Q12543 wrote:This is the position Thibs has put us in because of the Taj signing (and Teague with his $5M higher price tag than Rubio). If we had held onto Rubio and signed someone like Patrick Patterson at PF, it would have allowed us to go find a very solid wing that can backup Butler and Wiggins. Now we're on a desperate fishing expedition....
I think OKC has played this offseason absolutely beautifully. Similar to the Wolves, they really struggled with 3-point shooting last year. What did they do? Unloaded two mediocre players in Sabonis and Oladipo for a superstar that can shoot and offload some of the ball handling from Westbrook in Paul George, then signed a PF that can shoot to a very cheap deal. They are now a legitimate threat in the West because they addressed by far their biggest need without really sacrificing anything.
Yes they played things out really well. Look at the money aspect of what they did also. Dipo and Sabonis were like 23.5 million and George and Patterson will be around 24.5 million. Lol It's pretty easy to argue that for this season they got better players in both and a fairly neglegable amount of money to do so.
Q12543 wrote:This is the position Thibs has put us in because of the Taj signing (and Teague with his $5M higher price tag than Rubio). If we had held onto Rubio and signed someone like Patrick Patterson at PF, it would have allowed us to go find a very solid wing that can backup Butler and Wiggins. Now we're on a desperate fishing expedition....
I think OKC has played this offseason absolutely beautifully. Similar to the Wolves, they really struggled with 3-point shooting last year. What did they do? Unloaded two mediocre players in Sabonis and Oladipo for a superstar that can shoot and offload some of the ball handling from Westbrook in Paul George, then signed a PF that can shoot to a very cheap deal. They are now a legitimate threat in the West because they addressed by far their biggest need without really sacrificing anything.
Yes they played things out really well. Look at the money aspect of what they did also. Dipo and Sabonis were like 23.5 million and George and Patterson will be around 24.5 million. Lol It's pretty easy to argue that for this season they got better players in both and a fairly neglegable amount of money to do so.
Now about the next season when the Lakers use cap space to sign George...
Q12543 wrote:This is the position Thibs has put us in because of the Taj signing (and Teague with his $5M higher price tag than Rubio). If we had held onto Rubio and signed someone like Patrick Patterson at PF, it would have allowed us to go find a very solid wing that can backup Butler and Wiggins. Now we're on a desperate fishing expedition....
I think OKC has played this offseason absolutely beautifully. Similar to the Wolves, they really struggled with 3-point shooting last year. What did they do? Unloaded two mediocre players in Sabonis and Oladipo for a superstar that can shoot and offload some of the ball handling from Westbrook in Paul George, then signed a PF that can shoot to a very cheap deal. They are now a legitimate threat in the West because they addressed by far their biggest need without really sacrificing anything.
Yes they played things out really well. Look at the money aspect of what they did also. Dipo and Sabonis were like 23.5 million and George and Patterson will be around 24.5 million. Lol It's pretty easy to argue that for this season they got better players in both and a fairly neglegable amount of money to do so.
They were very fortunate that someone would take Oladipos contract. Even if George walks it was a positive trade
Q12543 wrote:This is the position Thibs has put us in because of the Taj signing (and Teague with his $5M higher price tag than Rubio). If we had held onto Rubio and signed someone like Patrick Patterson at PF, it would have allowed us to go find a very solid wing that can backup Butler and Wiggins. Now we're on a desperate fishing expedition....
I think OKC has played this offseason absolutely beautifully. Similar to the Wolves, they really struggled with 3-point shooting last year. What did they do? Unloaded two mediocre players in Sabonis and Oladipo for a superstar that can shoot and offload some of the ball handling from Westbrook in Paul George, then signed a PF that can shoot to a very cheap deal. They are now a legitimate threat in the West because they addressed by far their biggest need without really sacrificing anything.
Absolutely right, Q. Thibs may be a great head coach, but he's never ever worked in an NBA front office much less led one.
Q12543 wrote:This is the position Thibs has put us in because of the Taj signing (and Teague with his $5M higher price tag than Rubio). If we had held onto Rubio and signed someone like Patrick Patterson at PF, it would have allowed us to go find a very solid wing that can backup Butler and Wiggins. Now we're on a desperate fishing expedition....
I think OKC has played this offseason absolutely beautifully. Similar to the Wolves, they really struggled with 3-point shooting last year. What did they do? Unloaded two mediocre players in Sabonis and Oladipo for a superstar that can shoot and offload some of the ball handling from Westbrook in Paul George, then signed a PF that can shoot to a very cheap deal. They are now a legitimate threat in the West because they addressed by far their biggest need without really sacrificing anything.
Yes they played things out really well. Look at the money aspect of what they did also. Dipo and Sabonis were like 23.5 million and George and Patterson will be around 24.5 million. Lol It's pretty easy to argue that for this season they got better players in both and a fairly neglegable amount of money to do so.
Now about the next season when the Lakers use cap space to sign George...
Like Phenom said someone taking Dipo's contract isn't all bad. I'm still a fan of his but let's say the worst happens for OKC in a year and Westbrook and PG walk...they will have a bunch of cap space and a pretty young roster to work with.
