LA gone before or on draft day

What has 16 million in cap space gotten us in the past? We aren't the Lakers or Knicks. Portland is not a desirable location.

 

You're making the assumption that all of the young players we get back will be no better than mediocre. That might be true, but to this point there's nothing to base that opinion on.

 

No. I'm making the assumption that there is a much higher probability that a player obtained with a max deal (or close to max at $16M) is better than an asset obtained as part of a package in a trade.

 

How do small market teams acquire these max deal players? Surely not through free agency.

 

Through building a winning organization and having the cap flexibility, young up and coming talent, draft picks and to make a lop sided deal for that player.

 

Sure, which makes my point. Acquiring young cheap assets is better than letting lma walk for cap space as a small market team

 

Aldridge is worth more than young and up and coming players though. He has a very manageable contract too.

 

If you honestly think that small-market teams have no chance of getting max deal players, even though we have the cap space, then why are we even discussing trade possibilities and personnel decisions? If that is truly the case, then all of this discussion is completely meaningless a we should just sit back and enjoy or hate the ride.

Portland's most recent and truly successful teams (2000 team) were not built through drafting. They were built by spending and acquiring proven players.

 

I don't disagree. But if he really wants out you prioritize.

1. Trade him for a player comparable in talent
2. Trade him for young cheap assets/picks
3. Avoid at all costs letting him walk for nothing

 

Well the good thing is we have him for 2 years. Play the beginning of the season and play with offers. If none are good, then you can wait until next summer and use Aldridge to grab a high pick in next year's draft. And that draft is much stronger than this one.

 

We traded for stoudamire, Wallace, smith and pippen. We signed Brian grant, he is not a big name player. We can sign a bunch of Brian grants, Andre Miller's etc.

Portland will not be able to sign max deal players through free agency

 

Maybe, he may or may not have as high a value as an expiring deal. The team trading for him takes a risk of him being a one year rental

 

Thanks for proving my point. $16M in cap space doesn't have to be used through a free agent signing. It can be used to trade for impact players.

 

You have to have assets to trade for things. Which proves my point. Nice try though

 

The same issue can be said for trading him to a team that doesn't having the assets to make them winners either. Why would Aldridge want to stay there? They would look at it as some gamble. It's almost better to trade with another winning organization; which probably needs a third team.

 

Then its a good thing we trade our star talent to fill out our bench. :MARIS61:

This is precisely why we need to only trade LA for another star level player in this league. They are hard to come by around these parts.

 

I agree. Which is why I've said prioritize.

Go for star players first, then picks and young players on favorable deals.

Both are better than letting him walk for cap space

 

If he wants to be dealt, we have 2 years to do it. He's in a contract, so he can't do anything. What, will he pull a Dwight Howard? Just doesn't seem that type, he's been extremely quiet so far and always has been.

S&T, expiring contracts, blah blah blah. Just don't trade him for a bunch of role players to "fill out our bench" like people here are advocating, its monumentally stupid.

 

Yes. That asset is called $16M. I don't know what is difficult to understand about that.

 

Teams will dump contracts they don't want, not all star players.