TK's interview with Mullin: <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Figured it out: Get in my car in the late evening after writing a column, get ready to head somewhere else that's precisely when Chris Mullin naturally would call me back. I appreciate that he did. I think you might, too, since he had been silent since draft night through Baron Davis' surprising opt-out on June 30, through BD's agreement with the Clippers on July 1, through the Warriors€™ chase of Gilbert Arenas then Elton Brand, and to the Warriors€™ deal with Corey Maggette. Silence. Then ring, ring, there's Mullin on my cellphone. As always, Mullin answered every question and I will write another column tomorrow totally fleshing out the big and little Warriors topics, as Mullin and I discussed them. This late blog entry is just to give you the highlights of our 30-minute conversation, as I scribbled away in my car (parked on a sidestreet) I'll start it with Mullin's wink to those of us who have poked at him for his long silence while all hell broke loose. I asked him, did it concern him that, while he stayed silent, local and national NBA observers were wondering if the Warriors had a plan after losing Baron, a reaction, a voice, a process, anything? "You mean when I'm not explaining everything that's going on in my brain at all times? Mullin said, laughing. Yeah, I'm 100% fine with that. I'm fine with not explaining everything and people wondering. And not just in the NBA, but in life. In fact, that''s the only way to live. For me, definitely." I know, Chris. Man oh man, do I know. Generally, asked if a team that lost Davis and added Maggette and Ronny Turiaf would be worse off, Mullin was pretty specific, but offered no guarantees: "We'll have to see," Mullin said. "I don't know yet. Nobody knows yet. "You know, it's not always an easy thing, was the 42-win team two years ago better than the 48-team that didn't go to the playoffs but was in the toughest Western conference ever? Was last year's team worse? I don't know. "If you're asking, can we be better? Can we be deeper, play with more energy, share the ball more, rebound better, play a little bit better defensively? Yeah, that is possible. "But I'm not going to predict anything. The only good prediction I know of was made by Joe Namath and that was a long time ago. That was the only worthwhile one ever." €”€“Flash analysis: More energized? Share the ball? Better defense? If I didn€™t know better, I might think the Warriors€™ chief was noting areas in which Mr. BD wasn€™t the greatest example. And what were his emotions over the last nine or 10 chaotic days? €œI anticipated€”and I think everyone did€”that it would be a really busy off-season,€ Mullin said. €œI guess it started that way and it continues to be. €œYeah, it€™s exciting any time you get an opportunity to do some new and exciting things. It also sometimes wracks your brain a little bit. But that€™s all good.€ * A detail: Mullin said the paperwork on Ronny Turiaf€™s signed offer sheet should be submitted to the league tomorrow (Thursday), which gives the Lakers until July 17 to match or let Turiaf go to the Warriors. My understanding is that the deal is slightly front-loaded, making it a little harder for the Lakers to swallow. We€™ll see. Seven days. * Why give Maggette such a huge deal? Five years and $50M? Mullin gave a very interesting explanation, touching on some topics that raised my eyebrows. €œI really appreciate his consistency,€ Mullin said. €œHe takes great care of himself, he€™s really committed to fitness, as I said, and that€™s just something we needed. €œHe gets his points and rebounds. But I just think it€™s his approach to the work and his lifestyle that will be a huge benefit for our young guys. They can watch him, see how he approaches it in the gym and maybe they can emulate him.€ €”-Flash analysis: Again€ Consistency. Takes care of himself. Physical fitness. Setting an example in the gym at practice for the young players. Those are not words or phrases you would ever associate with Baron in his Warriors career. Exact opposite. * Was Mullin taken surprise by Baron€™s decision to opt-out after he€™d said for weeks that he wouldn€™t? €My feeling is (the opt-out clause) was in writing,€ Mullin said. €œThat was always possible, whether you really expected it or not. It was what I read (in the contract). So I€™ve got to plan that it might happen. €œAnd when the (deadline) date comes up€ well, that€™s when things like that usually happen. It was in black and white, it could happen, and we planned accordingly, you know, if this happens, we do this, if another scenario plays out€. The levels are different and the money is very different, but it€™s kind of like draft day where you map things out and go from there. €œReally, until it was one or the other, it€™s not either. So no, not surprised.