If you want a guy like Boucher I'd rather just get Jalen Smith in free agency who is better and can get better
Either way, it would be through free agency. I would consider either one unless a backup center is available. Boucher is probably cheaper.
One doesn't simply "just get Jalen Smith". He will probably be one of the more sought after free agents on he market this summer.
So, renounce all the exceptions and bird rights and use cap space to offer more than the MLE? That seems like a lot to give up for Jalen Smith.
My bet: We will keep the pick if it's 6 or better. Lower than that we will trade the pick and a player for Anunoby.
Was told this morning that it is EXPECTED that Jerami Grant ends up in Portland. “The how is the question” Said Dame loves him. Also said depending on price tag, Nurk is not a lock to be back
Makes sense. They clearly shut him down during the tank with an understanding of how much they'd be willing to pay him, which also clearly means they'd be willing to let him walk if someone is willing to significantly overpay for him. Only a few teams with cap space, so I'm not particularly concerned about him getting a big offer (especially with his injury history), but if some team is offering him over 15M/year, then vaya con dios.
Any indication as to whether or not the draft lottery has an impact on this? That is to say, if the Blazers are fortunate enough to move up to be in a position to draft Smith or Banchero, does that make a trade for Grant less likely?
Duh, but he is a possible/viable target and wo Speculation I've seen is he gets more than taxpayers MLE and less than full, but its always a guessing game and only takes one team to overpay
God I hope so. This is exactly the kind of thing that worries me about chasing a ring with Dame. Golden State didn't trade away all their lotto picks and now they have some really solid guys who are helping them compete again.
If Nurk is not a lock to be back, then why not trade him at the deadline? Is this another LMA lose-the-asset because we hoped he’d be back on a cheap deal?
how about 3-year/40M? looking at the teams that might have at least 15M in space: Oklahoma City Thunder $105,832,242 Memphis Grizzlies $101,300,599 Chicago Bulls $100,038,154 Indiana Pacers $94,357,840 Detroit Pistons $85,871,626 Orlando Magic $84,821,918 San Antonio Spurs $82,562,465 * I don't see OKC as a threat here. I've seen a couple of rumors they are interested in Holmgren; and they have 3 first round picks * Memphis has Steven Adams under contract next season (does he have long Covid?). They also have the cap-holds on Kyle Anderson and Tyus Jones that wipe out their space * Chicago has fake space because it doesn't account for LaVine. They also Vucevic' and Tony Bradley at C * Would Indiana trade away Sabonis, seemingly go all in on Myles Turner, and then sign Nurkic 4 months later? Doesn't seem likely * Detroit is a little unpredictable. They have Stewart, Olynyk, and Garza at C. They also have the 28M cap-hold on Bagley to deal with. Re-signing Bagley and adding their 1st round pick would probably leave them with 10-15M in space * Orlando sure appears to have committed to Wendall Carter as their C, and he's just as good as Nurkic in most ways, better in some. They also have Issac who plays both big positions. And, they could re-sign Bamba * I suppose it's possible that San Antonio might have an interest in Nurkic. But Poeltl has become about as good as Nurkic; and Zach plays a lot of C for them Now, I only used BBREF for the numbers. Maybe they are missing something. But honestly, when you look at the team that could pay Nurkic 15M or more, and add that to his injury history, I have a hard time seeing his market as 15M/year. It may be less ************************************************************* and if you look at that list as setting the market for Anfernee Simons, is there any team there that would be likely to pay Simons over 20M? Simons is not a wing, he's a tweener guard. Now, those have more value than they used to; Jordan Poole being a good example. But still, that's not the sweet spot of NBA value. there are only 4 teams that theoretically could: * Indiana has Brogdon, Haliburton, Heild, McConell and Duarte. They are loaded at guard and they have a top-5 draft pick * Detroit has Cunningham, Hayes, Joseph, and Diallo at guard, and a top-5 draft pick. And that pick + Bagley's cap-hold wipes out their space. Even if they re-sign Bagley for 12-15M/year (unlikely?), the most space they'd have is 15M * I suppose Orlando is a threat, but they have Cole Anthony, Jalen Suggs, Fultz, RJ Hampton, and Terrence Ross at guard. Why would they have any interest in Simons, who would be an expensive duplication of what they already have? San Antonio? They have Murray, Keldon Johnson, Josh Richardson, Devin Vassel, Lonnie Walker IV, and Primo at guard. And they have a top-8 pick I really can't see any of those teams committing to Simons as the starter over what they already have. I guess there's always a chance, but it doesn't seem likely. And who would pay Simons 20M/year to be a backup? I was thinking 40M a year combined for Simons and Nurkic. But when I look at the actual market, which is dependent on cap-space, the needs and guard units of the teams with space, and the somewhat limited game of Simons, I really wonder what his market value is. Simons finished 8th in the MIP voting so it's not like he has big momentum in his hype machine I'm kind of thinking if the Blazers don't make the mistake of bidding against themselves they might be able to get Simons/Nurkic for a bit less than 40M
Nice recap of "possible" capspace teams and their needs. I am thinking Simons perhaps gets a Trent Jr area contract - 3 yrs at 51 mil (maybe a bit more) and GTJ has a player option for yr 3. So lets say 18 mil per (20 mil max) for Simons and 12-13 mil per for Nurk, if that's reasonable then we could get both for 32-33 mil per, perhaps worst case 35 mil and best case 30-31 mil?
Obviously, it's third-hand information and we don't know the details, contingencies or context, but I hope Dame doesn't have the impression he is someone with anything more than input in how the Blazers FO and scouting department go about putting a good team around him. TBF, that's probably the case. However, if it's not, if the Blazers just are doing things to placate Dame and they'd overpay to acquire a Jerami Grant who would do little, IMO, to move the needle, then it'd be best to just trade Dame. It'd be a shame, because he's done a lot for the Blazers, I think he still has a lot left in the tank, and I think Portland is a great place for him whether the team trades for his friends and signs his relatives or not, but players seldom are the best people to go to when determining how to build a winning team because they get emotionally tied to guys they've been around.
If the Blazers can acquire Grant and not give up unreasonable resources in so doing and if Grant understands his role on this team, then, by all means, put the guy on the team that Dame feels chemistry with, but don't sell the farm to do it just because Dame wants him, and absolutely continue pursuing other avenues to make the Blazers a contender, because adding Jerami Grant to this mix isn't going to do it.
