2021-22 Season/Offseason Speculation

[bwgood77]

I just can't see Stix getting enough minutes to be that backup rebounder. He'd have to have some chemistry with the backup guards and hit a couple of 3's to earn his minutes. Just out there to rebound while giving up all that offense you could get from Cam off the bench (or Crowder if that's what's up) is too much of a trade-off.

I do agree that we need one more rebounding big. A vet would be good in this role. I mean Millsap has been mentioned numerous times. Still a solid rebounder (8rpg per 36), big body, hit 3's and seems like a good locker room. For whatever reason, we haven't been linked to him

To me, Millsap makes by far the most sense for this team of remaining guys. Solid vet example..a guy who came out, and I believe undrafted and became a great all around player. He still does a little of everything...even blocks and steals. Can defend, shoot, rebound, pass, etc.

Great guy for 2nd unit...play Cam at the 3...let Jalen learn from him..perfect guy for him to learn from. Much rather have him than Love, and probably just as much as Young, though Young is the overall better player....he cannot shoot though so hard to play next to Ayton or McGee.

Payne/Shamet/Johnson/Millsap/McGee is a very solid second unit. I think there is a decent chance we are after him. We likely only want him for 1 year to avoid tax in 2nd year which could be a sticking point, but I can't imagine those other teams giving him more than 1 either.

I like Nance Jr but it seems he is injured a bit. That proposed trade would be good without giving up a 1st or Jalen. He has also worked on his shooting and has increased his 3pt % to respectability the last 3 years, from 34 to 35 to 36%. But he is another guy who does a little bit of everything. Just a bit expensive for a backup and his contract goes to next year (though so does Saric's). We could maybe dump him after this year though if Jalen was ready for full time backup duties.

[Ghost of Kleine]

Spoiler:

I just had the same idea when I saw the Lamb trade news. Beat me to it. I'd do this easy. Our 2nd rounders will likely be sub 50.

I like this idea for nance IF we still play Cam at the backup 4 and Nance alongside him at the backup 3. This would move Nader to the 3rd rotation 3, Alongside of Smith ( 4) and Kaminsky at the (5).

But our 2nd unit of:

Payne/ Shamet/ Nance/ Cam/ McGee
would be very solid. And with moving Nader to the 3rd rotation, that rotation would be very solid as well with:

Payton/ FA? / Nader / Smith/ Kaminsky. Just pick up the best shooter/ scorer/ we can find in free agency, or from the G league/ undrafted pool. My only question would be if getting Lamb would be enough value for Cleveland to surrender Nance to us?

If not, Has anyone considered Memphis for a trade? Maybe something around:
Saric and 2 2nds for Kyle Anderson and Sam Merrill ( Shamet insurance) in case we don't resign him, As he's cheaper and has a Better FG% and a better 3 pt % on less minutes. So IF we expect to not overpay for Shamet should some team look to give him a bigger offer than we're comfortable with? But for now, Anderson would be off our books next summer, Clearing Sarics' salary. And Merrill could up his value as a cheaper similar version of Shamet/ Kennard (he averaged 5 assists in the summer league with lights out shooting)!!

With Sarics' salary off our books, We can choose to either resign him for more than we originally planned for OR we could trade him for a specific upgrade at another position of need. And IF we prefer to keep him, Then we can up Merrill's value as an elite playmaking shooter and trade him at peak value.

Once such trade that is intriguing to me should we move Shamet due th o another team's interest and possible large offer would be to trade Shamet ( pick swap or confitional first perhaps)? for BRANDON CLARKE?? He's a hometown player and is elite as a small ball 4 rim protector/ rebounder with plus athleticism. For my part, I'd love to see Clarke as Crowders' eventual replacement though. At the 3 with Cam at the 4, and McGee ( resigned) at the 5.

I think Nance and Lamb are definitely in the same tier of player. Both solid role players, that could sometimes start, both 28, both make about $10.5m/per, both have some injury history. They are VERY similar player profiles, the only difference is the position they play.

