The Offseason

[TMU]

All I'm going to say is to get ready for "The FIT, Part 2.0". It's coming.

I think this year it's The WINDOW, which is already closed even though it never existed according to most experts going into last season.

I like it. Hopefully we'll have a complete trilogy by next year.

[Mr. E]

All I'm going to say is to get ready for "The FIT, Part 2.0". It's coming.

I think this year it's The WINDOW, which is already closed even though it never existed according to most experts going into last season.

I like it. Hopefully we'll have complete a trilogy by next year.

Next year it's the party at Chucky Cheese!!!

[BallerTalk]

All I'm going to say is to get ready for "The FIT, Part 2.0". It's coming.

Would that technically be a ReFitting?

[moofs]

Javale is not better than Cousins, but he doesn't have a temper like Cousins though.

JaVale's not as skilled.
He's more effective, though.

Not without 4 all stars around him.

Nope, even without.
https://www.boxscoregeeks.com/players/compare?utf8=%E2%9C%93&player_ids%5B%5D=343&player_ids%5B%5D=289&season=career

JaVale is way better at shooting efficiency, blocks, and turnovers, all of which create and use possessions very well.

DeMarcus takes more shots, gets more assists, and gets a few more rebounds. If “shot creation” is your thing, I suppose he’s great, but literally ANY schlub can heave the ball toward the rim.

Basically, DeMarcus problem is that he refuses to abandon his weaknesses and play to his strengths. “Being the best” is about being effective, not the most talented, the latter of which DeMarcus wins hands down.

The 60’s Celtics* and 00’s Spurs didn’t win all those titles because they were more talented, but because they were more effective. The 90’s Bulls, the 80’s Lakers, and the 10’s Warriors were all both of those things.

In comparison to the singular talent of Chamberlain, as the team itself was fairly well stacked with really good players.

If Cousins plays to his strengths (which he’s never yet done in his career) and recovers from his injury (for which there is a very poor track record), sure, he could be better than JaVale. Historically, though? JaVale all day.

[moofs]

Maybe he'll play well knowing he has a lot to prove in a contract year. We might lose out on LMAM though.

How many times is this that Houston and Melo have been linked in trade/FA talks? It's getting kinda sad.

I kinda wonder if Melo is a result of ... there are three options I see.

1. Morey, being a smart guy, REALLY doesn’t like being wrong or beaten, so when he targeted someone and lost or was “shown wrong”, he remains fixated on that option as a goal, in spite of it having been shown to be bad or being past the expiration date. Everybody has their weaknesses.

2. I’ve mentioned this option before, but Carmelo “is a star”, and Morey’s pursuit of him throws people off the scent of what he’s really pursuing, strategically. The advantage this year is that Melo should be a low enough cost that there isn’t much risk associated with him, and Morey can actually follow through to show “that he isn’t bluffing”, which might be a good poker strategy for keeping people from guessing your hand.
I’m questionable at poker, but great at Risk, so ymmv.

3. Other than the impact it might have had on LMAM, Melo IS (or should be), a low risk high reward play, which is typical Morey, and would probably make decent trade filler if needed, which is also typical Morey.

Ariza did show signs of slipping the last 2 years, where he flopped hard in the playoffs. He’s paid more than he’s worth now, which is bad for us. Weirdest is that I don’t see what he provides Phoenix for that money, but they aren’t a bad club for no reason.

I REALLY wanted to keep LMAM, but he failed his contract at Sacro Because of his shoulder, then dislocated it TWICE in one season here. He’s not reliable, and he’s, what, 32? WIll he be 33 next year? (edit: 31. 32 next year.). Is this situation going to get better or worse? Is he going to be able to recover his shooting stroke at this point?

Also, it bears repeating, the refs suck. I’m still sore about games 6 and 7.

[moofs]

I don't think that Ennis is being viewed as a starter.

And I just read the report that Capela turned down 5/85.

