2014 Free Agency Thread

[MasterIchiro]

Put another way, although possible, it's far fetched to assume we will be able to sign Gordon Hayward outright with Utah forfeiting him for nothing.

If that happens it's because we overpayed grossly and at that point you have to look back at Lance Stephenson's price tag.

As Mr. KIA said, Lance Stephenson is the most realistic target.

I like the idea of trading Henderson + Neal for Jeff Green as well, tidy up the bench a little and really push MKG at the SF position.

I think it's more realistic that Napier is there at 24 and LaVine goes much earlier.

I also think Cody Zeller's late emergence will give them hesitation to spending on the PF position so Ed Davis won't happen imo. They like the fit with McRoberts as well.

Kemba/Napier
Stephenson/CDR
MKG/Green
Zeller/McRoberts
Jefferson/Biyombo

Pistons top-1 protected pick

Mcroberts would still start in that lineup. I would hate to have Stephenson come in and ruin this team in the last year we have Jefferson.

Also Napier is not going to be a good pick for us. Although I am not sure LaVine is either. We need people that help us now not guys we hope can play in years or only get 10 minutes as a back up.

The Blazers pick is most likely a bench guy. Center? Biyombo. PF? Zeller or McRoberts. SG? Already have Neal and/or CDR. That leaves SF and PG. I'd rather have Kemba off the floor for more minutes and most want MKG on the floor for more minutes.

Also McRoberts I like as a secondary ball handler on the backup unit since Lance Stephenson serves that purpose on the 1st.

Gordon Hayward doesn't BTW

[mrknowitall215]

I would love to overpay Klay Thompson next year or try to trade for him because I don't think Lacob will overpay and he doesn't care about fan favorites but I doubt he lets him walk for nothing.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/957thegame/status/459424108300615680[/tweet]

[HornetJail]

I would love to overpay Klay Thompson next year or try to trade for him because I don't think Lacob will overpay and he doesn't care about fan favorites but I doubt he lets him walk for nothing.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/957thegame/status/459424108300615680[/tweet]

I bet you can find a tweet about OKC doing the same to James Harden.

[mrknowitall215]

Charlotte does not have to overpay or get caught up in trying to bring in a player or players that are starting-to-borderline All-Star material. The weakness of the team is bench depth. That's not to say that they need to sign or draft players that are bench material at best, but they also don't need to take on any bad contracts, and that's probably more important than acquiring talent

[HornetJail]

Charlotte does not have to overpay or get caught up in trying to bring in a player or players that are starting-to-borderline All-Star material. The weakness of the team is bench depth. That's not to say that they need to sign or draft players that are bench material at best, but they also don't need to take on any bad contracts, and that's probably more important than acquiring talent

More or less agree with you, but we need more talent if we're going to rise in the standings next season. Adding Lance Stephenson probably puts us in the top 3

[mrknowitall215]

I would love to overpay Klay Thompson next year or try to trade for him because I don't think Lacob will overpay and he doesn't care about fan favorites but I doubt he lets him walk for nothing.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/957thegame/status/459424108300615680[/tweet]

I bet you can find a tweet about OKC doing the same to James Harden.

I'm sure I can as well. All I take from the tweet is that the Warriors aren't letting Klay Thompson walk. Either they are going to sign him or only trade him for high stakes

[BeesWax]

If they don't match they lose him for nothing. If they match they can keep him or do a sign & trade. They have plenty of cap space to not lose him for nothing, so I assume they will match. If we end up with him on a match, it's through a sign & trade.

Quite simple.

Not quite simple because if they do match they have to pay him what we offer and they may not want that. They have to have seen he is a complimentary player by not and they have nobody for him to compliment. He helps us a lot and helps them very little right now. The team I would be more worried about it the Suns.

If they do match they most definitely don't necessarily have to pay him provided they can find a market for him in a sign and trade. And if they're matching at a price they don't prefer then that means other teams like the Suns and/or Hornets bid high, thus indicating a healthy market for him.

It's highly unlikely we get Hayward for money alone and if we do, the cost in money alone will be so high you have to look back at Lance Stephenson at a much lower price.

Actually they can't match and sign and trade with anyone but us. The sign and trade would happen if they threaten to match what we offer and we give them something to make sure they don't. Once they match an offer they have him and that is it. They could trade him after the 6 month, I think, wait period.

[mrknowitall215]

Charlotte does not have to overpay or get caught up in trying to bring in a player or players that are starting-to-borderline All-Star material. The weakness of the team is bench depth. That's not to say that they need to sign or draft players that are bench material at best, but they also don't need to take on any bad contracts, and that's probably more important than acquiring talent

More or less agree with you, but we need more talent if we're going to rise in the standings next season. Adding Lance Stephenson probably puts us in the top 3

...or adding Stephenson may ruin the locker room. I like Stephenson to a certain degree, but I want to see what his market value is this upcoming free-agency. I think he could be had without doling out a risky contract. If Stephenson could be signed for $6-8 million, it doesn't really hinder Charlotte's future much even if he turns into the next Tyrus Thomas

[BeesWax]

Put another way, although possible, it's far fetched to assume we will be able to sign Gordon Hayward outright with Utah forfeiting him for nothing.

If that happens it's because we overpayed grossly and at that point you have to look back at Lance Stephenson's price tag.

As Mr. KIA said, Lance Stephenson is the most realistic target.

