Alternatives to "Durant comin home 2016" plan

[payitforward]

And, if we are looking for a cheap, defensive-minded big who is very young with a lot of development possible, why wait?

http://allucanheat.com/2015/01/06/rumor ... hem-birch/

[Ruzious]

A pre-emptive alternative would be to trade for Love this season. Remember, he can opt out after this season, and I'm guessing he will - the way things are going now. He's just not getting the touches he used to - playing with 2 guys who dominate the ball. And he's gotten benched in the 4th quarter a couple of times - from what I've heard. Because he can opt out, you only trade for him if you're sure he'll re-sign - and only certain teams would take that chance. I think an offer of Beal and Nene is reasonable. Nene and Beal would be perfect fits for Cleveland, and the Wiz would get the best offensive 4 in the game. Of course, the Wiz would have to scramble for a 2. Maybe JR Smith could do it for half a season - since we'd need a gunner. Use the MLE in the offseason to find a longer term replacement.

[stevemcqueen1]

A pre-emptive alternative would be to trade for Love this season. Remember, he can opt out after this season, and I'm guessing he will - the way things are going now. He's just not getting the touches he used to - playing with 2 guys who dominate the ball. And he's gotten benched in the 4th quarter a couple of times - from what I've heard. Because he can opt out, you only trade for him if you're sure he'll re-sign - and only certain teams would take that chance. I think an offer of Beal and Nene is reasonable. Nene and Beal would be perfect fits for Cleveland, and the Wiz would get the best offensive 4 in the game. Of course, the Wiz would have to scramble for a 2. Maybe JR Smith could do it for half a season - since we'd need a gunner. Use the MLE in the offseason to find a longer term replacement.

Trading Beal and Nene for Love and JR Smith would single-handedly sink this team. I can't think of a move that would be more destructive to our chemistry.

The emperor's new clothes are off Love this year. He's a moody **** whose surprisingly limited game has been exposed this season.

But he could be a good fit here. He claims he's going to opt in to his final year. If that's true, then pursue him in FA in the summer of 2016 if Durant falls through. But no way I'd give up Beal for him.

[Dat2U]

Hassan Whiteside in 2016??? LOL

[tontoz]

Hassan Whiteside in 2016??? LOL

[verbal8]

Horford (Sev's right). He'd be great here. Or Cousins although I also fear the baggage, his talent is undeniable.
But also agree with those who say if we don't get Durant, next option should be the best 2 way big we can get.
I think OP will be adequate at a minimum in 3-4 years time. Adequate for a team that should be considered
to have potential Finals ability.

I think Horford would be the most likely plan B target. I agree there would be a push to get Cousins as well. I think Horford would make the Wizards at least a contender within the conference. Durant clearly would make the wizards a threat to win the championship. I think Cousins would have a chance of doing that as well, although the downside is a lot worse than adding Horford. Cousins would be a big gamble, but a good one in that situation.

[hands11]

Hassan Whiteside in 2016??? LOL

Sometimes you just have to be patient.

I read those old draft threads.

There was Whiteside love going on.

[nate33]

A pre-emptive alternative would be to trade for Love this season. Remember, he can opt out after this season, and I'm guessing he will - the way things are going now. He's just not getting the touches he used to - playing with 2 guys who dominate the ball. And he's gotten benched in the 4th quarter a couple of times - from what I've heard. Because he can opt out, you only trade for him if you're sure he'll re-sign - and only certain teams would take that chance. I think an offer of Beal and Nene is reasonable. Nene and Beal would be perfect fits for Cleveland, and the Wiz would get the best offensive 4 in the game. Of course, the Wiz would have to scramble for a 2. Maybe JR Smith could do it for half a season - since we'd need a gunner. Use the MLE in the offseason to find a longer term replacement.

If you proposed this to me last summer, I would have jumped on it. Now, I'm not so sure. Is Love really the player we thought he was? Or is he just the prototypical Good Player on a Bad Team? The fact that he can't win in Cleveland against the woeful Eastern Conference is really an indictment. Something about his game bothers me. His teams just don't defend and I gotta conclude that Love has something to do with it.

On the other hand, he still looks on paper to be a perfect fit for Wall. He'd space the floor with the pick-and-pop and probably turn Wall into a 20 PPG scorer. Even now, he makes Cleveland 5.8 points better per 100 possessions when he is on the floor; and Love is barely even trying because he's so depressed over there.

It's also worth noting that Beal is looking more and more like a "Nice Player" rather than a star. We could probably replace Beal without all that much difficulty.

