We have to keep building, even while taking that shot at the championship. Trying to get that last 1-2 pieces, even if it's Chris Bosh, is not going to be a sure thing. If we spend some of our chips moving up in the draft, it might hurt a little for the Win This Year plan, but if WTY doesn't work (we aren't the only team trying to WTY), we'll be in worse shape if we haven't added any young talent. A Whiteside or Monroe isn't going to hurt us all that much this upcoming year, anyhow.
I'm not sure where this notion of "there's only X number of player is worth max in the league and we should try to avoid over pay" comes from. The fact is, generally speaking, max contracts, along with rookie contracts, are the two most likely under-valued contracts available under CBA. You almost never sign a guy in the 10M -15M range and ends up getting a bargain. But there are definately a considerable number of players that will commend a higher-than-max salary if CBA is not in place. As to Bosh, he would be getting way over the current max figure if not for CBA. The risk of over-paying him by offering a max contract is almost non-existent at this point...
Gerald Wallace's value is at it's peak now, he had a record year as far as points rebounds, minutes go, while still anchoring that defense and racking up blocks and steals. Whatever Charlotte wants for him, especially after their first playoff berth, is probably too much.
I like Felton and his triple doubles. He may not be the best 3pt shooter, but I think he is a money ball player for what he brings. Hopefully Morey can bring him in with the MLE. Lowry (S&T), and Ariza for Wallace. The Bobcats may not re-sign Felton. Second trade: Battier Brooks Budinger Hill and the 14th pick for Maggette, Curry, Randolph and the 6th pick. Curry / Felton (MLE) Martin / Maggette / Taylor Wallace / Maggette Scola / Hayes / Jeffries Yao / Randolph / Andersen Still have the #6 pick.
Well, what the OP is getting at isn't backup guys, but rather players who are right below max-worthy. I'm not implying that we can't tweak our roster. Obviously I'm not against signing someone for the MLE if he provides an area of need. But spending another $10-15 mil on a major piece doesn't seem like it'll upgrade this roster.
Well, how about if we could lose Battier or Ariza, but bring back in Iguodala? How about (hypothetically) if his salary were reasonable?
In that case "sitting on our asses" and signing mid-level guys to fill our gaps seems to be the best way to go. Cousins/Aldrich/Whiteside/Xavier Henry, Aaron Brooks, C-Bud and Hill seem to be a good core now and for the future.
