Actually, it's not a bad list. You just have to figure out what kind of team you want to be. Say Mark Jackson is fired or you entice JVG to come back, then you would have to but the groceries according to your cook. Let's say Melo butt****s Dolan and leaves without compensation, then we have the following still in our roster.
JR Smith, Felton, Pablo, THJr. Shump has a qualifying offer. JR and Felton have player options and I doubt they excercise them so we are stuck with them. Shump is not that expensive so I would still roll with him $3.8M per year. That is a total of $17.8M+. The projected salary cap for 2015 is $75.7M as per Larry Coon. So that leaves us with $57.9M to play with. I am also only signing players on 1-3 year contracts. Nothing over 3 years except for 1 player...
For players that we still have here is what I would do with them...
JR Smith - Relegate this fool to the bench backing up both the 2 and 3 spot. I want him to increase his trade value for the trade deadline but make sure he is not a big cog in the rotation.
Felton - I don't want this fool getting in the rotation unless he loses at least 20lbs. He needs to show that he is in shape. If he gets in shape then he can compete for the 3rd string spot during pre-season.
Pablo - Old man can compete for the 3rd string PG spot.
Shump - I will make sure he focuses on his defense once again. Let the offense come to him. Accentuate his positives which is defense.
THJr - Need to work on defense. Hopefully he is up to the task. I am looking at him as the starting SG or backup SG.
Now the FAs.
For the PG spot, I want tempo and I want speed. I know I am a big Lin fan so everybody here already knows who I want.
Jeremy Lin - I am offering Lin a 3 year $18M contract. This is a similar contract that he received from the Rockets but at $6M per year. He will be our starting PG. This is both a basketball and business move. The buzz this will generate will distract from the fact that Melo left us for nothing.'7"
CJ Watson - We need a backup PG that knows his role. I would love Jarret Jack but he is not on this list. Offer him a 2 year contract for $4M.
SG spot I want a dead eye shooter that is long.
Danny Green - 6'6" and shoots .415 for his career behind the arc. This is the big pickup that I need to make sure happens. We might have to over pay a little to get his services. He is also in his prime as he will be 28 by 2015. He currently make $4M per year. I would offer him a similar contract that we offered Lin. 3 years at $18M.
We still have THJr, Shump and JR Smith here so I would offer another contract to another deadeye shooter.
Allen Crabbe - He is a very good shooter. I believe NBADraft.net said he was similar to Allan Houston in shooting. He is not getting any play at Portland right now so he might be available on the cheap. Offer him a 2 year $3M contract, a slight increase from his rookie contract.
SF Spot I want another shooter who is also long. I guess you are getting my plan by now.
Jared Dudley - 6'7" and can shoot the 3. He shoots the 3 with a .397 clip. He can really spread the floor. We would need to give him a similar contract that we gave Lin and Green. 3 years for $18M.
Wilson Chandler - I would get the Mayor for his defense and for depth. Offer him 2 years at $11M. This is a paycut for him but he will be 30 years old in 2015 and this should be a decent offer.
PF spot. This is where we need to win out. We need that rugged stretch 4 and luckily Love and Aldridge is available.
Kevin Love - I would offer him a 4 year contract with a player option in the 4th year for $80M. Not max but close enough.
LaMarcus Aldridge - I would offer a smilar contract if Love does not accept but at $2M less per year.
Luke Babbit - Need some depth at the 4 spot. He is a nice player. Offer him 2 year $3M contract.
Anthony Randolph - I would give him another try on a 1 year contract for $1.5M
C spot. I want a defensive specialist that rebounds.
Robin Lopez - His career RPG is not impressive but this year he is pulling down 8.8 per game. I am hoping this trend continues. I am offering him a 3 year $15M contract.
Jeremy Tyler - I like him. Seems like a good kid. Let's see what he has. Offer him a 2 year $4M contract.
That is $57M in new contracts per year. We are still not over the cap and it sets us up for minor tweaks in year 1 or 2 and then can retool again after year 3.
Here is our starting lineup
PG - Jeremy Lin
SG - Danny Green
SF - Jared Dudley
PF - Kevin Love or LaMarcus Aldridge
C - Robin Lopez
Bench - THJr, Shump, CJ Watson, Crabbe, The Mayor, Babbit, Randolph, Tyler, JR Smith, Pablo, Fatton
I can roll with that.
3/5/2014 10:02 AM
