Not saying we can get him, but being a smart market doesn't seem like it would discourage him from choosing us.
translation: I'm going to pretend that I'd go to a small market so the larger markets will give me more money instead of having me take a paycut to go there.
He's being a smart businessman. By saying he'll play anywhere, he's increasing the number of bidders for his services ... and when the price is high enough he'll sign his max deal with Dallas.
Which is exactly why Portland needs to convince NJ right now to trade him to us. Then somehow get him to re-sign with us. It's risky as hell, but http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=792yg2j.
The Nets gave up Favors and the #3 pick, they arn't going to trade him to us unless we give up LaMarcus. They'll hope to keep him and add Dwight in the offseason. Deron should be our #1 target in the offseason, then use whatever cap money is left to keep the best of Batum/Wallace/Crawford/Oden. Theres no reason to extend Batum or Wallace right now, we should keep that flexability for the offseason.
No, I don't buy this. He is a max player regardless of any comments he makes. His price will be the max and he can go to whatever team he wants that has cap room for a max contract. If he said he’d only stay in NJ he could get the max. If he said he’ll never stay in NJ he’ll get the max. If he said he’d rather be playing in Turkey and hates the NBA he’d still get max offers from NBA teams. Dallas may end up being an option for him but I think he'll consider any city that can give him the best chance at a title and a max deal. Dallas will have to gut their roster to give him cap space; does he want to be paired with an aging and declining Dirk? Maybe, but other teams will be in the running too. If New Jersey could land Dwight I bet he'd lean towards staying put. If the Blazers get to the second round of the playoffs it’s even possible he’d see us as a contending option if he came to Portland.
And could you imagine if we got to the WCFs? We would be the front runner for getting him. We have an opportunity to give him max without gutting our roster. Basically keeping a good core of Aldridge, Matthews, Batum, Wallace, Oden and even Crawford.
The pressure is fully on NJ. If it looks like he won't sign an extension with them (and it's looking that way) then unless they can get a guy like Dwight to pair up with him before the deadline, they're going to have to concede that their very risky gambit didn't work -- They sold the farm to get Williams without a guaranteed extension and the clock is running -- there's a very real chance that they try to deal him before they risk losing him for nothing. Prokhorov desperately wants star power or at least the opportunity to add star power. He's going to want unprotected high draft picks or another star level player and that's the rub with the Blazers trying inject themselves into a trade with New Jersey; they lack the right assets to pique Prokhorov's interest and convincing Deron to come here next off-season as a free agent is probably a pipe dream given the number of teams with significant cap space this summer.
I bet he ends up in Dallas. The list of possible teams for him is probably: 1. Dallas 2. New York 3. Los Angeles 4. Orlando ... 100. Portland
The Blazers can't keep all of those players and still have enough money for a max contract to give Williams.
How you figure? With LMA, Gwall ($11 mil is max he gets), Matthews, Nic (6.5 mil), Babbit (still under contract), EWill (Still under contract), Smith (still under contract), and maybe a 8-9 mil for Oden; the team's salary would be $46,000,000. Cap was 52 mil this season right? That would give us around 12 mil free. I suspect we could just give Batum his QO, which knocks off 3.5 mil, Maybe offer Gwall 9 mil; which knocks off another 2 mil. That should give us 17.5 mil free.
You didn't get the point of what I was saying. Deron can pay whatever lip service he wants about his willingness to play in small markets, but when it comes right down to it, he's a max player and the most attractive options for high profile free agents almost always comes down to large market teams with owners who are willing to live in the luxury tax. Here's why Dallas is the front-runner: no state income tax, a chance to play for an owner who will spend liberally to surround him with talent and more local marketing opportunities. Even if Portland is really competitive in the post-season, it has several inherent disadvantages: Allen has said he's not going to be a high salary owner anymore, Oregon has a high tax burden and with the looming holes at the five spot and only one "star" level player (and a second tier one at that) it makes Portland a long-shot this summer.
He played in Turkey and would have been happy there all season if the lockout hadn't ended. So he doesn't mind playing off the beaten path. His lack of favoritism toward a big city is true, as long as the small city is where the highest offer is. So he might be saying this with devious intent, to boost offers, but I think he really means it that money will be the only factor, not a desire to be seen.
