twslam07
All-Star
2018 Draft Day
2nd Pick
So here we are on draft day. Suns are on the clock and take Ayton. What do we do? Draft Doncic. The kid is a stud. He's a less athletic, better shooting version of Ben Simmons in a way. Those players do not grow on trees. I understand the concerns about his athleticism, but his advanced skills, work ethic, & IQ are all excellent. His skills & IQ are going to translate into winning basketball vs. a flashy player with empty stats. I also think he will be able to handle the PF position one day as he continues to work on his body.
Draft Day Trade (with PHI)
PHI Gets: Buddy Hield & Willie Cauley-Stein
PHI Gives: Jerryd Bayless, #10, #26, & 2019 1st (Lottery Protected)
Why for PHI? Thy get a very cheap Reddick replacement in Hield who will get great looks playing with Simmons. Cauley-Stein gives them a solid backup C (on a rookie deal) to a player that has a long injury history. They also shed Bayless' dead weight contract in the process. They'd have about $30.5 mil in cap space (without waiving Holmes or McConnell) to go add a LeBron (if he wants to make a few less mil a year) or George.
SAC Gets: Jerryd Bayless, #10, #26, & 2019 1st (Lottery Protected)
SAC Gives: Buddy Hield & Willie Cauley-Stein
Why for SAC? Commit to Bogdanovic as the SG of the future considering playing both of them together at the same time would mean that you have two players that are average athletes, average defenders, and have below average size/length at SG & SF. That usually isn't a recipe for success. Therefore, we move Hield while his value is high to have the opportunity to draft a player that will fit the core going forward. Cauley-Stein has been a disappointment thus far and will be due for a new contract soon. We haven't even established our franchise cornerstones yet. We should not be committing long term salary to mediocre youth. We need to stay flexible. #10, #26, and the future pick continues to give us more and more assets to work with. Bayless expires after this season along with the rest of our veterans giving us massive cap space next offseason.
10th Pick, 26th Pick, & 36th Pick
I'd rather us not spend a pick on a big until we know what we have in Giles. We have a promising PG and a solid SG. I'd like to use these picks to add to our wing depth. I'd like to see Mikal Bridges (#10), Keita Bates-Diop (#26), & Isaac Bonga (#36) taken with these picks. That adds a lot of length, defense, versatility, & shooting at the wing.
Roster After the Draft
PG - Fox / Mason / Bayless
SG - Bogdanovic / Temple / Shumpert
SF - Bridges / Jackson / Bates-Diop
PF - Doncic / Labissiere / Bonga
C - Giles / Koufos / Randolph
2018 Free Agency
Free Agent Signings
As you can see from the roster above, we are already at 15 roster spots. However, we would have about $14.4 mil in cap space. If Bonga doesn't come over right away, then we have a little more cap space and an extra roster spot. I'd like to see us offer Vince Carter another 1 year contract around the same amount ($8-10 mil) so he can be that mentor we need for our young guys. If Bonga does come straight over, I'd likely waive Bayless so we could make that offer to Vince Carter. Mentorship is important. Drafting the right guys is the first step. Surrounding them with the correct mentorship is the second step.
Roster for the 2018-19 Season
PG - Fox / Mason / Temple
SG - Bogdanovic / Carter / Shumpert
SF - Bridges / Jackson / Bates-Diop
PF - Doncic / Labissiere / Bonga
C - Giles / Koufos / Randolph
2019 Draft Day
Picks
Although we don't have our own pick in this draft, we will have Philadelphia's 1st round pick to help soften the blow, and we will also have two 2nd round picks (less favorable of SAC & MIL and 2nd least favorable of CLE, HOU, & ORL).
2019 Free Agency
Cap Space & Potential Signings
We'll have $63.5 mil in cap space to use around the following roster:
PG - Fox / Mason
SG - Bogdanovic
SF - Bridges / Jackson / Bates-Diop
PF - Doncic / Bonga
C - Giles / Labissiere
Picks - PHI 1st, MIL/SAC 2nd, & CLE/HOU/ORL 2nd
Irving, Thompson, Middleton, Leonard, & Butler will all be free agents that year. Depending on how the team looks/progresses next year and how many other teams can offer max contracts, we may be in play.
