I believe extension deadline was yesterday or today? Have heard nothing, even though he's a restricted I wonder if he's on KP's Top 3 targets? I would say he is.
doubt it, unless we want to offer aldridge or similar value in sign/trade. indi isn't going to let him walk for nothing.
Here's the flaw in that logic. Let's say Aldridge and Granger are exactly equal in talent level. They'll STILL have to pay Aldridge the same kind of money they would have paid Granger. The Pacers issue isn't whether they like Granger...of course they do, he's outstanding. Their issue is whether they can afford to keep him. So getting Aldridge does nothing for them. They still have to fork over a bunch of money they don't want to fork over. I could see a scenario where we sign Granger to a max or near max offer and then it becomes a sign and trade (similar to the Derek Anderson deal a few years back) where we give up a little talent, but nothing equal to what we're getting. Something like Outlaw or Bayless? Maybe both? Maybe we throw in a 1st round pick? Who knows. At least with those guys, they get solid players who don't command huge money. We'll be under the cap enough that we could make that deal work. And I agree with maxiep. It's basically up to him.
He's definitely a target. May be our main off season target. Exactly the type of player we need. Indiana is in a tough position pay a player like Grainger (great talent but not a player that will fill the seats) to be on a below average team or trade him for an expiring and a couple of young players with high potential. IMO they need quantity right now so they may be the perfect scenario for us and them. We can offer Raef's contract, and a combination of Travis/Webster/Bayless or Sergio and even possibly take back a bad contract.
not for nothing, though. if indi doesn't want to pay him they will either trade him before the deadline, or use the threat of matching to force a sign/trade. and if granger is stupid enough to play 2 more years without a guaranteed long-term deal i wouldn't want him.
well they'd have to pay the players they got back granger's salary for 1 year (such as aldridge + raef if a sign/trade). they woudn't have to make a decision on aldridge till 2010, and until then would be free to trade him for lottery picks + expiring or whatever. aldridge would postpone their decision a full year. they could also do that up front in a 3-way trade. the point is granger is not ben gordon. there will be teams (besides us) willing to give him 2/3 max or more, and indi will have a lot of options to get at least close to equal value. aldridge was just an example of what their initial asking price might be, since there will be multiple teams interested - no way would i do that. i think aldridge's value to us is significantly higher than granger's would be. outlaw+bayless+1st rounder is pretty close to equal value for granger IMO. if bayless develops at all it's probably overpaying.
Why do you say that? If they don't sign him now to an extension we can offer him a max contract. Indiana could match but why would they even let this get to that point. They have Dunleavy Jr. who they consider to be their best overall player so letting Grainger go allows them to get cap space. Personally I think that would be foolish they could just do a sign and trade for some cap relief, young talent (which is what we could off) and possibly dump a bad contract.
The Nuggs are a mess both on the court and off. Anybody could be had from that roster. Their situation reminds me of ours back in the early 2000's. Granger, on the other hand, is their franchise player and a good guy off the court as well. They have absolutely no reason to trade him. For Indiana, he's their Brandon Roy.
Is DG a top target? Absolutely. Do we have a chance at getting him? Very unlikely. Who are we targeting? We are targeting the best SF or PG from a previous playoff team that will not make the playoffs this year. If Denver goes into the tank BY THE ALL STAR break, we inquire about Carmelo. If Phoenix goes into the tank by then, we inquire about their players. There's a lot of parity in the league, and our target is a team that is starting over and needs cap space. Deadline Trade: Portland Trades capspace + young players for star SF or PG Simply put, if that trade is not available, Portland stands pat.
he may be in a year if he really goes off this season, but IMO right now he hasn't proved he's worth max.
and i have a gut feeling we're gonna try to re-sign webster at a bargain and develop batum and use any cap space to upgrade PG.
I doubt it. Carmello still hasn't figured out how to committ himself to the parts of the game that gets you over the top. I am pretty sure, most of the people who watch the NBA have figured that out.
I doubt Granger is a target, from the sounds of things in the Martell article (discussing his extension) Indiana is working on the extension before the deadline at midnight tonight.
It's looking more and more likely that the cap space will be used in trades and maybe role player signings.
