I've worked up a couple of off-season scenarios we could take. This one is about clearing cap space for Al Horford. First off, I want to make a couple of general points about the off-season. I won't be trading DeMarcus Cousins. The only scenario where we come out ahead in a Cousins trade is one where we get lucky in the lottery and we all know that never happens in Sacramento so my goal is to build a playoff team around him before his contract expires.
Secondly, I won't be trading up in the draft. It's very hard to do in the NBA without overpaying and I'm trying to construct a plausible scenario here not a pipe dream so we're staying at #8, trading the pick, or moving down. Furthermore, I don't think we can go into next season hoping for 50 wins with a rookie expected to play a key role so I won't be drafting anyone and inserting them into the starting lineup.
Thirdly, I'm planning to bring back Rondo -- mainly because DeMarcus wants him back. If this is where you check out, no harm no foul. I considered other options (drafting Kris Dunn is the one that intrigues me the most) but ultimately this is going to be DeMarcus' team and he calls Rondo his PG so I set my sights on adding a better second option to compliment the Rondo/Cousins pairing.
With that out of the way, here's Scenario #1:
I'm not targeting any one position in the draft, just the best talent available. That could end up being Jaylen Brown so I'm slotting him in here. These are the guys under contract and how much cap space we have to work with. I'm assuming Caron Butler opts out of his $1.5 million option for next season and I did factor in Ellington's $900,000 cap hit. I've already targeted Al Horford as the best FA available for us. He's a heady veteran who impacts the game on both ends and would team up with Cousins and Cauley-Stein to form a dream frontcourt. If I want Rondo back and Al Horford though, 28 million isn't going to be enough so I've got to make some cap clearing moves and I have to make them quick because Horford needs to get a call from the Kings at midnight when free agency opens.
These two trades get us an extra 4 million in cap space, clear out room in the frontcourt rotation to add Horford without slashing Cauley-Stein's minutes, and gets us a new SG rotation. Shumpert has been inconsistent shooting from the perimeter but he's an underrated playmaker and a gritty defender on the wing which we'll need to assume our rightful place as the next great defensive team in the league. He's seen his role reduced in Cleveland despite the big extension so he should be available -- especially if we give them a younger, cheaper backup SG and the backup C they need badly in return.
The second trade clears Rudy Gay's salary off the books and moves him to a team in desperate need of a starting SF. In return we get next year's potential Sixth Man of the Year: Tyreke Evans. He's still having injury issues but it's an expiring deal so the risk is minimal. If he does manage to stay healthy his skills are ideally suited to a bench scoring role where he'll thrive with Seth Curry and Omri Casspi spotting up on the wing for open three-pointers.
We still need about 5 million more in cap space to be able to re-sign Rondo and offer Horford a competitive contract. That means Collison and Belinelli have to go, but who can we get to take Marco after a dismal shooting year?
This is my favorite trade and probably the most controversial one (aside from re-signing Rondo anyway). Stanley Johnson looked like a budding star for much of the season before disappearing post All-Star break in a haze of missed jumpers and declining minutes. The thing is, Detroit traded for Tobias Harris mid-season and he's got 3 years and 48 million on his deal so he's pretty well entrenched at SF. They're going to make a big run at Ryan Anderson with their cap space this summer and they have to re-sign Drummond leaving them no money to address the backup PG or SG positions. This is where we step in with Darren Collison and his .591 TS%. Marco had a dismal year shooting the ball but he's liable to bounce back to his career numbers which would make him a valuable asset in Stan Van Gundy's offense.
The second part of this is a straight salary dump. We could have used Meek's shooting this year (for that matter so could Detroit -- he missed nearly the entire season with a broken foot) but after bringing in Shumpert and Evans with plans to re-sign Rondo and Curry, there's just no minutes left in the backcourt. Teams can trade up to $3 million in cash considerations. So here's what we can do: find a team that wants a proven shooter (shouldn't be a problem) and has cap space to burn (that shouldn't be a problem this off-season either). They get Jodie Meeks and $3 million in cash to off-set his $6.5 million salary. We get some meaningless protected second round pick. I would think a number of teams would be thrilled to add Jodie Meeks for a year for only $3.5 million in real money and a $6.5 million cap hit.
Now we have $40 million in cap space so the final dominoes fall into place:
Horford is our second option -- with the added benefit of pushing Cauley-Stein into the third big role where his versatility on defense should play nicely. I can imagine all three of those guys playing together in multiple configurations or if we want to go small with an extra shooter on the floor, we can play Casspi at small ball 4 where he was successful in stretches this season.
The biggest weakness here is the lack of experience at SF. Stanley Johnson can hold his own on defense but his three point shooting went from bad to dreadful in his rookie season before bounding back to 60% in Detroit's 4-game abbreviated playoff run. He's got to get a lot better but I think he's got the tools and talent to do it, especially if we sign a quality coaching staff to bring him along. I've slotted Casspi at backup PF here but most of the frontcourt minutes will be going to Cauley-Stein and he's the primary backup SF until Jaylen Brown proves he can contribute.
The starting lineup here resembles the grit and grind Grizzlies in a lot of ways with the #1 and #2 options down low in the post, a pass first PG, and a defensive specialist at SG. There's also a ton of offensive firepower on the bench here and the added wrinkle that both bigs have range out to the NBA three. I know there's going to be a lot of grumbling about three point percentages in that starting lineup but really it's a case of 5 average shooters on the floor at once instead of 2 or 3 marksmen and two screen setting bigs. Unconventional no doubt, but I'd love to see what a creative coach could do with that.