The issue with this being a straight swap, is Indiana probably doesn't want Nance, he costs the same as Lamb and is under contract for an additional year, he also is someone who'd want a lot of minutes at positions they are deep at, so they'd need a 3rd team to facilitate. Saric doesn't create the positional logjam this year, has 2 picks attached to him, saves them $, and is likely a good fit down the road.

Yes, I definitely get that percieved value around the league. Which is why I mentioned in my post that obviously Nance would come to us and thusly play at the 3 with Cam at the 4. Eventually being Ctowders' replacement. But currently upgrading our bench. But my question is in that would Cleveland look at Lamb through a similar scope in terms of value, As he likely means much more to the franchise as their top defender, A hometown favorite, And a big part of the community carrying on his legacy from his father's days with the franchise? Might they expect further returning value?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/evandammarell/2021/02/05/the-cleveland-cavaliers-should-never-consider-trading-larry-nance-jr/amp/

[NapoleonII]

Milsap can't jump two inches off the ground.

Or switch onto anyone 1-3 without getting abused.

He's 36 years old (almost 37) and was pretty much cooked this past year and I'm sure the video peons have shown their GMs ample evidence.

[Ghost of Kleine]

I just can't see Stix getting enough minutes to be that backup rebounder. He'd have to have some chemistry with the backup guards and hit a couple of 3's to earn his minutes. Just out there to rebound while giving up all that offense you could get from Cam off the bench (or Crowder if that's what's up) is too much of a trade-off.

I do agree that we need one more rebounding big. A vet would be good in this role. I mean Millsap has been mentioned numerous times. Still a solid rebounder (8rpg per 36), big body, hit 3's and seems like a good locker room. For whatever reason, we haven't been linked to him

To me, Millsap makes by far the most sense for this team of remaining guys. Solid vet example..a guy who came out, and I believe undrafted and became a great all around player. He still does a little of everything...even blocks and steals. Can defend, shoot, rebound, pass, etc.

Great guy for 2nd unit...play Cam at the 3...let Jalen learn from him..perfect guy for him to learn from. Much rather have him than Love, and probably just as much as Young, though Young is the overall better player....he cannot shoot though so hard to play next to Ayton or McGee.

Payne/Shamet/Johnson/Millsap/McGee is a very solid second unit. I think there is a decent chance we are after him. We likely only want him for 1 year to avoid tax in 2nd year which could be a sticking point, but I can't imagine those other teams giving him more than 1 either.

I like Nance Jr but it seems he is injured a bit. That proposed trade would be good without giving up a 1st or Jalen. He has also worked on his shooting and has increased his 3pt % to respectability the last 3 years, from 34 to 35 to 36%. But he is another guy who does a little bit of everything. Just a bit expensive for a backup and his contract goes to next year (though so does Saric's). We could maybe dump him after this year though if Jalen was ready for full time backup duties.

But IF we were able to dump Sarics' salary via trade, For maybe something along the lines of Kyle Alexander ( expiring) and Sam Merrill ( I wish) or Killian Tillie, Whom I see as a cheaper version of Saric anyways. Then couldn't we feasibly sign Milsap on the cheap for two yrs? And in yr two, IF Smith progresses enough, Then we run Milsap at the backup 3, Cam at the 4, And McGee at the 5?

[Ghost of Kleine]

Milsap can't jump two inches off the ground.

Or switch onto anyone 1-3 without getting abused.
Milsap
He's 36 years old (almost 37) and was pretty much cooked this past year and I'm sure the video peons have shown their GMs ample evidence.

Milsap can't jump two inches off the ground.

So what you're saying basically is that he ( at 36 yrs old) can offer very similar athleticism and defensive deficiencies as what Saric currently offers us?

[RunDogGun]

Johnson's per 36 are 14/5 not 9/3. But still not enough for what I want from starting four, but Crowder's numbers per 36 are similar, 13/6.

