Make your Free Agent Pick: Who you got?

[thedoper]

Wow. 21 pages.

Well, good news. 82games didn't do weekly updates this year, so I thought they went out of business. Well, they posted a year end review on their website, and better news, it confirmed what I was thinking.

Wiggins' best minutes are at 2.
Rubio is only OK.
KG is a very good FIFTH post if he gets healthy.
Dieng is a 4, but a good one.
KAT is a world-class 4, only above-average 5.
Bazz is underrated, and equally good at 2 or 3.
Zach is OVERRATED, and equally bad at 1 or 2.
Belly should be a 3.
Rudez is an ok 3, especially at $1.2m (that was kind of a surprise)
If Jones is your 2nd best 1, you're in the lottery.
Payne would be a good addition to the Gophers and a great addition to Macalester.
Pek was rusty in his return.

That tells me that the draft/FreeAgency needs to be a frontline 1 (because they just don't have it) and 5 (in case Pek never returns to form). They are well stocked at 2, 3, and 4. So I hereby change my mind on Sabonnis, and at the same time, really not interested in hearing about anybody who isn't a 1 or 5 in the draft or as a FA.

A really good 1, two guys capable at 5, and trade Payne for a guy capable of being a 6th wing.

This is interesting because your summary is almost exactly what I feel about this team. Does changing your mind on Sabonis mean you want him or are moving away from him? I think the 4/5 distinction is a bit of a misnomer now. I just want a big. Would love to trade down in this draft and get Sabonis and Wade Baldwin.

Really? You agree with everything? Even Payne playing for Macalester, which would be a gross NCAA violation. {lol} Would it be worth it for them? Could they win the D3 championship with Payne? I'm not 100% sure.

I would be OK with that trade (PHX will have two picks in the lottery, and if MIN ends up ahead of PHX, they would be a good trade partner, as are DEN, who has a lotto pick and #15, and BOS, who has a lotto pick and #16), but it just seems they need a true 5.

Their Muhammad stat I found really interesting was that he was super successful in the first 10 seconds of the shot clock. Basically when a play was run for him (Rubio/tyus) he was very efficient. But beyond 10 seconds (2nd/3rd option likely from Lavine running around for 15 seconds) his numbers take a huge dip. Thanks for pointing out their analysis, I had forgotten about them. Very useful info to counter some of the ESPN stats.

They were my go-to "joint" back when they did weekly updates. When they stopped that, I thought the went under, but kept them in my "favorites" and checked periodically.

As far as I'm concerned, any discussion of the best Wolves lineup on May 2nd, year of our lord 2016, that doesn't include Wiggins at the 2, Bazz at the 3, and Kat at the 4, isn't worth having. "Let's pay $15m for such-and-such 3 who is dramatically worse than Bazz!" No thanks.

I could see KAT going from good to great at the 5. Ok by league standards for a rookie center is still an achievement. I do think that any serviceable point is necessary. Tyus may end up being alright, but nothing would be wrong with competition at this point.

Maybe so on KAT and Tyus. But if they are going to make the playoffs next year, they should probably go with their strengths, with Wiggins at 2, Bazz/Belly/Rudez at 3, and Kat/Dieng at 4.

Would you sign Conley and make Ricky the backup?

I feel like I'm being set up here. If I say yes, some might say "Isn't he a Duffy client?" and call me a hypocrite {lol} If I say no, some might say "But isn't he better than Rubio?"

I would absolutely be in favor of it. He's 28 and more productive than Blonde Ricky. Here's the problem: MEM is $40m under the projected $89m cap, and though they only have 8 players signed (and their 1st) when they decline Stephenson's option (and they will), no one else on their roster is in line for a big raise. They could give him $20m, sign their 1st, and still have $18m cap room.

I won't call you a hypocrite. I love Conley and got mocked for overrating him here. I'm sure Memphis will resign him but I just wanted your opinion strictly from a basketball standpoint.

[JasonIsDaMan [enjin:7981157]]

Wow. 21 pages.

Well, good news. 82games didn't do weekly updates this year, so I thought they went out of business. Well, they posted a year end review on their website, and better news, it confirmed what I was thinking.

