In the end, i'd be ok with just upgrading from Ryan to Ibaka at this point...even though, Toronto can offer more money/years to Ibaka..and they have literally no reason to lowball him at this point, even if Lowry leaves, they traded a 1st pick and a good bench player for Ibaka, that imo means they will do everything they can to keep him if that just means offer him more money, you'll have to hope he doesn't really care about money that much (and this is his first and last chance to make big money in his career) if you want to see him leave. On George, at this point we just need to hope Hayward goes to Boston, if this is going to happen, maybe Ainge will lose interest in George and we can be really in play if he wants to play on a good team...because with Hayward staying in Salt Lake City we have no chance to out bid Boston, and i don't see George saying "Yes to Houston, no to Boston" as today.
Raptors are at $79 million at the moment. Can get below $78 million if they release 2 of their non guaranteed contracts. If they give both Ibaka and Lowry $25 million......it takes them to around $128 million. Note in the article they mentioned that the key was to sign Ibaka first. Because of bird rights on Lowry, they could then offer the moon. Similar to when the Rockets wanted to sign Bosh and then offer Chandler Parsons his contract. Cuban forced an issue by speeding up the clock on the Parson signing. Aren't you the one that was telling me that Washington is willing to match any offer for Otto Porter? You believe the Washington brass but not the Toronto brass? Washington has cheaper options in Bogdanovic and Kelly Oubre as a viable option at SF next to Beal and Wall. The difference in Raptors and Wizards payroll is tremendous at the moment. I mentioned the other day how the Washington payroll would exceed $128 million after signing Porter. Then they have to make a decision on giving Bogdanovic about $15 mil/yr Then they have to fill up the rest of the roster.......even if it's without Bogdanovic the money would be sparse. Wiz could renounce the rights to Bogdanovic and Trey Burke and a couple of non guaranteed contracts to get down to about $118 million after the Porter signing; but they would have only 10 guys under contract. I think you are cherry picking one situation over the other. Or do I have you confused with another member here. If that's the case.....I'm sorry. Edited: Serge Ibaka is from the Republic of Congo where French is the main language. Ibaka speaks 5 languages from what I understand. Toronto is mainly French & English. From what I hear Toronto is beautiful. I predicted Ibaka would end up in Miami this summer.....but he is one of the few NBA players who probably likes playing north of the border.
The uncertainty with Lowry's future in Toronto is an opportunity I hope we can take advantage of. Will Toronto lock up this core and re-sign Lowry and Ibaka to massive deals? Tough decision with Derozan's big deal and the team's continual playoff woes. If they decide to keep both Lowry and Ibaka, they will be right at the cap. Lowry can get a max of $35 million in year 1, but let's say his new deal starts at $28-30 million. With Ibaka at $20 million, the Raptors would have $128-130 million on the payroll next year! Pieces like Demarre Carroll (no thx) and Valenciunas (!) might be available for pennies on the dollar. Tucker would be a UFA and a potential bargain bin target for Morey. If they decide to let Lowry go, would Toronto go through a mini rebuild? Ibaka at $20 million is very reasonable, but he may not be a guy you want to keep when trying to develop younger players. There are a lot of moving parts for Toronto this offseason. Hopefully Morey can take advantage of the chaos.
Otto Porter is an RFA and thus the Wiz can let the market set the price. Ibaka is a UFA and can leave and sign anywhere at any time.
