I would have offered ET and Meyers the exact same contracts that they have now but both would have been for 3yrs but the last year is a team option. That way if they are as suckish that they are now they would be easier to trade.
Dwight Jaynes would've signed Dwight Howard. As for me, I would've done everything I could to land Jeremy Lin & Harrison Barnes. Also would've looked @ Trevor Booker as he's a banger and adds toughness at the 4. I have no issues with the 4/40 Harkless got and would've done the same. Nards I would've never gave a second contract. Vonleh would be the odd man out because better players Crabbe I would've paused because everyone knew he was going to get paid. But I don't believe I would've matched an 18mil per contract. Would've gone into the season with a three guard rotation of Lillard/Lin/CJ CJ/Lin/Lillard Barnes/Harkless Aminu/Booker/Barnes Plumlee/Davis I would've then looked for a vet center to sign but I don't know who that would've been.
I'll buy that for ET, maybe. For Meyers? Almost 2 weeks of FA went by and he didn't have a single (reported) offer. If nothing else, he should've gotten some sniffs for the MLE (~7M/yr). And if he didn't, that would've been more than fair. But somehow we went 60% over that, for the full 4 years. Again, if you think he's going to be a centerpiece (think Dame and CJ), absolutely lock him up as long as you can. But for a guy who was getting 8th-man minutes? Dubious.
There's $25 million in deadweight on this team right now. Meyers and Harkless are out of the rotation and there's also $5 million of pure deadweight. Just think about that for a second.
I wanted Fournier that summer and when they offered Turner, couldn't figure out how he fit in Stotts offense. I get the '3rd ball-handler' bit but once he gave up the ball, he became an offensive liability and he's not good enough to be the primary ball-handler which you wouldn't want anyhow. Once Crabbe was offered that monster, you had to let him go. The mistake was not signing or at least offering much lower earlier. Was perfectly fine with Harkless and his deal. Meyers was the definition of insanity.....doing the same thing and expecting a different result.
To be fair, Meyers had a great Playoffs in 2015 but was injured in 2016 and that's why I think Neil was tempted.
I would've let Crabbe walk. Replace him with someone like Joe Harris for about $3M. I think Portland should target Harris as a Pat replacement for next year... In theory, Turners skill set is a nice fit (however, it has been shown to be wrong about that). I was ok going after him for around $10M. We paid way too much. I could justify Mo's contract, so no issue there. Meyers, I could see resigning him - BUT AT NO MORE THAN $5M with the second year non guaranteed. Others to target: + Resigning Henderson + Ennis + Jarred Dudley + Deadmon
Never liked his mental toughness....for me it had nothing to do with a few spurts of good play or injuries. His mentality just doesn't seem to fit in the NBA and he has very little natural feel for the game.
I think it goes back further than that. I would have traded Aldridge in the summer of 2013. That would have started the rebuilding process much sooner, and I would have dealt Wes/Batum that summer or the next summer to get a better payback.
Big expiring contracts can get you big returns. Look at this year, instead of having two overpriced players we would have two expiring contracts. Entirely different things. And if by chance ET or Meyers play up to their contracts you still have that 3rd year option and their Bird rights.
What would help is if Turner and then Meyers and Harkless could star showing production so they become a tradeable contract instead of just dead weight. Tough to do when you don't play. I'm not saying they should be playing but I have to admit, the little Meyers has played, he has at least been productive on offense. Harkless has had a couple of 'bursts' as well and then won't play the next game.
"4 great games" means different things to different people. We just has such low expectations that when he did show a glimmer, it was a pleasant surprise.
he was an RFA! "Hey Mr. (Leonard's Agent)...shop your client around. We'll pay $500k/yr more than any deal you bring back, b/c we like you but we have an entire roster to worry about." vs. "WOOHOO! 4/41, bitches!"
What I wouldn't have done: Panicked when they were rebuffed by Parsons to offer a crazy contract to ET. Parson is a disaster, but he at least was a fit for the squad if healthy. The ET signing was a head scratcher then and now it's a top 5 albatross contract in the NBA.
Sure, but 99% of the fans wouldn't gave him that contract, but Neil.. There is no excuse for him, don't care. He did some good things, but in the long term, he fucked us a lot.
None of this would have happened because I would have taken Jordan over Bowie and the entire team would be different. So I can't say what I would have done. I can say I wouldn't do anything they did.
