The problem is that all of the superstars available right now have humongous deficiencies. Even Harden is on the wrong side of 30 and producing far less than he did in his last Rockets stint. Why would we lock up these players for more than a year or two when they're not worth it?
I prefer spending the money in good young players (Reeves, Cam Johnson) than un Brook López. I know they are RFA and probable it is a waste of times because the other teams are going to match.. We need to sign players with trade value, Grant , Kuzma.
OK, I don't like many of these options, including Lopez and Brooks. Reaves seems unworkable, but I'd be OK with Johnson. So, somebody please explain it to me like I'm 12. How much salary do we need to add to get to the minimum? Can we rewrite some current contracts or are all the youngsters tied to standard contracts? Could you give someone like Boban a bunch of money for one year to get to the minimum and still have a lot of space for next year? Are there any decent PGs that are available for the kind of trade we'd be willing to make (the Garuba, Martin, Tate, Josh, TyTy types)? Anything else I'm missing? Thanks.
Seems to me like we just need to find a team that needs to dump a player to get under the tax and has a glut of point guards. Are there any such teams?
Its better to draft your own stars because you end up overpaying for an older guy on the downside when you get them in free agency.
Not really from what I can tell, assuming you're talking about point guards that are a clear upgrade as playmakers over KPJ. The closest thing would probably be Dejounte Murray, but I don't know that he comes cheap.
Sounds like some/many want veterans who are ok with not playing or coming off the bench while they play the kids to a(nother) 25-win season (while giving OKC a top 7 pick). “No, he’s gonna take away minutes from this guy!” “No, he’s gonna start in front of that guy!” “(So and so free agent) is not better than (current player on roster).” This is what @SamFisher is talking about. Winning 28 games while Mason Plumlee and George Hill mentor the kids. Sounds fun. At least they aren’t starting and taking away minutes and are just happy to be here, amirite?
Sign Lopez. Best defensive big man out there. Trade Martin , keep Tate, KPJ off the bench. Start Lopez Smith Jr Eason Green Thompson Bench Sengun Tate KPJ Whitmore Chistopher Boban
Lopez has made $21 million in a year and $22 million another season with lesser stat numbers. Why would he leave as he is comfortable in his role as a starter on a contender? https://www.spotrac.com/nba/milwaukee-bucks/brook-lopez-6136/cash-earnings/ If the Bucks can give him the most years and most money.....he is going back to that contender. I'm reading the Bucks are picked to get out of the East.....even without Middleton. Because they were the odds on favorite last year with Middleton missing significant time. Not paying Middleton allows them to sign free agents as well. Good free agents go to contenders.....not to be backups to kids. We aren't talking washed up DJ Augustin here. Some of you are having delusions of grandeur thinking Lopez will come here to be a backup.
What a sad sad list 15 yrs ago we could have signed 2 superstars outright and had money left over There are no superstars available Hardens old im not counting him Also they get paid 40- 55 mil now
The real issue is that the NBA has done a good job of incentivizing stars stay on their current teams so its not as likely they even hit UFA. It's more likely they sign a long term deal, play on their team, then demand a trade than it is they hit UFA. When is the last time a star player hit UFA in their prime? I guess Durant to the Nets, that feels forever ago now lol. But yeah, with how the cap and contracts work its better for the player to re-sign with their team and its better for the team because even if they do request a trade they can at least get something for them. That's why I've always been against this "We don't want to waste our cap!" mentality people have. The days of big name stars in their prime hitting UFA is uncommon, it's going to happen like every 3-4 seasons now. Most stars are going to change teams through trade.
Everyone's one car crash away from retirement, makes total sense to secure the bag early then just demand out when you want to move.
I think you are right, particularly on Reaves ...LAL would match literally any offer made so if you want him you have to give them something in return - what does it take to get them to give him up?
Besides Harden who are they going to add that significantly changes the expectations for this team next year? Van Fleet is maybe the second biggest name available at pg and he’s around like the 20th best pg in the league? The Rockets tanked to get all these young players, then they cleared the vets out for the most part so they could get playing experience. Doesn’t make sense to now bring in a bunch of vets who aren’t serving the purpose of making the young core better.
Yeah, they have done a good job of incentivizing stars to resign with their original team (team with bird rights) ..... but what they really need to fix is these stars demanding to be traded after that. It's not good for the league when players dictate where they play outside of free agency. Building super teams or all the stars playing in a few select desirable cities ..... while the rest of the league functions as a farm system.
Adding FVV immediately improves your guard rotation dramatically. Josh Christopher is a fringe NBA player who didn't show improvement last year. I don't see much upside for Nix or TyTy either. Yeah we can run them out there again and see what they got but I wouldn't expect much. I'm not counting on Cam and Amen to play major minutes this season either. 100% agree that he isn't a top 10 PG but he would be a perfect fit for what Udoka is building here. Plus KPJ isn't looking like a long term option unless something clicks with him this offseason. Adding Lopez doesn't really make a ton of sense in my eyes because the minutes and fit don't seem to be there.
