If we strike out again on signing major FAs like LBJ/PG13, we're honestly better off doing the Hinkie and try to get assets whoring out our cap space while setting up for the Kawhi chase.
Like if LBJ is hardcore dissing us and hellbent on joining HOU to form a superteam with CP3/Harden, then i'd try to get involved and absorb Eric Gordon (cuz CLE wants NO salary coming back their way) and demand a 1st round pick for the privilege of eating that deal (2 years 27.5mil). Basically HOU needs to be paying out future 1st rounders like candy if they want the King, to both CLE and teams eating the contracts of Gordon, Tucker, Nene, etc. We can take Tucker too (2 year 16mil), but i'd want a 2nd as well.
Then if PG13 resigns for OKC (cuz he wants all the money he can get) thus putting OKC is in ULTRA UBER CAP HELL. They're gonna wanna dump Melo's albatross year to greatly lighten their tax burden, then i'd try to do a Deng + 2nd + cash for Melo straight up deal. Deng will make like 9ish mil less a year so the lux tax hit they take will lessen greatly, and he'll transition to stretch 4 while PG13 goes to his natural 3 spot. Cash will help lessen the disparity in their total contracts and 2nd to make it more fair value wise. Regardless both teams get something they want, expiring contract and massively less tax burden. We can then buy out Melo if he's willing to take a sizeable discount, so he can go ring chase. No point keeping him since we're already set at SF/PF and he's a cancer.
Make a sizable offer sheet to Capella as a major **** YOU, to HOU, if they match then go after secondary targets like Noel. If BroLo can be brought back on the cheap, i'd explore that option too. If we retain BroLo for cheap, then it makes sense to retain Randle as we have a stretch 5 to give Randle the paint. If we get a more typical Noel like C, that VASTLY reduces Randle's impact/value IMHO. Regardless, teams have to know, they either throw Randle the mega max or we match, so there's a VERY good chance no team will offer Randle an offer sheet since it'll be a waste of time and he'll go the way of Noel last year, where the cap market dries up and DAL says, sign the QO plz, extension pulled.
Then with whatever is left of our cap we sign bargain deals, that can be tradeable in teh future. We dont overpay and we can patiently wait out the market and let others waste it. IT for a 1 year prove it deal at like 6mil.
Melo bought out for say 20 mil, so we save like 8ish mil, then he tries to go for a full MLE from a contender
C - Noel (1 year 10 mil), Zubac, Bryant
PF- Kuzma, Randle (could be anywhere from 4 years 76 mil to the Qualifying Offer)
SF- Ingram, Tucker
SG- Gordon, Bradley/KCP? (1 year 10-12mil)
PG- Lonzo, IT (6 mil)
Still have 14-16 mil in cap leftover, while holding onto Randle 12.5mil caphold RFA status. Will have 4.3m room exception after cap is filled. Only major thing that will throw a wrench in our cap space plans is if some team goes YOLO (Please Use More Appropriate Word) and throws Randle a max offer sheet full of poison pills early in FA, in which case we have to decline.
2018 CLE 1st #26
2019 HOU 1st #30 (if they get LBJ its #30 pick)
2019 HOU 2nd #60 ---> send to OKC in Melo trade
Draft wings with our picks, pray 1 one of em goes Kuzma for us
http://www.shamsports.com/capulator?id=4101008655aca7e61ae12f570358750Cap situation is very clean for 2019
I hope Lin gets traded and stretched, and sign him up to be a backup combo reclamation project, i wouldnt want to play Gordon 28 mins no matter what due to his past injury history. Need 2 way players who can help Lonzo and be a pressure release from being the only facilitator on the floor, KCP for example wasnt a good facilitator and good teams who blitz Lonzo can kill our offensive flow. However if we can get KCP or Avery Bradley for a 1 year 10ish mil deal, and assuming we cant find more teams willing to give up 1st round picks + expiring contracts for cap space, isnt a bad option. Gordon is used to coming off the bench.
Doing all this basically converts Deng's **** cap hit split into 2 useable/tradeable players in Gordon/Tucker who all expire at the same time, while keeping all of our 2019 cap flexibility for more shots at future superstar FAs. Gordon and Tucker also can be spun off for more future assets if they play well, so we can get expiring + 1st from a contender, for example, and giving us even more 2019 cap space. Also, they can be salary filler for a potential Kawhi trade. Imagine if Kawhi is hellbent on getting out of SA, we can offer a deal like Gordon, Tucker or Randle (assuming he's on the QO) + picks. This will be attractive to Spurs if no one is offering up a high lotto pick and if Gordon/Randle or Tucker all play well next season meaning they can be spun for more assets. In Randle's case he'd take over as their starting PF of the future.
Or we can wait for the next superstar to get cranky and want out and again, we got plenty of useable expirings to bundle together to make a deal. Deng is just so putridly useless, that only another toxic deal like Melo is the only one i can think of that we can swap for without giving up a bunch of picks.
