Since were doing dream scenario's, here's one. We offer Jimmer Butler as close to a max salary as our cap flexabiltiy allows. We'll be sitting at around just over 52 mil and the Bulls will will be sitting at just under 62 mil. The cap is supposed to be around 67.5 mil. We have to allow for our first round pick, which is around 3.5 mil, so we'd have around 12 mil or so to throw at Butler if we do nothing else. So lets say that the Bulls are reluctant to match that offer but don't want to walk away with nothing. We offer them McLemore and perhaps Landry or Thompson as part of a sign an trade. Or if they prefer the capspace, just Mclemore. That way they get a young athletic player that may in time replace Butler. We retain our draft pick and draft Willie Cauley-Stein and we resign Miller and Casspi for one more year. So then our roster looks like this.
PG: Collison, Miller, McCallum
SG: Butler, Stauskas
SF: Gay, Casspi, Stauskas (small lineup)
PF: Cauley-Stein, Thompson, Landry, Moreland
C: Cousins, Cauley-Stein, Thompson
Four of the starting five would be very solid in Collison, Butler, Gay, and Cousins. You could start Cauley-Stein, or at first bring him off the bench and start JT. Butler shores up the defense and brings consistency to the offense. I realize that signing Butler isn't much of a reality, but stranger things have happened. I think our signing Butler is more likely than Denver trading Lawson, What's their incentive? They already have their PG of the future in Lawson, who is averaging around 9 assists a game. Chandler by the way is a 6'8" SF, not a SG. But I guess he could play some SG if Casspi can. Another smalll problem with your trade is that the salaries don't match up. Don't know if you bothered to check it with Trade Checker, but it fails. There's around a 6 mil difference.
The first question I would ask, is how many games do you think we lost last season because of the PG position? Then how many games do you think we lost because of our weakness at the PF position, or our lack of a true backup center? I think I could make a better case for the latter than the former, and if you agree, then why are we trying to fix a position that really doesn't need that much fixing? Is the position perfect? No, of course not, but it's not a liability either. Where we suffered was when Cousins went to the bench, or had to miss a game. The drop off was dramatic. There's no way we can replace Cousins, but we can at least shore up the position to the point were we don't go down the dumper when he's not on the floor.
The second point of contention would be the inconsistency at the SG position. Hopefully, that would resolve itself with another year experience under both McLemore's and Stauskas belts. But if the organization has doubts, then I'd try and do a deal like the one I proposed, which would probably cost us one of our young SG's. At the moment, McLemore probably has more value on the market, so logic dictates it would be him that goes. I'm not anxious to move McLemore, and would only do it if I knew we were getting a serious upgrade at the position. I'm against trading young talent with potential for a one or two year fix.
