NardDogNation wrote:To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what Whiteside's status is. I was working under the assumption that they could go dollar for dollar with whatever the best offer is out there. For Melo to work, he needs to be there because that could be an incredibly porous defensive team. If Melo prevents them from keeping him then you'd be correct to question whether the deal would be viable. Wade though, would be a non-factor; they've got his Bird Rights and can give him what he wants regardless of Melo being there or not.

Whiteside is an unusual and problematic case for Miami. He'll have four years service time, but only 2 with the heat, making him an unrestricted free agent eligible for a 20% max they only have Early Bird Rights to. Meaning if he commands a max or near max, to retain him Miami would have to use cap space, not an exception.

They need to make room for him, Bosh, Dragic and potentially Wade.

There is no circumstance Bosh, Dragic, Melo, Wade and Whiteside can be on the same Heat roster next year. One of Wade or Whiteside (along with bench depth) would have to go, thereby compromising selling Melo on the plan.

bigbasketballs wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what Whiteside's status is. I was working under the assumption that they could go dollar for dollar with whatever the best offer is out there. For Melo to work, he needs to be there because that could be an incredibly porous defensive team. If Melo prevents them from keeping him then you'd be correct to question whether the deal would be viable. Wade though, would be a non-factor; they've got his Bird Rights and can give him what he wants regardless of Melo being there or not.

Whiteside is an unusual and problematic case for Miami. He'll have four years service time, but only 2 with the heat, making him an unrestricted free agent eligible for a 20% max they only have Early Bird Rights to. Meaning if he commands a max or near max, to retain him Miami would have to use cap space, not an exception.

They need to make room for him, Bosh, Dragic and potentially Wade.

There is no circumstance Bosh, Dragic, Melo, Wade and Whiteside can be on the same Heat roster next year. One of Wade or Whiteside (along with bench depth) would have to go, thereby compromising selling Melo on the plan.

Yikes. Just out of curiosity, what teams do you expect to throw the kitchen sink at Whiteside? I can only really see Dallas and possibly Portland trying to but his attitude and lack of a resume make me question if we are overestimating his market value. And if we laden Dallas with Lopez's contract as I suggested, that should take them out of the running for him.

BTW, I don't see Melo as one wanting to leave nor do I want him exiled.

Rookie wrote:I think you have to first look at the true max guys like Durant and Lebron ...

Maybe if the Knicks relocated to Akron.

Otherwise...

Nalod wrote:Melo for Winslow and Dragic.

BTW, I don't see Melo as one wanting to leave nor do I want him exiled.

Yeah I don't see that happening either. I'm going to wait and see how this season shakes out before I start to really speculate on who to go after hardcore. If Grant develops enough, and he's ready to start as PG next season or even later this season, I might be willing to wait another year to go after Westbrook, when it comes to the big name marquee max-worthy dudes. But again, this all depends on how things shake out this season. If the guys we currently have on our bench develop into players we can rely on with great confidence night in and night out and continue to have an impact on the game, anything is possible. Also, you have to see who gets injured during the season and how bad it is. I think it's too early for any realistic decisions to be made now, but it is fun to talk about.

Nalod wrote:Im curious as to why Durant has not extended yet. Is there an incentive to wait until the end of the season?

Yes… the cap goes up $20m, which means his max goes up about $6.5m.

I like Batum but for the same money Tor gave Carroll? Im not so sure.

Greivis Vasquez looks like a great fit, but with Jose playing better (and his teammates LOVE him) does that make us much better? He would be a bench player anyway.

Gut feeling right now is just stay pat, focus on prospects and focus on improving the players and young guys that we have.

herkyJerky wrote:

Nalod wrote:Melo for Winslow and Dragic.

BTW, I don't see Melo as one wanting to leave nor do I want him exiled.

Yeah I don't see that happening either. I'm going to wait and see how this season shakes out before I start to really speculate on who to go after hardcore. If Grant develops enough, and he's ready to start as PG next season or even later this season, I might be willing to wait another year to go after Westbrook, when it comes to the big name marquee max-worthy dudes. But again, this all depends on how things shake out this season. If the guys we currently have on our bench develop into players we can rely on with great confidence night in and night out and continue to have an impact on the game, anything is possible. Also, you have to see who gets injured during the season and how bad it is. I think it's too early for any realistic decisions to be made now, but it is fun to talk about.

That actually would not be a terrible trade. Dragic is better than Grant or Calderon, and Winslow could be a stud at the 3. Our team could grow together over the next 3-4 years. It would also allow for Early to get some run.

TheGame wrote:and Winslow could be a stud at the 3.

Then why do the Heat trade him?

You think the Heat see a violable window past Cavs, Spurs and Warriors in the next 2 years?

martin wrote:

bigbasketballs wrote:Gotta say i'm intrigued by Whiteside, if you're taking the KP/Gallo/Grant longview.

Plus, would free up O'Quinn and maybe even in the right circumstances, Lopez, to free up cap room to hunt for a guard. But I LIKE Lopez, I'm in no way pushing him out the door.

Not everyone with cap room will land free agents. O'Quinn and/or Lopez might have some trade value and/or just move the contract value to clear more cap.

Haven't seen much of Whiteside but my sense was that he is a hot head and needs to be managed as a player, ala a lesser JR. Don't think Phil would be interested in that type of personality in this situation.

Good points. He is young and is a hot head and commits stupid fouls when he gets his temper going and technical fouls as well. We need to understand that one of the big reasons we're playing well is cause everyone likes each other and gets along with each other and just one bad piece can ruin the chemistry which is a big reason why when a lot of people on here were wanting us to get L.Stevenson i was so against it. I'm really high on getting N.Batum and would love to get D-Wade but just don't see him leaving Miami. Phil might just be looking to get that next big piece around the trade deadline since we now have a team full of players that are good trade pieces and players other teams would want which we haven't had in a long time. I really love every player we have right now and would hate for any of them to get traded especially the players that really wanted to play for the Knicks but to get that next big piece would be nice.

bigbasketballs wrote:

TheGame wrote:and Winslow could be a stud at the 3.

Then why do the Heat trade him?

You think the Heat see a violable window past Cavs, Spurs and Warriors in the next 2 years?

The Heat do believe they can win. That is why they made the trade for Dragic and paid Wade. Wade is getting no younger and even Bosh only has 3-4 more years left. Winslow is not Melo and probably will not be in that class for 3-4 more years. The Heat might be willing to go for another championship now. Would I do it? Probably not, but my comment was that it was good trade for us, not that it was a good trade for Miami. However, I do think it is something they would at least consider.