2016 Offseason Thread -- Not (just) #KD2DC

[Rafael122]

Portland looking to sign Howard and Parsons. This is where I would come in, do a top 55 protected 2nd round pick for Ed Davis. Signed for 2 more seasons, $13 mil total, a bargain. There's your backup 4.

[nuposse04]

Portland looking to sign Howard and Parsons. This is where I would come in, do a top 55 protected 2nd round pick for Ed Davis. Signed for 2 more seasons, $13 mil total, a bargain. There's your backup 4.

He is more of a 5, but he would be a great get. Wanted him for so long. This trade should be done immediately should the opportunity present itself. Hell even for Vonleh, he still has potential.

[WallToWall]

Im still just baffled at the incompetence of (most) GM's around the league.

2016 is the worst year to have/spend money...ever.
2014 and 2015 were great years to "Overpay" players so to lock them into cheap contracts under future cap (I.E. Gortat)
2017 will have crazy deals, but the talent is all Max worthy (Curry, Westbrook, Lebron, CP3, Hayward, etc.)
2018+ The cap would have flattened so the supply of FA money would drop substantially.

Worst year in 10-12 years

Yup, I am in favor of making strategic moves this year, with an eye on the books, so that we can make a better splash next year in the FA market. Yes, that means we will suck monkey balls this year.

[80sballboy]

Only big name we need is dwight...
Rather give Dwight 28 a year before giving Anderson anything over 20

Nah. Step away from the feeding frenzy. Keep Gortat at 12 million a year instead of doubling that to pay for a guy who isn't that much better any more. Dwight's back is messed up and he doesn't have the kind of game that ages gracefully. Let someone else spend all of their money on him.

If we try and replace Gortat with another C, it needs to be a young guy with the upside to be better than Gortat and justify the big salary we'll have to give him.

Dwight is the better play by some length imo. You don't stand a chance in this league without rim protection. And the would at least make an all-star game in the East and bring SOME buzz. Mo Harkless and bringing back Dudley and the boys? Seriously? Wall is absolutely leaving with that effort.

Dwight is probably going to Portland with Parsons and he's not the rim protector he once was. You've already given a max deal to Beal with an injury history. Now you're going to give one to a declining center, who can't shoot free throws and is about as competitive as the wall I'm staring at. At the end of games (assuming the rule still is in place), he's going to get fouled because he's such a horrific foul shooter. You have to take him out and that's your max player? He can't play late in close games? Why not get an Aldrich for half the money or yes, overpay for Biyombo who can protect the rim just as well if not better than the current Dwight.

[80sballboy]

Portland looking to sign Howard and Parsons. This is where I would come in, do a top 55 protected 2nd round pick for Ed Davis. Signed for 2 more seasons, $13 mil total, a bargain. There's your backup 4.

Yes, that would make too much sense.

[DANNYLANDOVER]

He is declining really fast. His season wasn't really any better than the one Gortat had except that he got a few more rebounds and shot better from the field. Gortat actually managed to get slightly more win shares and have a better ORtg and PER than him too: http://bkref.com/tiny/K2ssY

He's also only a year younger than Gortat, and has played a ton more minutes. Plus you've got the back issues which won't go away, the cancerous locker room presence, the crappy FT shooting, the lack of skill necessary to evolve into a player that can remain effective as his athleticism disappears, the huge contract. Too many big warning flags with Dwight.

Signing him and thinking that you're getting the player he was even in 2013 is wishful thinking IMO. All that buzz would turn into negativity real quick when we see the state he's in now, and how much we overspent to get him.

Honestly, I'd bring Dwight in just for name alone at this point. I have valid arguments for why I disagree with your points from a basketball perspective, but jesus christ this team needs SOME kind of buzz--John needs it, the city needs it. Better to go out with a bang of an acquisition than to just slowly rot away with Gortat and friends imo. This team dropped what...30% of its viewership last year? Just from a buzz and business perspective more than even basketball the team could really use Dwight.

Honestly, I'm glad you're not the GM. Ernie wouldn't even do something that ridiculous...I think.
Say NO to washed up Dwight Howard! Let him go collect his retirement money from another team.

[verbal8]

Portland looking to sign Howard and Parsons. This is where I would come in, do a top 55 protected 2nd round pick for Ed Davis. Signed for 2 more seasons, $13 mil total, a bargain. There's your backup 4.

Yes, that would make too much sense.

It might even be worth dealing a real 2nd for him.

[gtn130]

Is Beal that much better than Jeremy Lin($36M/3yrs)?

Jordan Clarkson resigned with LAL for 4/$50! He gave them a HUGE discount, but giving Clarkson 50% more than that is still >>>> super maxing Beal

Clarkson is under the "Arenas rule" so he only can be maxed(or equivalent) for 2 years. I think that still works out to a discount on Clarkson's deal.

Yeah looks like you're right. $57.8 million over four years or $34.1 million over three years is that max he could have gotten.

[stevemcqueen1]

He is declining really fast. His season wasn't really any better than the one Gortat had except that he got a few more rebounds and shot better from the field. Gortat actually managed to get slightly more win shares and have a better ORtg and PER than him too: http://bkref.com/tiny/K2ssY

He's also only a year younger than Gortat, and has played a ton more minutes. Plus you've got the back issues which won't go away, the cancerous locker room presence, the crappy FT shooting, the lack of skill necessary to evolve into a player that can remain effective as his athleticism disappears, the huge contract. Too many big warning flags with Dwight.

Signing him and thinking that you're getting the player he was even in 2013 is wishful thinking IMO. All that buzz would turn into negativity real quick when we see the state he's in now, and how much we overspent to get him.

