with Jake and Meyers coming into thier own, Aminu playing above his contract still, Hood on board and another rotational big on the bench, are we going to go into the offseason with more leverage to make a consolidation trade to bring in the missing pc? I know its one game for Mt. Rodney Hood (thanks for the ref. @Fonzthecpt1 ), but he passed the eye test with flying colors and has the experience in the league to be able to maintain that type of play. I am glad we didnt do a consolidation trade at the deadline because it gives is time to evaluate the two newcomers to ensure thier fit before we clean up the bench. Aside from some other teams looking to become the next dynasty, i think NO might have this timed out about right for gsw to start splintering just as we are ready to make a move for that missing pc. I see the offseason and the next trade deadline being the make or break move that will dictate our path for the next five years. So some of you trade gurus out there, who do you see being a target next year to be that missing pc of our puzzle and what is the move or moves to get him here? Do we sign and trade Aminu? Do we attach a first to turner and harkless? Ive looked around and dont see alot of options for a legit third start that would fit in without giving up our keepers( dame, cj, nurk, jake, hood, curry) I say curry is a keeper because as of right now, most everyone wants turner gone and if he goes, we need seth for backup pg. So... am i way off base on thinking the timing might actually work out pretty good, or am i an even bigger homer than in years past? We are fourth right now in the most competetive western conference we have ever seen. One more right move might be all it takes to put us in true contender category.
I think you are overly optimistic about our assets. We are still salary strapped this summer. Aminu is likely gone as sign and trades are rare these days and with so much cap this summer why would a team bother? Meyers IMO is still not a positive contract, just less of a negative, given Harkless's poor yr and troubled knee he may be a slight negative contract as well. Turner is a negative, Seth will go wherever the most money is (likely not here), I could see Hood re-signing here if he does not get substantial offers elsewhere and Zach has IMO had a poor yr as far as improving much so his while he have value IMO its not as high as it was last summer. Hopefully no one makes Jake a big offer that we won't match as I believe he is an RFA. Frankly we don't really have that much to offer IMO, but we will see
It is tough to gauge how other teams value our players and im a homer no doubt, but i think by the offseason and next trade deadline, some of the things you mentioned will have resolved themselves. I mentioned in another thread how Collins needs more time. Possibly more time than my timeframe, though im hoping not. Harkless is my biggest question mark. It doesnt look good for him if he cant stay on the court to build some consistency. He has shown when healthy aNd given that consistent role he can be very servicable, but reaccuring knee issues are very alarming to me. Is he the next Ezili? I think that there are some teams out there that would find Meyers an asset for a run, especially if they think they can teach him better defense. A 7’ who can hit a shot like he can is rare in this league and for that alone i think his value is where his contract is. Next year, turner, as an expiring and a pick or two, could be enticing for a team looking to shed salary and move a star, but that's where i struggle. Finding that legit star that would fit in with us and is on a team that will be looking to turn the corner and dump. I see the potential for an all in type of scenario and it will be the summer/ year that solidifies or destroys NO’s future here.
My fear: because Olshey wouldn't or couldn't do what was needed to dump our bad contracts, we are at risk of losing Aminu, Curry, Hood, and Jake this off-season. None of those guys are "stars". but losing them all for nothing while being stuck with Turner/Hark/Leonard is a step in the wrong direction.
Still kind of matters how well they do in the post season. Seriously a first round out will probably bring sweeping changes. A second round out (depending on the record. 0-4 would suck) could mean continue or fire the coach? Getting into the WCF whether they benefit from injuries or not has a totally different look right?
After Thursday Aminu, Layman, Curry, and Hood basically became players we can't trade. We aren't going to be involved in sign-and-trades because of our cap situation and rarity of them anyway. Any trades with those 4 guys are pointless to talk about. Attaching picks to get rid of contracts probably won't happen until after a couple weeks of free agency. At the draft teams are still under this year's salary cap so no teams can take Turner. They won't want to use cap space until after striking out in free agency anyway. At that point it would be better to just hang on to Leonard, Harkless, and Turner in case a big consolidation trade happens. If we attach picks to get rid of them after free agency it will be a complete failure. This is why a big trade needed to take place on Thursday. The only hope we have is a guy like Blake Griffin being available at the draft but once again we would still be in a bad or worse contract situation and would have to let several of those first 4 I mentioned go. Sorry to rain on your asset parade but it's just not looking great.
Im putting you on ignore for the rest of this threads life, which might be shorter than i envisioned....
Going from an 0-4 sweep to winning a series would be a step in the right direction and would give the fan base some actual hope. Logic says that would influence what path Jody chooses for the team, but she is such a blank slate it is tough to predict. She could see it as a reason to keep the team and invest in it, or it might inspire her to sell high (and not put any more of her own money into the franchise).
Olshey said he had couple big trade going on before the deadline ended and it was signed off by Jody even took us deeper in the luxury tax. He didn't mention the players that was involved but could this trade start back this summer.
2020 is our year. Hopefully by then new ownership too. Hopefully between then and now they do enough to keep Dame happy.
lol. Might have to ignore me, too! @hoopsjock I'm usually right there with you, with all of the sunshine and rainbows talk, but if our assets were all that great, we really would have gotten something special by trading these great assets along with our #1 - we didn't. Olshey saw value when others didn't in getting Lopez, Nurk, Aminu, Harkless.... Crossing my fingers that he did it again with Hood. We'll see.