Free Agent SF Options

[twslam07]

This is the way I would attack our SF problem.

First, we must buyout Garcia. By doing this, we give ourselves a lot more cap space to work with. Accounting for the loss of Garcia's contract plus a contract of 6 mil for Thompson plus Robinson's rookie contract, we will be right around 47 mil giving us 11 milion cap space.

Scenario 1

After we have acquired our cap space, we send an offer sheet to Batum for 8-9 mil. I know Portland is likely to match but it is worth a shot and at worst we drove up the price for them.

If Portland does not match, welcome to the team Batum. With the rest of our available cap, I say we resign Williams. We don't have too many guard (Evans, Thornton, Thomas) or forward (Batum, Salmons) minutes for him, but I think he can be a very smart investment for us and could help us workout a trade in the future.

Scenario 2

If Portland does match, I would like us to go after Fields. He hasn't been mentioned too often on this forum. He went through a sophomore slump last year, but I still have faith in him. He is kind of like Thompson in that he isn't great at one thing but good at everything. He can hit the three, he can rebound, he can pass, he can play defense, and he doesn't demand the ball to be effective. He is 6'6.5" without shoes so he is probably around 6'7" to 6'8" with shoes. The Knicks are alreaady at 59 mil and they are going to try to keep Lin. I think if we throw a 4-5 mil deal his way the Knicks won't match.

If the Knicks don't match, then Fields will fill our SF role. Again I would still like us to go after Williams for the reasons I stated earlier. We would still have around 3 mil leftover. I was thinking we could possibly take a flyer on Oden (I'm laughing on the inside as I type this). 3 mil would not be much of a risk at all for a former #1 overall. When he is healthy, he does put up good numbers. Cousins, Thompson, Robinson, and Oden would be a very strong 4 man rotation.

Scenario 3

If the Knicks do match or someone else offers more, then I say we just focus on bringing Williams back as a temporary SF. I'm guessing anything around 3 mil and we have him. Once we have signed him, I say we leave the rest of our cap open and we explore trades for a SF with Thornton being the main trade chip. If we trade him away for a SF, we would still have a nice 3 guard rotation of Evans, Williams, and Thomas.



Scenario 1

Evans/Thomas/Fredette
Thornton/Williams
Batum/Salmons/Outlaw/Honeycutt
Thompson/Robinson/Hayes
Cousins/Whiteside

Scenario 2

Evans/Thomas/Fredette
Thornton/Williams
Fields/Salmons/Outlaw/Honeycutt
Thompson/Robinson/Hayes
Cousins/Oden/Whiteside

Scenario 3

Evans/Thomas/Fredette
Thornton
Williams/Salmons/Outlaw/Honeycutt
Thompson/Robinson/Hayes
Cousins/Whiteside

or

Evans/Thomas/Fredette
Williams
Acquired SF/Salmons/Outlaw/Honeycutt
Thompson/Robinson/Hayes
Cousins/Whiteside

What do you guys think? Is this a good way to approach it or am I just talking out of my ***?

 

[Gary]

If we cannot get a guy like Batum then we re-sign TWill and see what he can do for an entire season. Also, in order to thrive offensively we need to start IT at PG not Evans. We were last in the league in offense with Evans at PG and were barely scoring 90 ppg and not even hitting 40% shooting on a lot of nights. Our defense isn't good enough to limit other teams to 90 ppg so we would lose on most nights.

I really like a team like;
IT
Evans
Batum
JT
Cousins

With Robinson, and MT as your 6th and 7th men.

 

[cuad]

I think your starting lineups all suck, OP. I like Gary's lineup better, and I support T-Rob coming off the bench in the early going.

 

[twslam07]

If we cannot get a guy like Batum then we re-sign TWill and see what he can do for an entire season. Also, in order to thrive offensively we need to start IT at PG not Evans. We were last in the league in offense with Evans at PG and were barely scoring 90 ppg and not even hitting 40% shooting on a lot of nights. Our defense isn't good enough to limit other teams to 90 ppg so we would lose on most nights.

I really like a team like;
IT
Evans
Batum
JT
Cousins

With Robinson, and MT as your 6th and 7th men.

