sorry for the new thread but swift discussions are scattered everywhere. NJ is using swift, throwing other names, trying to put pressure on SAR and Portland. We've said we love swift. Um, ok. Where's our leverage? Swift has no motivation to decide in our favor until the last possible minute. If possible, we need to show him that there's some danger that we'll sign someone else. The Walker story has lost legs, at least what's being reported. Cant we show interest in Marshall? Bring in SAR? Reggie Evans? Something? (Perhaps the reality is that we don't have any leverage and can't fabricate any. But it is tough when all we say is how much we love Stromile and are just waiting by the phone like a teenage boy waiting for a call from the cutie in gym class. Perhaps the reality is that our best shot is to fawn over him and hope he loves us back enough to turn down money.)
I hope we have a backup plan, too. I don't want this to be another Beltran situation where we wait by the phone until the last minute, while all the other pfs are being signed by other teams, only to have Stromile let us down at the last possible time.
The Beltran story did have a somewhat happy (definitely CHEAPER) ending: Willy Tavares. So the proper analogy for Tavares would be Badiane? Doubt it, but it could be Toine. I mean, take Toine vs. no Toine, and I'll take him. That's how much faith I have in JVG's being able to reign him in and play correctly.
100% agree. There's no point in rocking the boat. There are only a handful of teams in the running for Swift and we can't escalate our price. At least we can appear to be solely focused upon him.
If you bring in Donyell Marshall as your Swift "smoke screen" then you basically have to offer him your entire mid level exception. If he pretty much knows he's your Plan B and you don't have all that much interest in him, you still have some wiggle room in there if Plan A bolts for another opportunity. It's not like we can sweeten the deal for Swift. It's either the most we can give him or more elsewhere. No reason to smoke screen it.
I dont think Swift is going to command more than MLE money anyways. He hasnt shown any reason why he deserves it.. I just hope he doesnt become a MoT or EGriffin lots of upside potential cant get it together. J
Prices are high for free agents. Cat got 5 yr -42 mil. Swift has a market price very near -or within 15%- 6.5 mil per year-my opinion. He can and will get more than the mid level exception..... I wish we could get a rebounding - shot blocking power forward to take pressure off of Yao...
Atlanta has to wait until next week to offer Joe Johnson a max contract. When that happens, the Suns will either match or they won't. If the Suns match, then Atlanta will probably throw a ton of money at Swift. If the Suns don't match, then Atlanta will back off of other free agents, Swift included, and try to trade one (or two) of its young swingmen for a PF. You won't see Swift making a decision until the Suns react to the Atlanta offer for Johnson. New Orleans is the only other team available to offer Swift more than the MLE, but they're like Clippers South - I don't see them ever overpaying for anyone.
I think our leverage is that we're already a team that is going to win more games and go further in the playoffs than the other places he's thinking about going. If Stro wants to contribute to that, we'd like to have him.
How much is Atlanta under the cap? I was under the impression that even with the max offer to Johnson, Atlanta still had enough cap room to beat a MLE offer for Swift. Anyway, if the Suns match, could Atlanta go after Tyson Chandler instead with the Joe Johnson money?
The Bulls will match most offers for Chandler, whereas Swift is unrestricted. Anyway, it seems unlikely that Atlanta would give Johnson a max deal and then keep all of the swingmen it has, so I speculate that they will trade for size rather than pay for it.
Assuming that JVG is driving this offseason, I don't think he is the type of guy to show up without a plan B. Much less plans C through ZZ. Just because he is not telling us, doesn't mean he isn't doing it. I feel comfortable that whatever can be done to sign SS is being done (assuming of course that he is in fact our primary target.) Man, two assumptions. Pretty much assures I am wrong
you may be right but i see it differently for now. i see that prices are high for SG's. -redd (93) -johnson (93) -allen (70) -houghs (70) -simmons (47) -cat (42) centers allways are overpaid and this year is no different - -dalembert (75) -james (full MLE) however PF's seem to be on sale this summer. -SAR will sign for MLE -marshall will sign for MLE -walker is trying to get more in S&T but will most likely end up with MLE -evans (9RPG in 24MPG) might not even get the MLE when it comes to stro, only ATL, NOH, and SEA (if they renounce their FA's) can offer more than we did. these are the teams competing with us for him. i don't count other teams offering the MLE because i believe that if the money was even he would come here. seattle probably won't renounce thier FA's. NOH do not want any big contracts right now. they might not offer much more than we did. ATL may throw a lot of money at stro if the sins match johnsons offer. even then, i think that curry is thier second option. so far i like the way things are working out. i am starting to get my hopes up about swift ending up here for the MLE.
I think more important to Atl coming in for Swift is Curry or Chandler, they want more of a true center and guy with more upside than Swift for a max or near max contract. If they get one (Curry/Chandler), I don't think they offer a mega deal to Swift regardless of the Johnson situation. Curry going to Atl would be huge, Chandler is more of a long shot. And Yes Atl can offer two max contracts or very close to it, but perhaps they way they structured Johnson's deal might make that harder. NO could come in the picture, yes, but hard to tell. They have not yet, which is good. If there were trying to bring the local kid home you would have thought they would have brought him in, my main concern is them seeing too big a value at 1-2 mil per year more than the MLE and swooping in.
I think NJ should be included with the above. The reason why SAR hasn't already signed with NJ for their MLE is because he can get an extra year and $10 mil. more if Portland S&Ts him for the Nets' $4.9 mil. trade exception. I have no reason to believe that Swift wouldn't take the same deal over us if Memphis and New Jersey were to agree to a trade (no small if, however)
that is possible however if the article about the nets wanting songalia over swift holds any truth we are still in good shape.
If you are correct, then Swift won't decide until July 29th. Like most teams, the Suns will "punish" the Hawks for making the offer to Johnson by not acting until the full 7 days are used up. I don't see the process taking that long. I'm thinking Swift will decide within a couple of days of SAR's decision. After SAR commits, any newcomers wanting Swift will make their intentions known immediately. Maybe it will take a day or two to determine if a team can do a SnT with the Logo. Then Swift will announce his intentions. SAR is the first domino, and if he decides in the next few days, the Rox will not wait until July 29th on Swift. If they do, we ARE re-visiting the Beltran affair. If the Rox are serious about AW, they must start moving his direction if Swift doesn't decide fairly quickly after SAR exits the market. If the Rox pull out of the Swift sweepstakes and no one wants to overpay him, he will be stuck taking the MLE at some place he may not want to play. We are the ONLY team in the NBA to make him our #1 priority and I think reality has crashed his party.
What the Rockets need to do is hire some personal consultants. They should pay Karl malone, Charles Barkley, Shawn Kemp, and any other power forward who tried standing in our way of our titles during the Dream Era. Then have them individually sit down with Stromile Swift and break down telling him how their life is unfulfilled by not winnning a title. And if they had to do it all over again they'd join the Rocket's to play with Hakeem (who will now be represented as Yao) and take less money so they could get a championship ring. Then they will reach an everlasting stage of enlightenment and nothing else, especially material possesions will matter, exept for that trophy and ring. Any questions?