€ * Mullin confirmed what Davis€™ agent Todd Ramasar said: Once Baron opted out, the Warriors did not call with any further offers. Or call at all. I asked Mullin if he treated the opt-out as the end of the Warriors€™ relationship with Baron. €œYeah. I just think that the way the scenario played out, after our conversations, once he opted-out, he was looking to go somewhere else,€ Mullin said. €œLook, no one has more respect for Baron than I do. Personally and professionally, Baron did a tremendous amount for the Warriors organization. What transpired, transpired. €œBut his impact will be lasting. I wish him luck. He€™s an incredible player, a dynamic person. He€™ll go to LA and do some great things, I€™m sure. But it was time to move on€ €œObviously, we€™ll miss him tremendously. He€™s an incredible player€”one of the top players in the league. Of course, any team would miss that.€ €”€“Flash analysis: I think the Warriors may not have expected Baron to opt out, but they clearly were planning for life after Baron, possibly as soon as February or at the latest, next summer. They were not going to give him long-term money. Period. Once he opted-out, they figured he had set his mind on getting his long-term money now and probably had it set up. And Baron did have it set up with the Clippers. * I asked Mullin if the pre-plan was that, if Baron opted-out, they would go for Brand, assuming that Baron would want to head to the Clippers€ And Mullin didn€™t say so, but it sure sounded like that was the plan. Which they followed. * Here€™s the reason the Warriors were not going to give Baron long-term money€“Mullin wants to see what Monta Ellis does as the centerpiece on offense. So Monta€™s the point guard? €œI€™d say €˜guard,€™€ Mullin said. €œI think one of the things people are always saying is that we don€™t use positions, but then the first thing we do is, OK, is he a 1 or a 2? Well, Maggette€™s 2 o 3? Jack€™s a 2 or a 3? Monta€™s in there. I just put them all in there and say they€™re players.€ Of course, Baron was a pure point guard, I added. €œYeah, he was. I think Monta has grown in that regard,€ Mullin said. €œI saw him making plays last year that he wasn€™t making before€”you can call them point guard plays. I€™m pretty comfortable with him handling the ball whenever. €œI€™m pretty comfortable with him dictating a lot with the ball in his hands.€ * Mullin said negotiations with Ellis, Andris Biedrins and Kelenna Azubuike€“all restricted free agents€“are €œongoing.€ He has always said he was going to keep Ellis and Biedrins no matter what. Now that he has more money freed up, if possible, his certainty is even higher now, Mullin said. * Asked directly, Mullin said he would not be filing tampering charges against the Clippers and does not believe Baron acted in any inappropriate way during the negotiations and opt-out. €œNo. I never even thought about it,€ Mullin said about the tampering issue. €œThat was an opportunity for him and nothing more.€ Mullin also said there was no attempt to see if Davis wanted to come back to the Warriors after Brand bolted for the 76ers. €œNo.€ Why? Because you didn€™t want Baron back or he didn€™t want you back or was it out of respect for the verbal agreement? € You have respect for the agreement and the decision,€ Mullin said. €œAnd you move on.€ * I asked him if he thought the Warriors were close to landing Brand at any point. €œYou know my feeling about €œclose€? You either get it or you don€™t,€ Mullin said. €œAnything else in between, that soap opera stuff, that€™s not in my wheelhouse.€ * With all the talk of plans and scenarios, I asked Mullin if he has gone through three levels, four levels, five levels of plans so far to get to Maggette and Turiaf? €œI don€™t even know if I€™ve gotten through the first level yet,€ Mullin said. €There are always opportunities and choices. You just have to plan for them and then don€™t hesitate. When one door closes, another opens. €œWhen you see the opportunity, you go. You jump. I think it€™s always important to do the next right hting instead of thinking about what happened. I feel that whole-heartedly. You have to plan, react and not think too much. €œI don€™t worry about other people, what they€™re saying, if they don€™t know what€™s happening. If anything, I feel more comfortable in that situation.€ So, in summary, you could do something else big? €œI hope so,€ Mullin said. €œI€™m always into big things. But not by tomorrow, anyway.€</div> http://blogs.mercurynews.com/kawakami/2008...