Q12543 wrote:This is the position Thibs has put us in because of the Taj signing (and Teague with his $5M higher price tag than Rubio). If we had held onto Rubio and signed someone like Patrick Patterson at PF, it would have allowed us to go find a very solid wing that can backup Butler and Wiggins. Now we're on a desperate fishing expedition....
I think OKC has played this offseason absolutely beautifully. Similar to the Wolves, they really struggled with 3-point shooting last year. What did they do? Unloaded two mediocre players in Sabonis and Oladipo for a superstar that can shoot and offload some of the ball handling from Westbrook in Paul George, then signed a PF that can shoot to a very cheap deal. They are now a legitimate threat in the West because they addressed by far their biggest need without really sacrificing anything.
Yes they played things out really well. Look at the money aspect of what they did also. Dipo and Sabonis were like 23.5 million and George and Patterson will be around 24.5 million. Lol It's pretty easy to argue that for this season they got better players in both and a fairly neglegable amount of money to do so.
Now about the next season when the Lakers use cap space to sign George...
Like Phenom said someone taking Dipo's contract isn't all bad. I'm still a fan of his but let's say the worst happens for OKC in a year and Westbrook and PG walk...they will have a bunch of cap space and a pretty young roster to work with.
I say there's about a 99% chance PG is gone...and at least 50% for Russ. Yes, OkC will have a ton of cap space, but nobody wants to move to Oklahoma City...and especially to join a team that is rebuilding. I don't disagree that OkC handled the offseason well, but longterm the prospects in Oklahoma are bleak...I see a bottom dweller for a long time after next season.
Q12543 wrote:This is the position Thibs has put us in because of the Taj signing (and Teague with his $5M higher price tag than Rubio). If we had held onto Rubio and signed someone like Patrick Patterson at PF, it would have allowed us to go find a very solid wing that can backup Butler and Wiggins. Now we're on a desperate fishing expedition....
I think OKC has played this offseason absolutely beautifully. Similar to the Wolves, they really struggled with 3-point shooting last year. What did they do? Unloaded two mediocre players in Sabonis and Oladipo for a superstar that can shoot and offload some of the ball handling from Westbrook in Paul George, then signed a PF that can shoot to a very cheap deal. They are now a legitimate threat in the West because they addressed by far their biggest need without really sacrificing anything.
Yes they played things out really well. Look at the money aspect of what they did also. Dipo and Sabonis were like 23.5 million and George and Patterson will be around 24.5 million. Lol It's pretty easy to argue that for this season they got better players in both and a fairly neglegable amount of money to do so.
Now about the next season when the Lakers use cap space to sign George...
Like Phenom said someone taking Dipo's contract isn't all bad. I'm still a fan of his but let's say the worst happens for OKC in a year and Westbrook and PG walk...they will have a bunch of cap space and a pretty young roster to work with.
Good point. This is what really good front offices do. Even when faced with adversity like the surprise departure of their best player and the risk of losing last season's MVP, they're making smart moves that position them well for both the short term and long term with room to maneuver in the event of various contingencies.
I've brought this up before, but given what OKC did, what if we offered up Wiggins for Paul George instead? No doubt that was a far better deal for Indiana than the OKC offer.
PG - Rubio or Teague, doesn't really matter
SG - Butler
SF - George
PF - who cares
C - KAT
That's a team that would instantly contend. It punts our first rookie max out a year (only KAT now) while leaving open the possibility of re-signing Paul George.
I wonder how many vets would take a discount to join a core of KAT/Butler/George?
Listened to D. Morey on the Simmons podcast this morning.
They mentioned briefly about a lot of free agents available... but not much money. And the frustration players will have with agents and the NBA's sudden lower salary cap.
Point being... short deals for semi-decent free agents are definitely in play?
Q12543 wrote:This is the position Thibs has put us in because of the Taj signing (and Teague with his $5M higher price tag than Rubio). If we had held onto Rubio and signed someone like Patrick Patterson at PF, it would have allowed us to go find a very solid wing that can backup Butler and Wiggins. Now we're on a desperate fishing expedition....
I think OKC has played this offseason absolutely beautifully. Similar to the Wolves, they really struggled with 3-point shooting last year. What did they do? Unloaded two mediocre players in Sabonis and Oladipo for a superstar that can shoot and offload some of the ball handling from Westbrook in Paul George, then signed a PF that can shoot to a very cheap deal. They are now a legitimate threat in the West because they addressed by far their biggest need without really sacrificing anything.
Yes they played things out really well. Look at the money aspect of what they did also. Dipo and Sabonis were like 23.5 million and George and Patterson will be around 24.5 million. Lol It's pretty easy to argue that for this season they got better players in both and a fairly neglegable amount of money to do so.
Now about the next season when the Lakers use cap space to sign George...
Like Phenom said someone taking Dipo's contract isn't all bad. I'm still a fan of his but let's say the worst happens for OKC in a year and Westbrook and PG walk...they will have a bunch of cap space and a pretty young roster to work with.
Good point. This is what really good front offices do. Even when faced with adversity like the surprise departure of their best player and the risk of losing last season's MVP, they're making smart moves that position them well for both the short term and long term with room to maneuver in the event of various contingencies.
