Where Will the Elite Free Agents End Up

[Hicks123 [enjin:6700838]]

I think it's time for a break when you call a guy Jason who's name is Klay...;)

And you thought Beasley and Durant both went to Kansas......something is up with Lip these days.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

I think it's time for a break when you call a guy Jason who's name is Klay...;)

And you thought Beasley and Durant both went to Kansas......something is up with Lip these days.

I wish KD went to KU. That would have been back to back titles with that Chalmers/Collins/Rush/Wright/Arthur/Kaun core both years and KD the first year with Cole in the 2nd year.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

I've seen a lot of talk on this board about how we might be able to get Russell.

Anybody else wary of paying that guy something near a max salary? I need to watch him play more, but I'm worried people feel like we need to try to get him just because of the rumors are out there that we could. Just because some people say some popular girl might date you doesn't mean it's a good idea to get engaged. I fear we'd regret that contract.

[Lipoli390]

I've seen a lot of talk on this board about how we might be able to get Russell.

Anybody else wary of paying that guy something near a max salary? I need to watch him play more, but I'm worried people feel like we need to try to get him just because of the rumors are out there that we could. Just because some people say some popular girl might date you doesn't mean it's a good idea to get engaged. I fear we'd regret that contract.

I am definitely wary.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I've seen a lot of talk on this board about how we might be able to get Russell.

Anybody else wary of paying that guy something near a max salary? I need to watch him play more, but I'm worried people feel like we need to try to get him just because of the rumors are out there that we could. Just because some people say some popular girl might date you doesn't mean it's a good idea to get engaged. I fear we'd regret that contract.

All-Stars get paid, especially 23-year old ones. Not worried about paying the players with proven production. It's when you pay guys based on a pinky promise that they'll get better... That's when you get into trouble.

[crazy-canuck [enjin:18955461]]

Houston going after Jimmy in a sign and trade.
Celtics looking at kemba.
Knicks looking at randall.
Pacers long at Rubio.

Only 3 teams stun to be linked to dlo.

Lakers who have a meeting set with the dlo already.
Suns, because of Booker, but they need to create another 10 + million in space.
Wolves, because of kat, but they will need to create 35 million in space.

According to Lowe, there doesnt seem to be a big market for dlo.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

He fits what we need desperately. He's good friends with our franchise cornerstone. When you can just run PnR with your best two players as your foundation for your offense it makes it very easy to find players that fit around them. Sure defense is a question mark, but 23 year old all-stars just don't become available often. You can find 3 guys that work around Russell and KAT to minimize their weaknesses. We may even have some of those guys on the team already.

[KG4Ever]

I've seen a lot of talk on this board about how we might be able to get Russell.

Anybody else wary of paying that guy something near a max salary? I need to watch him play more, but I'm worried people feel like we need to try to get him just because of the rumors are out there that we could. Just because some people say some popular girl might date you doesn't mean it's a good idea to get engaged. I fear we'd regret that contract.

All-Stars get paid, especially 23-year old ones. Not worried about paying the players with proven production. It's when you pay guys based on a pinky promise that they'll get better... That's when you get into trouble.

Even replacement all-stars like DLO who suck at defense, score inefficiently and has had only one season where he was an above average player? Not all all-stars get paid big money. What about all-stars like Jameer Nelson, Devin Harris and Mo Williams? Playing in an all-star game doesn't mean you deserve a max deal: Think of Chris Kaman, David Lee, Andrew Bynum, Mehmet Okur, Josh Howard and Brad Miller. KG, KAT and Love deserved max deals, but what about Wolve all-stars like Googs, Wally, Laettner and Luol Deng? D. Rose is a multi-time all star and MVP and he's getting paid the minimum. I'm happy with letting another team overpay for an "all-star" like DLO.

[Monster]

I've seen a lot of talk on this board about how we might be able to get Russell.

Anybody else wary of paying that guy something near a max salary? I need to watch him play more, but I'm worried people feel like we need to try to get him just because of the rumors are out there that we could. Just because some people say some popular girl might date you doesn't mean it's a good idea to get engaged. I fear we'd regret that contract.

All-Stars get paid, especially 23-year old ones. Not worried about paying the players with proven production. It's when you pay guys based on a pinky promise that they'll get better... That's when you get into trouble.

Even replacement all-stars like DLO who suck at defense and score inefficiently and has had only one season where he was an above average player? Not all all-stars get paid big money. What about all-stars like Jameer Nelson, Devin Harris and Mo Williams? Playing in an all-star game doesn't mean you deserve a max deal: Think of Chris Kaman, David Lee, Andrew Bynum, Mehmet Okur, Josh Howard and Brad Miller. KG, KAT and Love deserved max deals, but what about Wolve all-stars like Googs, Wally, Laettner, Luol Deng? D. Rose is a multi-time all star and MVP and he's getting paid the minimum.

I agree with the angle of this post I have to say that if Googs had stayed healthy (he almost died taking a sleep aid) he would have been worth whatever he got paid. Remember McHale traded D Marshall for that guy.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I've seen a lot of talk on this board about how we might be able to get Russell.

Anybody else wary of paying that guy something near a max salary? I need to watch him play more, but I'm worried people feel like we need to try to get him just because of the rumors are out there that we could. Just because some people say some popular girl might date you doesn't mean it's a good idea to get engaged. I fear we'd regret that contract.

All-Stars get paid, especially 23-year old ones. Not worried about paying the players with proven production. It's when you pay guys based on a pinky promise that they'll get better... That's when you get into trouble.

Even replacement all-stars like DLO who suck at defense, score inefficiently and has had only one season where he was an above average player? Not all all-stars get paid big money. What about all-stars like Jameer Nelson, Devin Harris and Mo Williams? Playing in an all-star game doesn't mean you deserve a max deal: Think of Chris Kaman, David Lee, Andrew Bynum, Mehmet Okur, Josh Howard and Brad Miller. KG, KAT and Love deserved max deals, but what about Wolve all-stars like Googs, Wally, Laettner and Luol Deng? D. Rose is a multi-time all star and MVP and he's getting paid the minimum. I'm happy with letting another team overpay for an "all-star" like DLO.

Look at the examples you've provided. Think about the era in which they played in -- mid-range focus, post play, traditionalism. Now think about the era of the NBA that the league is currently in -- pace and space, ball-handling, perimeter shooting. The two eras are not the same. The structure of the league is not the same. Frankly, the overall talent in today's NBA is much better than it was in the early to mid 2000's -- when all of your player examples played. Now, how many of the players you listed were still on their rookie contract when they were named to the All-Star team? Any of them?

Jameer Nelson (26) - No
Devin Harris (25) - No
Mo Williams (26) - No
Chris Kaman (27) - No
David Lee (26) - No
Andrew Bynum (24) - No
Mehmet Okur (27) - No
Josh Howard (26) - Yes
Brad Miller (26) - No

Max contracts for 23-year old All-Stars aren't overpays. That's market value. That's usually a good investment.

B1: I've mentioned this before, but Russell is not an inefficient scorer. He's middle of the pack in scoring efficiency with the likes of Luka Doncic, Demar DeRozan, Trae Young, Jamal Murray, Donovan Mitchell, and Josh Richardson. It's fair to speculate that he might improve upon his efficiency when playing with more talented players, especially someone like Karl-Anthony Towns.

B2: Using Derrick Rose as an example in this context doesn't help the credibility of your argument. It just shows how far you're having to reach for names that fit your narrative. Rose literally has an inclusion in the CBA because of how good he was and consequently he was paid appropriately.