How much would you guys pay Spencer Hawes? He is probably the most realistic center goal this off-season, especially since he is from Seattle and you know how PA gushes over them.
I agree. NO demanded that Gordon be included in the CP3 deal. For them not to match any offer and let Paul go for basically nothng would be surprising. It just won't happen. The SG position for the Blazers will be young. IMO we will have Wes occupying the position until someone like Elliott Williams and/or Beal or Lamb yakes over. I am OK with that. Our cap space needs to go to a PG.
But remember. David Stern demanded that Gordon be included, not Tom Benson. I'm not saying it will make a difference for sure, but it could?
I hear you, but I think if anything it's a wash. Right now, Aldridge is better than Gasol, and Bynum is better than Hibbert.
Hawes is an option. Who else. We seem to have lots of options for PF's but not centers. Between JJ Hcikson, A possible lottery pick, and Joel Freeland we have three possible bigs. Do we just go small and keep Pryzbilla for the few teams that have legitimate centers? If there is an actual possibilty of getting Freeland, can they afford both Hickson and Freeland? If they draft a big then either Freeland or Hickson will nto be signed. Hopefully they will know Freeland's intent when they see him in Houston. Freeland, LMA, Hickson, and Pryz would be better than what we have had.
Except it's also a 3 day wait when someone does that to Batum, D Williams, Dragic, Hawes. I honestly think it's important not to tie up money in lost causes with this new waiting period
I have a feeling Batum is going to get a stupid contract offer and I hope we don't match. He isn't worth more than 9 MAYBE 10 million per year. Even that seems a little high for him. If some team throws a bigger deal at him, I hope we don't match. Williams is most likely a pipe dream and I don't think Dragic will be signed in the first day of free agency. Hawes is someone that could get snatched up quickly. I'm just wondering if Indy is willing to go max on Hibbert with Granger already on a big contract. I'm guessing they will. All-Star centers don't come along very often.
Throwing money at Hibbert is a total waste of time that should be spent getting a player that the Blazers have a legitimate shot at signed to a contract. Also, if you're planning on letting Nic walk, then you have to think about how you're going to replace him with another player at least as good as he is who won't cost any more than what Nic will command.
I like this idea (if Blazers deem Hibbert the #1 priority) . . . throw him a front loaded max contract on the first day possible and give him 24 hours to sign or deal off table. Meanwhile you tell #2 or #3 that Blazers will offer max if Hibbert doesn't work which they should know in 24-84 hours Indy probabaly matches, but you can find out fast and maybe it screws with the Indy slary cap. That's right, a front loaded max contract . . . only in the world of the Paul Allen type owners.
Why does everyone assume that Indy will match a MAX or near MAX offer made to Hibbert? During the last game, Larry Bird was interviewed. During the interview he brought without being prompted how the attendance is 2nd lowest in the league and how it is extremely hard to KEEP a team together in a small market in the current NBA. As soon as he said that, I thought, "why is he bringing this up? Is he getting a dig at the big money Heat or is he preparing people for loss of talent this summer?"
We assume because teams don't let All-Star centers with that much talent just walk away. Hypothetically, if we end up getting the 6th and 11th picks, I would let Batum walk and draft a replacement. Throw max money at Hibbert. Then I would take the money left over and try to sign Dragic. If Batum walks we should have enough space to sign Hibbert for 14 million and Dragic to 8 or 9 million. Hell, if Beal drops to us, we could probably let Batum walk and start Babbitt. Dragic Beal Babbitt Aldridge Hibbert That's a pretty good team.
Babbitt is a specialist (like Korver) he is not a starter. In your scenario the cap is gone with Hibbert/Dragic so I think you look at a SF in the draft at #11 (or trade up)
My point was that the other four starters would be so good that you could throw babs out there and it wouldn't matter lol Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2
And a front loaded big contract to boot. What is the biggest front loaded contract to date? I assume Indy would be hard pressed to match that given their current salary sutation with other players.
Hibbert looks pretty damn important to the pacers right now. pretty much keeping lebron from the basket by himself...
I don't think it is possible to "front load" a max contract. I believe there is a max number allowed for the first year and then a max percentage the contract amount can escalate in the following years. Perhaps if the Blazers made as much cash payable up front to Hibbert as is possible by the CBA that would make it really difficult for Indy to match. But this sounds more like a "toxic offer" than a front loaded contract though. Hibbert is a longshot though.