Here's the final roster and salary cap projections:
Secondly, I won't be trading up in the draft. It's very hard to do in the NBA without overpaying and I'm trying to construct a plausible scenario here not a pipe dream so we're staying at #8, trading the pick, or moving down. Furthermore, I don't think we can go into next season hoping for 50 wins with a rookie expected to play a key role so I won't be drafting anyone and inserting them into the starting lineup.
Thirdly, I'm planning to bring back Rondo -- mainly because DeMarcus wants him back. If this is where you check out, no harm no foul. I considered other options (drafting Kris Dunn is the one that intrigues me the most) but ultimately this is going to be DeMarcus' team and he calls Rondo his PG so I set my sights on adding a better second option to compliment the Rondo/Cousins pairing.
With that out of the way, here's Scenario #1:
I'm not targeting any one position in the draft, just the best talent available. That could end up being Jaylen Brown so I'm slotting him in here. These are the guys under contract and how much cap space we have to work with. I'm assuming Caron Butler opts out of his $1.5 million option for next season and I did factor in Ellington's $900,000 cap hit. I've already targeted Al Horford as the best FA available for us. He's a heady veteran who impacts the game on both ends and would team up with Cousins and Cauley-Stein to form a dream frontcourt. If I want Rondo back and Al Horford though, 28 million isn't going to be enough so I've got to make some cap clearing moves and I have to make them quick because Horford needs to get a call from the Kings at midnight when free agency opens.
These two trades get us an extra 4 million in cap space, clear out room in the frontcourt rotation to add Horford without slashing Cauley-Stein's minutes, and gets us a new SG rotation. Shumpert has been inconsistent shooting from the perimeter but he's an underrated playmaker and a gritty defender on the wing which we'll need to assume our rightful place as the next great defensive team in the league. He's seen his role reduced in Cleveland despite the big extension so he should be available -- especially if we give them a younger, cheaper backup SG and the backup C they need badly in return.
The second trade clears Rudy Gay's salary off the books and moves him to a team in desperate need of a starting SF. In return we get next year's potential Sixth Man of the Year: Tyreke Evans. He's still having injury issues but it's an expiring deal so the risk is minimal. If he does manage to stay healthy his skills are ideally suited to a bench scoring role where he'll thrive with Seth Curry and Omri Casspi spotting up on the wing for open three-pointers.
We still need about 5 million more in cap space to be able to re-sign Rondo and offer Horford a competitive contract. That means Collison and Belinelli have to go, but who can we get to take Marco after a dismal shooting year?
This is my favorite trade and probably the most controversial one (aside from re-signing Rondo anyway). Stanley Johnson looked like a budding star for much of the season before disappearing post All-Star break in a haze of missed jumpers and declining minutes. The thing is, Detroit traded for Tobias Harris mid-season and he's got 3 years and 48 million on his deal so he's pretty well entrenched at SF. They're going to make a big run at Ryan Anderson with their cap space this summer and they have to re-sign Drummond leaving them no money to address the backup PG or SG positions. This is where we step in with Darren Collison and his .591 TS%. Marco had a dismal year shooting the ball but he's liable to bounce back to his career numbers which would make him a valuable asset in Stan Van Gundy's offense.
The second part of this is a straight salary dump. We could have used Meek's shooting this year (for that matter so could Detroit -- he missed nearly the entire season with a broken foot) but after bringing in Shumpert and Evans with plans to re-sign Rondo and Curry, there's just no minutes left in the backcourt. Teams can trade up to $3 million in cash considerations. So here's what we can do: find a team that wants a proven shooter (shouldn't be a problem) and has cap space to burn (that shouldn't be a problem this off-season either). They get Jodie Meeks and $3 million in cash to off-set his $6.5 million salary. We get some meaningless protected second round pick. I would think a number of teams would be thrilled to add Jodie Meeks for a year for only $3.5 million in real money and a $6.5 million cap hit.
Now we have $40 million in cap space so the final dominoes fall into place:
Horford is our second option -- with the added benefit of pushing Cauley-Stein into the third big role where his versatility on defense should play nicely. I can imagine all three of those guys playing together in multiple configurations or if we want to go small with an extra shooter on the floor, we can play Casspi at small ball 4 where he was successful in stretches this season.
The biggest weakness here is the lack of experience at SF. Stanley Johnson can hold his own on defense but his three point shooting went from bad to dreadful in his rookie season before bounding back to 60% in Detroit's 4-game abbreviated playoff run. He's got to get a lot better but I think he's got the tools and talent to do it, especially if we sign a quality coaching staff to bring him along. I've slotted Casspi at backup PF here but most of the frontcourt minutes will be going to Cauley-Stein and he's the primary backup SF until Jaylen Brown proves he can contribute.
The starting lineup here resembles the grit and grind Grizzlies in a lot of ways with the #1 and #2 options down low in the post, a pass first PG, and a defensive specialist at SG. There's also a ton of offensive firepower on the bench here and the added wrinkle that both bigs have range out to the NBA three. I know there's going to be a lot of grumbling about three point percentages in that starting lineup but really it's a case of 5 average shooters on the floor at once instead of 2 or 3 marksmen and two screen setting bigs. Unconventional no doubt, but I'd love to see what a creative coach could do with that.
Here's the final roster and salary cap projections:
), I said Hield (unlikely), Murray (could happen) or Luwawu (almost a lock he'll be there), I mentioned Dunn in the 2nd scenario where we give DC to NO and since htey are rumored to like Poetl maybe swap picks (and even than it's not a given Dunn would be there at 6 so I put Murray if we can't get him).
