Transaction Discussion Part 4 (Trades, Free-Agency, News, Rumors & Ideas)

[esqtvd]

Two trades I proposed last summer that I thought the Sixers--my hometown team that I still follow closely--would take:

Danny Green was owed 10M and injured until the All-Star break and Thybulle was dumped for meh



and my blockbuster [which I recall included signing Andre Drummond off the scrapheap to replace Zubac]:

[wakelaunch1]

Great article, basically describes everything I have talked about. Need to make some trades.

https://theathletic.com/4566365/2023/05/31/clippers-2023-nba-draft-guide/

There was nothing wrong with the design, except Morris declined rapidly after an acceptable start --and more surprisingly, Batum, who had been a rock since joining the Clippers.

The Clippers were built around the most skilled and athletic wingmen in the game. Points, rebs and assists in the 99th percentile. Who were constantly injured, let alone seldom both available at the same time. Basically, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Who also just failed their team in a Game 7 too.



TATUM 5-13
BROWN 8-23




13-36 combined
2-13 from 3


that just doesn't get it done and neither does this

I dont think havent all your money invested in wings is the key.

I think one star guard, and one forward is better. One of them has to be a leader which neither Kawhi nor George are. Both dont really motivate and both are hurt all time which negatively effects the team.

We gotta hit on a power forward in the draft. I dont think a young Point guard is the answer either. We dont need anymore wings. We gotta find a point guard in free agency that we can get for cheap similar to Russ. or wait till the trade deadline again and run with Bones/Mann combo which I like but Lue doesnt.

Gotta get rid to Morris/Batum because Lue will run them into the ground. We should start the season intregating the young players like Diabate/Boston/Bones getting major minutes.

I would move on from Zubac. He doesnt work against the current NBA bigs. If he is 10-15 min off the bench then thats ok, but hes not a starter on a championship team. We need to find someone to defend the Joker because everything runs through him.

[ERClips]

Agree with most of this. Would like to see Diabate getting minutes as our PF and somehow integrate Boston into the mix more.

Moving on from Zubac isn’t as easy as it sounds. I don’t think he’s gonna get much better but he is nice to have imo. Wish he’d developed an outside touch earlier in his career.

Let’s give credit where it’s due too. Nobody is defending Jokic! He’s beyond compare to pretty much anyone in the league regardless of position

[wco81]

Do Clippers fans want Westbrook back?

Or only if they reduce his minutes?

[Captain Ballmer]

Do Clippers fans want Westbrook back?

Or only if they reduce his minutes?

For league minimum? absolutely. We have no other choice tbh.

[wakelaunch1]

Do Clippers fans want Westbrook back?

Or only if they reduce his minutes?

Russ is done as a Clipper. There is no way hes taking the minimum to stay in LA.

Its best to go young with Bones/Mann unless something else comes along in free agency. We need to get off all these old players. We got too old too fast. It didnt work because of Kawhi/PG injuries.

He honestly should go back to the Wizards. He had success there and they could probably offer him 20 million per year.

[esqtvd]

Do Clippers fans want Westbrook back?

Or only if they reduce his minutes?

Russ is done as a Clipper. There is no way hes taking the minimum to stay in LA.

Its best to go young with Bones/Mann unless something else comes along in free agency. We need to get off all these old players. We got too old too fast. It didnt work because of Kawhi/PG injuries.

He honestly should go back to the Wizards. He had success there and they could probably offer him 20 million per year.

I can't imagine who else would want Russ. The Lakers got vastly better by dumping him, and any non-contender should want to build with youth, like you said Ballmer should.

Russ has made A QUARTER OF A BILLION DOLLARS in the NBA in salary alone. More like $300 million. He has a mansion in LA, he was born here, his kids are in school here, and the Clippers are an alleged contender--and they want him. Perhaps the only contender that does.

And get this--Westbrook owns TEN car dealerships in Southern California!! He does NOT need the money!

[wakelaunch1]

Do Clippers fans want Westbrook back?

Or only if they reduce his minutes?

Russ is done as a Clipper. There is no way hes taking the minimum to stay in LA.

Its best to go young with Bones/Mann unless something else comes along in free agency. We need to get off all these old players. We got too old too fast. It didnt work because of Kawhi/PG injuries.

He honestly should go back to the Wizards. He had success there and they could probably offer him 20 million per year.

