Vets Minimum. What can you say? They still have their MLE and they are still under the Tax line. Perfect signing.
Dame understands that our O is fine. Our D sucks. Zeller can help there. Maybe not thrilled but I bet he is happy to have Cody over some of our last year players.
This thread is a classic case of how someone can spin themselves up in the absence of information. haha With that being said, there were a lot of good points in this thread. My thoughts are: He should be a more solid rotation big (when healthy) than Enes. If he's really vet minimum, then I think it's a very good addition given the state of our roster. I'd like to bring Kanter back at the right price. He's obviously got huge defensive issues, but he was critical last year in helping us make the playoffs IMO and in certain spots he can make a big impact offensively and on the glass. Anyone who expects Dame to be impressed by a free agent signing this offseason... it seems it going to be tremendously disappointed. It seems DeRozan or Markkanen are the best we could POSSIBLY hope for there, and neither of them are going to win a series for us if CJ forgets how to covert field goal attempts again.
Free agent evaluation of Zeller. Considers him excellent backup. Good screener, rebounder and passer. Not good defense at rim but passable otherwise.
I see a lot of people harassing Olshey for wasting Dame's years and for disappointing Dame, but shouldn't a max player be judged on his ability to cultivate a following of cheap veteran talents that want to play with him? I think if you are taking up such a disproportionate chunk of salary that one must take a heavier amount of the responsibility for the construct of the rest of the roster given the limiting factor such a disproportion creates. Oh Dame doesn't like it, okay, so what? He's part of the problem in a sense.
Cheap veterans like to play on contenders. Not teams that get muscled out of the first round by an injury depleted team.
Dame is hamstrung by Portland's (the city, small market, tax situation) perception. Players DO want to play with him. They just want him to go to them instead. He also can't make the other team accept POR's offer on trades.
in the regular season, I think Kanter is better than Zellar. About the only think Zellr does better is assists, and he's nothing special at that. Maybe, Zellar will be better in the playoffs, but I think mobility becomes premium in the playoffs and that's not Zeller for a vet minimum, that's fine I suppose. But He sure looks like Kanter's replacement and he is not an upgrade, IMO. Cheaper yes, better, no
Call me crazy but I do like Cody Zeller as a FA signing. I think he's a good piece if he can stay healthy.
I didn't think a player of Zeller's status would sign for the minimum so quickly. Would not be surprised if it is for the TpMLE. I still think it is an ok deal. Would just be ecstatic if it was for the min instead.