I liked what I saw out of Evans at PG under Smart last year. I think you will be pleasantly surprised with Evans at PG this upcoming season. He's been working very hard this offseason and having a coach who is willing to show him how to play PG can't hurt either. I would be fine with Thomas and Evans starting together next season, but as of now that isn't realistic. Smart said that he plans to put Evans at PG next season and until we add another guard or trade one way that is not changing.

 

[twslam07]

I think your starting lineups all suck, OP. I like Gary's lineup better, and I support T-Rob coming off the bench in the early going.

Great analysis

 

[cuad]

Well, I wasn't going to repeat what Gary said. You can read.

 

[kingsnation]

I'd rather see TWill getting minutes instead of Salmons. My preference is this if we can't get a major FA signing.

IT/MT/Jimmer
Reke/MT
TWill/Salmons
Robinson/JT
DMC/JT

3 man rotations at the 1 & 2(Reke/IT/MT) and 4 & 5(DMC/Rob/JT). TWill gets the major 3 minutes while Salmons and Jimmer get spot minutes. I want to see at least some sort of capable 3 signed during FA.

I only want Jimmer getting spot minutes at this point. Salmons, IMO should only see playing time if we can't get another 3 via FA. Also, I want to see Robinson start.

 

[twslam07]

Well, I wasn't going to repeat what Gary said. You can read.

I didn't realize giving the more realistic lineup would get such a bad rap. I wouldn't mind it being Thomas and Evans with Thornton off the bench, but Smart has made it known that he is playing Evans at PG next season (I guess I'll be the one to repeat what I said).

 

[twslam07]

Salmons, IMO should only see playing time if we can't get another 3 via FA. Also, I want to see Robinson start.

Completely agree. Though it depends on how much we spend for that FA SF if we can bring Williams back or not.

 

[cuad]

I didn't realize giving the more realistic lineup would get such a bad rap. I wouldn't mind it being Thomas and Evans with Thornton off the bench, but Smart has made it known that he is playing Evans at PG next season (I guess I'll be the one to repeat what I said).

I promise you that if SMART trots out that lineup next year, I'm going to complain about it too.

I'd rather see TWill getting minutes instead of Salmons. My preference is this if we can't get a major FA signing.

IT/MT/Jimmer
Reke/MT
TWill/Salmons
Robinson/JT
DMC/JT

3 man rotations at the 1 & 2(Reke/IT/MT) and 4 & 5(DMC/Rob/JT). TWill gets the major 3 minutes while Salmons and Jimmer get spot minutes. I want to see at least some sort of capable 3 signed during FA.

I only want Jimmer getting spot minutes at this point. Salmons, IMO should only see playing time if we can't get another 3 via FA. Also, I want to see Robinson start.

I'd rather have T-Will than Salmons too, but what makes you think that two non-shooters, Evans and T-Will, should start together? IMO, Salmons and T-Will will have to duke it out to get back up SF minutes next to Thornton. That's where I think they are more effective. Think about this though: Salmons has a fat, ugly contract, and he can only play where T-Will would play. Would the Maloofs would sign T-Will in that case? They kissed Donte good bye for Travis Outlaw after all.

 

[twslam07]

I promise you that if SMART trots out that lineup next year, I'm going to complain about it too.

Even before you watch it and give it a chance? Players develop. Their understanding of the game progresses. Team chemistry grows. A lot of things happen when given time. I think Evans is capable of putting it together at PG. Whether he does it or not is another question but the final answer to that question will be given when the season comes. Not right now.

 

[cuad]

Even before you watch it and give it a chance? Players develop. Their understanding of the game progresses. Team chemistry grows. A lot of things happen when given time. I think Evans is capable of putting it together at PG. Whether he does it or not is another question but the final answer to that question will be given when the season comes. Not right now.

I feel that way about Jimmer more than I do Evans.

 

[Gary]

I'd rather see TWill getting minutes instead of Salmons. My preference is this if we can't get a major FA signing.

IT/MT/Jimmer
Reke/MT
TWill/Salmons
Robinson/JT
DMC/JT

3 man rotations at the 1 & 2(Reke/IT/MT) and 4 & 5(DMC/Rob/JT). TWill gets the major 3 minutes while Salmons and Jimmer get spot minutes. I want to see at least some sort of capable 3 signed during FA.