I can't imagine who else would want Russ. The Lakers got vastly better by dumping him, and any non-contender should want to build with youth, like you said Ballmer should.

Russ has made A QUARTER OF A BILLION DOLLARS in the NBA in salary alone. More like $300 million. He has a mansion in LA, he was born here, his kids are in school here, and the Clippers are an alleged contender--and they want him. Perhaps the only contender that does.

And get this--Westbrook owns TEN car dealerships in Southern California!! He does NOT need the money!

I think the Clippers brought back Russ s value. I think he could command 20 million from a few teams. Spurs always take a gamble on undervalued players. He would be nice with some of their players. Again the Wizards make a lot of sense especially with the former Clippers GM. If Houston doesnt get Harden... Chicago makes sense. I think he is still worth 2 years at 20M per season.

It kinda reminds me of the Demar Derozan situation where everyone was like he should take the 5 million from the Lakers and then he gets 27 million per year and is definitely playing well.

[esqtvd]

Russ is done as a Clipper. There is no way hes taking the minimum to stay in LA.

Its best to go young with Bones/Mann unless something else comes along in free agency. We need to get off all these old players. We got too old too fast. It didnt work because of Kawhi/PG injuries.

He honestly should go back to the Wizards. He had success there and they could probably offer him 20 million per year.

I can't imagine who else would want Russ. The Lakers got vastly better by dumping him, and any non-contender should want to build with youth, like you said Ballmer should.

Russ has made A QUARTER OF A BILLION DOLLARS in the NBA in salary alone. More like $300 million. He has a mansion in LA, he was born here, his kids are in school here, and the Clippers are an alleged contender--and they want him. Perhaps the only contender that does.

And get this--Westbrook owns TEN car dealerships in Southern California!! He does NOT need the money!

I think the Clippers brought back Russ s value. I think he could command 20 million from a few teams. Spurs always take a gamble on undervalued players. He would be nice with some of their players. Again the Wizards make a lot of sense especially with the former Clippers GM. If Houston doesnt get Harden... Chicago makes sense. I think he is still worth 2 years at 20M per season.

It kinda reminds me of the Demar Derozan situation where everyone was like he should take the 5 million from the Lakers and then he gets 27 million per year and is definitely playing well.

$20 million is tip money for Russ. He's halfway to becoming a BILLIONAIRE. It makes no sense for him to decide based on financial considerations. Indeed, it makes a lot of sense to base it on his family and LA's weather alone. [Chicago SUCKS in the winter, lol.] I'm not saying he won't make a different decision, but it's nuts if he does.

On a basketball level, he's 35 in November, and is not a plug-and-play point guard. You need to [re-]structure your offense to suit his ball dominance, so your younger players have to adjust to HIM rather than develop their own strengths. Why SAS would want that while they're rebuilding from scratch, I dunno.

On the Clippers, neither Kawhi nor PG is particularly inclined toward the drudgery of bringing the ball up and initiating the offense, so they're fine with Russ thinking he's in charge.

Now, I think you're right about the Wizards, if they want him for one last charge. They missed the playoffs AGAIN this year [35-47]. Bradley Beal has a no-trade clause, just signed a max contract, and says he loved playing with Russ. They were a successful backcourt tandem--Russ led the league in assists and Beal had a career-high 31.3 ppg.

It might be more enjoyable for Russ to play with Beal again rather than on the tight leash that KL and PG and Ty will expect. That I can see. The Wizards are going to be a longshot contender at best and so might just play fast and loose, just the way Russ likes it. But that would be a basketball decision, from the heart not the head.

[Dynamix]

I also believe that after his nightmare stint with the Lakers, Russ might value happiness and stability over money.

While this summer would be his last/best chance to secure a longer contract, my casual gut tells me he'd be willing to run it back for one more year and whatever we can pay him, just on the off-chance Kawhi and PG can also be there when it matters.

Ty definitely won't complain about keeping Russ around, but it remains to be seen what Ballmer and the FO think about this prospect.

[ProcessDoctor]

Tobias for Powell + Covington?


Westbrook/Hyland
Kawhi/Mann/Gordon
George/Batum
Harris/Morris
Zubac/Plumlee

[esqtvd]

Tobias for Powell + Covington?


