northernhoops wrote:Anyone know what Wiggins salary will be?
5.5 Million
I'm guessing the deal Flip turned down (if it's true) was
Love and Turiaf
For
Wiggins Bennett Haywood
Thompson "flipped" for Brewer or Thompson and Felix "flipped" for Martin is what I want included
It's definitely possible Flip was offered that deal and turned it down. Note, however, that the deal you suggested would have had to be contingent on Wiggins signing and a 30-day delay for salary match purposes. I agree with the underlying premise of your speculation -- i.e., that Wiggins is already on the table and that ongoing negotiations involve ancillary pieces.
As I indicated in an earlier post, I anticipate the Thompson/Brewer scenario you suggested. I think that's where we'll end up.
The only way the summer can end without a Wiggins-Love deal is if one side or the other is incredibly stupid. I don't think Flip's that dumb. And I'm counting on LeBron being the smart one even if the Cavs organization is otherwise comprised of idiots.
I predicted the deal would end up as Love, GRIII and Brewer for Wiggins, Bennett, Thompson and a future first. Here's a list of who will be pressuring the Cavs to do this deal:
1. LeBron James. Why? Because he's a very smart basketball guy and he knows how good the Cavs will likely be with Love on the team along with Kyrie, Varejao, Waiters and Miller among others. James has clearly told the Cavs front office he wants Love and that he's fine giving up Wiggins to get him. Otherwise, he has probably left the details to the Cavs front office for now. But at some point, LeBron's agent will call Gilbert and tell him to stop dickering on the details and just get it done.
2. Tristan Thompson's agent (who also happens to be LeBron's agent). Why? Because Thompson's (LeBron's) agent knows that Tristan can't be more than a 15 minute per game back up as a PF behind all-star Kevin Love. He also knows that his client, Tristan, would be the likely starting PF on the Wolves. This is the final year of Tristan's contract before he becomes a free agent. This is his chance to showcase his talents before free agency. So you know his agent will be pushing hard to include Tristan in the deal and no doubt the Wolves would welcome his inclusion since they'll need someone they can count on to step into the PF spot vacated by Love.
3. Love's agent. Why? Because Love sees this once in a lifetime chance to play with the best player on the planet on a team that would likely be the favorites to win the East and a definite title contender along with the Spurs, Thunder, Clippers and possibly the Bulls. Love also knows that, while he'd like to go to Golden State, they have a harder road to a Championship than the Cavs with LeBron, Love, Kyrie and the others. Obviously, Love's agent won't carry as much weight as LeBron's with the Cavs brass, but all agents with star clients have considerable power with all teams in the NBA. Gilbert and his his front office minions will feel some pressure from Love's agent to stop dickering and get the deal done. Love's agent might even agree to a slightly discounted salary to encourage the Cavs to get this done.
4. Other teams (Warriors, Bulls Celtics, Suns). Why? Because with each day comes a risk that one of these teams known to be very interested in Love will step up with an offer Flip would be inclined to take. The Warriors are already on the cusp of offering what Flip would accept. The Bulls have young talent that Flip is known to like, including McDermott who was really impressive in Summer League. The Celtics have two very talented young players in Olynyk and Smart along with a lot of future first round picks.
5. Cleveland fan base. Why? Because reality will begin to settle in among the local fans - especially the more astute season ticket holders. As their heads clear a bit and they hear comments like the recent ones from coach K and other highly respected basketball minds and as they begin to realize they can't get Love without giving up Wiggins and other pieces, they'll start making calls to front office folks and Dan Gilbert.
I still suspect a deal is nearly done and the main issue is the need to sign Wiggins for salary match purposes and wait 30 days based on the silly CBA rule. Of course, I could be wrong. But one way or another, the pressure points on the Cavs to do a reasonable deal are substantial and increasing.
The paragraph on Bazz is why I don't want him on our team. His game hasn't changed at all since high-school. He didn't show any progress from last year's summer league. If anything, he became an even bigger black hole this year with better teammates around him. He's not a team player and regardless of work ethic or attitude, his game will make teammates not want to play with him and makes him a bad presence on any team. The fact that Flip is so high on Shabazz is worrisome to me because as a basketball player, he isn't good and plays a selfish game. That's a dangerous combination to have in this league. The guy could be the hardest worker on the team, but I don't care because it's clear to me that his hard work is him trying to find more ways to shoot the ball and not become a well rounded basketball player. He doesn't look to have the quickness needed to be a good shot creator and defender and while he can get up fast for rebounding purposes, he seems to be lacking an overall level of athleticism that's needed to be effective on both sides of the court. At least that's what my eye test sees with him. Maybe it's just me, but I'd try to trade him because I just see him as a career volume scorer on bad teams kind of player and I want guys who can play as a member of a team. It's one thing to be a volume scorer. Kevin Love is a volume scorer. It's another to be a black hole that shoots every time he touches the ball and that's the kind of player Bazz is right now.
That AWOW article is really good and I largely agree with everything Benjamin wrote. His take on GRIII is the exact same as mine. He certainly looks like he could be a good player based on how smooth his stroke is and his overall athleticism, but then there are vast stretches of him going missing. You look at the box score at the end of the game and there simply isn't much there....
As for Shabazz, there is a place in this league for volume scorers that hunt for shots and points....IF they can do it efficiently. Shabazz has yet to demonstrate he can do this. And since otherwise he stops ball movement and he isn't a great defender, he becomes a huge liability when not putting the ball in the hoop with efficiency. We'll see if his work ethic leads to more accurate shot making, because that's really the key to him being successful.
Would a team like Milwaukee want a more established guy in Thompson for Henson and filler? I think Henson is a great fit next to Pek. Ricky/Lavine/Wiggins/Henson/Dieng is a scary defensive team in 3 years.
This K Love mad at the Wolves is all a ruse. We trade him for wiggins and Bennett. Then Love wins a championship (maybe). It was a set up and we throw max money at him and he rejoins the T wolves. Flip is a genius
kekgeek1 wrote:This K Love mad at the Wolves is all a ruse. We trade him for wiggins and Bennett. Then Love wins a championship (maybe). It was a set up and we throw max money at him and he rejoins the T wolves. Flip is a genius
Wow that was one of my crazy theories except you went with him winning a possible championship with the Cavs. Maybe its real... Lol
"NBA Legion ?@MySportsLegion 34s
T-Wolves are ready to agree on a trade that sends Kevin Love to Cleveland, but Cavs are refusing to include multiple 1sts. (@GeryWoelfel)"
CoolBreeze44 wrote:Wojo reports that the Cavs are looking around the league for non-guaranteed contracts they can include in a "larger deal down the road".
Interesting. Just saw that too. If they're really signing Wiggins, why would they need non guaranteed contracts to make a deal work?