Wiggins' best minutes are at 2.
Rubio is only OK.
KG is a very good FIFTH post if he gets healthy.
Dieng is a 4, but a good one.
KAT is a world-class 4, only above-average 5.
Bazz is underrated, and equally good at 2 or 3.
Zach is OVERRATED, and equally bad at 1 or 2.
Belly should be a 3.
Rudez is an ok 3, especially at $1.2m (that was kind of a surprise)
If Jones is your 2nd best 1, you're in the lottery.
Payne would be a good addition to the Gophers and a great addition to Macalester.
Pek was rusty in his return.

That tells me that the draft/FreeAgency needs to be a frontline 1 (because they just don't have it) and 5 (in case Pek never returns to form). They are well stocked at 2, 3, and 4. So I hereby change my mind on Sabonnis, and at the same time, really not interested in hearing about anybody who isn't a 1 or 5 in the draft or as a FA.

A really good 1, two guys capable at 5, and trade Payne for a guy capable of being a 6th wing.

This is interesting because your summary is almost exactly what I feel about this team. Does changing your mind on Sabonis mean you want him or are moving away from him? I think the 4/5 distinction is a bit of a misnomer now. I just want a big. Would love to trade down in this draft and get Sabonis and Wade Baldwin.

Really? You agree with everything? Even Payne playing for Macalester, which would be a gross NCAA violation. {lol} Would it be worth it for them? Could they win the D3 championship with Payne? I'm not 100% sure.

I would be OK with that trade (PHX will have two picks in the lottery, and if MIN ends up ahead of PHX, they would be a good trade partner, as are DEN, who has a lotto pick and #15, and BOS, who has a lotto pick and #16), but it just seems they need a true 5.

Their Muhammad stat I found really interesting was that he was super successful in the first 10 seconds of the shot clock. Basically when a play was run for him (Rubio/tyus) he was very efficient. But beyond 10 seconds (2nd/3rd option likely from Lavine running around for 15 seconds) his numbers take a huge dip. Thanks for pointing out their analysis, I had forgotten about them. Very useful info to counter some of the ESPN stats.

They were my go-to "joint" back when they did weekly updates. When they stopped that, I thought the went under, but kept them in my "favorites" and checked periodically.

As far as I'm concerned, any discussion of the best Wolves lineup on May 2nd, year of our lord 2016, that doesn't include Wiggins at the 2, Bazz at the 3, and Kat at the 4, isn't worth having. "Let's pay $15m for such-and-such 3 who is dramatically worse than Bazz!" No thanks.

I could see KAT going from good to great at the 5. Ok by league standards for a rookie center is still an achievement. I do think that any serviceable point is necessary. Tyus may end up being alright, but nothing would be wrong with competition at this point.

Maybe so on KAT and Tyus. But if they are going to make the playoffs next year, they should probably go with their strengths, with Wiggins at 2, Bazz/Belly/Rudez at 3, and Kat/Dieng at 4.

Would you sign Conley and make Ricky the backup?

I feel like I'm being set up here. If I say yes, some might say "Isn't he a Duffy client?" and call me a hypocrite {lol} If I say no, some might say "But isn't he better than Rubio?"

I would absolutely be in favor of it. He's 28 and more productive than Blonde Ricky. Here's the problem: MEM is $40m under the projected $89m cap, and though they only have 8 players signed (and their 1st) when they decline Stephenson's option (and they will), no one else on their roster is in line for a big raise. They could give him $20m, sign their 1st, and still have $18m cap room.

I won't call you a hypocrite. I love Conley and got mocked for overrating him here. I'm sure Memphis will resign him but I just wanted your opinion strictly from a basketball standpoint.

But that is basically the route they should go: maybe trade down to get two picks in the top 16, and end up with two 5's and a 1, either through F/A or the draft. But F/A is going to be tough this summer with the jump in the cap. Nobody is anywhere near the lux, and very few teams are even near the cap. But at the same time, very few teams like their team in relation to GS or SA, so there may be some trades out there.

[Volans19]

IS THIS CRAZY???? I'M NOT MARRIED TO THE IDEA ANYWAY SO BE BRUTAL.

#5, Pek, Payne, Rudez

for

Brook Lopez, Thad Young (maybe see if you could get Rondae Hollis-Jefferson?)

Instead of paying free agents we just use our cap space on players signed before the great cap bonanza. Brook had a great year in terms of scoring (not a great rebounder - 7.4) and Cam's boy Thad had a rough go while he was with the Wolves but would be a really solid piece off the bench. The Wolves would clear the end of their bench out and turn Pek's corpse into a solid player.

