-Pau Gasol would probably speak glowingly of Phil Jackson to Marc Gasol when he becomes a free agent in 2015. I think we could realistically sign Marc to a starting salary of $14 million.

-Kyrie Irving was raised in NJ and seems to be more than willing to leave Cleveland. He'll be a restricted free agent in 2015 but hopefully we'll have some assets to entice the Cavs in making a sign and trade. I'm thinking that our 2015 lottery pick (assuming that we suck) and whatever assets we could get for Melo would do the trick. I think we could realistically sign Kyrie to a starting salary of $14 million

-Kevin Love was coached by Kurt Rambis, a Phil Jackson protege, who helped establish Kevin Love's career. The two had a rollercoaster of a relationship but one would hope that there is enough good will there for Phil Jackson to leverage an introduction. I could see Kevin Love taking a contract that starts at $18 million in its first year.

If the cap is established at $60 million, we could sign all 3 players and still have about $8 million to build a supporting cast with and an additional $3 million exception to use. I don't think that would be too shabby at all.

At least any combination of any 2 of em

Don't want rondo - attitude and injury history

NardDogNation wrote:

gunsnewing wrote:Unless we get Lebron or Durant That's my dream 3 right there but that's all it is A DREAM

At least any combination of any 2 of em

Don't want rondo - attitude and injury history

Yeah but neither LeBron or Durant are likely to leave their respective teams. The three guys I mentioned are, which makes the prospect so tantalizing. Come playoff time, I think this trio (Irving, Love and Gasol) would walk all over the Heat or Thunder. Neither team would be able to stop us down low or rebound against us. The only thing that would be questionable would be our defense, which could easily be remedied by role players we surround the trio with. And let's not forget that Marc Gasol is good enough a defender to have won DPOY, just 2 years ago. I honestly think we'd be a recast of the Pacers (assuming we keep THJr and he continues his growth) or a better version of what the Grizzlies have been the past few years.

if okc do not win by 2016 and people continue to leave okc, you don't think Durant will leave?

yellowboy90 wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:Let's grab the best player from every lottery team!
These are nice players but not how I would build a team. That looks like a perennial top 8 NBA team but not much better than that.

How can you judge that without knowing who will be the pieces around them?

Bonn1997 wrote:Let's grab the best player from every lottery team!
These are nice players but not how I would build a team. That looks like a perennial top 8 NBA team but not much better than that.

The Celtics did that in 2008 and it worked out swimmingly for them. Why not with the Knicks?

It would depend on if they can play better D and how good the players are around them. Imo

yellowboy90 wrote:I think you overrated two players in kyrie and Love. Love is probably the best offensive pf and rebounder but he plays zero defense. I could see if he had the occasional lapse but Love is really bad. The same can be said for kyrie and he has some offensive issues too.

It would depend on if they can play better D and how good the players are around them. Imo

Dirk Nowitzki was no defensive stalwart but it didn't stop his team from being a perennial contender. I think many of Love's shortcomings defensively are overhyped because there is nothing physically wrong to stop him from being a David West type defender. I think his current problem is that Love is counted on to do too much, which makes it difficult for him to have the stamina to be a consistent defender. That and I think he suffers from White Baller Syndrome: a bias of fans that stereotype white players as inherently being poor defenders. Guys like JJ Redick, for example, got ****ted on in the past for their defensively abilities, even though he is a pretty pesky defender. Same goes for Pau Gasol in the past (who I admit is still soft).

I definitely agree that Kyrie is a pretty awful defender (Raymond Felton had one of his best seasons against him) but I think a big part of that is the result of poor coaching, frustration from losing and fatigue from being expected to do everything for his team. Physically speaking though he is both quick and agile on his feet, so there is nothing stopping him from becoming a good, even great defender. That became the case for Ray Allen and Paul Pierce when they teamed up with KG in '08.