I like Nance, but I think there are better trades we could make to actually improve our starting line up. I don't want to trade Johnson, but it would be funny to have another Nance/Johnson trade with Cleveland.

[bwgood77]

Milsap can't jump two inches off the ground.

Or switch onto anyone 1-3 without getting abused.

He's 36 years old (almost 37) and was pretty much cooked this past year and I'm sure the video peons have shown their GMs ample evidence.

I wonder how he averages over 8 reb and 1 block per 36 if he can't jump. We are talking about our last roster spot. There are not that many FAs left. Even if it's mostly just a vet locker room/mentor guy for the locker room. He is rumored to be likely getting more than the minimum, and I'd likely only give him that, though we do still have a little more if we use the rest of our MLE.

There are reasons he is linked with many teams. If he doesn't work at 4, he worked well as a small ball 5 last year:

Golden State has been the team most often linked by league sources to Paul Millsap, arguably the most consequential free agent left. Yet while the 36-year-old former All-Star has drawn interest from the Warriors, Hawks, Nets, Pelicans, 76ers and Timberwolves, no team sources contacted by Bleacher Report indicated any contract agreement with Millsap has come close to the finish line.

After a down year in Denver, where the veteran saw his lowest minutes per game since his sophomore campaign in 2007-08, Millsap is said to be seeking a crystalized role on a team with deep playoff aspirations. "I think he just wants to know he's the third big or the reserve, small-ball 5 for a good team," one assistant general manager told B/R.

That was where Millsap ultimately factored into the Nuggets' rotation, especially after Denver swung one of the bigger trade-deadline deals to land Aaron Gordon from Orlando. Millsap started just 36 games last season, his lowest since 2009-10, but launched a career-high 4.4 threes per 36 minutes. Michael Malone's coaching staff liked deploying Millsap against Jusuf Nurkic or Enes Kanter when Nikola Jokic went to the bench, for example, allowing the veteran to still have a quickness advantage while playing up a position during Denver's postseason bout with Portland.

The Nuggets valued Millsap's quiet leadership as well, and his slower foot speed at this latter stage of his career hasn't impeded him as a help defender, where Millsap still registered 1.1 blocks and 1.6 steals per 36 minutes a year ago.

Millsap could very well end up being this year's Nic Batum, a skilled mercenary who rounds out a playoff unit's starting lineup or top of their rotation in a reduced role. He has fans across the league, but Millsap's conversations with teams this summer have revolved around salary figures at or near the $5.9 million tax-payer mid-level exception, sources said.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2947641-paul-millsap-jj-redick-and-the-new-age-veteran-free-agency-market

[lilfishi22]

Milsap can't jump two inches off the ground.

Or switch onto anyone 1-3 without getting abused.
Milsap
He's 36 years old (almost 37) and was pretty much cooked this past year and I'm sure the video peons have shown their GMs ample evidence.

Milsap can't jump two inches off the ground.

So what you're saying basically is that he ( at 36 yrs old) can offer very similar athleticism and defensive deficiencies as what Saric currently offers us?

Great counterpoint haha

[bwgood77]

Read on Twitter

[Desertfox]

Johnson's per 36 are 14/5 not 9/3. But still not enough for what I want from starting four, but Crowder's numbers per 36 are similar, 13/6.

I like Nance, but I think there are better trades we could make to actually improve our starting line up. I don't want to trade Johnson, but it would be funny to have another Nance/Johnson trade with Cleveland.

No one is suggesting we trade Cam. The proposed trade would be Saric + picks for Nance.

[bwoolf2]

I think Nance and Lamb are definitely in the same tier of player. Both solid role players, that could sometimes start, both 28, both make about $10.5m/per, both have some injury history. They are VERY similar player profiles, the only difference is the position they play.

The issue with this being a straight swap, is Indiana probably doesn't want Nance, he costs the same as Lamb and is under contract for an additional year, he also is someone who'd want a lot of minutes at positions they are deep at, so they'd need a 3rd team to facilitate. Saric doesn't create the positional logjam this year, has 2 picks attached to him, saves them $, and is likely a good fit down the road.

