2022/2023 mock Trade/Draft/Free agency thread

Harden/Amen/TyTy
Green/Gup
Eason/KPJ/Bates
Jabari/KMJ
Sengun/Plumlee/Garuba
Trade down from 20 and get a 2nd to take Bates and a first for next year.
Harden comes on a 2yr $100m deal with team option in 3rd year. Plumlee 2 yr $20m
Trade Tate in the harden signing (S&T) for Philly to get a large exception or the trade down from 20.

 

Not bad. I don’t really want Bates though. Would much rather trade #20 and assets to move up or for another vet. You could probably get Conley or Caruso for the 20th pick, not sign Harden, and wait for the better FA class next year.

 

IMO, the Rockets will be waiting and watching what happens with the Blazers and Nets until draft night. Both those teams are aggressively posturing through the media, but I've come around to believing a trade is inevitable.

Trade:
On draft night, after the Hornets take Miller as expected

Portland gets: Mikal Bridges, Nic Claxton, Joe Harris

Brooklyn gets: Sharpe, Simons, Sengun, Nurkic, #4 pick, Nets' own 2024 pick unprotected, Nets' own 2025 pick swap top 3 protected

Houston gets: #3 pick, Phoenix 2025 pick unprotected, Philly 2027 protected pick, Dallas 2029 pick unprotected

Draft:
Scoot at #3 and use KJ + Tate to move up from #20 and draft Lively

In free agency:
Brook Lopez @ $30M/yr, 2 years with a team option.
Bruce Brown @ $18M/yr, 3 years
Cam Johnson @ $28M/yr, 3 yrs, declining to $23M (or Harrison Barnes if Brooklyn matches)
Joe Ingles @ room exception, 1 year with a team option

Outcome:
Scoot / Brown / vet min
Jalen / KPJ
Cam J / Ingles / two way
Jabari / Tari
Lopez / Lively / Garuba

Adds a floor general, a defensive identity, veterans who know how to win, and shooting everywhere. No bad contracts going forward. 35-40 wins next season. +2 future unprotected frp's. Max cap space next summer.

 

If we can't somehow get Scoot, like @carl_herrera 's creative scenario above, I still love the idea of somehow prying Tyus Jones free from Memphis. I believe he is a good starting-caliber point guard who has largely been stuck on the bench there, and his contract would allow us to hedge our bets with an Amen Thompson pick; if Amen busts, we can re-sign Tyus and he'd be a great fit with our guys, if Amen is looking good, we can let him walk and plug Amen in as a starter.

So here's a thought I had--Memphis is going to be without Ja Morant for a full season, most likely (unless he's banned from the NBA entirely, but let's assume it's something like a 50 game or 1 full season suspension). They need a veteran who can helm the ship and teach that kid how to act. Spencer Dinwiddie is a great fit for them. They also need somebody to replace Dillon Brooks. How about KJ Martin?

The Nets are in a bad situation, need upside, and cap space. I doubt they want to give up on Mikal Bridges without an extreme overpay, but maybe they would be interested in shuffling things around and getting younger.

Houston in:
Tyus Jones, Nic Claxton

Memphis in:
Spencer Dinwiddie, Kenyon Martin Jr.

Brooklyn in:
Kevin Porter Jr, Usman Garuba, 2024 BK first round pick

---

This would likely be the 8-man rotation:

Guards
Tyus Jones
Amen Thompson
Jalen Green

Forwards
Tari Eason
Jabari Smith Jr
Jae'Sean Tate

Centers
Alperen Sengun
Nic Claxton

 

*I want to package the 4th overall pick for either Tyrese Haliburton or Tyrese Maxey. Figure it out, Stone!

But, if we must keep the 4th and 20th picks, load up on shooters.

4. Taylor Hendricks (39% from 3)
20. Brandin Podziemski (44% from 3)
Sign Jevon Carter (42% from 3) & Yuta Watanabe (44% from 3).
Trade for Kelly Olynyk (39% from 3).
Give Utah - Jaesean Tate & KJ Martin.

New Rockets w/shooting
KPJ/J.Carter(42%)
Green/B.Podziemski(44%)
Tari/Y.Watanabe(44%)
Jabari/T.Hendricks(39%)
Sengun/K.Olynyk(39%)
Others: TyTy, JC, & Garuba(41%)
Everyone else better learn to shoot or get your minutes taken by your backup sniper.

