Dwight is not worth $22 million to the Blazers. We pay him what he is worth to our team, not based on what he made last year. Plus he is on the downhill side of his career and will become less productive each season, not more productive. If Dwight wants more than he is worth, let another team overpay him and hurt their cap space. We want players that want to help us win.
Exactly, that's my point. They have to renounce everyone (because there's no point in NOT renouncing Wade if they're going to sign him for less than his cap-hold). Sure it's possible, but is Whiteside the kind of transcendent talent that Pat Riley will see as worthy of that drastic of a move to retain? Personally I doubt it.
Anybody seriously interested in Whiteside should read this article: http://heathoops.com/2016/05/analyzing-the-miami-heat-approach-to-dwyane-wade/ The Heat are not as dead in the water with the Whiteside/Wade situation as it looks on the surface. All it takes is some organization foresight and good planning and they can deal with the situation just fine. You can argue that Whiteside isn't worth the max (and he probably isn't), but losing him for nothing would be potentially disastrous for a team lacking young star power. The Heat are not winning a championship next year regardless of what happens, so planning for the year after should be their ideal situation. Miami has consistently been one of the best run organizations in the league, so don't expect them to just do the obvious.
Even factoring in the 7.5% raises he can get from Miami, and eliminating the Oregon State income tax that would be assessed on only half of his games, Miami would still have to start him at over 21M to surpass what he would receive from the Blazers starting at 23M. The original point still stands--Miami has to renounce every free agent in order to retain Whiteside, and it doesn't seem likely.
This is why I am uneasy about offering him the max to get him. Riley is pretty bright and knows Whiteside better than any GM in the league. If he does not make a strong effort to retain him, what does that tell us? I will be anxious to see what he does. Best case scenario is he trys to keep Whiteside, but Whiteside wants to get out of Miami.
Interesting--50/3 for Wade actually fits nicely into the window that would allow them to keep Whiteside. And I see that I did forget about the possibility of a waive/stretch of McBob. That could open up a bit more room. That's probably their best bet if they want to stay competitive.
The only important free agent is Wade. What they do with Wade will dictate how they handle Whiteside. Personally, I wouldn't feel good betting against Pat Riley and Wade. Stranger things have happened, but we're not dealing with the Minnesota Timberwolves here.
There's a difference, however, between gutting the remainder of your team to keep a guy (as Miami would have to) and bringing in a free agent while retaining almost everyone else on the roster (as Portland would).
Isnt mcroberts making like 5.7 million? Id have to think it wouldnt be that difficult for someone to dump him because in the new cap that seems perfectly reasonable for a bench big.
They still would have winslow, bosh, wade, dragic..... im.not seeing it as a huge issue. If wade and bosh can play, which is a big if, they have more talent than us and are in an easier conference.
They're still gonna lose someone. I'd go after Deng in a heartbeat. He and Aminu would make a sick 3-4 duo.
Every time I watched Deng this year he had a bad game. I know he some great games too, but never when I watched him. He was 0-12 from deep against Toronto in their series. Although I guess he played injured. Next year will be his 13th season. Lot of mileage. I doubt he will go to a young team.
Agreed. Deng (for what he is going to make and his age) isn't enough of an upgrade over Aminu or Harkless.
I think they do want to keep him; in fact i think they are behind most of the stories/rumors about his character and coachability; they are trying to keep his value down.
Interesting conspiracy theory. Very risky though. If he ever found out it was them behind the rumors, he would leave for sure. Maybe we should start the rumor that Miami is behind it...
Ok, I've been lurking here for quite a while but after reading this post I had to create an account just to quote it and say that YOU WIN THE INTARWEBS! BBert you made my freaking day.
