Ok, here is my attempt Mine starts at the deadline though Trade JJ, Leonard, Babbitt and a 2015 1st to Phoenix for Gortat and Dudley That should still leave us with 6 mm or so for FA or trades Having taken care of Center and a wing, I would go after Carl Landry for the full amount I would sign a vet PG and C for the minimum (defensive...Tinsley and O'Neal?) If we got the pick I would take BPA (Robinson III?) Lillard/Tinsley/Price Matthews/Dudley/Barton Batum/Claver/Robinson III Aldridge/Landry/Jeffries Gortat/O'Neal/Freeland
Do you mean otherwise during the deadline this year or during the deadline next year? If this year then we only have 1.5 MIL in cap room so a trade would have to be somewhat close to what we send out. If you mean next year's deadline then it depends but we will probably have about the same in cap room or even none. It all depends on what we do this summer but even if we don't sign a Max player we are still likely to use up all or most of our cap space. We could attempt to not spend much money this summer and have some space next year but it wouldn't be like rolling over a max contract amount of room.
What I mean is if we renounce JJ and don't see any great opportunities this summer, we can still wait and do something before next year's trade deadline. Or, we could continue to wait until the following summer. It would take patience, but it is feasible.
"Planet Money" recently had a podcast about the economics of the NBA (with the headline of how LeBron is the most underpaid athlete in sports), and the hosts (based in DC) mentioned Martell... ...as the worst player on the team, and how he is actually vastly overpaid for what he gives the team.
Tyreke. Eric Maynor. Jack. Jennings. In that order. Tyreke can be sixth man, either SG or PG. I think he just needs a change of scenery. OKC hasn't been using Maynor much. Jack is another do-it-all kind of guy. Jennings would be interesting. Tony Allen. JJ Redick. Tony could let us bring Wes off of the bench, while providing great defense. Redick could be sixth man, but would play awful defense. Personally, I prefer defense over offense with Lillard / no true defensive presence in the middle. Dorell Wright. Matt Barnes. Martell. D. Wright - would be better than any SF we have coming off of the bench. Decent shooter. Barnes knows his role, unfortunately after this year with LA, don't think he will sign else where. Martell plays solid D, can score/rebound coming off of the bench. Think this offense would fit him pretty well, also. Could also play some 2 guard. Al Jefferson. Another strong post presence. Not the best defender, but he is better than Meyers at this point. DMC - Not gonna happen, but I really think he needs kind of a "Dez Bryant" model for him to be successful. Just time to grow up. Need to show COMPLETE faith and trust in him, unlike SAC did. He needs a change of scenery, big time. Trade Babbitt for whatever you can get. Re-sign Elliot, if possible, at the min. Out of all of this - I'd prioritize probably DMC - Tyreke - Jefferson - Jarret Jack - Eric Maynor - Dorrell Wright, then the rest is up for grabs. Honestly, this off-season should be spent trying to add Tyreke/Jefferson/DMC/another legitimate 6th man or starting caliber center. If we don't land any of them... fix the bench, re-sign Hickson and hope Meyers turns into something special... The season after that, should be spent fixing the bench (assuming we can land a legitimate 6th man (Tyreke) or center. However, it is possible management seems "content" with our starting 5, in which case I think they'd try to bolster bench and that's all. Eric Maynor (Jack, maybe)/Dorell Wright/re-sign Hicky/vet min center, possibly. Lillard/Maynor(or Jack) Wes/Jack (or Elliot? Maybe) Batum/Dorell Wright Aldridge/Hickson/Freeland Hickson/Meyers/vet min center
I just want to say one thing, I'm really pleased that people seem to be willing to swing for the fences a little bit and aren't getting caught up in clinging to mediocrity. Almost brings a tear to my eye.
One guy that I'd seriously consider making a run at is Kevin Martin. I love the idea of putting Wesley Matthews in a 6th man role backing up both Martin & Batum. Getting Martin would probably take all of the cap space, so it would mean waiving goodbye to J.J. Hickson, but I just can't see paying him the money he's going to want and continue to be undersized at the C spot. I think Meyers Leonard will develop into a starting-caliber C, but it's going to take time. I'd try to get Jermaine O'Neal to finish out his career where he started to fill in as a starter while Meyers learns the ropes. I'd love to see a more potent backup PG added, but we may have to get by with another year of Ronnie Price. I think Joel Freeland would be fine in a backup role at PF.
OK so we have Luke, JJ, Pavlovic, Smith, and Maynor who are fee agents of one degree or another this summer. Smith and Pavlovic are of no concern to any of us. I think some of us would like to see Luke back at a very cheap price. (others do not) JJ has been debated the whole year but I think we all agree that landing a bigger center as a FA would be a bigger priority. And i think if Maynor shows he can return to his former self, then he is keeper along with our draft pick. So saying all that, now what is the most likely scenario come July? How do we get a veteran center? I assume JJ will walk and Joel will be our back up PF. We still need a SG (Through the draft) and a center (through FA.) How do we manage that from a financial standpoint?
If Neil lands a SG (Evans?) and a C (Pekovic?) we could have a very solid bench PG: Maynor SG: Matthews SF: Papanikolaou PF: Olynyk? Hickson? C: Leonard