@joshuaao & @Deuce Yes I understand RFA & UFA. Teams don't fear the RFA label the last few years. It use to make teams timid about offering those players a deal. Bogdanovic is not going to wait around while Otto Porter is making the tour of teams interested in him. Washington couldn't beat the Cavs with Porter & Bogdanovic.....how are they going to beat the Cavs with Porter minus Bogdanovic and money to fill the void because you just gave Otto a boat load of money? Yes, Philadelphia is ready to offer Lowry a boat load of money, a boat and a small island to bring Lowry back home to the Philly area......but signing both Lowry and Ibaka to contracts by the Raptors still doesn't get them by the Cavs. Ibaka resigning with the Raptors is about liking the City, the people, the teammates and the organization. The chances the Rockets get either Ibaka or Porter is less than 10%......regardless of RFA or UFA. If Ibaka wants it best; would be Miami. 1) stays in the East 2) Live near South Beach 3) Speaks Spanish as well 4) the proverbial "No State Tax" 5) be a part of what could be the best starting 5: That starting 5 for Miami would be: PG) Dragic SG) Tyler Johnson SF) Justice Winslow PF) Ibaka C) Whiteside With expected improvement from Tyler Johnson and Winslow.....this may be the best starting 5 not only in the East......but possibly the West as well. Just a matter of the depth on the roster. **Not everyone feels Whiteside is a positive while on the court. Matter of perspective. I think they would be able to beat Cleveland. Chances/odds for Ibaka imo: Raptors (45%), Miami (35%), Rest of the field (20%) Houston would probably account for 6% of the field's 20%.....about the same odds on Otto Porter coming to H-town.
Personally i expect Riley to go after Griffin or Millsap first, i think they need more offense than defense at this point, and i'm not even sure Millsap is a worse defender than Ibaka...
I'm not against trying to acquire or meet with Otto Porter/Ibaka/Hayward/Millsap; but chances or odds are not good. You mentioned Toronto having a lot of moving parts.....Houston would also have a lot of moving parts in order to bring in Ibaka. Why would the Raptors do a sign and trade of Ibaka for Ryan Anderson if they are forced into rebuild mode? Moving parts would require moving Gordon/Lou/Ariza/Ryno in some manner of combination in order to go after Ibaka out right. I would prefer going after 2 lesser players. Quantity over quality. Maybe Gerald Green & Sefolosha. Iggy is not a super star max guy.....but would the Warriors have been as successful without him over the past two years? ............(2016/17)............................mins/game...................Pts/game.........................3P%................................ Iguladala ..........................................26.3...............................7.6..................................36%.............................. Sefolosha..........................................25.7...............................7.2..................................34%............................. Iggy numbers are not much different in previous years. Role players are vital to team success. Just 3 super stars will have a hard time winning.
Guys, I think yall are underestimating the difficulty to moving Ryan Anderson. The cap isn't going to increase exponentially this year and there isn't a big future increase on the horizon. His 18 mil is not chump change and is a big amount for a "contender" to take on... they have to be sure he's a huge piece to their puzzle. With the warriors shadow looming over the rest of the league, I think teams are going to be less willing to "go for it" on paper this offseason. The price for cheaper, younger player who have a chance to develop into an all-star type guy is going to be really high and flexibility is going to be at a premium. I don't think teams are going to sacrifice that for Ryno.... especially given how he **** the bed. His value is down, his contract isn't getting any smaller, and other option have more future upside.... He's going to be hard to move, especially if we don't want to take salary back. If its for a different player, then the argument is even harder to make. If Ryan Anderson is part of a package for an "upgrade" the rest of the package is going to have to be pretty sick. We don't have a lot of "sick" assets... unless you wanna trade capela.
