Post #15
(ISO)
» Mon Jun 05, 2017 5:10 am
Yo, we back friends. 2 year necro after talking with papa ziti, Vert, and sleepo troll about basketball in site chat tonight.
Important things: Kevin Durant is the worst, Giannis is the best, let's all root for LeBron!!, Kevin Love not an all-star, Kelly Olynyk Best Player in Boston, IT being shipped after Fultz gets there (time for the MF Era), also everyone beside washington, boston, cle SA, and GS should blow it up (if they have something to blow up).
Really important thing: I do like Portland's base roster but they got negative cap space, so they gotta she'd some of their homegrown guys they resigned, preferably Leonard and Crabbe. If they keep CJ and Dame (who are the best backcourt in basketball), and keep nurkic at least until they have to re-sign him, dealing crabbe, Leonard and Harkness this year is probably absolutely necessary(which could be difficult given that everyone is trying to tank). They have a lot of assets and probably should part with those too in order to get bad teams to take on bad contracts 6ers style.
A start could be going to Brooklyn and trying to get rid of Leonard and Harkness bad contracts and Shabazz Napier for Booker, and a pile of bad guys who's contracts are all not guaranteed then cutting all of them for cap relief. Giving up some assets to Brooklyn would go such as one of there three first rounders this year and a second or 2. After that the go to the Pacers, give Crabbe and a pick swap in 2019 + a second rounder for Jefferson contract and the Lavoy Allen contract.
The experiment in 2017 to see who makes the 2018-2019 squad and which forwards they the like, which they hate.
Starting 2018 portland would have 3 first picks (2 in 2017 and 1 in 2018), Cj, Dame, Turner, Nurkic(restricted), Vonleh(restricted], and Aminu along with whichever cheap deep bench players the keep to fill the roster like the guys the traded for in the Brooklyn deal or pat connaughton and roughly 30m before the tax and an additional 6 if the billionaire owner doesn't mind dipping into the tax). Only issue is the 2018 free agency looks slimish in the 3 and 4 spot, so they might have to try to pick someone up in THIS free agency unless they are gonna make a big crazy run at Paul George or a restricted guy like Wiggins(barring of course the hit on someone in this draft in the front court). And signing a 2017 free agent will give then less wiggle room with re-signing nurkic in 2018 as a restricted FA(and would probably mean good bye vonleh). I think an option or 2 in 2017 would be Gallinari, Millsap, or Hayward but they can't even dream about that until they start moving Harkless, Leonard and definitely Crabbe who is making the 3rd most on the team to be McCollum's back up. But like I said, all of this is moot if Portland A) doesn't open cap space and opts to go with what they got and what they ate getting in these next two drafts, B) decides to blow it up on lue of having 3 top caliber players, or C) hits it big and immediately in this draft with like TJ Leaf and Semi Ojeleye becoming solid to better than solid contributors.
In short, I still think that portland shouldn't blow it up but I think they should do some work outside of their best 3 players. I'm hoping that they don't opt to both not free up space AND use their 3 first rounders this year to move up and take an "impact player" unless it's like...Jayson tatum or Jackson.