I'm not sure why we go after a PF, Cam Johnson is a similar size and at this point on their careers is a better player, not sure why we wouldn't just give him more minutes, other than if we just want to move off the Saric contract

Nance Jr is a MUCH better rebounder than Johnson, and a better defender. Both things we need from the PF spot desperately. CamJo definitely has a higher ceiling and is a MUCH more complete offensive player, but Nance does a lot of stuff that Cam doesn't do. No problem in having both. It also allows Cam to be a full time backup 3, so I don't think there will be any shortage of minutes. Nance Jr wouldn't be a Cam replacement, as much as it would be us punting on Stix.

From last season:
Nance Jr's Per 36:
11pts/8reb/3.5ast/2stl/.6blk

CamJo's Per 36:
9.6pts/3.3rebs/1.4ast/.6stl/.3blk

He is slightly better as a defender and a better rebounder but I hate Per 36 type of comparisons for guys that don't start it never translates that way in reality. I also think Cam is ascending while Nance is flat to decending.

[Ghost of Kleine]

Milsap can't jump two inches off the ground.

Or switch onto anyone 1-3 without getting abused.

He's 36 years old (almost 37) and was pretty much cooked this past year and I'm sure the video peons have shown their GMs ample evidence.

I wonder how he averages over 8 reb and 1 block per 36 if he can't jump. We are talking about our last roster spot. There are not that many FAs left. Even if it's mostly just a vet locker room/mentor guy for the locker room. He is rumored to be likely getting more than the minimum, and I'd likely only give him that, though we do still have a little more if we use the rest of our MLE.

There are reasons he is linked with many teams. If he doesn't work at 4, he worked well as a small ball 5 last year:

Golden State has been the team most often linked by league sources to Paul Millsap, arguably the most consequential free agent left. Yet while the 36-year-old former All-Star has drawn interest from the Warriors, Hawks, Nets, Pelicans, 76ers and Timberwolves, no team sources contacted by Bleacher Report indicated any contract agreement with Millsap has come close to the finish line.

After a down year in Denver, where the veteran saw his lowest minutes per game since his sophomore campaign in 2007-08, Millsap is said to be seeking a crystalized role on a team with deep playoff aspirations. "I think he just wants to know he's the third big or the reserve, small-ball 5 for a good team," one assistant general manager told B/R.

That was where Millsap ultimately factored into the Nuggets' rotation, especially after Denver swung one of the bigger trade-deadline deals to land Aaron Gordon from Orlando. Millsap started just 36 games last season, his lowest since 2009-10, but launched a career-high 4.4 threes per 36 minutes. Michael Malone's coaching staff liked deploying Millsap against Jusuf Nurkic or Enes Kanter when Nikola Jokic went to the bench, for example, allowing the veteran to still have a quickness advantage while playing up a position during Denver's postseason bout with Portland.

The Nuggets valued Millsap's quiet leadership as well, and his slower foot speed at this latter stage of his career hasn't impeded him as a help defender, where Millsap still registered 1.1 blocks and 1.6 steals per 36 minutes a year ago.

Millsap could very well end up being this year's Nic Batum, a skilled mercenary who rounds out a playoff unit's starting lineup or top of their rotation in a reduced role. He has fans across the league, but Millsap's conversations with teams this summer have revolved around salary figures at or near the $5.9 million tax-payer mid-level exception, sources said.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2947641-paul-millsap-jj-redick-and-the-new-age-veteran-free-agency-market

His athleticism is definitely ( unfortunately) better than that of Saric. Although at this point his incredible versatility and solid defense is mostly predicated upon his elite positioning and really high defensive/ basketball IQ. I'd love to have him, But do fully believe/ agree that he's likely holding out for either a starting role or for more minutes and a more lucrative contract AND overall ring chasing opportunity with one of the bigger stacked markets.

