation Thread (Pt.LIV "Lottery/Draft"Edition)

[Redphilly]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/cavs-may-g ... --nba.html

[rcklsscognition]

Wolves and Blazers both want the 1 or 2 pick to get a SG. Will someone leapfrog us to pick Ben? Will Noel be on the board via Cavs taking Porter to trading #1 to a team who takes Ben? Gonna be exciting.

[j-ragg]

Stupid ass Cleveland better take Noel! Or at least trade down with someone else to get him.

[tmacfan512]

Actually not really a surprise if Cleveland doesn't take Noel. If you believe what they said on draft night about making the playoffs, and if its true about Noel possibly not being ready until Dec, it may not be conducive to draft him. He is gonna miss training camp and already be way behind. If the goal is to make the playoffs for them, it might not work out. Noel is best served by being drafted to a team that can (and is willing to) wait. If we drafted him, we probably wont see the benefits until the following season. Depending on your perspective, this is actually ideal if we want to tank for a better pick next year. Out the top 3 teams in the draft this year, this scenario really only works for Orlando bc we've been bad just 1 year and ppl seem willing to wait. Cleveland & Washington fanbases are eager for playoffs

[Truth24]

I really want Porter with the second pick but I can really see the Cavs taking Porter he fits that roster perfect.

[Carlos Arroyo]

Actually not really a surprise if Cleveland doesn't take Noel. If you believe what they said on draft night about making the playoffs, and if its true about Noel possibly not being ready until Dec, it may not be conducive to draft him. He is gonna miss training camp and already be way behind. If the goal is to make the playoffs for them, it might not work out. Noel is best served by being drafted to a team that can (and is willing to) wait. If we drafted him, we probably wont see the benefits until the following season. Depending on your perspective, this is actually ideal if we want to tank for a better pick next year. Out the top 3 teams in the draft this year, this scenario really only works for Orlando bc we've been bad just 1 year and ppl seem willing to wait. Cleveland & Washington fanbases are eager for playoffs

why cant we just take bmac and suck?

[Catledge]

(This is a total non sequitur that I'm posting here because I didn't want to start a new thread.)

Does anybody else think that Henny isn't planning on making a big FA acquisition next summer? I suspect that he might use that cap space to absorb contracts in exchange for picks and guys on rookie deals. The idea here would be to stockpile so many young pieces that it gives you a decent chance of hitting a Paul George-style home run on one of them. That is, if you get five guys with Harkless-level of upside, chances are decent that one will become a star and two of the other four will become solid role players.

Maybe I'm just over-thinking it because I have too much free time this summer, but the lack of star power in next year's free agent class makes me less optimistic about that route.

[Def Swami]

(This is a total non sequitur that I'm posting here because I didn't want to start a new thread.)

Does anybody else think that Henny isn't planning on making a big FA acquisition next summer? I suspect that he might use that cap space to absorb contracts in exchange for picks and guys on rookie deals. The idea here would be to stockpile so many young pieces that it gives you a decent chance of hitting a Paul George-style home run on one of them. That is, if you get five guys with Harkless-level of upside, chances are decent that one will become a star and two of the other four will become solid role players.

Maybe I'm just over-thinking it because I have too much free time this summer, but the lack of star power in next year's free agent class makes me less optimistic about that route.

I think that's exactly what he's doing. It also puts us in position to cash in on those assets if the opportunity presents itself. Much like how Houston used their assets to make a splash and acquire Harden last summer.

[LC_Magic]

I have said for a while I don't think we target anyone next summer, once players develop we have to start paying players anyone.

I also think the thought of taking Noel will cause us to tank is potentially wrong. If we took Noel then Hennigan would NEED to keep Davis around for depth issues, Davis makes us better and slow the tanking process.

[trebone]

just a thought, but what if Cleveland takes Noel with the idea that Was is going to take Otto and flip them for each other, but we take Porter at #2 and force Clevelands hand to swap us Noel for Porter and have to throw in pick for the privelage of getting their perfect complimentary piece?

