It almost sounds like you guys think the expansion draft would be this upcoming summer. Isn't it more likely to occur the following summer?
Wouldn't we want to leave Plumlee off the list since he is going to be a free agent anyway? There will probably be a trade or we will resign him so it might not be relevant, but it should be considered, right?
He could be a starter and 2nd option on a bad, non-playoff team (i.e. an expansion team), but no expansion team is going to want to pay him what he's making. BNM
This is all assuming the expansion draft is TODAY. It's not (obvi). But if it was, the expansion team would gobble up Plumlee on his cheap rookie deal. They get one year of a decent starting center at a very cheap price, and then all the flexibility of owning his Bird Rights. Like what you see, re-sign him. Want to cut costs, let him walk or work a sign and trade for other young assets and future draft picks. For most teams, 2nd round picks are passed around like hookers at a used car salesman convention, but they have real value to expansion teams looking to fill out their rosters. Roll the dice on a bunch of young guys on cheap, non-guaranteed contracts and hope one or two stick. BNM
If expansion really is on the table, I would absolutely make a consolidation trade ASAP. Cash in on some of our young guys and get another major piece. That would make protecting 8 guys a lot easier. Current roster: Dame CJ Harkless Aminu Plumlee Turner Crabbe Vonleh Davis Leonard Ezeli Bazz Layman PatCon Montero? So immediately I would expose Montero, PatCon, Layman, and Bazz. That leaves 11 guys. Dame CJ Harkless Aminu Plumlee Turner Crabbe Vonleh Davis Leonard Ezeli For me, I'd probably list these guys as for sure off the list: Dame CJ Harkless Turner That leaves Aminu, Plumlee, Crabbe, Vonleh, Davis, Leonard, and Ezeli as trade bait. Most likely Ezeli wouldn't have much value until he shows he can stay healthy. If we could turn Aminu, Crabbe, and Plumlee into another very good player, preferably a power forward, that would be perfect. Let's say hypothetically we trad those three for Kevin Love and Channing Frye. So our protected 8 would be: Dame CJ Harkless Turner Davis Leonard Vonleh Love With Frye, Ezeli, Montero, Layman, PatCon, and Bazz as unprotected. The only unprotected player that I'd worry about would be Ezeli. Maybe you expose Leonard and not Ezeli, depending on how healthy and how well he plays this year.
Yeah. Almost imagine you're an expansion team and expect to win about 20-25 games. Do you want $150 mil tied up in 2 players?
I'd want players that my team's fans would be excited to see. If I thought that his offensive game was ready to be featured, Crabbe would probably fit that bill. Turner not so much.
Are expansion teams required to meet the league minimum salary requirements? I seem to recall they are exempt for the first 2 or 3 years. If so, all the more reason to avoid overpriced contracts. If you're going to be bad anyway, no point in being bad and expensive. BNM
Crabbe's best move is the catch and shoot 3. Not exactly highlight reel material. Outside of Dame and C.J., I think the three players an expansion team would covet the most are Harkless, Vonleh and Plumlee. Harkless and Vonleh are our two youngest players, and as already mentioned Plumlee is cheap this year and they'd hold his Bird Rights. Plus, these are also our most prolific dunkers - something that usually gets the crowd going. Harkless had 61 dunks in 1457 minutes last season. That's one dunk every 23.9 minutes of playing time. Plumlee was next with 86 dunks in 2084 minutes - one dunk every 24.2 minutes. Vonleh was 3rd (and seems to be picking up the pace in preseason) with 33 dunks in 1174 minutes - one dunk every 35.6 minutes. Crabbe, not so much, with just 11 dunks in 2105 minutes. That's just one dunk every 191.4 minutes. Crabbe may be the best of these players, but his game isn't very exciting and he'll make $3.5 million more this year than Harkless, Vonleh and Plumlee combined. I'd definitely protect those three, but would consider leaving Crabbe unprotected due to his contract. BNM
Well if they do get an expansion team, I hope they come up with a new name, and the sonics rest in peace.
I'm thinking more of a Michael Redd-type lead scorer. Given that role, I think he could flourish, and fans of an expansion team would embrace that (I imagine).