I only want Jimmer getting spot minutes at this point. Salmons, IMO should only see playing time if we can't get another 3 via FA. Also, I want to see Robinson start.

I do agree with that. I think Salmons should get the nod at least at the start of the year. I believe we need to take what we had at the end of the season (Cousins/JT/Evans/IT) and add Salmons at SF. I think this gives us a balanced offense with good base for a defense which won't be last in the league. We need to get out of last place defensively then go from there and tweak that with Outlaw/TWill/Robinson/Hayes/Whiteside. We have some pretty good individual defenders so I don't see any reason we couldn't have a great team defense and be at least middle of the pack..


Now FROM THERE we can adjust the lineup and have Evans playing more and more PG which would give us other options. I just don't think we should go for broke (in terms of bringing back the team that wasn't very good) in the terms of offense while our defense hasn't been worked out.

 

[Bricklayer]

I do agree with that. I think Salmons should get the nod at least at the start of the year. I believe we need to take what we had at the end of the season (Cousins/JT/Evans/IT) and add Salmons at SF. I think this gives us a balanced offense with good base for a defense which won't be last in the league. We need to get out of last place defensively then go from there and tweak that with Outlaw/TWill/Robinson/Hayes/Whiteside. We have some pretty good individual defenders so I don't see any reason we couldn't have a great team defense and be at least middle of the pack..


Now FROM THERE we can adjust the lineup and have Evans playing more and more PG which would give us other options. I just don't think we should go for broke (in terms of bringing back the team that wasn't very good) in the terms of offense while our defense hasn't been worked out.

You just advocated returning the stinky fish to the startng lineup?? SMH.

He is a leech. He drains the team. Zaps energy. He has no idea how to catch and shoot. Apparently he never had a spotter in his life, and every single shot he's comfortable with comes off his dribble. That makes him a direct drain on an offense. He proved last year he cannot defend bigger SFs anymore, if he ever could. Even when effective defensively he is effective as a positional defender. There is no energy, no attack to what he does. We're a young team, its a lousy fit.

 

[Spike]

This is the way I would attack our SF problem.

First, we must buyout Garcia. By doing this, we give ourselves a lot more cap space to work with. Accounting for the loss of Garcia's contract plus a contract of 6 mil for Thompson plus Robinson's rookie contract, we will be right around 47 mil giving us 11 milion cap space.

Scenario 1

After we have acquired our cap space, we send an offer sheet to Batum for 8-9 mil. I know Portland is likely to match but it is worth a shot and at worst we drove up the price for them.

If Portland does not match, welcome to the team Batum. With the rest of our available cap, I say we resign Williams. We don't have too many guard (Evans, Thornton, Thomas) or forward (Batum, Salmons) minutes for him, but I think he can be a very smart investment for us and could help us workout a trade in the future.

Scenario 2

If Portland does match, I would like us to go after Fields. He hasn't been mentioned too often on this forum. He went through a sophomore slump last year, but I still have faith in him. He is kind of like Thompson in that he isn't great at one thing but good at everything. He can hit the three, he can rebound, he can pass, he can play defense, and he doesn't demand the ball to be effective. He is 6'6.5" without shoes so he is probably around 6'7" to 6'8" with shoes. The Knicks are spreads at 59 mil and they are going to try to keep Lin. I think if we throw a 4-5 mil deal his way the Knicks won't match.

If the Knicks don't match, then Fields will fill our SF role. Again I would still like us to go after Williams for the reasons I stated earlier. We would still have around 3 mil leftover. I was thinking we could possibly take a flyer on Oden (I'm laughing on the inside as I type this). 3 mil would not be much of a risk at all for a former #1 overall. When he is healthy, he does put up good numbers. Cousins, Thompson, Robinson, and Oden would be a very strong 4 man rotation.

Scenario 3

If the Knicks do match or someone else offers more, then I say we just focus on bringing Williams back as a temporary SF. I'm guessing anything around 3 mil and we have him. Once we have signed him, I say we leave the rest of our cap open and we explore trades for a SF with Thornton being the main trade chip. If we trade him away for a SF, we would still have a nice 3 guard rotation of Evans, Williams, and Thomas.



