http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/238240/Lou-Williams-Expected-Free-Agent-Interest-Gives-Raptors-Competition

Lou Williams is expected to receive strong interest from teams that include the Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets, providing a clear competition for the Toronto Raptors to retain the NBA’s reigning Sixth Man of the Year, league sources told RealGM.

The Raptors and Williams have expressed a mutual interest, and there will be a window early in free agency for Toronto to finalize an agreement that’s viable for the 6-foot-2 guard.

As one of the most potent scorers on the market, Williams could scan league-wide possibilities of a three-year deal in the range of $27 million or four years for $35 million.

For the season, Williams scored a career-best 15.5 points per game while averaging 25.2 minutes — a magnificent resurgence as a player after tearing his ACL in 2013.

Williams, 28, has played 10 NBA seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers, Atlanta Hawks and Raptors. He has career averages of 11.9 points, 2.9 assists and two rebounds.

CrushAlot wrote:

Hardwood Paroxysm ‏@HPbasketball · 9m9 minutes ago
J.R. Smith plans to opt out, hopes to re-sign with Cavaliers

That's a weird move but as long as he is cool with Lebron it should not matter

holfresh wrote:

yellowboy90 wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:

Hardwood Paroxysm ‏@HPbasketball · 9m9 minutes ago
J.R. Smith plans to opt out, hopes to re-sign with Cavaliers

That's a weird move but as long as he is cool with Lebron it should not matter

You know..I thought it was just me but I thought LeBron's personality just seem over bearing on the team..He needs to touch every possession and yells at players even when he makes mistakes..That's a leader huh..

when you are the best player in the league and win you can do that I guess. Every great player has similar flaws though I guess but he has been that way for a while. He has bumped coaches tuned them out and used to go at it with Chalmers. Elite players like Lebron, Paul, Magic, Jordan, and etc jave a little too much bully syndrome in them but it is what it is.

holfresh wrote:

yellowboy90 wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:

Hardwood Paroxysm ‏@HPbasketball · 9m9 minutes ago
J.R. Smith plans to opt out, hopes to re-sign with Cavaliers

That's a weird move but as long as he is cool with Lebron it should not matter

You know..I thought it was just me but I thought LeBron's personality just seem over bearing on the team..He needs to touch every possession and yells at players even when he makes mistakes..That's a leader huh..

When you hate you see it as you want. Lebron's likes to pass first. The Cavs in this series went to Lebron to slow the ball down. First game over time loss and then two straight wins before GSW adjusted. It was working.
Jordan used to punch his teammates in practice and flat out yell when they missed assignments. He never had to carry the load like Leborn did after Love and Kyrie went down.

I thought the series was closer because the Cavs went all in with Lebron.

CrushAlot wrote:

crzymdups wrote:I've heard Karl wants Ty Lawson back. I could definitely see that with a pick swap between the two teams.

I never thought Ty Lawson made sense in the Triangle for the Knicks - Phil likes his big guards.

Yeah. I don't want Ty on the Knicks. I hope the Knicks don't do something stupid with the pick. I think trading back and taking on Ty would have been a bad move.

PresIke wrote:

crzymdups wrote:And, ah yes, Anthony Randolph was the Kristaps Porzingis of his day in many ways. Though I admit that I wanted to believe AR could be good here.

Randolph had nowhere near the offensive skill level we see with Porzingis (at least of what we've seen). He also had a poor mentality, his real nemesis.

AR showed off a tantalizing skill set early on. But I agree his mentality was an issue. He also had a red flag to me that his college team had an under .500 record, which in hindsight told a lot of the story. But he had a few games like the one below that gave you hope he could put it all together somehow. Kristaps seems to have a similar skill set... one thing I will grant you is that he's bigger and he's more of a winner.

wargames wrote:David Lee coming to NY for 15 mil would be a fiasco of a trade. Especially for the 30th pick when the knicks are having trouble finding somebody worth the #4th pick.

Agreed. The 30th pick is the last pick of the first round and has a guaranteed salary attached.At thirty you are rolling the dice in a big way. The Knicks are far better off buying a second-rounder - same risk, no obligations, same quality players.

GS will not find buyers for that contract at all.

OTOH, The Jr Smith trade exception for Speights and #30 and 2017 GS first-rounder is worth considering.

fwk00 wrote:Miami is the team to watch. They desperately need cap space to resign Wade and then sign Dragic.

A number of opportunities exist for the Knicks here. They can sign Dragic to a Max contract that Miami would have to match putting their payroll into the Stratosphere.

OTOH (if its obvious Dragic is not interested), the Knicks could take a chance on moving a trade exception for McRoberts and #10 giving Miami some breathing room. Picking at 4 and 10 offers a wide variety of possibilities, none obviously bad.