[trebone]

I have said for a while I don't think we target anyone next summer, once players develop we have to start paying players anyone.

I also think the thought of taking Noel will cause us to tank is potentially wrong. If we took Noel then Hennigan would NEED to keep Davis around for depth issues, Davis makes us better and slow the tanking process.

See i look at it differently, I think we need to move BBD regardless if we get Noel or not because we are in full development mode and Tobias/Nicholson/KOQ are fine playing the 4 for us. BBD is not going to take us to the playoffs so whats the point in keeping, if he can net us an expiring and a pick move him.

[glennathan]

On the RealGM android app it shows page 138

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using RealGM Forums mobile app

[rcklsscognition]

(This is a total non sequitur that I'm posting here because I didn't want to start a new thread.)

Does anybody else think that Henny isn't planning on making a big FA acquisition next summer? I suspect that he might use that cap space to absorb contracts in exchange for picks and guys on rookie deals. The idea here would be to stockpile so many young pieces that it gives you a decent chance of hitting a Paul George-style home run on one of them. That is, if you get five guys with Harkless-level of upside, chances are decent that one will become a star and two of the other four will become solid role players.

Maybe I'm just over-thinking it because I have too much free time this summer, but the lack of star power in next year's free agent class makes me less optimistic about that route.

I think that's exactly what he's doing. It also puts us in position to cash in on those assets if the opportunity presents itself. Much like how Houston used their assets to make a splash and acquire Harden last summer.

Please enlighten us to who this magical free agent is.

[glennathan]

I am using the app and it does work great. I did not know that it was a drastic difference in page numbers until arsenal pointed it out

Sent from my SAMSUNG galaxy S3 using RealGM Forums mobile app

[Catledge]

(This is a total non sequitur that I'm posting here because I didn't want to start a new thread.)

Does anybody else think that Henny isn't planning on making a big FA acquisition next summer? I suspect that he might use that cap space to absorb contracts in exchange for picks and guys on rookie deals. The idea here would be to stockpile so many young pieces that it gives you a decent chance of hitting a Paul George-style home run on one of them. That is, if you get five guys with Harkless-level of upside, chances are decent that one will become a star and two of the other four will become solid role players.

Maybe I'm just over-thinking it because I have too much free time this summer, but the lack of star power in next year's free agent class makes me less optimistic about that route.

I think that's exactly what he's doing. It also puts us in position to cash in on those assets if the opportunity presents itself. Much like how Houston used their assets to make a splash and acquire Harden last summer.

Please enlighten us to who this magical free agent is.

I don't follow you. Who said anything about a magical free agent?

[Def Swami]

(This is a total non sequitur that I'm posting here because I didn't want to start a new thread.)

Does anybody else think that Henny isn't planning on making a big FA acquisition next summer? I suspect that he might use that cap space to absorb contracts in exchange for picks and guys on rookie deals. The idea here would be to stockpile so many young pieces that it gives you a decent chance of hitting a Paul George-style home run on one of them. That is, if you get five guys with Harkless-level of upside, chances are decent that one will become a star and two of the other four will become solid role players.

Maybe I'm just over-thinking it because I have too much free time this summer, but the lack of star power in next year's free agent class makes me less optimistic about that route.

I think that's exactly what he's doing. It also puts us in position to cash in on those assets if the opportunity presents itself. Much like how Houston used their assets to make a splash and acquire Harden last summer.

Please enlighten us to who this magical free agent is.

I wouldn't say there's a specific target at the moment. But come 2-3 years down the road and we find that there's a trade to be made that can land us an all-star caliber player (LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Love, Rajon Rondo, etc. just for example). In addition to Catledge's point, the more assets (young players with potential, TPE's, picks) the Magic collect, the better they are able to put themselves in position to make a trade for a good player. Said player may not be the superstar that Harden is, but can complement the one that we draft.

[Catledge]

I have said for a while I don't think we target anyone next summer, once players develop we have to start paying players anyone.

I also think the thought of taking Noel will cause us to tank is potentially wrong. If we took Noel then Hennigan would NEED to keep Davis around for depth issues, Davis makes us better and slow the tanking process.