2nd Pick
So here we are on draft day. Suns are on the clock and take Ayton. What do we do? Draft Doncic. The kid is a stud. He's a less athletic, better shooting version of Ben Simmons in a way. Those players do not grow on trees. I understand the concerns about his athleticism, but his advanced skills, work ethic, & IQ are all excellent. His skills & IQ are going to translate into winning basketball vs. a flashy player with empty stats. I also think he will be able to handle the PF position one day as he continues to work on his body.
Draft Day Trade (with PHI)
PHI Gets: Buddy Hield & Willie Cauley-Stein
PHI Gives: Jerryd Bayless, #10, #26, & 2019 1st (Lottery Protected)
Why for PHI? Thy get a very cheap Reddick replacement in Hield who will get great looks playing with Simmons. Cauley-Stein gives them a solid backup C (on a rookie deal) to a player that has a long injury history. They also shed Bayless' dead weight contract in the process. They'd have about $30.5 mil in cap space (without waiving Holmes or McConnell) to go add a LeBron (if he wants to make a few less mil a year) or George.
SAC Gets: Jerryd Bayless, #10, #26, & 2019 1st (Lottery Protected)
SAC Gives: Buddy Hield & Willie Cauley-Stein
Why for SAC? Commit to Bogdanovic as the SG of the future considering playing both of them together at the same time would mean that you have two players that are average athletes, average defenders, and have below average size/length at SG & SF. That usually isn't a recipe for success. Therefore, we move Hield while his value is high to have the opportunity to draft a player that will fit the core going forward. Cauley-Stein has been a disappointment thus far and will be due for a new contract soon. We haven't even established our franchise cornerstones yet. We should not be committing long term salary to mediocre youth. We need to stay flexible. #10, #26, and the future pick continues to give us more and more assets to work with. Bayless expires after this season along with the rest of our veterans giving us massive cap space next offseason.
10th Pick, 26th Pick, & 36th Pick
I'd rather us not spend a pick on a big until we know what we have in Giles. We have a promising PG and a solid SG. I'd like to use these picks to add to our wing depth. I'd like to see Mikal Bridges (#10), Keita Bates-Diop (#26), & Isaac Bonga (#36) taken with these picks. That adds a lot of length, defense, versatility, & shooting at the wing.
Roster After the Draft
PG - Fox / Mason / Bayless
SG - Bogdanovic / Temple / Shumpert
SF - Bridges / Jackson / Bates-Diop
PF - Doncic / Labissiere / Bonga
C - Giles / Koufos / Randolph
2018 Free Agency
Free Agent Signings
As you can see from the roster above, we are already at 15 roster spots. However, we would have about $14.4 mil in cap space. If Bonga doesn't come over right away, then we have a little more cap space and an extra roster spot. I'd like to see us offer Vince Carter another 1 year contract around the same amount ($8-10 mil) so he can be that mentor we need for our young guys. If Bonga does come straight over, I'd likely waive Bayless so we could make that offer to Vince Carter. Mentorship is important. Drafting the right guys is the first step. Surrounding them with the correct mentorship is the second step.
Roster for the 2018-19 Season
PG - Fox / Mason / Temple
SG - Bogdanovic / Carter / Shumpert
SF - Bridges / Jackson / Bates-Diop
PF - Doncic / Labissiere / Bonga
C - Giles / Koufos / Randolph
2019 Draft Day
Picks
Although we don't have our own pick in this draft, we will have Philadelphia's 1st round pick to help soften the blow, and we will also have two 2nd round picks (less favorable of SAC & MIL and 2nd least favorable of CLE, HOU, & ORL).
2019 Free Agency
Cap Space & Potential Signings
We'll have $63.5 mil in cap space to use around the following roster:
PG - Fox / Mason
SG - Bogdanovic
SF - Bridges / Jackson / Bates-Diop
PF - Doncic / Bonga
C - Giles / Labissiere
Picks - PHI 1st, MIL/SAC 2nd, & CLE/HOU/ORL 2nd
Irving, Thompson, Middleton, Leonard, & Butler will all be free agents that year. Depending on how the team looks/progresses next year and how many other teams can offer max contracts, we may be in play.