-else-warriors/ Interesting comments about Maggette. Sounds like Mullin is making moves to make the team competitive while also developing the young guys. I don't like the idea of being a 35-42 win team that doesn't make the playoffs but also drafts 9-14 but I'm not totally against it if we do play Monta, Wright, and Beli (and Randolph down the line) heavy minutes alongside Maggette, Jack, Harrington, etc. One problem I do have with teams that go 100% youth movement like the Celtics before last year, the T'Wolves and Grizz lately, etc. is that they're in rebuilding mode forever because those teams have no veterans to show the players how to be a legit NBA player and win. Mags is gonna produce for us, help uis compete in the short term but like Mullin said he'll also be a leader by example for the young players to model. Turiaf signing can also be seen in this light as well- hes a guy who can be important to chemistry, hes a big time cheerleader, he works his ass off on the court, he'll push guys to work harder in practice because he always goes all out, and although hes young hes a proven player. Also interesting note that Turiaf's contract is frontloaded. I like that move because we have so much cap room this offseason I'd rather pay him 5.5-4.5 mils the next year or two while we've got money then be paying him 3 mils later on. Here's Janny's interview: <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>(07-09) 23:41 PDT -- The Warriors' wall of silence shattered Wednesday with Chris Mullin saying he was neither blindsided nor bitter about Baron Davis' swift defection to the Clippers. Rather, the Warriors' vice president characterized the breakup between Golden State and its former franchise player as simply inevitable. "It was really just time for a change, and that's what happened," Mullin said by phone from New York. "You forget, we've been talking for a while about different scenarios, everything under the sun. "By the time that (opt-out) happened, I think he was set on going, and we were set on going in a different direction as well. Baron was with us for 3 1/2 years. It didn't all happen in one day." "Once Baron opted out, we went obviously to a different area of free agency that we hadn't been." It was by design, then, that after exploring various sign-and-trade routes, the Warriors never reached out to Davis once he walked away from the final year and $17.8 million left on his contract on June 30. Davis sprinted to the Clippers, and the Warriors ran after Arenas and Brand. Did Mullin, who offered Arenas a max contract and Brand a five-year deal worth $90 million, really believe he had a shot at either? "I thought there was a possibility," he said. "I wouldn't say a good chance." None of Golden State's executives, from Mullin to coach Don Nelson, had said a word publicly since Davis' defection to Los Angeles. In that eight-day span, the Warriors made big offers to Arenas and Brand, settled for Corey Maggette and put out an offer sheet to Lakers restricted free agent Ronny Turiaf. So where do the Warriors go from here? While Mullin left open the possibility for more roster moves, Nelson said he wasn't expecting anything major. "We're done with big stuff," Nelson said by phone from Las Vegas, where the Warriors' summer league team has been practicing prior to Friday's opener against the Sixers. There are no apparent plans to sign another big-name point guard to replace Davis. The Warriors say they already have one in-house: Monta Ellis will slide over to the point and "will do fine," Nelson said. Stephen Jackson, the team's elder statesman and emotional anchor, will start in the backcourt with Ellis. Maggette, Al Harrington and Andris Biedrins are penciled in up front. Things could still change: Both Harrington and the Warriors are exploring trade possibilities, and the team still needs to reach agreements with Ellis and Biedrins, their coveted restricted free agents. Golden State used a little less than half its available cap space to offer Maggette a five-year deal worth nearly $50 million, and that cap space will be halved again should Turiaf also land in Oakland. Nelson said he expected Turiaf to sign their offer sheet, which league sources said was for four years at $17 million, by Wednesday, but nothing had been finalized with Maggette or Turiaf as of late afternoon. The agents for both players did not return calls. Once Turiaf signs, the Lakers will have seven days to match the package. The team is already over the luxury tax, so Turiaf would effectively cost the Lakers double his salary after the dollar-for-dollar penalty is factored in. Nelson plans to use Turiaf as his backup center if the Lakers don't match. His second-string unit also includes point guard C.J. Watson, Marco Belinelli, Anthony Randolph and Brandan Wright. Watson, whose contract becomes guaranteed July 25, is expected to make the team, according to Nelson. The coach still wants to add a third point guard, and league sources said veteran Keyon Dooling and undrafted rookie Jamont Gordan were among the possibilities. The Warriors could also gamble on former All-Star Stephon Marbury if he is bought out by the Knicks. Changing of the guards A look at the Warriors' starting lineup last season and Don Nelson's projected lineup, as the team is constituted: 2007-08 Position 2008-09 Baron Davis Point guard Monta Ellis Monta Ellis Shooting guard Stephen Jackson Stephen Jackson Small forward Corey Maggette Al Harrington Power forward Al Harrington Andris Biedrins Center Andris Biedrins</div> http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?.../SP9H11ME7G.DTL Most interesting thing form this one is that Harrington and the Warriors are both actively looking at trades.
