Hire JVG. If Dwight stays, upgrade at PG. (Rondo?) If Dwight leaves, upgrade at PF and SF. (Anderson and Crabbe?)
I was begging to worry that Rudy T would never pick up his clone army. It's been nearly 19 years in the making. They are ready.
I like this as well. I like the idea of getting the cheapest of Mahinmi, Biyombo, Ezeli, and Aldrich. But I feel like they all may bank with how many teams have money.
This intrigues me. I'm sure he is definitely not a good defender, but neither was Bullard & he got minutes. I wouldn't want him to get heavy minutes. It might be neat to have an all-offense lineup with a stretch 4 AND a stretch 5 - not the starting lineup - just one we trot out in certain situations. How does Leonard compare to Spencer Hawes? I always wondered why the Rockets never tried for that guy. Wish Leonard could do a tiny bit of rim protecting, but probably not.
Go for Mahinmi and Conley. Mahinmi might not leave the Pacers though. You have to get Conley though - really make him key. Then find someone who can replace Dwight. I don't think we'd get Whiteside and he might be very expensive. Mahinmi might be the better choice. I'd consider Parsons as well but he might be too expensive. If not Parsons another guy who can play the 4 and shoot threes. And if you can do it relatively cheap, I'd resign Dmo if his back looks ok.
Sergio isn't coming. I'd rather go for younger more athletic Cs, ideally someone who is a very good defender - Jefferson isn't that. Conley would be awesome and while an upgrade at the 3 would be good too (have Ariza come off the bench), I'd really look to upgrade the 4. Beasly/Dmo sounds good on paper, but Dmo has to 1) stay healthy and 2) put together a season of goood play - I like his upside but we have been talking about his upside for years now. Not convinced that he can put it together because of either 1) or 2) or both not happening. (although I'd love to keep him on a cheap contract)
I don't really get everyone's fascination with Conley. He is a good defensive PG, but he is not out-of-this world good. He is "floor general" on offense, but we already know that Harden is going to dominate the ball handling. He is poor at catch and shoot and is barely above average at shooting of the dribble. He is a poor rebounder. On offense, he has been very efficient running the PnR but that is as much to do with the big men has to run it with (Gasol and Randolph). Is he really worth $15-20 million for 4-5 years which is what he will command. On top of that, he is extremely injury prone. The other reason to bring this up, is that most championship level teams with an elite ball dominant SG do NOT invest those type of resources in a PG. Yes, they need an effective point guard, but that would be expecting him to be as good as Chauncey Billups was during Detroit's Championship window, and the Rockets don't have the front court to help him out.
Who will be the cheapest... a) even though this FA class is very bad when it comes to Cs it's pretty good actually. Which means that the prices for them will not be as high as for example wings where every good roleplayer will be paid 15+. b) The most important is their teams situation. The Clippers can't afford to let Aldrich go. As far I know they should have full bird rights ? (can't look it up right now.) Same with the Pacers. They will pay Mahinmi his market value since they have full bird rights. On the other hand the Raptors as far I remember should have only early bird rights for Biyombo and not enough capspace. So that makes Biyombo the most available of them all. Think of a price of 12+. Teams off the top of my head that will not have a starting caliber c under contract on the start of FA : Charlotte, Rockets, Spurs, Pacers, Mavs, Portland? (depending on what one thinks of Ed Davis), Lakers, Heat, Atlanta, Celtics, and the Bulls. Yeah..a big who is afraid of contact and doesn't rebound and is that soft has no real appeal...let's see if he decides to play on the qo.
I like Conley but i think there's some truth here...anyway, Beverley is not very good obviously, but i think he's getting exposed cause we just don't have a single guy other than Harden who can create or pass the ball...but overall Pat is still a good fit, and he's very cheap for today standards. Imo, if we can sign a couple of good creators/passers in other spots, Pat is fine as a starter, and generally it's a huge advantage to have solid and cheap starters...
15-20? You must be joking. The starting price will be 26 and every year go up from there. And agreed. To pay your almost 30 year old pg who is not even top 5 in his position,which happens to be the deepest in the league, and not even a perfect fit, a max like that is not a good idea. He is not the perfect fit, because he is not a great shooter, to be able to play fully off ball when needed. Instantly Conley will be the highest paid pg in the league.
We have to get a Sergio type of player, or replace Ariza I agree with your tweak on that position. However the center position I would still like an inside post presence on the court (Jefferson) , you still have ur athletic Big in Capella. In crunch time teams will test your big man's ability to shoot free throws. I know Jefferson is old, but find me a Big that can fill that role.
Pau Gasol says, "Hi there." [$7.769M player option] Chicago Bulls (2015-16): 72 games, 31.8 mpg, 16.5 ppg, 11.0 rpg (ranked #6 in regular season)
Evan Fournier/ Tony Wroten/ Isiah Canaan James Harden/ RJ Hunter Allen Crabbe/ Kj Mcdaniels/ Sam Dekker Ryan Anderson/ Montrez Harrel/ Amare Stoudemire Hasaan Whiteside / Clint Capela Coach JVG/ Assitant Mike Dantoni Build a Dynasty
Pau is going to a contender. I honestly could see him signing with Golden State like David West signed with the Spurs (leaving money on the table, etc).
Toronto is basically running ISO sets for Lowry and DeRozen and I haven't seen Biyombo check out of one possession on either end of the floor. I'd give him a look.
Evan Fournier/ Tony Wroten/ Isiah Canaan James Harden/ RJ Hunter Allen Crabbe/ Kj Mcdaniels/ Sam Dekker Ryan Anderson/ Michael Beasly/ Montrez Harrel/ Hasaan Whiteside / Clint Capela Coach JVG/ Assitant Mike Dantoni
[rQUOTEr]A person familiar with the organization told Sporting News that landing Hawks star Al Horford is the Rockets' top-line goal in free agency, and Ryan Anderson also would be a possibility. Also, expect Morey to be creative when pursuing sign-and-trade deals involving star players like Blake Griffin, Jimmy Butler or Carmelo Anthony, should they become available. http://www.sportingnews.com/nba/new...ets-jeff-van-gundy/1qomn144coujq1we2055sb1vo1[/rQUOTEr]