Joe Johnson = Chris Bosh

we have 9 guys under contract going into next season, with $21m cap space (making the very risky assumption that the cap will remain exactly as it is). If we sign a max guy for the same money as our two main guys, that's 18m right there. That leaves us with 3mill, plus the various exceptions (if they still exist in the next cba) to round out the roster beyond 10 players.

nixluva wrote:My impression is that we will give it a go with Chauncey and see how he does next year. I believe in a slower pace he can play for another 2-3 years. That would mean I think they're gonna go after a bigman rather than a PG. We won't be looking for someone that will eat up another 18mil. We're looking for a solid C, but we don't really need to go after another Max player to be a title contender.

I absolutely agree. We need the right center and another couple pieces off the bench, and we are a contender. We are not the new Hawks. Our top 2 players are better than anyone on their roster. We would have potentially been the new Hawks had we kept our core intact prior to Melo. That would have been our upside as a team. We are closer than most people think, we just need the right center.

markvmc wrote:How much do you think Chauncey gets? And which big are we getting with what's left after we pay him?

markvmc wrote:OK, so we keep Chauncey at 14m. That leaves us all of $7m to fill the roster beyond 10 guys, assuming the same cap as is currently in place. I'm not optimistic that that leaves us enough room to get good enough to be real contenders.

We don't know what contracts will look like, or what the salary cap will be. In theory I think we draft a big guy, bring back Shawn Williams, see where Rautins, Walker, Mason, Jeffries and the like are next year. But we save all our money for 2012. I mean all we really need is a strong presence inside who can do 15-20 minutes of rough play inside.

crzymdups wrote:Hawks should be a cautionary tale for the new look nuggets. when you start paying a bunch of guys who are pretty good and play well together... suddenly they are overpaid and your team is locked into mediocrity.

Knicks are paying superstars in their prime and trying to work them in. The Miami Heat are a cautionary tale for the Knicks, but I don't think these Knicks have the ego problems the Heat clearly do.

Very good points. Your comment about the Nugs are dead on and is what I said before. The Nugs might look entertaining, but they will forever be penciled into that 5-8 seed out west which is basketball oblivion. They might break into the second round once and lose but unless they can get Melo or someone on his level, they will be the Hawks of the west, and probably not even that good.

orangeblobman wrote:I wonder what a Joe Johnson - Melo comparison would look like. I think similar. Melo might come out a little better, but not by much. And if Joe Johnson isn't worth the max, is Melo? Time will tell.

Melo is a lot better than Johnson. Melo is a top-10 or 12 player in the league and one of the best natural scorers. Johnson doesn't have the ability to take over games or be considered one of the best in the league at anything in particular. But he is still a top 20 player in the league and top 5 SG.