I like the idea of trading Henderson + Neal for Jeff Green as well, tidy up the bench a little and really push MKG at the SF position.

I think it's more realistic that Napier is there at 24 and LaVine goes much earlier.

I also think Cody Zeller's late emergence will give them hesitation to spending on the PF position so Ed Davis won't happen imo. They like the fit with McRoberts as well.

Kemba/Napier
Stephenson/CDR
MKG/Green
Zeller/McRoberts
Jefferson/Biyombo

Pistons top-1 protected pick

Mcroberts would still start in that lineup. I would hate to have Stephenson come in and ruin this team in the last year we have Jefferson.

Also Napier is not going to be a good pick for us. Although I am not sure LaVine is either. We need people that help us now not guys we hope can play in years or only get 10 minutes as a back up.

The Blazers pick is most likely a bench guy. Center? Biyombo. PF? Zeller or McRoberts. SG? Already have Neal and/or CDR. That leaves SF and PG. I'd rather have Kemba off the floor for more minutes and most want MKG on the floor for more minutes.

Also McRoberts I like as a secondary ball handler on the backup unit since Lance Stephenson serves that purpose on the 1st.

Gordon Hayward doesn't BTW

Napier is a terrible pick because he does not give us anything we don't already have. If we go PG we should go bigger to provide a defensive presence. Neal and Henderson can be easily replaced and there are guys at the end of the first who could take there spots in a year or less possibly.

McRoberts is a smart player and he is going to start if he is here. Our team has been so much better when he was playing. He may not be a great 1 on 1 defender but he plays team ball better than about anyone we have right now. Hayward did average 5 assists per game on a team that had problems scoring last season. He could be work with McRoberts and Kemba to provide a great deal of ball movement.

[mrknowitall215]

The only reason why I don't really want Charlotte drafting Shabazz Napier is because as a UConn fan I would like to see him follow his own path out of the shadow of Kemba Walker in the NBA. If Charlotte draft Napier, he would almost instantly turn into a tradeable asset since I believe he is too good to play a 15-20 minutes role for years to come

With that said, Charlotte should make a hard play for Greivis Vasquez just as much as for shooting guard prospects via free-agency since he's the quintessential backup point guard, and he's tall enough to play some shooting guard for stretches alongside Kemba Walker

To follow up on my previous ideal scenario, add Vasquez, and I think Charlotte is a top-4 team in the East without hindering their future

PG: Kemba Walker/Greivis Vasquez/A.J. Price
SG: Chris Douglas-Roberts/Zach LaVine/Gary Neal
SF: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist/Jeff Green/Anthony Tolliver
PF: Josh McRoberts/Ed Davis/Cody Zeller
C: Al Jefferson/Bismack Biyombo/Brendan Haywood

[catch20two]

Very iffy on Stephenson watching this series of Indy vs ATL.

[mrknowitall215]

Very iffy on Stephenson watching this series of Indy vs ATL.

Me too. At this point I'm not entirely sure if he's a clear upgrade over Henderson. I like his style of play a lot more than Henderson's, but I'm disappointed in his play when the Pacers need him to show up the most. It's all fine & dandy to be productive when the team is clicking on all cylinders, but Stephenson hasn't shown me the ability to carry the team, and that's what we harp on Henderson about

Charlotte need a 2nd-3rd option scorer that can be a top scorer in a fraction of their games, and Stephenson isn't showing that ability on a offensively challenged Pacers team

[JDR720]

Lance isn't a scorer, he is a really solid energy player

[SeanBobcats]

Just a thought. What do you guys think of Afflalo? We were linked to him in February and I could imagine that the Magic gonna try to unload him if they get another young SG/SF via draft.

Definitely an upgrade over Hendo

I like him. Just depends on what we have to trade for him though. I think he'd fit well with us.

[SeanBobcats]

Lance isn't a scorer, he is a really solid energy player

I agree. Earlier in the season I wanted him, but I don't think we need any more energy players. We need a guy who can hit shots from beyond the arc consistently.

[mrknowitall215]

Lance isn't a scorer, he is a really solid energy player

Exactly the type of player that Charlotte do not need to continue stockpiling on. MKG, Zeller, and Biyombo are solid energy players. Although Stephenson is more fundamentally skilled than all of the aforementioned, he isn't the additional scorer (nor shooter) to complement Jefferson and Kemba that is needed

[JDR720]

Jodie Meeks? can shoot pretty well, he isn't a #3 scorer but he would be a good addition

[mrknowitall215]

Jodie Meeks? can shoot pretty well, he isn't a #3 scorer but he would be a good addition

I would've liked Meeks if Neal wasn't already on the roster signed thru another season

[JDR720]

We have plenty of cap space, odds are we will make a run at one of the "big name" players (Turner/Deng/Lance/Gordon etc.) over just signing several good role players, i just hope we don't screw up 20 million in cap space

[mrknowitall215]

Charlotte doesn't necessarily need to make any drastic changes unless it's a 'surefire' upgrade. The Bobcats' offense has been in the better half of the league once they found their chemistry and begun to gel later in the season. Progress is not always and hardly ever a fast process. I would say to play it safe in the free-agent market. A wise man once told me "just because you have money doesn't necessarily mean that you have to spend it as soon as you get it." Charlotte can hold their cards for a trade or the ability to be players in the 2015 free-agency