Any idea when Pek or Martin are coming back?

[Bayou Wolf [enjin:6635650]]

We hear about Rubio working to return, but I haven't seen or heard anything on Pek or Martin.

[mjs34]

I'm guessing Pek is still struggling with the ankle. I won't be surprised if he retires at the end of the season due to the chronic nature of the injury. If you take the whole off season to rest it and only last a few weeks before having it reoccur, I have to believe that there is significantly more long term damage than they thought.

I think Martin will return quickly once X rays show that he is fully healed. I would expect him back mid January.

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

Why would Pek retire? He's got 60 million dollars coming his way! A lot of players have made more for doing less, it's the NBA way!

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I'm guessing Pek is still struggling with the ankle. I won't be surprised if he retires at the end of the season due to the chronic nature of the injury. If you take the whole off season to rest it and only last a few weeks before having it reoccur, I have to believe that there is significantly more long term damage than they thought.

I think Martin will return quickly once X rays show that he is fully healed. I would expect him back mid January.

I agree. I am skeptical that Pek ever comes back, or if he does, it will be in a very limited role off the bench. He was one of the few picks this franchise made that turned out to be a very good player. And we got him in the second round! What a shame. It also goes to show that this franchise has been doomed by a killer combination of incompetence and bad luck. Not a lot of good happens when you are stupid AND unlucky!

[Brandon BassHole [enjin:8183321]]

Josh Smith Pek!

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

I wonder if there's some stipulation in Pek's contract that requires he play a certain number of games or minutes to get his money, but I doubt it. Do you guys think he would really walk away after this year?

[bleedspeed]

I wonder if Pek's contract has some insurance in it like Brandon Roy had on his contract. If he medically he is told to retire and insurance picks up the rest of his contract would his contract still count against the cap?

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

I wonder if Pek's contract has some insurance in it like Brandon Roy had on his contract. If he medically he is told to retire and insurance picks up the rest of his contract would his contract still count against the cap?

If he retires he wouldn't count against the cap. He'd only count against the cap if we cut him. If I remember Roy's situation correctly, he had insurance cover it and Portland was pissed when we signed him because they had to pay him if he played a game for us because that would prove he could still play. So if Pek signed somewhere else and played we'd have to cover it, it just wouldn't count against the cap.

[60WinTim]

I thought there was some protection, but more geared to the final year of the contract.

At this point, it makes no sense to bring Pek back before Rubio. Since the playoffs aren't even in sniffing range this season is all about rebuilding, which means making sure we finish with a top 10 pick. Once our players return, we should expect to start winning a bunch more games, so losing now is important to make sure winning at the end of the season doesn't put that top 10 pick in jeopardy.

Off-season priority: power forward. Because Thad is not a starting PF in the West, and Anthony Bennett looks to be a long term project.

[mjs34]

I wonder if there's some stipulation in Pek's contract that requires he play a certain number of games or minutes to get his money, but I doubt it. Do you guys think he would really walk away after this year?

I wasn't suggesting he would walk away. I am suggesting that his injury will likely force him to. I am not sure how the cap and insurance would work out.