Merged: Who would you give up for Paul George?

CJ fits that squad so much better than Butler. George and Lillard would benefit more from a 3pt sniper who shoots 42% from deep than they would from a SG who shoots about 32% from deep and needs the ball to be effective. Get a better defender at the backup SF spot (preferably Crowder), and it'll be enough defense.

 

Eh, I don't know... I think have two long, athletic, solid defenders at the wings would be huge when you play teams like Golden State. Not everyone has to be a three point shooter. In fact, with Nurk out there, it's almost better to have guys that can cut to the hoop. Harkless was playing markedly better with Nurk.

 

Considering they'd soon be former teammates and former fans, I wouldn't count on that factor mattering. The $10M is why he most likely wouldn't turn it down. But you can't always predict people.

 

Butler is also an all NBA caliber defender. That would give us two of those on the wings. That'd be insane. I'd rather have that than CJ. Butler has also had two seasons where he's shot 37% from deep, and he'd had a lot more space to operate with in Portland than in Chicago. I like CJ but man

Dame
Butler
George
Vonleh
Nurkic

Are u joking???? That's a team built to beat golden state.

 

Preach!

 

Yeah, but Harkless has lanes to cut because CJs so deadly from 3.

Butler would likely be a problem here because he wouldn't get the shots he wants. Meanwhile, CJ and Dame have great chemistry, and CJs the type to sacrifice for the betterment of the team. He even said so on air. CJs also shown flashes of good defense and I think he's dedicated to getting better. A lighter offensive load because of PG would mean that Dame and CJ could expend more energy defensively.

 

I get the desire for the 2 wing defenders, and I love Butler, but he'd be behind Dame and George in the pecking order(and sometimes Nurk), and he seems like the type to bitch about that. I don't trust him as a 3rd fiddle as much as I do CJ.

 

This is a valid argument.

 

So, the waiting game begins; Chicago and Indiana playing it cool.....
Nick Friedell: Not much has really changed regarding Butler/Bulls though. Bulls still waiting to see what teams may or may not offer closer to Draft.
– via TwitterNickFriedell

Eric Pincus: Talking to folks around the league, the Pacers have not yet solicited offers/trade talks for Paul George.
– via Twitter EricPincus

 

I get what you're saying, and I don't disagree with you at all. On paper that team is GREAT! But I just don't know how much I trust Butler. I worry he could be the bad apple that spoils the bunch. I'm definitely NOT taking CHI's side in their dealings with each other, but something about Butler just doesn't sit right with me. How's he going to take it when he he's joining "Dame's Team", and has to further share the spotlight with George...and Nurk, who I really think needs to be the hub around which our offense is built, and who is already a fan favorite.

Add these questions to how rock solid CJ is as a team player - and how great he is as an individual player - and what looks simple on paper becomes much less simple. Right now I'm rolling with Dame/CJ/Nurk. We can hold off another couple years before trading CJ if that's what it comes to - his value isn't going down anytime soon.

 

I had a dream that we traded CJ as part of some three team deal. It was not a good trade. I think it involved Vucevic and a lottery pick. I guess some people would call it a nightmare.

 

CJ + Turner + Aminu + Biebs for 6th Pick (Isaac) and Vucevic

Roster:
PG: Dame, Napier
SG: Crabbe, Pat, (Mitchell)
SF: Harkless, Isaac (backup for now, start later)
PF: Vucevic, Vonleh
C: Nurkic, Vucevic

And you can still draft Ike, Allen, Patton, etc. or even better, trade 15+20 for 12 and now take Mitchell, who would make more sense.

and dump $42M/year on contracts

I'm not saying Orlando would do all that, but you could envision a scenario where it not be too bad.

I would argue a future starting lineup of:

Dame
Mitchell (our Dumars)
Isaac
Vonleh
Nurkic

with a bench of Crabbe, Harkless and Vucevic

would look better than what we have now by a long shot and solves some of our defensive problems.

 

Zach Lowe said that at this point the Pacers are planning on keeping PG and trying to add pieces around him, mostly because the offers they were getting for a seemingly one year rental weren't what they were expecting.

 

They're going to get Lamarcus'd and KP is going to be out of another job next summer.

 

Good luck to them with that.

 

They're in the same boat that Neil was in. If you trade him for table scraps, the fans are going to be pissed. If you hold onto him, you're liable to get nothing and the fans are going to be pissed. It's a lose/lose situation. This is why you have to be proactive and have the foresight to make the trade before the player loses all his value. If we would have traded LMA after the 2012-2013 season, we could have had the #1 pick or maybe a decent player like Klay Thompson.

 

I actually thought that was good news for us. Means that the starting bid must be pretty fuckin low for them to be like "fuck it we'll just keep him and cut our losses". I would be surprised if this thing doesn't still heat up before the draft. KP can't be that stupid.

 

It just means that they were being low-balled. If all they were getting were crap offers, a year of George playing for them and the small chance he stays is worth more.

 

I disagree. They're in even worse shape than Portland. They don't have a Damian Lillard who can take over the team. If they don't trade George, he will keep them relevant enough that their pick sucks, and then bail on them at the end of the year, leaving them with a shit pick and no compensation. Can you imagine how bad we would have been if LMA had left and we didn't have Dame?

 

Imagine the first move in your tenure as GM being selling low on your superstar. Must be a tough position for Pritchard to be in, but he has to do it. How are they going to get him to stay? How are they going to improve the pieces around him? They have very limited assets.