Honestly, I'd bring Dwight in just for name alone at this point. I have valid arguments for why I disagree with your points from a basketball perspective, but jesus christ this team needs SOME kind of buzz--John needs it, the city needs it. Better to go out with a bang of an acquisition than to just slowly rot away with Gortat and friends imo. This team dropped what...30% of its viewership last year? Just from a buzz and business perspective more than even basketball the team could really use Dwight.

That is not a good enough reason to make a bad decision about the allocation of resources. You are going to cede too much future flexibility to signing a washed up Dwight, and that is a sure way to make Wall unhappy.

I think you're underestimating just how negative it would be if we signed Dwight to a big deal and he continued his decline and left yet another locker room in upheaval. Look at how we're responding to Beal's bad contract. If you think the fanbase is pissed off and teetering on the edge now, imagine how it will be in year three of Dwight's terrible contract, stuck with no room and a flattened out or decreased cap, and Wall taking meetings with RC Buford and Pat Riley and huddling up with Paul George or DeMarcus Cousins about where they can team up. That is the nightmare scenario.

[80sballboy]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/ZachLowe_NBA/status/748911087559598081[/tweet]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/ZachLowe_NBA/status/748910196827811840[/tweet]

[stevemcqueen1]

Portland looking to sign Howard and Parsons. This is where I would come in, do a top 55 protected 2nd round pick for Ed Davis. Signed for 2 more seasons, $13 mil total, a bargain. There's your backup 4.

That is a fantastic idea. Exactly the kind of out of the box thinking needed to avoid the land mines of this free agency period. Someone please pass it along to Ernie.

[Dark Faze]

That is not a good enough reason to make a bad decision about the allocation of resources. You are going to cede too much future flexibility to signing a washed up Dwight, and that is a sure way to make Wall unhappy.

I think you're underestimating just how negative it would be if we signed Dwight to a big deal and he continued his decline and left yet another locker room in upheaval. Look at how we're responding to Beal's bad contract. If you think the fanbase is pissed off and teetering on the edge now, imagine how it will be in year three of Dwight's terrible contract, stuck with no room and a flattened out or decreased cap, and Wall taking meetings with RC Buford and Pat Riley and huddling up with Paul George or DeMarcus Cousins about where they can team up. That is the nightmare scenario.

The decline is definitely real but its SERIOUSLY lacking context. He went from being a first option in Orlando during the old era where mid-ranged jumpshots ruled and then went to play with two of the biggest ballstoppers in league history with James Harden and Kobe Bryant WHILE the league transitioned to a three point heavy offense. And in an absolutely cancerous year where he was iced out many times and had career low usage you consider 14 and 12 and 2 in the western conference to be indicative of a disasterous result when paired with a pass first point guard in the east?

We just see this differently. Nobody would cry about Dwight to DC aside from the guys here who go to basketball reference. He's simply much more marketable and a bigger name than Gortat.

We're going to be in a horrific cap situation maybe even by the end of the day regardless of Dwight. The difference between Gortat + Mo Harkless + Ryan Anderson and Dwight and trading Gortat for other roleplayers is not as big as you think. And Dwight would very likely make an all-star game in the east.

Do you think us missing the playoffs again with stale ass unmarketable Gortat and Markieff and Ryan Anderson really has a better chance of keeping Wall in DC? ****, he's already lost a major endorsement in Adidas who saw his value going down.

[80sballboy]

Indiana signed Al Jefferson so that likely means Ian Mahinmi is available. Not exciting but a bit of a rim protector.

[Illuminaire]

The issue with Dwight is that both his offensive and defensive strengths are based off of elite athleticism, rather than refined skill or knowledge of the game. He's had significant back injuries and does not possess the same mobility or explosiveness as his younger self, a trend that will only continue.

He's become an offensive liability already, and his defense has slipped to average. I don't see how his offense improves much even with pass-happy teammates because he doesn't have the tools to do much aside from catch ally-oops. Meanwhile, Gortat has been playing better than him on defense. So... what is the benefit of paying this dude?

[gtn130]

We should sign Dwight Howard, Ryan Anderson, Hedo Turkoglu and bring Rashard Lewis out of retirement. I think those players along with Gortat would have a lot of chemistry in the front court.

[Ruzious]

Harkless is like Oubre with a little less wingspan. He could be good, but we already have Oubre. Pass.

[80sballboy]

Harkless is like Oubre with a little less wingspan. He could be good, but we already have Oubre. Pass.

He's like Oubre save that he's played legit minutes and can play power forward at 6-9, 220. We're not talking about a starter. We're need bodies and athleticsm up front. But I wouldn't pay double digits for him though I guess he'll go 10-12M

[stevemcqueen1]

Harkless is like Oubre with a little less wingspan. He could be good, but we already have Oubre. Pass.

We could use another Kelly Oubre though. We only have three wings and Beal is like 32 MPG at best now. Figure Porter should not be playing more than 34 MPG. That's 30 MPG you have to fill, and I don't know that we can reasonably expect more than 15 MPG from Oubre. Plus you've got PF minutes to factor in because Otto will probably play up for small ball.

I think that, realistically, we're looking for a wing that can give us 20 quality minutes a game.

[80sballboy]

Again, for the third time, he played power forward last season.

http://www.blazersedge.com/2016/4/1/11343974/portland-trail-blazers-maurice-harkless-starting-power-forward-analysis

[LyricalRico]

Indiana signed Al Jefferson so that likely means Ian Mahinmi is available. Not exciting but a bit of a rim protector.

Agree he's probably available, but also probably at Mozgov/Noah money. I'm not interested in paying that for him to split minutes with Gortat.