You do if your team isn't as good as Chicago's to start with. We have guys like that already on the team. What we don't have are the other pieces
But they have tried this before. It doesn't work for small market teams as a whole. Portland had what was called by GM at the time, KP, the best trading chip in the history of the NBA. They decided to let it expire, and wound up with Andre Miller. Who is a steady PG, but not an all star, not young, not the answer. Get assets while you can
Getting cap space wasn't the problem. It's what they did with the capspace that was the problem. Also the Darius Miles fiasco left them with much less cap than they had anticipated. Blame the person, not the method. And you still haven't given me an alternative. "Get more assets" isn't an alternative. How do you get those assets? Draft? Trades? You can get more assets by making good signings too in case you didn't know.
Good post B-Roy. If we are in full rebuild mode, then we have to take one step at a time. So, if NO big-time game-changer wants to come here for our cap space, we take whatever tier player we can get with it, as you've described. You accumulate assets. You try to combine assets for better assets. It's a process. If we can't trade for what we need now, and it appears we can't, we need to start that process over again through the draft, young prospects, and whatever trades and free agents we can use our cap space for. What alternative do we have?
Yes you can. However, small market teams don't usually have the ability to make those kind of signings. Successful small market/not hugely desirable places to play build through the draft. You have to get lucky, but it's how you do it. Then make trades to add to those pieces. Portland did it by identifying talent and drafting it back int he day with Drexler, Porter, Kersey, then added to that. SA drafted Robinson, Duncan, Parker and Ginobili. OKC drafted Durant, Westbrook, Hardin. Our current team drafted the talent in Oden, Roy and Aldridge, but failed to take the medical records seriously. Portland can add some nice pieces in free agency, but we don't need nice pieces. We need 1 or 2 great pieces first. To do that you need to trade assets for picks, and be aggressive in the draft.
You nailed my point. You have to get LUCKY. For christsakes how can you plan to get lucky? You sure as hell can't, so you work with what you have. Which is what the Blazers are doing.
So your plan is? I'd like to hear it. Give some actual details instead of just "we need a great piece!!!"
My plan would not have been to bring in Crawford or Felton, but since they are here now, my plan would be to find a deal for Crawford and Felton that got us 2 firsts this season. Wallace would be dealt to the highest bidding playoff team. I would see if I could get an asset for Camby, and if not let him expire. (I would have dealt him sooner) I would go into the draft with 3-4 picks ranging from 8 or so (ours) to the late 20's. I would use our pick at say 8 and whatever other piece I needed to move up and get Barnes or Drummond. Let's say Drummond for argument sake. I would still likely have two more picks because I would buy one, and use those on Teague and Terrence Jones. That would leave me with a do over team of Drummond, Aldridge, Jones, Batum, Teague, Williams, Smith. Nice rebuilding chips and assets for future trades. While those trades might not all work, they are all reasonable
You're saying that it's better to let assets expire (become worthless) than to convert them into something of potential value (trading them away)? How does that make sense?
Capspace isn't worthless. If you're going to trade these "assets", they should be for expiring contracts. I use the term assets loosely, because no one is willing to give much value for them.
That is of course if Portland is an interesting destination for a free-agent. They will want two things: Money and winning. If we show disfunction and look like shit this season, we will get the table scraps and pay a great deal for em.
All I would want to trade them for are picks or young, untapped potential. There's no reason we can't both trade away assets and still retain significant cap-space.
To clarify, I'd much rather have first round draft picks this year than tons of cap space. But it doesn't appear we are going to get a bunch of first round picks for our mutinous crappy guards. I don't know what the Blazers are doing with Camby and Crash (that would make a good title for a crappy tv show, but I digress) but they should be traded for picks and prospects at all cost, IMO. Take a loss, I don't care. If we can't get picks and prospects, we need to let some of these contracts go at the end of the year and start over. Yes, it's that bad in Blazerslandia.
We don't know what deals are out there. The only ones I'd be willing to take are expirings + picks or a good young player. I highly doubt we can get the latter with what we're offering. I wouldn't take a non expiring without a higher (15 or lower) pick in the draft.
That's only for the top stars, of which there's only one this off season. Good but not great players like Hawes will most likely follow where the money goes.
The Bulls had 3 starters, and one of those was after signing Boozer. Their starting SG was a D-Leaguer, Keith Bogans even after signing those 3 and Boozer. They dumped most of their players for cap space to try and sign two of the three who ended up in Miami.