Scenario 1

Evans/Thomas/Fredette
Thornton/Williams
Batum/Salmons/Outlaw/Honeycutt
Thompson/Robinson/Hayes
Cousins/Whiteside

Scenario 2

Evans/Thomas/Fredette
Thornton/Williams
Fields/Salmons/Outlaw/Honeycutt
Thompson/Robinson/Hayes
Cousins/Oden/Whiteside

Scenario 3

Evans/Thomas/Fredette
Thornton
Williams/Salmons/Outlaw/Honeycutt
Thompson/Robinson/Hayes
Cousins/Whiteside

or

Evans/Thomas/Fredette
Williams
Acquired SF/Salmons/Outlaw/Honeycutt
Thompson/Robinson/Hayes
Cousins/Whiteside

What do you guys think? Is this a good way to approach it or am I just talking out of my ***?

I think you're right in the sense that we do need to bring in a SF. He needs to be a good glue guy, like Garcia, actually, but better on the whole. Because Robinson is now paired with Cousins, we absolutely can't go with a small backcourt. It has to be Evans + Thornton, or TWill. We need to get a lockdown defender at the 3.
I look at it in terms of wins and losses, and Evans at PG gave us a fighting chance against the elite NBA teams. You're not going to dissuade me with PPG under IT because the losses were pilling up and the differential seemed to increase at the end, save for a trouncing of the cats and a deflated Lakers team

 

[ESP47]

TWill can do ok for stretches at SF but he will get worked by the bigger SF's. He's more of a SG who can guard some SF's. Honestly though, I love having the guy on our team. He looked like the complete opposite of a cancer and if you look at his stats per 36min, he's a Tyreke clone. It's a shame he's not a little bit bigger.

 

[twslam07]

What is your take on Fields? He was included in my original post. I feel like nobody ever discusses him or when he is brought up everyone ignores it. Do you guys think he would be a good SF that could fit in with this lineup?

 

[twslam07]

TWill can do ok for stretches at SF but he will get worked by the bigger SF's. He's more of a SG who can guard some SF's.

Completely agree, the only reason we would play him at SF is if we have to.

 

[cuad]

What is your take on Fields? He was included in my original post. I feel like nobody ever discusses him or when he is brought up everyone ignores it. Do you guys think he would be a good SF that could fit in with this lineup?

I'm just worried about his shooting. I watched the Knicks play at their best (w/o Melo + Amare & w/ Lin), and Landry Fields didn't really shine. Novak was better for the team because he could shoot.

 

[twslam07]

I'm just worried about his shooting. I watched the Knicks play at their best (w/o Melo + Amare & w/ Lin), and Landry Fields didn't really shine. Novak was better for the team because he could shoot.

It's rather strange. He went from a 39% 3pt shooter to a 26% 3pt shooter in one season. That's quite a drop. I heard that he tried to readjust his shot in the offseason. This probably explains the huge drop in efficiency. He seems like a hard worker so it's very well likely that he spends this offseason fixing his shot again and returning to a similar 3pt shooting percentage from his rookie season.

 

[rainmaker]

Why do I get the feeling we'll end up with a guy like Wright or Barnes. Could be worse but nothing to be happy about.

I jsut really hope we don't go after a guy like Beasley. Carmichael Dave tweeted he thinks Petrie might go after him. I hope that's more of CD stating an opinion on basketball where he doesn't really know much(although he's been great for the city), compared to what would be far worse which would be he actually heard from someone on the inside that Beasley is someone we might target. HE brought up Aaron Brooks as a target as well.

This really just better be CD spouting off his opinions rather than hinting at something he heard from someone in the inside. Combined with the rumor that we are still interested in Crawford which I saw a few weeks ago I'm not at all confident.

 

[gatoradeSD]

I wanna see a starting lineup of
Tyreke /IT
Thornton /Jimmer
Williams /Salmons
Robinson / Thompson
Cousins / Whiteside

it sucks tyreke, thornton or williams cant be taller but I honestly think Robinson, Cousins and Thompson will make up for that.