About the PG spot -- why not a shot at Shaun Livingston? Is he not ready to play? Or would he want too much $$? I just think that's low risk, high reward. But I like the confidence on the part of Nelly/Mully. Nelson said "we're done with the big stuff," but Mully said "I'm always into big things." Their cap space is pretty much eaten up now , but they could still make a big trade...
If the Turiaf deal is front-loaded, that eases a bit on my mind because that saves future cap room, which was my only big concern with that contract. As far as PG, no one knows about Livingston so it's just a big risk all around. Wouldn't be any worse than our chance on Troy Hudson, but we'd probably have to shell out 2-4 million if he can show teams his health is stable. I'd rather just sign a veteran PG at this point to be a mentor to Monta.
Am I understanding the cap correctly? The W's have roughly 40 mil tied up including Magette, Turiaf and Foyle's buyout. The cap is 58 and luxury tax is 71 mil. I'm assuming it will take about 20 to sign Biedrins and Monta. As long as they wait to sign Monta and Biedrins, can't they sitll sign someone starting at about 10-11 mil? They'd be over the cap but I though that a team could do that to resign their own RFAs, and still be under luxury tax. It seems like that could be enough to drastically change the team, especially if we trade Al for a PG. We might have enough to make a run at Smith or Okafor.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ryan @ Jul 10 2008, 11:08 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Am I understanding the cap correctly? The W's have roughly 40 mil tied up including Magette, Turiaf and Foyle's buyout. The cap is 58 and luxury tax is 71 mil. I'm assuming it will take about 20 to sign Biedrins and Monta. As long as they wait to sign Monta and Biedrins, can't they sitll sign someone starting at about 10-11 mil? They'd be over the cap but I though that a team could do that to resign their own RFAs, and still be under luxury tax. It seems like that could be enough to drastically change the team, especially if we trade Al for a PG. We might have enough to make a run at Smith or Okafor.</div> I think you're pretty close, Chad Ford says we have 9-10 million left here. Janny Hu says we used a little less than half on Maggette (assuming he starts around 7.5-8.5 mil that means we have about 9 mil left but that would be halved again if Turiaf's deal goes through. So assuming the Turiaf deal goes through, we're looking at about 4-5 mils left I guess. I would hope that we throw most of that money at Delonte West in a Turiaf-sized deal. Hes listed at 6'4, very energetic, not a pure point guard but capable of playing PG (good assist numbers and good handle), can defend either guard spot, can shoot it. Good fit next to Monta off the bench. I don't think 9-10 mil is enough to land Okafor or Smith and there are no UFAs good enough to throw all that money at. We got probably the best available UFA in Maggette and split the rest on two pretty good role players and its a pretty good FA season.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ryan @ Jul 10 2008, 11:08 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Am I understanding the cap correctly? The W's have roughly 40 mil tied up including Magette, Turiaf and Foyle's buyout. The cap is 58 and luxury tax is 71 mil. I'm assuming it will take about 20 to sign Biedrins and Monta. As long as they wait to sign Monta and Biedrins, can't they sitll sign someone starting at about 10-11 mil? They'd be over the cap but I though that a team could do that to resign their own RFAs, and still be under luxury tax. It seems like that could be enough to drastically change the team, especially if we trade Al for a PG. We might have enough to make a run at Smith or Okafor.</div> This is our current cap situation Harrington: 9.2 mils Maggatte: 8.5 mils (guess) Jackson: 7.1 mils Biedrins: 7.9 mils (As far as I remember, Biedrins' 250% (or is it 300%?) of his last year's salary will count against the cap, unless we waive him) Foyle: 6.5 mils Turiaf: 5 mils (guess) Wright: 2.1 mils Belinelli: 1.2 mils Randolph: 1.7 mils Ellis: .8 mils That's 50 mil salary committed for 10 players. Number would be bit different, but at this situation, adding another 10-11 mils starting (meaning he will probably get something like 14 mils in average) seems unlikely. Then, there are extensions for Biedrins and Ellis, which should cost around 18 mils. If we add all, our overall salary will be 60 mils (has to deduct Biedrins' initial 8 mils), roughly 11 mils from luxury tax. I think we will add a back up PG and Azu. But, I don't expect anything major in FA market...