Westbrook/Hyland
Kawhi/Mann/Gordon
George/Batum
Harris/Morris
Zubac/Plumlee

as a fan of both teams I think it's a fair swap
Amir Coffey is needed for salary ballast

[ProcessDoctor]

Tobias for Powell + Covington?


Westbrook/Hyland
Kawhi/Mann/Gordon
George/Batum
Harris/Morris
Zubac/Plumlee

as a fan of both teams I think it's a fair swap
Amir Coffey is needed for salary ballast

Preston instead of Coffey??

[esqtvd]

Tobias for Powell + Covington?


Westbrook/Hyland
Kawhi/Mann/Gordon
George/Batum
Harris/Morris
Zubac/Plumlee

as a fan of both teams I think it's a fair swap
Amir Coffey is needed for salary ballast

Preston instead of Coffey??

Preston turns 24 in August, more a suspect than a prospect at this point
sure
Hyland is a year younger and more accomplished

[wakelaunch1]

Tobias for Powell + Covington?


Westbrook/Hyland
Kawhi/Mann/Gordon
George/Batum
Harris/Morris
Zubac/Plumlee

Not moving the needle. That is one of the oldest/slowest lineups in the league. Batum cant play small forward anymore.

[MartinToVaught]

Tobias for Powell + Covington?


Westbrook/Hyland
Kawhi/Mann/Gordon
George/Batum
Harris/Morris
Zubac/Plumlee

The last thing we need is another old, slow player on a terrible contract.

[wakelaunch1]

Tobias for Powell + Covington?


Westbrook/Hyland
Kawhi/Mann/Gordon
George/Batum
Harris/Morris
Zubac/Plumlee

The last thing we need is another old, slow player on a terrible contract.

Hyland/Mann
PG/Powell
Kawhi/Boston
Jackson-Davis/Batum/Diabate
Brook Lopez/Plumlee

[ejftw]

Tobias for Powell + Covington?


Westbrook/Hyland
Kawhi/Mann/Gordon
George/Batum
Harris/Morris
Zubac/Plumlee

I'd do Morris and RoCo for Tobias, wouldn't give up Norm for him though. Or even RoCo and Nico.

[Jamaaliver]

I'm curious, is there any combination of Hawks players that could get Paul George traded to Atlanta?

The only untouchables would be:

• Trae Young
• AJ Griffin
• Onyeka Okongwu

I was thinking a solid starting point would be John Collins + DeAndre Hunter for PG.

Spoiler:

Paul George trade talk

...the Clippers have arguably the most complicated, complex situation to manage in the NBA right now. And frankly, they probably need to make a decision right now on how realistic they think a title is this season. Do they still believe the title window is genuinely open?

I think there is a real case to be early on this decision and break up the team now. I think George would be the most valuable player on the market if they decided to do that, even with only one year and a player option left on his contract. He would bring back a significant return. Another team would probably be willing to take on the significant risk that is Leonard and give up real value to do it given that it’s only a two-year commitment.

I will just note that I’d rather be early on these choices rather than later. And if the Clippers do a true self-evaluation and feel like the title hopes are minimal due to Leonard’s status, then they should shift priorities and try to rebuild this thing and take the assets they would acquire with such moves to do so.

The Athletic

[Captain Ballmer]

I'm curious, is there any combination of Hawks players that could get Paul George traded to Atlanta?

The only untouchables would be:

• Trae Young
• AJ Griffin
• Onyeka Okongwu

I was thinking a solid starting point would be John Collins + DeAndre Hunter for PG.

Spoiler:

Paul George trade talk

...the Clippers have arguably the most complicated, complex situation to manage in the NBA right now. And frankly, they probably need to make a decision right now on how realistic they think a title is this season. Do they still believe the title window is genuinely open?

I think there is a real case to be early on this decision and break up the team now. I think George would be the most valuable player on the market if they decided to do that, even with only one year and a player option left on his contract. He would bring back a significant return. Another team would probably be willing to take on the significant risk that is Leonard and give up real value to do it given that it’s only a two-year commitment.

I will just note that I’d rather be early on these choices rather than later. And if the Clippers do a true self-evaluation and feel like the title hopes are minimal due to Leonard’s status, then they should shift priorities and try to rebuild this thing and take the assets they would acquire with such moves to do so.

The Athletic

I'd do Pg13 for Collins+D.Murray. Dejounte at least solves one of our problems(lead ball handler&playmaker role) without creating another one.