I agree Miller will get a lot more then mle and we are under the cap anyway and don't have a mle to use even if he would. I think Miller will get close to 10 million a year or at least 8 million. I do think Miller is by far the best FA PG available this year. I like him better then Bibby, Nash, Sessions etc.
We will be well over the cap in 2010 even with Miles coming off the books. We will have to sign Roy to a max contract and LMA to a max or close to it. We will be way over the cap and if we want to sign a FA it has to be this summer.
This is not true we will be way over the cap because or Roy, LMA and maybe even Oden will need contract extensions. 2009 is our last chance ro sign a FA for a long long time.
Let's not wast another prime season of LMA and Roy hoping guys like Blake or Outlaw will magically take it to the next level. This summer is our best change to make a trade or sign an impact FA to get us to contend with the likes of the Lakers and Nuggets in the West. For the record I like Miller and think he may want to bolt Philly since he skipped out on the final meeting with team officials.
I really doubt any team, especially considering the panic some franchises are going in (esp the few that are actually under the cap) will sign Miller for 9 million per year. He's not worth 9 million, given his age. There MIGHT be a sign and trade, but that's dumping a lot of money into a PG that won't make a significant difference on too many teams. 9 million for Miller is a Golden State/L.A. Clippers type signing.
Brooks wouldn't be able to handle Miller in the post. And Miller is a PG who actually has some distribution skills, so if the team collapsed on him, someone would be open. That would take some pressure off Roy. Problem with Sergio, is that he can pass, but the defense doesn't have to account for any aspect of his game. Perhaps we can go with a complete PG overhaul, bring in Sessions and Miller, bye-bye Blake and Sergio.
I think even in this economy Miller will get 9 million a year or very close to that this summer. It depends on how long a contract he wants. If he wants a long contract he might only get 7-8 million but if he only wants 2-3 year contract he will get 10 million a year. There are a lot of teams that need a PG as good as Miller. He probably will end up with a sign and trade this year if someoone like the Blazers don't make him a FA offer.
If we resign BRoy and LMA to max contracts and renounce Sergio there could still be cap room if KP was very frugal. I am not sure how much but just looking at the 2010 contracts it seems that KP could play for some cap room in 2010. The best way to make a splash this offseason is probably a lopsided trade to take on salary for teams making a play for FA's in 2010.
There might be a lot of teams who need a PG, but I don't think that a lot of those teams are going to be under the cap enough to spend 7-10 million per on 1 player. Especially one that isn't a deep threat, or a top notch PG anymore. Not as many players are getting big deals anymore period. And with the economy being a huge factor for a lot of team, this is a bad time for non superstar players to be free agents expecting big contracts. As for the Jason Kidd comments (I forgot who said it), Jason Kidd signed his contract years ago. I don't know if he gets 9 million per year, even considering the fact he was a significantly better PG than Miller ever was. And if Miller is a "top tier" pg, then the level of PG's have dropped a ton. He is better than what we have, but he shouldn't be demanding 9 million per year. Figures like 9 million are left for players who are young and up-and-coming. Not 33 and able to left wide open at the 3 point line.
We might be better off though pursuing a young PG while we have the chance. Like maybe Mike Conley. Perhaps we could trade Travis, Blake and some draft picks for Conley, and take back Jaric's contract. Conley might have the added bonus of perking Greg Oden up.
For the PG position, I think... Sergio is gone either way. We either get a vet PG and Blake is gone so Bayless is the future, or we get a young stud like Sessions (or brooks who I like) and Bayless is gone and Blake is the backup (he would be a solid backup, imo). I think we should trade with Houston as I think they have 3 players that would be great on our team... Brooks | Blake Roy | Rudy Battier | Batum Aldridge | Landry Oden | Przybilla Sergio, Bayless, Webster, Outlaw, Frye, Trade Exemption, our 1st rounder and some 2nd rounders are all trade assets IMO. We could bring over Koponen and Freeland to round out the 12-man roster and use one of our 2nds to draft a player to develop oversees. I think that would be pretty sick. If not i'd really like a Sessions/Blair off-season as well. And I really like Maynor in the draft.
Assuming Brooks is even a good choice, why would Houston trade Brooks? They just traded away Rafer Alston and gave him the keys.
Miller skips 76ers' final team meeting. He is done with the 76ers and is ready to join the Blazers! http://www.nba.com/2009/playoffs2009/05/01/76ers.miller.ratliff.ap/index.html
I just hear they are frustrated wiith him a lot and Lowry sometimes does a better job than Brooks. They may also value Bayless higher? IDK. You are right, its a big assumption to assume Brooks is right for this team, I just like him I'm not sure why.
I value Bayless significantly higher than Brooks. He torched Portland's defense, but Portland's defense is particularly ill-suited to defend quick point guards. Brooks is not particularly good in general. Bayless had a rough rookie season and little chance to develop on the floor, but his talent level is much higher in my opinion.
Yep, this is what I want as well. This would be my first option, but I really like Brooks' game. And think Houston would be a great trading partner because they really have a youngish PG, a SF we need, and a banger backup PF all on the same team. I think Brooks would be a pretty good target though. He is a really good shooter, a pesky defender, quick and can get into the lane very well, and is only 24. But I think it greatly depends on how Jerryd works out this offseason.
Miller would be perfect. Sign Miller, make Bayless his backup. Perfect. I don't know why people are so down on Bayless. The kid never even really got a shot. I look for him to play in the SL again, dominate again, and keep improving. He's still so young. Miller could come in at maybe 6-8 million a year for four years, man the starting spot for 2-3 years, and then Bayless takes over when he's ready. I can't think of a better scenario, short of trading for CP3, Deron Williams, or Tony Parker.
This is a key point that I think a lot of people are missing. He was only a year older than a prep-to-pro player would be, when Portland drafted him. This season would only have been his sophomore season at Arizona. He was expected not to be a polished, finished product and he got very little time on the court to develop polish. It was mildly concerning that he wasn't hitting his perimeter shots, but considering he did that well in high school and college, I find it hard to believe that this is a skill which he simply "lost." More likely, he never got a chance to establish a rhythm for the NBA game due to his lack of time in NBA games, and his shot was what was affected most by that. He's a great athlete with a really nice skillset: defense, slashing, finishing, shooting. His passing skills may need work, but he had enough of them to be one of the top prep point guard prospects of his class. I think his upside is still huge.
I like him too, but I doubt he dominate this year in SL. I bet he plays strickly PG and works just on setting up his teammates. And since his teammates will suck so will his stats. But personally I could care less about his stats.