If that is true then I'm going to prepare myself for him not being back on the Rockets.

5/85 at 17 per year strikes me as... it’s probably fair-ish, but on the low side of what he should be offered.

Capela is an excellent finisher, fairly good rebounder, extremely low usage, and excellent defender.

It remains to be seen whether he would still be as effective on offense without 1-2 great passers feeding him the ball at perfect times, considering that he almost never creates his own scoring opportunities.

I could see him being paid as high as 21-22m, but even though I don’t see him as a max contract guy, there’s usually a lunatic somewhere who will do something stupid, and tbh I’m not too comfortable with pricing contracts on this new CBA yet.
Doesn’t max kindof vary between 25 and 33m, depending on a LOT of variables?

[moofs]

Looked around a bit at Capela's peers, and high tier 2018 contracts, and found this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highest-paid_NBA_players_by_season#2017%E2%80%932018
Top 10: $27.7-$34.6

Hassan Whiteside and DeAndre Jordan, I think, are fair comparisons. They're due 25 million and 23 million next year, so...
Capela probably needs to get paid, considering he's younger and more effective than either. They've also been at their level for a longer period of time, where Capela is 2 years into starting, which means their contracts are higher from the annual raises that are typically worked into most contracts. 19.5-22 starting for 5 years, working toward 26 for a total of about 100ish seems good.

I just wish there was evidence that it was HIM and not THE SYSTEM. Capela's market value isn't ONLY determined by his value to us, but his value to others, and his replaceability. Would he be what he was for us last year on, say, Brooklyn? How would Whiteside fare on the Rockets (granted, he costs more and is older)? What about Drummond (22m)?

Still, all those guys are paid in the low-mid 20s. Unless there's a good reason for it, 17 is "low", but uh, I find it really weird that it's possible to say in the modern NBA that "17 million a year is low", particularly for a 12/12/2 center.

Kinda reminds me of when Antonio Davis suddenly got paid 11 million back in 02.

[K_chile22]

Maybe he'll play well knowing he has a lot to prove in a contract year. We might lose out on LMAM though.

How many times is this that Houston and Melo have been linked in trade/FA talks? It's getting kinda sad.

I kinda wonder if Melo is a result of ... there are three options I see.

1. Morey, being a smart guy, REALLY doesn’t like being wrong or beaten, so when he targeted someone and lost or was “shown wrong”, he remains fixated on that option as a goal, in spite of it having been shown to be bad or being past the expiration date. Everybody has their weaknesses.

2. I’ve mentioned this option before, but Carmelo “is a star”, and Morey’s pursuit of him throws people off the scent of what he’s really pursuing, strategically. The advantage this year is that Melo should be a low enough cost that there isn’t much risk associated with him, and Morey can actually follow through to show “that he isn’t bluffing”, which might be a good poker strategy for keeping people from guessing your hand.
I’m questionable at poker, but great at Risk, so ymmv.

3. Other than the impact it might have had on LMAM, Melo IS (or should be), a low risk high reward play, which is typical Morey, and would probably make decent trade filler if needed, which is also typical Morey.

Ariza did show signs of slipping the last 2 years, where he flopped hard in the playoffs. He’s paid more than he’s worth now, which is bad for us. Weirdest is that I don’t see what he provides Phoenix for that money, but they aren’t a bad club for no reason.

I REALLY wanted to keep LMAM, but he failed his contract at Sacro Because of his shoulder, then dislocated it TWICE in one season here. He’s not reliable, and he’s, what, 32? WIll he be 33 next year? (edit: 31. 32 next year.). Is this situation going to get better or worse? Is he going to be able to recover his shooting stroke at this point?

Also, it bears repeating, the refs suck. I’m still sore about games 6 and 7.

Wait what was that about him failing a physical?