[Ghost of Kleine]

Spoiler:

I like this idea for nance IF we still play Cam at the backup 4 and Nance alongside him at the backup 3. This would move Nader to the 3rd rotation 3, Alongside of Smith ( 4) and Kaminsky at the (5).

But our 2nd unit of:

Payne/ Shamet/ Nance/ Cam/ McGee
would be very solid. And with moving Nader to the 3rd rotation, that rotation would be very solid as well with:

Payton/ FA? / Nader / Smith/ Kaminsky. Just pick up the best shooter/ scorer/ we can find in free agency, or from the G league/ undrafted pool. My only question would be if getting Lamb would be enough value for Cleveland to surrender Nance to us?

If not, Has anyone considered Memphis for a trade? Maybe something around:
Saric and 2 2nds for Kyle Anderson and Sam Merrill ( Shamet insurance) in case we don't resign him, As he's cheaper and has a Better FG% and a better 3 pt % on less minutes. So IF we expect to not overpay for Shamet should some team look to give him a bigger offer than we're comfortable with? But for now, Anderson would be off our books next summer, Clearing Sarics' salary. And Merrill could up his value as a cheaper similar version of Shamet/ Kennard (he averaged 5 assists in the summer league with lights out shooting)!!

With Sarics' salary off our books, We can choose to either resign him for more than we originally planned for OR we could trade him for a specific upgrade at another position of need. And IF we prefer to keep him, Then we can up Merrill's value as an elite playmaking shooter and trade him at peak value.

Once such trade that is intriguing to me should we move Shamet due th o another team's interest and possible large offer would be to trade Shamet ( pick swap or confitional first perhaps)? for BRANDON CLARKE?? He's a hometown player and is elite as a small ball 4 rim protector/ rebounder with plus athleticism. For my part, I'd love to see Clarke as Crowders' eventual replacement though. At the 3 with Cam at the 4, and McGee ( resigned) at the 5.

I think Nance and Lamb are definitely in the same tier of player. Both solid role players, that could sometimes start, both 28, both make about $10.5m/per, both have some injury history. They are VERY similar player profiles, the only difference is the position they play.

The issue with this being a straight swap, is Indiana probably doesn't want Nance, he costs the same as Lamb and is under contract for an additional year, he also is someone who'd want a lot of minutes at positions they are deep at, so they'd need a 3rd team to facilitate. Saric doesn't create the positional logjam this year, has 2 picks attached to him, saves them $, and is likely a good fit down the road.

I'm not sure why we go after a PF, Cam Johnson is a similar size and at this point on their careers is a better player, not sure why we wouldn't just give him more minutes, other than if we just want to move off the Saric contract

I'm not sure why we go after a PF,

I don't want Nance at the backup 4 personally! I actually envision him being super disruptive defensively at the backup small forward with Cam Johnson at the backup power forward position.AND EVENTUALLY replacing Crowder after this next season! For ne t season though, Ideally I see our post trade bench rotation like this:

Payne/ Shamet/ Nance/ Johnson/ McGee.

And our resulting 3rd rotation being stronger with:
Payton/ FA/ Johnson/ Smith/ Kaminsky?

FA ???
Really any of JJ Reddick, Svi Mikhailiuk, Matt Thomas, Paul Watson or Nate Darling would give our 3rd rotation strong perimeter shooting on a minimum deal! ( 1 yr vets' minimum deals)!

Or else my personal preference wherein we trade for Sam Merrill?
We could very likely get him for something like a 2nd round pick as he's not really in their plans/ rotation. And he's an absolutely lethal/ elite shooter ALSO with playmaking skills very similar to Shamet.

Watch on YouTube

[bwgood77]

Or else my personal preference wherein we trade for Sam Merrill?
We could very likely get him for something like a 2nd round pick as he's not really in their plans/ rotation. And he's an absolutely lethal/ elite shooter ALSO with playmaking skills very similar to Shamet.