What do you guys think is the least Paul George would command if he insists he's not signing with any team but LA and LA doesn't trade for him? Would teams still offer a lottery for a 1 year rental? Would any 1st rounder plus a couple young potential players get it done? Would a package of Gordon, Ariza, Dekker, Harrell and a first rounder get it done? Having Gordon has some sort of appeal as he can score but probably won't win you games so you could still tank and he's an Indy native, plus its not like they would be taking back a Ryan Anderson sized contract. Ariza would be contract filler and a veteran presence, Dekker can be the same value as a mid first rounder. After I re-read that above paragraph, I take it back. Indy must be able to find more. LA could still trump that and not give up much. LA might refuse to take back a bad contract though, so if we also offered to take Monta Ellis? Gordon + Lou + Ariza + Dekker + Harrell + 1st rounder for George + Ellis + CJ Miles Indy is taking on no terrible contracts, ridding of Ellis' and getting some young pieces I'm bored
I sit here and look at the list of potential FA's and cant help but think that none of them really move the needle and close the gap between the Rockets and GSW , it might be best to just sit this one out .... The way the cap has exploded over the past couple of years , so many of these guys are getting silly large contracts and aren't really worth it .... Might be better to forget about those high priced middle class or slightly above guys and make a couple smaller moves. Fill a couple holes with value contracts & help facilitate a deal or two , maybe take on a bad contract for the coming season and reload on draft picks and possibly get a young player with potential so long a you do not destroy cap flexibility beyond the coming season. You aren't going to catch GSW by trading away assets (Capela or future #1's) to move Ryno to bring in Ibaka , MIlsap or any of the other FSA's out there.
Give me Bell, Mason, and Bolden out of this draft. Trade Anderson for Brook Lopez (expiring deal that could be a great piece) Package Capela, Harrell, and a couple future seconds for Hezonja. Turn Lou into draft pick. Give his minutes to Mason. Re-sign Nene. Make Nene your starting 5. Support him with Onuaku/Bell. Lopez can either start or come off the bench depending on matchups. You give Mason and Bell plenty of early run to get them acclimated with Bell as your roll man offensively and the switching big defensively. Let things settle out. Then look for one more piece with the MLE later in the season.
That team is crap and full of unknown rookies. Late round rookies at that and Hezonja who is a bust/scrub. It's just a team full of players you like and think will "become" good role players, not actually "are" good players. And your right, not tank, because harden is too phenomenal to let that happen. But just downgraded to mediocre bottom tier playoff team.
It's a better unit than what we've got now. Bell is a much better defender than Capela. In fact, Bell is a defensive force. Don't be surprised if he sneaks into the lottery. Mason is the second playmaker we need. Hezonja is possible gettable and in our system would be a star headed for superstardom. Hezonjs is going to be a great player. He may look like a bust. But he's going to be great. I'm not coming off him. These moves are all relatively low cost doable moves and trades that make us better and put us in a better place to trade for a superstar.
I'm in with the Brook Lopez part. they can is unstopable in a one to one. Our spacing will be gold for him. Good shotblocker, bad rebounder, very profecional
Wrong Lopez, his brother is our need & cost a lot less. Need a defenseman / rebounder / P&R big not someone that takes the ball out of Hardens hands & plays glory ball.
No Brook is the one I'm talking about. He's expiring. Nets want to move him and move on. He's one of those guys with insane length that really uses that length well in the defensive paint. And here's the vision, put him with a guy like Bell in the front court. Defensively he plays the middle. Offensively he spots up from three with Bell running pick-and-roll or he runs pick-and-pop with another small ball 4 or even with Bell he can run pick-and-pop with the point and Bell can be in the corner and cut for the lob if his defender drifts and then go opposite corner while the perimeter rotates. You gotta know these players and see it. Bell is the best defender in this draft. He's going to be great defensively from day 1. Bell has the ability to flex from 5 to 1 defensively and he's got everything you need offensively frim your pick and roll big. If he adds a three ball, he'll be a max player in four years. He's a special player. Brook Lopez isn't my first choice for Anderson's contract. But I think that's a more realistic, doable trade than a lot of trade proposals which have a much smaller chance of happening.
Create our own superteam.... Bev/Ariza/Harrell/Dekker to Indy for Paul George and Glen Robinson III Then, open a bottle of tequila and.... Anderson/Lou Will to NY for Melo and Kyle O'Quinn Sign a Tony Allen type and fill out the roster with ring chasers PG Harden SG Allen/Gordon SF PG13/Robinson PF Melo/O'Quinn C Capela/Nene You would probably have to be at least partially insane to have the year that we had and STILL semi-seriously consider an approach like this. But KD signing longterm in GS is enough to make me crazy enough to contemplate the idea.
