If we do land at 6 or I guess even 7 and San Antonio isn't really interested in having three picks in the first round I would definitely do the move that a couple in here have talked about and trade back to 9 and 20... because 20 and full salary relief is much closer to equal value for Grant than even giving up the 15th pick if we traded back to Charlotte at 13 and 15.
It's got to involve players for salaries. Bledso would be a given for them to dump salary. They could ask for one of our youngsters as well.
Even if Grant is dirt cheap, you have to balance the (very) few wins he adds to the fact he will demand extended playing time and be a roadblock to developing younger players that could provide equal or better production on a more team friendly contract.
That's a good point. It's not like we have nobody who can play power forward. It's just one of the weaker points. Another is backup center, and having a player who could play both PF and center would be ideal.
Ask yourself this question: could Grant be a starter on a championship team? I think the answer is "yes, but he'd have to be the worst starter". And would you pay your worst starter 20M a year (or whatever the hell he's getting)? Meanwhile, New Orleans found a Grant-like player in Herb Jones in the second round, and Minny found Jarred Vanderbilt bouncing around the G-League.
1. Keep their own pick. 2. Trade for Grant (unless the fix is in with real players wanting to play for Billups … as rumored). Get this PF in his prime at 28, who is better now than Blazers forwards and has some ceiling left in a good situation. TRADE the Milwaukee pick and … Nassir Little. I like Nas, but he’s not there, yet … has value … should be a lower 2nd contract … good guy. 3. Fill the PF hole — Grant to go with Nurk, Simons, and Dame. 4. Draft best SF or PF. The higher ranked SFs are 6’6 (subject to draft measurements) with some wingspan. Murray as a PF at 6’8 paired with Grant (who can defend both forward spots)? I’m in. Get lucky? Then we’ve got height! What a concept.
Bledsoe is a vet insurance player though primarily as EBEC at this point. Whether during free agency or up to the trade deadline, his greatest value is as trade filler. After that it’s reducing team salary. If what returns fits into the TPE and the RoCo TPE, package more with EBEC to get a (potentially larger, or at least) new TPE. Spend with the new Nurkic and Simons contracts. Use the Tax-MLE and still have the new TPE into the next FA period.
Wait...is Grant really a good defender? "Detroit's longstanding willingness to discuss Jerami Grant could provide a window for Phoenix to nab a versatile frontcourt defender in return." Trading Ayton for Grant would be a MASSIVE overpay by Phoenix, even if you include the Pistons pick.
Im not even anti Grant but that’s only a good deal for Detroit. Ayton is a lot better player than Grant even with the holes in his game. Grant would be a good fit for Phoenix but idk, doesn’t seem like fair value.
"There's a stronger sense among league figures that Phoenix brass simply does not view Ayton, or any center, as a player worth greater than $30 million annually. The Suns romped through seven-straight games with Ayton sidelined in mid-January. Veteran journeyman centers JaVale McGee and Bismack Biyombo capably filled that 7-foot hole in Phoenix's lineup. If the Suns could sign Biyombo midseason to just a veteran minimum deal and Chris Paul could steer him into a serviceable rotation player, could Paul not have the same success with a big man far less costly than Ayton's next deal?" https://bleacherreport.com/articles...z-intel-on-deandre-ayton-zach-lavine-and-more that sure looks like James Jones (and Monty) being ahead of the curve, again. High paid C's don't accomplish anywhere close to what they used to. They very often end up with negative value. Just ask Utah Ayton at 30-35M/year would be a disaster
Sounds like someone is trying to up the value for Grant by making it look like there are multiple suitors.
How many teams could theoretically take on Grant without sending any money the other way? Also, do we have a future first to trade? I assume we do, but im not sure.
yeah, a high rate of all the rumors we hear at the trade deadline and going into off-seasons seem agent-driven....when it isn't just bloggers and columnists simply speculating and wrapping it in some bullshit like "league sources"