 

[rainmaker]

I wanna see a starting lineup of
Tyreke /IT
Thornton /Jimmer
Williams /Salmons
Robinson / Thompson
Cousins / Whiteside

it sucks tyreke, thornton or williams cant be taller but I honestly think Robinson, Cousins and Thompson will make up for that.

I'm kinda hoping for that or IT/Reke/TWill, above doing something stupid. Ideally we amnesty Slamons, someone claims him and we end up paying 4M instead of 7M, saving a little, and throw a big offer at AK, resign JT for 5-6M and call it a day.

But something tells me that aint happening.

 

[bajaden]

You just advocated returning the stinky fish to the startng lineup?? SMH.

He is a leech. He drains the team. Zaps energy. He has no idea how to catch and shoot. Apparently he never had a spotter in his life, and every single shot he's comfortable with comes off his dribble. That makes him a direct drain on an offense. He proved last year he cannot defend bigger SFs anymore, if he ever could. Even when effective defensively he is effective as a positional defender. There is no energy, no attack to what he does. We're a young team, its a lousy fit.

The problem is, that so called Leech as you call him, is going to make close to 8 mil a year for the next three years. I know the Maloofs won't listen to what I suggest, but if your going to pay him to just sit on the bench, then amnesty him and pay him to be gone. At least that way you get some salary cap flexabiltiy. Some team will pick up part of his salary.

By the way, I was looking that the Warriors roster, and they now have Richard Jefferson, Harrison Barnes, Draymond Green, and Dorell Wright at the SF position. Its rumored that they're shopping Dorell Wright. He's not the perfect fit, but he's not bad. He plays decent to good defense. He's shot around 38% from the three for his career. He's a decent rebounder for a SF. Not sure what they would want for him other than a salary dump. He has legit size at 6'9", and he's an expiring contract. So it would be a one year tryout.

 

[bajaden]

I wanna see a starting lineup of
Tyreke /IT
Thornton /Jimmer
Williams /Salmons
Robinson / Thompson
Cousins / Whiteside

it sucks tyreke, thornton or williams cant be taller but I honestly think Robinson, Cousins and Thompson will make up for that.

Since everyone is giving a lineup, here's mine.

IT/Fredette
Evans/Thornton/Salmons
Batum/Williams/Outlaw/Honeycutt - if not Batum, maybe Dorell Wright, AK, T. Prince, and lastly, Michael Beasley. Yeah, I'm getting desperate here!
JT/Robinson
Cousins/Whiteside/Hayes

I really like Williams coming off the Bench with Fredette. They played well off one another last season, and I would like to grow that. I'd also like legit size at the SF position, meaning I'm tired of 6'6" players there. Actually I'm starting to develop a complex with 6'6" players. Finally, we need to somehow rid ourselves of some of the dead wood. I don't have the answer as to how to accomplish that, but it needs to be done.

 

[steelevt]

The problem is, that so called Leech as you call him, is going to make close to 8 mil a year for the next three years. I know the Maloofs won't listen to what I suggest, but if your going to pay him to just sit on the bench, then amnesty him and pay him to be gone. At least that way you get some salary cap flexabiltiy. Some team will pick up part of his salary.

By the way, I was looking that the Warriors roster, and they now have Richard Jefferson, Harrison Barnes, Draymond Green, and Dorell Wright at the SF position. Its rumored that they're shopping Dorell Wright. He's not the perfect fit, but he's not bad. He plays decent to good defense. He's shot around 38% from the three for his career. He's a decent rebounder for a SF. Not sure what they would want for him other than a salary dump. He has legit size at 6'9", and he's an expiring contract. So it would be a one year tryout.

one possibility i've read for getting dorell wright is if we take on a bad contract. one of the warriors worst contract is biedrins who i've heard they are trying to move. so if we take wright and biedrins for hayes, they can get rid of their glut at sf, as well as make room at center for jeremy tyler to get pt. we get our 1 year rental of wright, and a back up at center for cuz and jt and trob can split pf. of course id prefer to use salmons instead of hayes but i dont think they would want another sf coming back to them. biedrins' contract is really bad though, especially for a backup C, but it might be the easiest way to get wright. biedrins contract will end when its time to extend cousins plus it's a big expiring contract the second year that might be a good trading chip. of course this is my last case scenario and i in no way am endorsing this trade. there are other sf i would prefer that would hopefully not make us take on a horrible contract like biedrins, but just throwing it out there as how to get wright from gs for those who would want him.