 

You should still have money to acquire a PG somehow. I think I would do that rather than running it back with the same starters from a 22 win team.

 

Yes, the Rockets could offer more in free agency than Toronto can currently in an extension.

BUT once he reaches free agency Toronto can make the same offer.

Once he reaches free agency, the rules that prevent Toronto from making a competitive offer are eliminated - that only applies as an extension. In that case, its no longer an extension - just a fresh new contract.

 

The 5 man lineup of KPJ, Green, Tari, Jabari, and Sengun had a net rating of -0.5. It was one of our best lineups this season. Our normal starting lineups with EG and KJ Martin starting at the 3 we're getting blown off the court with net ratings of -9.3 and -11.8.

Our goofy head was too dumb to keep Tari starting at the 3.

I've been wanting to get Tyus Jones in a trade, but Ja Morant has screwed up those plans.

 

I personally don’t want to see KPJ at the point again. But I like him and Green tag teaming at the 2. I think both can learn to play defense at a high level and I think Green can get there as a shooter (they are both natural scorers). But if we can get a real franchise player by trading either, I’d do it. Signing guys like Gary Trent Jr, Josh Hart or Bruce Brown could easily make up for losing either player. In fact, right now, objectively, all those players are better than any shooting guard we have on our roster. They are all good two-way players.

 

I like the lineup, just with someone else at PG.
I’m not really down on KPJ overall,

 

I hear ya. I'm not a fan of KPJ at the point either. But, I'll take him at the point any day over someone that can't shoot like Amen. I do wonder what KPJ would look like at the point if we added those 5 shooters I mentioned previously.

I would give up a lot of draft assets for Tyrese Haliburton. His age, shooting, and passing would fit perfectly.

 

I would give up #4, Green, and all the Brooklyn picks for Haliburton. He is lowkey almost into the top 10 players in the league, IMO. But I don't see why Indiana would even consider trading him right now. He's what you hope to get by tanking.

 

I would make that trade in a heartbeat

 

Nobody is looking for Amen to start for us if we draft him. He is a year away, but I believe Harden will be our starting point guard. Amen starting on the bench but play 25 minutes a game. KPJ play SG on the bench and will receive great consideration for the 6th Man Award. Use KJ, Tate and maybe TyTy for sign and trade deals for either HARDEN or Cam Johnson. We could do a sign and trade deal with Morey for Harden and then sign Cam outright for 28-30 million.

Harden
Green
Johnson
Jabari
Sengun

Bench- Amen, KPJ, Tari, Garuba at PF and draft Lively

 

If that's what it took to get Halliburton, maybe. Because we need an elite PG. Harden or no.

All I do know is it sucks having the fourth pick in a 3 man draft.

 

Why in the world would Brooklyn do this?

Claxton is a 24 year old who just had a breakout season with DPOTY potential.

 

Getting their pick(s) back is a very high value to them right now. Claxton is a future roleplayer. I don't see DPOY potential. They are projected as mid-lottery next season. Perhaps one pick is not enough and it would need to be two, or the Clippers pick added, or something else.

 

Is Nets really interested in getting their picks back? It's a nice sounding idea, but it seems to be a very CF/Rockets fan base driven narrative.

They have a few promising players like Mikal, Claxton, and Cam. Wasn't there reports of Rockets inquiring about Claxton last summer, but nothing came of it, as likely our FO got turned down.

On teams wanting their picks back, funny how rarely there's trade proposal on Clutchfans of us asking Thunder to give our picks and swaps back.

 

Honestly, they should be. They are going nowhere, and I mean nowhere, with high-level roleplayer Mikal Bridges as their best player. None of their prospects has star upside. But there are always egos involved, and maybe trying to get their picks back feels too much like their organizational leadership admitting failure.

 

They have some interesting young players including Claxton, plus Sun's picks. They are not entirely starved. If they want flexibility maybe renting cap space is more valuable in them trying to rid of contracts like Simmons or Harris.

And the thing that we can't discount is pride. Sean Marks knows he goofed on the Harden Simmons trade, getting picks (from Harden trade) is a reminder to his base of his failure.

Also I'm saying this, from my limited lurking on the Nets fan base... this idea (of getting by their picks back) has been floated to their media covering people, right now it seems like they're not interested.