In my opinion the play of Moore, Felicio and Holiday were one of the only bright spots this season. They all have capability as 2-way players and represent good value at the end of the bench. However, this year and next all will be FA's so the front office will have to decide if they're desirable enough to keep on more than a minimum contract, so it's important to think about just how much they really like these guys and what it's worth paying to keep them in the new salary cap. Here are my takes right now: Cristiano Felicio - I'm a Felicio guy and think it'd be good GMing to allow him to become a RFA this offseason if it means we can sign him to a forward-looking 4 year/16ish million dollar contract. He was productive in low minutes, with an 18 PER and 0.601 TS%. The eyeball test tells me his stats aren't a fluke, being that his physical tools and all-around game seem excellent. I also thought he didn't get much of a chance to use the jumper he displayed in Summer league. This might sound nutty but if Pau leaves this offseason and Cristiano becomes the backup PF/C, he could get a 15 mil/year contract next year if he can maintain his current production at 20 mpg. Yes GarPax, be proactive on this man. Etwaun Moore - I'm also a Moore guy. He's a poor man's Kirk Hinrich and his balanced 2-way play and ability to defend multiple positions is exactly the sort of role player the league selects for nowadays. My understanding is that if the Bulls can resign him for less than 5.8 million a year then this amount won't count against the cap. If this is the case then I think it's a slam dunk. If he thinks he can get more than that then it's a little bit dicier since you're getting to the edge of Moore's value. Given when I perceive to be other guy's value, I'd go up to 8 million/year to sign him, which is probably on the high end of what people deem him to be "worth." Justin Holiday - To me he's the most expendable of the 3, but as of right now he's the only perimeter player that plays with a good motor, something we've missed since Luol Deng left 3 years ago. I think a lot depends on how reliable his jumpshot is this year since it took a big leap this year. As a 40% 3P shooter Holiday's a useful guy to have around as a backup wing. If he slinks back to the 30%ish range he's been at for most of his career I think he's expendable as end-of-bench fodder. But his purposeful play is definitely a breath of fresh air after watching Tony Snell for 2.5 years.
I like all 3 of them fine and would be OK with all 3 returning next season. Moore is my favorite of the 3 and the only one who is near proven. I like him in the 3rd guard role. Is he worth $6mil per? In the NBA's new world order' who the hell knows who's worth what? You're right about Moore's advantageous salary cap situation. His cap hold is only about $1.4mil. The Bulls can carry him at this hold, spend their available cap space and then sign Moore for nearly $6mil per using the early-Bird exception. Holiday brings much-needed athleticism and can play some D. As rosenthall points out, it's all about whether he can be an adequate shooter. Before last season, he hadn't been. Felicio showed some nice flashes in his, what, 300 minutes? Maybe Felicio is the real deal and can be relied upon for big productive minutes, but this requires a leap of faith. If the Bulls are going to make that leap, I'd like to see them pick up a Nazr-like vet to help cover the bet.
My ordered preference is: Felicio Moore Holiday Felicio requires a bit of projection due to his limited sample size, but a competent 2-way big with great size is an incredible asset if you can get it on the cheap. It could save the team 50 million+ if they get him on the right contract. My big concern with him is that teams haven't scouted him yet on the pick n' roll and once they tighten that up some of his offensive game will falter. But the good news is that it's hard to stop 275 lb guys with good agility and touch on the pick n' roll! I think he'll be "my guy" going into next season. Really rooting for him. Personally I'd much rather have Moore at 7 million than a lot of the more talked about wings at their asking price. My hunch though is that GM's are much more tuned into Etwaun than the average fan.
The two guards look to be decent NBA role players. The big guy showed some seeming promise down the stretch last season. Are any of these guys meaningful NBA difference makers? Probably not.
Well, it depends on what definition you use for "NBA difference maker." If you draw the line at being an all-star or top 2 or 3 scorer on the team then you're probably right. They make no difference. However, top-shelf talent isn't the only necessary ingredient for having a great team. The best ones get that way because they're also good at assembling the right mix of role players around their alpha talent. Hence the point of this thread. A good example would be the Spurs. I think we can all agree they've been a good team. Clearly Duncan and Kawhi matter a lot. No one's arguing otherwise. But guys like Danny Green, Patty Mills, Tiago Splitter, Boris Diaw, etc were important appetizers to the main dish. So it's important to give some consideration to the 6-10 guys on your roster as well.
Yes, role players matter. IMO, the role players on championship teams tend to be overvalued. Not that they are unimportant, just that they are replacement level or near replacement level players whose roles other guys that are on bad to average NBA teams could just as easily fill. All those guys you mentioned looked like passable NBA players at times over the last season or two. To me, Felico shows the most promise, but probably has the highest standard deviation of expected production. Moore seems like a guy that could be a solid glue guy on a good team.
Would like to see that the Bulls keep Felicio and Moore. I'm not sure about Holiday. He had some good games.