Watch on YouTube

I've seen you post about Merrill and other young guys on young teams in some threads. What makes you think a team like Memphis would give up a guy like Merrill or team would give up Killian Tillie or many of these other picks teams have made.

I mean I could see a guy in maybe his 3rd or 4th year of rookie contract be given up on after a couple years if they haven't done anything, like a Sekou Doumbaya, especially since Detroit has better young guys. Those are the types of guys that may be available for nothing and if they panned out would be big. I don't expect a guy like him to, but no one expected Payne too either which was why he was out of the league.

[RunDogGun]

Johnson's per 36 are 14/5 not 9/3. But still not enough for what I want from starting four, but Crowder's numbers per 36 are similar, 13/6.

I like Nance, but I think there are better trades we could make to actually improve our starting line up. I don't want to trade Johnson, but it would be funny to have another Nance/Johnson trade with Cleveland.

No one is suggesting we trade Cam. The proposed trade would be Saric + picks for Nance.

I know, that is why I started off saying "I don't want to trade him", and then put him in a joke trade, Nance for Johnson, since we traded for Kevin Johnson, while trading Nance to Cleveland.

[Ghost of Kleine]

Spoiler:

I'm not sure why we go after a PF, Cam Johnson is a similar size and at this point on their careers is a better player, not sure why we wouldn't just give him more minutes, other than if we just want to move off the Saric contract

I'm not sure why we go after a PF,

I don't want Nance at the backup 4 personally! I actually envision him being super disruptive defensively at the backup small forward with Cam Johnson at the backup power forward position.AND EVENTUALLY replacing Crowder after this next season! For ne t season though, Ideally I see our post trade bench rotation like this:

Payne/ Shamet/ Nance/ Johnson/ McGee.

And our resulting 3rd rotation being stronger with:
Payton/ FA/ Johnson/ Smith/ Kaminsky?

FA ???
Really any of JJ Reddick, Svi Mikhailiuk, Matt Thomas, Paul Watson or Nate Darling would give our 3rd rotation strong perimeter shooting on a minimum deal! ( 1 yr vets' minimum deals)!

Or else my personal preference wherein we trade for Sam Merrill?
We could very likely get him for something like a 2nd round pick as he's not really in their plans/ rotation. And he's an absolutely lethal/ elite shooter ALSO with playmaking skills very similar to Shamet.

Watch on YouTube

I've seen you post about Merrill and other young guys on young teams in some threads. What makes you think a team like Memphis would give up a guy like Merrill or team would give up Killian Tillie or many of these other picks teams have made.

I mean I could see a guy in maybe his 3rd or 4th year of rookie contract be given up on after a couple years if they haven't done anything, like a Sekou Doumbaya, especially since Detroit has better young guys. Those are the types of guys that may be available for nothing and if they panned out would be big. I don't expect a guy like him to, but no one expected Payne too either which was why he was out of the league.

Well for one, in most of the depth charts ( 6 overall) he's not even listed, and in the few that he is ( 1- CBS) He's listed as being 3rd string behind Brooks and Zhaire Williams. But he'd also be behind Konchar once he returns from his injury. AND IF you consider Desmond Bane more of a shooting guard than a small forward, Then he'd also likely slot in behind him in terms of minutes as well! Plus they added Culver,
whom would likely play minutes at the 3, Pushing Bane for more minutes at the 2 guard position. Also Melton is listed in front of him in some depth charts currently too.

And realgm.com/ depth chart currently has BOTH him and Tillie as limited playing time options. Tillie being behind not only Adams and Tillman, But post trade also Daniel Oturu likely as well. And he's likely only in front of Santi Aldama because Aldama played terribly, And looks like a bust in the summer league.