See i look at it differently, I think we need to move BBD regardless if we get Noel or not because we are in full development mode and Tobias/Nicholson/KOQ are fine playing the 4 for us. BBD is not going to take us to the playoffs so whats the point in keeping, if he can net us an expiring and a pick move him.

I think the only important factor on Henny's thought process re trading BBD is whether or not we get good assets in return.

[rcklsscognition]

I think that's exactly what he's doing. It also puts us in position to cash in on those assets if the opportunity presents itself. Much like how Houston used their assets to make a splash and acquire Harden last summer.

Please enlighten us to who this magical free agent is.

I don't follow you. Who said anything about a magical free agent?

My fault, I thought you did, but now that I re-read it, the wording was fuzzy to me. "Does anyone else think Henny isn't" has some sort of grammatical backwardness to it. I guess you were trying to say you don't think Henny is trying to pull of a big FA acquisition this summer, and is instead going to take a contract on to get a draft pick?

[pakishazi]

Don't think I saw this posted but if I missed it my bad....

According to Lawal's agent, Dan Curtin, the Knicks are "interested" in Lawal and will likely work him out after he finishes the season with Virtus Roma in the top division of the Italian league. Curtin said he could envision a one-year contract at the minimum level with an NBA team.

At this point, Lawal has three workouts confirmed -- with the Magic, Pacers and Raptors -- and he's expecting about five more, including the Knicks. The team's director of European scouting, Kevin Wilson, has watched Lawal play in person, Curtin said. Wilson, who is well respected throughout the NBA, helped discover Pablo Prigioni and Chris Copeland.

Lawal -- who played with the Knicks' Iman Shumpert at Georgia Tech from 2008-10 -- could be the Knicks' next international gem, as he does exactly what the team was missing against the Pacers in the second round of the playoffs.

"I like to play physical, I like to rebound, I like to finish strong, I like to get in there and bump and grind," said the 6-foot-9 Lawal, who's focused on improving his midrange jump shot. "When I go on the court, I just try to be a beast and dominate, get every rebound I can. Plus, I can run, I'm quick off my feet and I'm a fighter at the end of the day. I've been around, man. I'm young, but I consider myself seasoned."

Currently, Lawal is leading Roma deep into the playoffs while averaging 13.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in about 26 minutes per game. Lawal said since his ACL injury, he has become a better athlete.

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/knicks/post/_/id/45324/agent-knicks-interested-in-gani-lawal

[rcklsscognition]

Don't think I saw this posted but if I missed it my bad....

According to Lawal's agent, Dan Curtin, the Knicks are "interested" in Lawal and will likely work him out after he finishes the season with Virtus Roma in the top division of the Italian league. Curtin said he could envision a one-year contract at the minimum level with an NBA team.

At this point, Lawal has three workouts confirmed -- with the Magic, Pacers and Raptors -- and he's expecting about five more, including the Knicks. The team's director of European scouting, Kevin Wilson, has watched Lawal play in person, Curtin said. Wilson, who is well respected throughout the NBA, helped discover Pablo Prigioni and Chris Copeland.

Lawal -- who played with the Knicks' Iman Shumpert at Georgia Tech from 2008-10 -- could be the Knicks' next international gem, as he does exactly what the team was missing against the Pacers in the second round of the playoffs.

"I like to play physical, I like to rebound, I like to finish strong, I like to get in there and bump and grind," said the 6-foot-9 Lawal, who's focused on improving his midrange jump shot. "When I go on the court, I just try to be a beast and dominate, get every rebound I can. Plus, I can run, I'm quick off my feet and I'm a fighter at the end of the day. I've been around, man. I'm young, but I consider myself seasoned."

Currently, Lawal is leading Roma deep into the playoffs while averaging 13.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in about 26 minutes per game. Lawal said since his ACL injury, he has become a better athlete.

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/knicks/post/_/id/45324/agent-knicks-interested-in-gani-lawal

I could be wrong, but I do believe Henny, or someone from the crew went over to scout this guy earlier in 2013, I think it was Henny.