That'd be interesting. Though Dragic is unrestricted so Miami can't match if Dragic signs here. Also, can you imagine Phil and Riley making any kind of deal.

fwk00 wrote:
Agreed. The 30th pick is the last pick of the first round and has a guaranteed salary attached.At thirty you are rolling the dice in a big way. The Knicks are far better off buying a second-rounder - same risk, no obligations, same quality players.

GS will not find buyers for that contract at all.

OTOH, The Jr Smith trade exception for Speights and #30 and 2017 GS first-rounder is worth considering.

Miami is the team to watch. They desperately need cap space to resign Wade and then sign Dragic.

A number of opportunities exist for the Knicks here. They can sign Dragic to a Max contract that Miami would have to match putting their payroll into the Stratosphere.

OTOH (if its obvious Dragic is not interested), the Knicks could take a chance on moving a trade exception for McRoberts and #10 giving Miami some breathing room. Picking at 4 and 10 offers a wide variety of possibilities, none obviously bad.

Sorry, you're wrong.

I'm supposed to be politically correct and say I disagree and everyone has a different opinion on things, but sorry, you are so far off into the path of wrong, that there is nothing else to point out except you are wrong.

It's true that a very late first rounder forces the drafting team to pay at least two years of guaranteed money based on slotting compared to second rounder, whom is guaranteed nothing if the drafting team wants ( with the exception being a handshake deal that OKC and Jon Huestis and his agent made, though that loophole will definitely close with the next labor war looming and after the next CBA is signed off on both sides) However teams do not typically sell off high 2nd rounders, where there are actually practical targets to gun for in terms of valuable prospects who have fallen, most of the selling off happens in the latter stages of Round 2, when there is nothing left but the dregs and potential Euro Stashes and future D League stashes and rights grabs for potential trades. We are still talking a multi tier drop off in talent so the idea of "same quality" is pretty much shot. Dropping one late tier talent, you'd have an argument, maybe two tiers would be pushing it, but still feasible, but you are talking 4-7 tiers when someone will practically sell a 2nd round pick to the Knicks. The "risk" factor also works both ways. First rounders get guaranteed money, sure, but also there is more room for future team control. KJ Daniels is a good example of how a 2nd rounder can use his own leverage to at least test to open market, because he is not encumbered by the vested rights of a team drafting him in the first round.

Given the provisions of the last CBA, teams have more cap flexibility than ever.

For the Knicks to get a trade with Golden State to help the Warriors relieve their future tax burden, the Knicks must provide a trade offer in a pragmatic sense that is THE BEST VARIABLE OPTION OUT OF ALL POSSIBLE DEFENSIBLE TRADE OPTIONS CONSIDERING ALL TEAMS IN THE NBA.

If the Knicks were in the Warriors position, entirely reverse roster and cap situation and personnel, would you accept a trade offer of a single trade exception for two first rounders and Speights? Also the Warriors already traded their 2017 first to Utah in the multi team Iggy deal.

If you were Goran Dragic, would you sign for what would be less money and less years in what will likely be your last major NBA contract, to risk playing for the least talented team in the league, with an established horrible owner, with a GM where your contact might outlive your GM ( not outlive his contract, but literally outlive him period), where you stand a good chance of having Zeke as your next GM in place, playing along side a selfish no defense shotjacker who can't move well off the ball?

Would you accept a trade offer asking for your 10th pick and McRoberts with the belief that you need cap space and THAT IS THE BEST OVERALL OPTION OUT OF ALL OPTIONS POSSIBLE FOR TRADE IN THE ENTIRE NBA?

The basis of all trade rape is

A) Making offers you wouldn't take yourself if the situations were reversed
B) Require the other front office to have no sense of basic self preservation and competence ( That's like finding an ugly girl and screaming at her that she also has zero personality and how is that entirely possible )
C) Take no context that there is an entire league of other trade possibilities and your trade offer must be the practical and defensible one that offers the most upside to the non Knicks team out of the list
D) Ignoring that no practical trade in modern pro sports happens if it will draw massive backlash from the ownership, sports media and the entire fanbase to a groundswell that creates a tipping point for the non Knicks franchise

In the modern era, trade exceptions often go unused and expire for very specific reasons. If what you suggested was feasible, teams would be using them all the time, but they don't.

I was on a farm once as a kid, visiting a friend, along with adults who were visiting their adult friends. Never seen a farm before that. I saw a horse mount another horse. Mating and such. The mounter had an easier time, at least from this time, because it didn't look like the mountee was all that resistant.

If you want the Knicks to garner real assets for the future, they aren't just going to walk up and mount up on the back of another team and work them like a two dollar whore near closing time. Sorry, the practical market forces in the NBA just don't work that way.