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Kwan1031 @ Jul 10 2008, 02:38 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ryan @ Jul 10 2008, 11:08 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Am I understanding the cap correctly? The W's have roughly 40 mil tied up including Magette, Turiaf and Foyle's buyout. The cap is 58 and luxury tax is 71 mil. I'm assuming it will take about 20 to sign Biedrins and Monta. As long as they wait to sign Monta and Biedrins, can't they sitll sign someone starting at about 10-11 mil? They'd be over the cap but I though that a team could do that to resign their own RFAs, and still be under luxury tax. It seems like that could be enough to drastically change the team, especially if we trade Al for a PG. We might have enough to make a run at Smith or Okafor.</div> This is our current cap situation Harrington: 9.2 mils Maggatte: 8.5 mils (guess) Jackson: 7.1 mils Biedrins: 7.9 mils (As far as I remember, Biedrins' 250% (or is it 300%?) of his last year's salary will count against the cap, unless we waive him) Foyle: 6.5 mils Turiaf: 5 mils (guess) Wright: 2.1 mils Belinelli: 1.2 mils Randolph: 1.7 mils Ellis: .8 mils That's 50 mil salary committed for 10 players. Number would be bit different, but at this situation, adding another 10-11 mils starting (meaning he will probably get something like 14 mils in average) seems unlikely. Then, there are extensions for Biedrins and Ellis, which should cost around 18 mils. If we add all, our overall salary will be 60 mils (has to deduct Biedrins' initial 8 mils), roughly 11 mils from luxury tax. I think we will add a back up PG and Azu. But, I don't expect anything major in FA market... </div> Kwan = NBA encyclopedia Kwan, what about trade situation? After extensions to Monta/Beans, and signing Mags/Turiaf, and possibly signing Azu/back-up PG, which pieces can be traded? Would we be able, in theory, to trade Beans right away (not that I'd want to!)? Could we trade Mags right away? I asked somewhere else and I think RUn said no S&T of other team's players. If so, how long into the season before we could move Mags? Do you think there are any good trades for a starting PG besides Heinrich?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ryan @ Jul 10 2008, 11:08 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Am I understanding the cap correctly? The W's have roughly 40 mil tied up including Magette, Turiaf and Foyle's buyout. The cap is 58 and luxury tax is 71 mil. I'm assuming it will take about 20 to sign Biedrins and Monta. As long as they wait to sign Monta and Biedrins, can't they sitll sign someone starting at about 10-11 mil? They'd be over the cap but I though that a team could do that to resign their own RFAs, and still be under luxury tax. It seems like that could be enough to drastically change the team, especially if we trade Al for a PG. We might have enough to make a run at Smith or Okafor.</div> They can sign and make offers to anyone they want for the amount of the cap remainder so long as they do it before re-signing their own restricted free agents. That's because you can re-sign your own restricted free agents beyond the cap limit. I guess the main thing is that the entire team salary stays under the luxury tax line and all the subsequent years after. We may be re-signing more of our own rookies later on and we can go over the cap to do that. So if we take another max paid player right now it will be harder to re-sign our own rookies because they could be max or near max players. I think Mullin and company definitely want to have more freedom in doing that and structuring the contracts in a flexible way. We almost didn't have that if we were to re-sign Baron long term while juggling Monta Ellis and Biedrins contracts. Right now there's no competition at point guard while the SG and SF positions are being developed with Marco competing with Jax and Maggette competing with Randolph. I suppose Wright would compete with Harrington and Biedrins would be competing with nobody since his backup would be Turiaf. So, right now we have two of our rotation clearly defined at pg and c with good players at the 2 and the 3 who have developing backups behind them. If Wright ever becomes something as a PF, we'll be upset that we can't match offers in the max range if he becomes a 20/10 guy because I doubt Cohan will pay double the amount for every dollar that we're over the luxury tax limit. I think there's no need to add anybody else because who else is left? We could re-sign Azu but I bet he's going where he could get more playing time. There's no guarantee he could hold a spot down more frequently than Belinelli or Randolph if Nelson is truly committed to the rookies. I'm sure the third point guard we select would be used for defensive purposes and to allow Monta to play the Allen Iverson type shooting guard role which makes our lineup smaller if we do... pg: 3rd string guy sg: Monta Ellis 3rd: Mags 4th: Sjax 5th: Harrington