[Ruzious]

A pre-emptive alternative would be to trade for Love this season. Remember, he can opt out after this season, and I'm guessing he will - the way things are going now. He's just not getting the touches he used to - playing with 2 guys who dominate the ball. And he's gotten benched in the 4th quarter a couple of times - from what I've heard. Because he can opt out, you only trade for him if you're sure he'll re-sign - and only certain teams would take that chance. I think an offer of Beal and Nene is reasonable. Nene and Beal would be perfect fits for Cleveland, and the Wiz would get the best offensive 4 in the game. Of course, the Wiz would have to scramble for a 2. Maybe JR Smith could do it for half a season - since we'd need a gunner. Use the MLE in the offseason to find a longer term replacement.

Trading Beal and Nene for Love and JR Smith would single-handedly sink this team. I can't think of a move that would be more destructive to our chemistry.

The emperor's new clothes are off Love this year. He's a moody **** whose surprisingly limited game has been exposed this season.

But he could be a good fit here. He claims he's going to opt in to his final year. If that's true, then pursue him in FA in the summer of 2016 if Durant falls through. But no way I'd give up Beal for him.

I don't disagree with you except for your view on Love. He's done very well considering the circumstances he's in - having to be a role player since he gets way too few touches to be anything more than that. Aside from being a great scorer, he is the best passing big in the NBA imo, but that skill is being wasted - so far - in Cleveland. He's a great player.

[tontoz]

I just looked at Love's numbers and they aren't as good as past seasons but they are better than i thought. 18/10 with a TS of 56% is bad for him historically but i would certainly be happy with that on this team. He is definitely a viable backup option if we can't get Durant.

Considering the problems he is having with the Cavs i am sure he would be open to playing with Wall.

[nate33]

I just looked at Love's numbers and they aren't as good as past seasons but they are better than i thought. 18/10 with a TS of 56% is bad for him historically but i would certainly be happy with that on this team. He is definitely a viable backup option if we can't get Durant.

Considering the problems he is having with the Cavs i am sure he would be open to playing with Wall.

Unfortunately, Love is a free agent this year, when we still won't know about Durant.

Ruzious' trade would definitely shake up our roster and probably hurt us in the short term. Right now, Nene is playing great and he's a big reason the team is playing so well. And Beal is the only true SG on the roster. Take them both away and our team is unbalanced, lacking perimeter scoring from the backcourt, and interior defense. It might take a few more trades to get everything balanced again. Durant could conceivably be even more intrigued about joining a Wall/Love roster than he is a Wall/Beal roster, but then again, if the team takes a step back competitively during the transition, then maybe Durant would be less interested. It's definitely a gamble.

[Ruzious]

Yeah, I wouldn't be in favor that Ruz trade but figured it was worth considering.

[tontoz]

Unfortunately, Love is a free agent this year, when we still won't know about Durant.

.

Love has said he doesn't plan to opt out. Of course this could be just lip service but it would make more sense for him to be a free agent in 2016 when the cap goes up.

[nate33]

Unfortunately, Love is a free agent this year, when we still won't know about Durant.

.

Love has said he doesn't plan to opt out. Of course this could be just lip service but it would make more sense for him to be a free agent in 2016 when the cap goes up.

Interesting. I guess the question is, will Cleveland still be a mess next year - bad enough for Love to still want to leave?

Also, the clock is ticking on Love's career. Does he really want to take a "wait and see" attitude with Cleveland, or will he seek greener pastures the first chance he gets?

[Illmatic12]

Love is an awful defender.. absolutely atrocious.

We could somewhat cover him with Nene playing C for a year, but what happens in 2016? You have to have an elite, Tyson Chandler-level rim protector or defensive stalwart next to Love or your interior defense will be soft as tissue paper.

[nate33]

Love is an awful defender.. absolutely atrocious.

We could somewhat cover him with Nene playing C for a year, but what happens in 2016? You have to have an elite, Tyson Chandler-level rim protector or defensive stalwart next to Love or your interior defense will be soft as tissue paper.

I agree. If we trade Beal + Nene for Love, we'd have to make a ton of other adjustments to get the roster balanced again.

I suppose a Beal + Gortat for Love trade could work. That would leave us with Nene to play alongside Love plus a ton more cap room to work with. In 2016, we could go after Durant AND a center. (Not sure if Horford would fit.) If nothing else, we try and land a stopgap to fill the position until 2017. In 2017, a bunch of pretty good young defensive centers come off their rookie deals and might be obtainable: Noel, Adams, Plumlee, Dieng, Gobert.

[Illmatic12]

I would probably do that deal- though the thought of Beal in a Cavs jersey borderline disgusts me.

We'd get out of Gortat's contract (which is going to look real bad if he keeps lollygagging on the court) and have the chance to reload with a younger center. Wall can teach Love how to be a winner, seeing as L. James is failing in that regard.