please delete this thread, and please PM me and tell how to post a poll without submitting the initial thread first.
Awkard? Not really. This is my first time posting a poll. Now I see that the poll is added to the original post so please disregard my previous comment and enjoy the poll!
Yeah that's kind of fail. Anyways, I'll try to bring this thread to life. I would love to see what we could get for T-Mac this offseason.
Depending on when TMac comes back (if he comes back to form and isn't traded), it has to be Artest. We can't just let him walk because we don't have the cap room to sign someone who can replace him. This team would struggle without Artest in the lineup.
Honestly I'd rather stand pat. Signing Artest would be nice but only if we could get him at a reasonable price(<10M). If not, then let him walk then sign a big. Someone like the polish Hammer or the birdman for <5M would be perfect.
Since you ask what we would like to happen most (as opposed to what we think will happen), I would like to get a closer, in other words, a capable wing scorer. We don't know what McGrady will be able to give us if the timeframe for your question is this offseason. Wafer is great as a JR Smith type off the bench but he's not starting material and I don't want two SFs in our starting lineup. I consider getting a scoring wing to be our number one priority over anything to do with the PG position or even backup C. I would rank backup C/frontcourt length as the second most important thing to fix up.
I concur with nearly all that you are saying. A closer who plays at both ends is a must. I would like to see Ron return as well, but not at a huge cost or with a very long contract. He has brought back toughness to the team and may still fit in. A backup C with athleticism and length like Birdman could also help us like you mentioned. Wafer is a backup but if things were to work out ideally for us,there wouldn't be room for him. I'm not opposed to re-signing Von for part of the MLE,if we can't get a good backup center for Yao.
I picked back-up center to represent the need for a 6'10"+ player. To me, game 7 with the fakers more than proved it. Following a close second, signing Artest. He is the exact kind of guy I'd go to war with.
Sit pat and do nothing. Not. I think things will boost our team in this order of importance: 1. Trade/Miracle with McGrady 2. Resign Artest 3. Get a backup C But that being said, I picked "get a backup C" because that is what we need to be most proactive on. I'm not extremely worried about the other two.
My pick was Trade T-Mac. The only problem is that the Rockets may not be able to trade him now because of his microfracture knee surgery, thus won't pass a team physical.
It has to be deciding what to do with T-Mac. Financial implications aside, if we're looking at this strictly from a "do whatever it takes to win a championship" mindset: we could essentially take T-Mac's massive expiring contract and parlay that into 1-2 pieces that we could add to our 53-win/Lakers-to-7 group for NOTHING. Given the economic climate in the state it's in there are plenty of penny-pinchers out there that we could "pick on" and likely get a steal of a package in return for the cap relief trading for T-Mac involves. The question is: are we willing to do that?