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (AlleyOop @ Jul 9 2008, 11:49 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>About the PG spot -- why not a shot at Shaun Livingston? Is he not ready to play? Or would he want too much $$? I just think that's low risk, high reward. But I like the confidence on the part of Nelly/Mully. Nelson said "we're done with the big stuff," but Mully said "I'm always into big things." Their cap space is pretty much eaten up now , but they could still make a big trade...</div> Right, I'm not too worried about their current cap situation because a trade can free up some more. I am hoping they are trying to work out a deal for Harrington. Whether it's for a player or a draft pick, I think his departure will allow more flexibility for Nelle at the PF and C positions. Presuming Kosta Perovic is back with us next year, he can be a dedicated backup C while Turiaf can be a back-up PF and C to Wright and Biedrins respectively. The latter being the more prolifically used rotation than the former. To me, that would be a "big thing" to trade away Harrington. What's bigger is signing Ellis and Biedrins and it worries me somewhat that this hasn't happened yet.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Kensaku @ Jul 10 2008, 02:53 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Right, I'm not too worried about their current cap situation because a trade can free up some more. I am hoping they are trying to work out a deal for Harrington. Whether it's for a player or a draft pick, I think his departure will allow more flexibility for Nelle at the PF and C positions. Presuming Kosta Perovic is back with us next year, he can be a dedicated backup C while Turiaf can be a back-up PF and C to Wright and Biedrins respectively. The latter being the more prolifically used rotation than the former. To me, that would be a "big thing" to trade away Harrington. What's bigger is signing Ellis and Biedrins and it worries me somewhat that this hasn't happened yet.</div> I don't expect anything out of Kosta. Nellie already said Turiaf is the backup 5, I can't see him playing much PF for Nellie. Wright will probably be a 4/5 because hes quicker, has some handles and has a nice jumpshot out to 14 feet. Also agree it would be big to trade Harrington but it doesn't seem like anything is imminent. His agent and the W's are looking around but it doesn't mean there's anything close to being done. As far as Beans and Ellis, we're waiting to use up the remaining cap space before we sign those two. If we sign them now then they'll take all of that cap away and we can say goodbye to Turiaf and the backup PG we are alleged to be looking for. We're gonna fill up that extra 9 mils then we'll be able to go over the cap to sign Monta, Beans, and Randolph (and Hendrix if they think hes worth it).
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (AlleyOop @ Jul 10 2008, 02:46 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Kwan, what about trade situation? After extensions to Monta/Beans, and signing Mags/Turiaf, and possibly signing Azu/back-up PG, which pieces can be traded? Would we be able, in theory, to trade Beans right away (not that I'd want to!)? Could we trade Mags right away? I asked somewhere else and I think RUn said no S&T of other team's players. If so, how long into the season before we could move Mags? Do you think there are any good trades for a starting PG besides Heinrich?</div> Well, as far as I know, we have to wait at least 90 days to trade Mags, and like Run mentioned, we cannot sign-and-trade other team's player. We can trade Biedrins for sign-and-trade though. Good thing is that Mags will not be a base year player (Biedrins will be, since we will be over the cap when we sign him), so he will be easier to trade. Realistically, I don't expect Mags to be shopped right away. Trade is another interesting option. For the first time in a while, we don't have enough caproom 'fodder'. Harrington will be the center block for the trade, but other than Kosta and his 1.5 mils salary, we just don't have a contract to throw in. Mullin probably wants to make a trade while we have a caproom, so that we can absorb the difference. At the end, we probably want to sign Biedrins and Monta last. But, it can be quite dangerous. There still are two teams with significant caproom (Clippers and Memphis). Let's assume that we spend almost all caproom and try to sign Biedrins and Monta for like 10 mils per year. Knowing we will not pay luxury tax, those teams can offer either players a max or something close to it. If that happens, we may be forced to give up one of them. That would be a nightmare for us...