Now I know Brook is almost as bad as Pek when it comes to injury risk but he played 70+ games last year as the centerpiece of the team and his contract is for the same length as Pek's (about $7 million more a year though). The Nets can try and kickstart their rebuild with a top lotto pick and the new coach and general manager can build the team they want without any big contracts on the books.

Rubio/LaVine/Tyus/ Maybe a bargain bin FA like Hinreich
LaVine/ Wigs/ ?
Wigs/Bazz/ Thad
KAT/ Thad/ Dieng/ KG
Brook/ Dieng/ KAT -------------- mix and match bigs based on matchups, maybe use Brook like the Thunder use Kanter.

Ehhhhhh. The trade isn't great, the #5 + FA would probably serve the Wolves better. I'm just spit balling here. Thoughts?

[Monster]

Jason thanks for bring up 82games stats. I had looked them up a while ago and found some interesting things like you pointed out. The most interesting thing was how not terrible Bazz was.

Jason I don't buy that Belly can actually play SF for any significant minutes. That's based on watching most of the games this year. If he can guard SFs then damn yes get him out there.

EVERYONE knows this team has to add some sort of true/bulky center to the roster either via draft or FA or something. I do think Towns can/will round out into a guy that's just fine playing a healthy does of minutes at C but next year we could really use a guy that can be a big dude down low at least a few minutes a game against some teams. That guy could be someone you sign for a few million or a max of 2 million. At this point all you have to do is improve on Pek in a suit Payne running around like a chicken with its head cut off and Greg Smith. It should be pretty easy to find a guy more effective.

[KiwiMatt]

Volans not a fan of your idea. Lopez and Young just don't fit this team going forward.

However I am all for using the 5th pick to trade down in the draft and unload Peks contract to free up cap space.

[JasonIsDaMan [enjin:7981157]]

IS THIS CRAZY???? I'M NOT MARRIED TO THE IDEA ANYWAY SO BE BRUTAL.

#5, Pek, Payne, Rudez

for

Brook Lopez, Thad Young (maybe see if you could get Rondae Hollis-Jefferson?)

Instead of paying free agents we just use our cap space on players signed before the great cap bonanza. Brook had a great year in terms of scoring (not a great rebounder - 7.4) and Cam's boy Thad had a rough go while he was with the Wolves but would be a really solid piece off the bench. The Wolves would clear the end of their bench out and turn Pek's corpse into a solid player.

Now I know Brook is almost as bad as Pek when it comes to injury risk but he played 70+ games last year as the centerpiece of the team and his contract is for the same length as Pek's (about $7 million more a year though). The Nets can try and kickstart their rebuild with a top lotto pick and the new coach and general manager can build the team they want without any big contracts on the books.

Rubio/LaVine/Tyus/ Maybe a bargain bin FA like Hinreich
LaVine/ Wigs/ ?
Wigs/Bazz/ Thad
KAT/ Thad/ Dieng/ KG
Brook/ Dieng/ KAT -------------- mix and match bigs based on matchups, maybe use Brook like the Thunder use Kanter.

Ehhhhhh. The trade isn't great, the #5 + FA would probably serve the Wolves better. I'm just spit balling here. Thoughts?

I would love a Lopez deal, but you're missing the point.

The Nets have YOOOOGE money issues (who would've guessed that a team owned by a Russian that refuses to say how he made his money would be run poorly?). For a few years, they paid huge salaries and luxury tax, while not playing many playoff games and selling many tickets. The bleeding has stopped for the simple fact that KG/Pierce/DWill/JJohnson are gone. But they have zero firsts for the forseeable future and a ton of debt.

So instead, call BKN and say: Lopez for Payne/2018 Top 3 protected (so #4 thru whatever number ATL gets the pick in the Payne deal. Ugh.)/2020 Top 3 protected or Extinguished.

MIN is then at 12 players signed at $82m, and if they trade down in the Lottery with PHX, DEN, or BOS, they'll be at 14 signed and right at the cap. So draft Jamal Murray and Poeltl and sign the a cheap "2".

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Scratch Harrison Barnes off my list of guys I'd be willing to pay big bucks to in free agency. He has had a chance to step up in Curry's absence and instead he pretty much plays the same low usage/low impact role. Not worth it.

[Monster]

Scratch Harrison Barnes off my list of guys I'd be willing to pay big bucks to in free agency. He has had a chance to step up in Curry's absence and instead he pretty much plays the same low usage/low impact role. Not worth it.

I was thinking the same thing looking at the box score tonight.