Also this thread from Memphis fans themselves indicates the perception for their positional depth/ availability:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2116619

[Ghost of Kleine]

https://syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/2947607-ranking-the-nbas-top-10-young-cores-ahead-of-2021-22-season.amp.html

This clown has us as only 5th best core! With all of Memphis ( 4), New Orleans ( 3), Boston (2), and Atlanta ( 1) as being ahead of us. Memphis and New Orleans not even making the playoffs either. Do they have talent, Sure! But I'm not sure how they can put all of th those teams ahead of us when they haven't proven as much currently or progressed as far as our core has?

[lilfishi22]

I suppose having a couple of old guys starting for us hurts our age?

[Saberestar]

Milsap can't jump two inches off the ground.

Or switch onto anyone 1-3 without getting abused.

He's 36 years old (almost 37) and was pretty much cooked this past year and I'm sure the video peons have shown their GMs ample evidence.

I wonder how he averages over 8 reb and 1 block per 36 if he can't jump. We are talking about our last roster spot. There are not that many FAs left. Even if it's mostly just a vet locker room/mentor guy for the locker room. He is rumored to be likely getting more than the minimum, and I'd likely only give him that, though we do still have a little more if we use the rest of our MLE.

There are reasons he is linked with many teams. If he doesn't work at 4, he worked well as a small ball 5 last year:

Golden State has been the team most often linked by league sources to Paul Millsap, arguably the most consequential free agent left. Yet while the 36-year-old former All-Star has drawn interest from the Warriors, Hawks, Nets, Pelicans, 76ers and Timberwolves, no team sources contacted by Bleacher Report indicated any contract agreement with Millsap has come close to the finish line.

After a down year in Denver, where the veteran saw his lowest minutes per game since his sophomore campaign in 2007-08, Millsap is said to be seeking a crystalized role on a team with deep playoff aspirations. "I think he just wants to know he's the third big or the reserve, small-ball 5 for a good team," one assistant general manager told B/R.

That was where Millsap ultimately factored into the Nuggets' rotation, especially after Denver swung one of the bigger trade-deadline deals to land Aaron Gordon from Orlando. Millsap started just 36 games last season, his lowest since 2009-10, but launched a career-high 4.4 threes per 36 minutes. Michael Malone's coaching staff liked deploying Millsap against Jusuf Nurkic or Enes Kanter when Nikola Jokic went to the bench, for example, allowing the veteran to still have a quickness advantage while playing up a position during Denver's postseason bout with Portland.

The Nuggets valued Millsap's quiet leadership as well, and his slower foot speed at this latter stage of his career hasn't impeded him as a help defender, where Millsap still registered 1.1 blocks and 1.6 steals per 36 minutes a year ago.

Millsap could very well end up being this year's Nic Batum, a skilled mercenary who rounds out a playoff unit's starting lineup or top of their rotation in a reduced role. He has fans across the league, but Millsap's conversations with teams this summer have revolved around salary figures at or near the $5.9 million tax-payer mid-level exception, sources said.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2947641-paul-millsap-jj-redick-and-the-new-age-veteran-free-agency-market

Those per 36 numbers don't mean too much, he was bad last year as a defender all season long. And BTW, 1.1 blocks per 36 minutes is considered good as a PF/C?

I have been a Millsap's fan for years, but now he is done. Defensively he is a liability, he is in a tough position where he cannot defend perimeter players and he can't defend bigs in the paint (he is 6'7 on a good day). CP3, Book and Ayton took advantage of him easily in all matches, not only in the playoffs.

I would be OK signing him for the minimum as a fifth frontcourt player because I love his character, but he wants a bigger role, so he probably will not start the season with any team.

He can be a nice addition for a contender just before the playoffs, with him well rested and some teams struggling with injuries.

[Mulhollanddrive]

It's still interesting to me we didn't re-sign Torrey Craig for $5m, it really must mean Jones sees Jalen Smith as the guy.

We know Jones is a bit of a minimalist he likes using what he has and doesn't trade assets in and out too much so I can see him wanting to use his no.10 pick before looking elsewhere.

Having said that I would have thought we'd be getting a PF anyway for the last spot.