Quick: LA and Deron have talked about playing together

Exactly!

 

No, they can trade the rights to the player, if they already used the pick. They just couldn't trade it before the draft.

 

So we get davis but our lottery bound pick thats top 2 protected turns into a mid 20s pick and we lose lma? No thank you

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Market size. Deron wont leave a big market for a small market, if he had a choice.

 

I think Davis is going to be that good. Rebuild on the run with a prospect like him, much like OKC did with Durant.

 

yeah, if he had a choice. So he can choose to stay, and choose market over winning, and go to Brooklyn. If that is the argument for him staying there, then LA going there doesn't mean anything. If he wants to win, then he can come play with LA here. If he wants both, well, he can decide which is more important. And if I'm Portland, I'm taking the chance before making sure he stays there.

 

Deron doesnt seem like as big of a ill only play in big markets guy.. At least not to thr melo, cp3 level.

 

there's no guarantee davis will be a durant-type impact player (has a LONG way to go offensively), and OKC did not rebuild on the run. they sucked ass for 3 full years to end up with durant, westbrook, & harden.

 

If Deron Williams and Lamarcus Aldridge chat this summer and decide they would like to try to play together if they could, they have several options:

1) Deron could sign a new contract with a new team that ends in 2015, so his and LA's deals expire the same time. They tell Cuban if he gets the cap space they will sign with the Mavs then. Likely, their respective teams work out a trade with Dallas in 2014 so they can get something rather then have them walk for nothing. If Cuban tears the Mavs apart this summer, by 2014 he may have rebuilt the team enough for a good looking roster. If Cuban tries to make the playoffs in 2013 & 2014, Deron and LA will have a crap roster to play with them.

2) Deron and LA decide to meet up in NJ/Brooklyn. Deron resigns with them. LA demands a trade to NJ. This is a risky plan as the Blazers could refuse, or accept and the Nets trade what little assets of value they have left to Portland for LA, leaving them with a crap roster.

3) The Blazers clear MAX salary cap space this summer (something they likely can accomplish), and sign Deron outright, giving up no significant roster assets in the process. Because of this, Deron would be joining LA on a team that had other good players as well: Batum (they match any offer made if Deron coming to team); one or likely two lottery picks used to draft rookies that are ready to contribute or traded for quality vets.

Signing with the Blazers would be the cleanest and surest approach and one with a better looking roster than NJ/Brooklyn and maybe Dallas as well. However, it isn't a big market, it isn't in the Eastern Time Zone, and Deron would get more money if he signs a deal with NJ.

All things considered, I think Deron will listen to LA and the Blazers and think about it as an option. Will he come here? Probably not. We are in the fucking boonies, so many East Coast people never see our games, it is really hard to have a big endorsement career in Portland, and the team is missing a Center, so the roster would look good to Deron, but not so good he couldn't pass it up.

Then there is the money thing. He gets a bigger contract if he signs with NJ. A smaller MAX deal if he signs with a new team as a free agent. Then, in Oregon he would have to pay a very high state income tax rate. Texas (and Florida) have no state income tax.

On $50,000,000 in earnings the Oregon State income tax (at the highest rate in the nations at 11%) is, well, you know, serious money.

Big Time free agents who are told by their agents they can have it all - the most money, fame, extra endorsement deals - they aren't likely to come to Portland.

 

Just throwing this out there about sales taxes, you pay taxes on the money you earn in the state. For pro athletes this means that their salary is actually apportioned by each game (kind of interesting, I don't think they actually get "paid" for practices or anything like that). So that Texas/FL tax is more like 3-5% (away games) and the Oregon one is probably more like 9%. Not that it makes a huge difference, but kind of interesting.

 

if NJ gets a top 3 pick deron could just re-sign there and wait for howard, who would be along shortly.

 

Simmer down sugar britches. The point is, Deron can sign in Dallas this summer and by the time Dirk retires then LMA's contract should be up and they can sign him in 2015.

 

@tribjazz

 

Deron would love a great fan base like Portland. The dreaded cat tail colored girls would be rubbing his cock at the vegan strip clubs!

 

So would Deron be more likely to pick a team that is a playoff team looking to take it to the next level or a lottery team who puts thier hopes into developing high lottery pick?

 

I think it comes down to a lot of things. But mostly talent level and where will the team likely be in 2-5 years -- they want to gauge what their playing experience is going to be like for the duration of their contract and they most probably want to believe they'll have a chance to compete for a title if things break right ... and they don't want to pay a lot of taxes, they want secondary money from endorsements and they want to be seen by a national audience.

Where does that leave the Blazers if they pursue Deron? I don't know.

 

There are a lot of factors that will come into play for sure. But Deron has made it clear he wants to play with a chance to win a title, so I assume this is a big factor for him.

Personally, I do not see Deron signing with any team that is lottery bound.

 

I think there's a difference between "lottery bound" and hopelessly stuck in the lottery. The Blazers have Lamarcus, they can probably keep Batum ... they might be adding two good picks from the draft. If you're implying that the Blazers improve their odds of getting him by squeaking into the eighth seed and getting clobbered and then adding less talent in the off-season then I don't think that's accurate at all.

If they want Deron, more important than where this team finishes in the standings is going to be who the Blazers are able to get to coach this team moving forward and what the roster looks like post-draft.

 

I get that, but I don't think so. Blazers tank and get a higher lottery pick only hurts the Blazers chances of getting Deron, IMO. I don't think Blazers have much of a chance at him anyways, but a team on a downward trend is a tough sell to Deron. Blazers can talk about Aldridge, Batum (if they resign him) and the potential they have in draft picks . . . but I doubt Deron wants to deal with teh uncertainty of the potential of draft picks.

We will see as I could be wrong. I'm basically predicting Deron won't resign with the Nets. I think he wants to win and he wants to win now. NJ can offer the most money with huge endorsement that follow. Will be interesting to see what Deron chooses. But Ptd doesn't have much to offer.

Now if the Blazers turn it around and show they are heading in the right direction, that has got to increase their chances.

 

Players aren't dumb (or at least their agents aren't). This team sneaking into the playoffs doesn't show the team heading in the right direction, it's just tires spinning in the mud. I agree that Portland's odds are slim anyway, but a low seed and early exit will have no bearing on their chances, it's all about roster composition, talent and who the coach is (aside from money, weather, etc.).