[texasholdem]

Possible Capela S&T scenarios that don't involve a superstar like Butler or Leonard:

to Bucks for Thon Maker, Tony Snell and John Henson ($24m combined)

to Nets for Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert and DeMare Carroll (expiring) ($19.1m combined)

to Lakers for Luol Deng ($36m guaranteed over 2 years), Josh Hart and Kyle Kuzma ($21.4m combined)

LA already signed McGee for the vetmin so they might not be too interested in giving up both young pieces for Capela.
Maker had a poor sophomore season but was a good shotblocker in the playoffs. Henson and Snell are good role players.
Allen had a decent but not spectacular rookie year with Brooklyn. Could be a cheap replacement for next 3 years and he's a 78% Ft shooter.

Watch on YouTube

[MaxRider]

market for center isn't good
DeAndre got paid but not multiyear
Cousins got tax payer MLE
Okafor, Monroe can't get a contract

[texasholdem]

Kings are the only team that can make Capela a big offer right now. They offered Zach Lavine 4 years/78 million for $19.5m per year but the Bulls matched. They have a ton of expiring contracts though so if they move a couple of those without getting salary back they could perhaps offer more to Capela.

[moofs]

Wait what was that about him failing a physical?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/2522985-luc-richard-mbah-a-moute-to-kings-latest-contract-details-reaction.amp.html

[moofs]

Possible Capela S&T scenarios that don't involve a superstar like Butler or Leonard:

to Bucks for Thon Maker, Tony Snell and John Henson ($24m combined)

to Nets for Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert and DeMare Carroll (expiring) ($19.1m combined)

to Lakers for Luol Deng ($36m guaranteed over 2 years), Josh Hart and Kyle Kuzma ($21.4m combined)

LA already signed McGee for the vetmin so they might not be too interested in giving up both young pieces for Capela.
Maker had a poor sophomore season but was a good shotblocker in the playoffs. Henson and Snell are good role players.
Allen had a decent but not spectacular rookie year with Brooklyn. Could be a cheap replacement for next 3 years and he's a 78% Ft shooter.

Watch on YouTube

You know who our GM is, right?
No way in hell does he trade the top production guy in the NBA, in terms of efficiency, for any of those packages.

[texasholdem]

You know who our GM is, right?
No way in hell does he trade the top production guy in the NBA, in terms of efficiency, for any of those packages.

Probably not. I'd just hate to lose him for nothing. I'd rather they had kept Capela instead of signing CP3.

[bgwc]

What happens if Capela takes the qualifying offer? Would you guys prefer that to signing him to a max or near-max deal?

[moofs]

You know who our GM is, right?
No way in hell does he trade the top production guy in the NBA, in terms of efficiency, for any of those packages.

Probably not. I'd just hate to lose him for nothing. I'd rather they had kept Capela instead of signing CP3.

Are we limited in terms of the cap to what we can sign him now?

I’m really not familiar with the new CBA at ALL yet.

[K_chile22]

You know who our GM is, right?
No way in hell does he trade the top production guy in the NBA, in terms of efficiency, for any of those packages.

Probably not. I'd just hate to lose him for nothing. I'd rather they had kept Capela instead of signing CP3.

Are we limited in terms of the cap to what we can sign him now?

I’m really not familiar with the new CBA at ALL yet.

No, CP3 and Capela's deals are pretty much independent of each other. It has nothing to do with CP3's deal, it's just the Rockets playing the RFA game

[texasholdem]

You know who our GM is, right?
No way in hell does he trade the top production guy in the NBA, in terms of efficiency, for any of those packages.

Probably not. I'd just hate to lose him for nothing. I'd rather they had kept Capela instead of signing CP3.

Are we limited in terms of the cap to what we can sign him now?

I’m really not familiar with the new CBA at ALL yet.

Salary cap no. Luxury tax that Tillman wants to pay is a question.

[BallerTalk]

Melo traded to Atlanta with buyout expected.


Step one complete.


Stay tuned...

[MaxRider]

Melo traded to Atlanta with buyout expected.


Step one complete.


Stay tuned...

1st and Goal