 

[Bricklayer]

Why do I get the feeling we'll end up with a guy like Wright or Barnes. Could be worse but nothing to be happy about.

I jsut really hope we don't go after a guy like Beasley. Carmichael Dave tweeted he thinks Petrie might go after him. I hope that's more of CD stating an opinion on basketball where he doesn't really know much(although he's been great for the city), compared to what would be far worse which would be he actually heard from someone on the inside that Beasley is someone we might target. HE brought up Aaron Brooks as a target as well.

This really just better be CD spouting off his opinions rather than hinting at something he heard from someone in the inside. Combined with the rumor that we are still interested in Crawford which I saw a few weeks ago I'm not at all confident.

Yeah, all three of those names are just stupid. Which is to say they are just us.

Hi, we have far more young talented guys demanding shots than we have shots to go around, and we were dead last in defense last year. Solution! Let's sign a non-defending conscienceless gunner or two! Its the sort of suggestion that should either come from a clueless fan who thinsk real life is NBA2K or a Maloof. Its nothing you should ever have to worry about an actual professional organization pursuing.

 

[Bricklayer]

one possibility i've read for getting dorell wright is if we take on a bad contract. one of the warriors worst contract is biedrins who i've heard they are trying to move. so if we take wright and biedrins for hayes, they can get rid of their glut at sf, as well as make room at center for jeremy tyler to get pt. we get our 1 year rental of wright, and a back up at center for cuz and jt and trob can split pf. of course id prefer to use salmons instead of hayes but i dont think they would want another sf coming back to them. biedrins' contract is really bad though, especially for a backup C, but it might be the easiest way to get wright. biedrins contract will end when its time to extend cousins plus it's a big expiring contract the second year that might be a good trading chip. of course this is my last case scenario and i in no way am endorsing this trade. there are other sf i would prefer that would hopefully not make us take on a horrible contract like biedrins, but just throwing it out there as how to get wright from gs for those who would want him.

Sounds decent to me, but the problem with the thinking is that Hayes is a bad contract too. I'd ratehr not give them Garcia, who's effectively an ender, just because I think Cisco is good for chemistry/smoothing in youngsters, and our whole team is youngsters. But if the Warriors are trying to shed a bad contract that might be more what they loof for. And it should be noted when your owners are down on the corner holding out a tin cup, even very basic very common moves like absorbing a contract for a semi-useful player in ordr to get another player you want may become impossible. Which is ridicullous because taking on Biedrins to get Wright is a perfectly reasonable proposal, but that's what happens when you've got the new Sterlings of the NBA struggling not to sell the real silver.

 

[vikinginferno]

Since everyone is giving a lineup, here's mine.

IT/Fredette
Evans/Thornton/Salmons
Batum/Williams/Outlaw/Honeycutt - if not Batum, maybe Dorell Wright, AK, T. Prince, and lastly, Michael Beasley. Yeah, I'm getting desperate here!
JT/Robinson
Cousins/Whiteside/Hayes

I really like Williams coming off the Bench with Fredette. They played well off one another last season, and I would like to grow that. I'd also like legit size at the SF position, meaning I'm tired of 6'6" players there. Actually I'm starting to develop a complex with 6'6" players. Finally, we need to somehow rid ourselves of some of the dead wood. I don't have the answer as to how to accomplish that, but it needs to be done.

I find myself more and more often agreeing with your posts. I am also sick of the SGs being played at SF shtick. It's time for us to get an actual starting quality SF that can defend (and spot up). Batum would be perfect. As would AK or Prince. I really don't want Beasley, that would be a terrible fit though. Not only is he a bad defender, he does not fit in the offense at all.

T-Will and Jimmer were working pretty damn well last season together, especially considering the lack of time they had together and that both are inexperienced guys. I would love to have T-Will back as a backup on the wings.

I agree with the lineup you put up there, with the possibility of Robinson taking the starting job even by the beginning of the season. I would be fine with JT starting though as he definitely earned the starting spot last season.

 

[netseee]

Wolves decline to make offers for Anthony Randolph, can we consider him as our SF