EnySpree wrote:I can't see a playoff team like the Raptors would trade 2 rotation players and their draft pick for Lance and a trade exemption.... They could sign someone with the exemption but that's a risk. Gallinari would be awesome though.

Without the aforementioned free agents above, I think the Raptors are set to be penciled in at $80 or so million. Then when you factor in $30 million plus for Lowry, $20 million plus for Ibaka, $14 million plus for Powell, $16 million plus for Patrick Patterson, about $10 million for PJ Tucker.....you could easily see how they could have the highest payroll of all-time, along with its luxury tax. Every bit they save can help, which is why they do the deal. That $16 million they save could potentially turn into $40 million for Joseph and Carroll. Are they worth that?

NardDogNation wrote:
The deal would be in effect Corey Joseph, DeMarre Carroll and their 2017 first round pick for Lance Thomas, a $16 million trade exception and some cash incentives.

Thoughts?

Lance Thomas has negative trade value IMHO. One of the issues regarding Noah and his horrid contract is it often overshadows the real pooch of a deal given to Thomas, who is a 12th-15th man energy guy getting paid like a middle of the pack rotation guy.

The guy does nothing exceptionally well, worse, the more minutes you give him, the more he plays out of control and outside his actual skill set. He's an energy guy and a grinder and you can use guys like that on the roster, but not for the years and total money given to him by Phil Jackson.

There are times when a team is outbidding itself ( Texas Rangers and ARod) , and in a case like this with Thomas, there are times when teams are just setting money on fire.

I like Thomas as a fan of the game itself. He's a hard worker and he's fought to get into the NBA and try to carve a role out. From a fan level, good for him. But as a Knicks fan, he's a gross overpay for a limited skill set the Knicks could have gotten cheaper and more efficiently elsewhere.

TripleThreat wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:
The deal would be in effect Corey Joseph, DeMarre Carroll and their 2017 first round pick for Lance Thomas, a $16 million trade exception and some cash incentives.

Thoughts?

Lance Thomas has negative trade value IMHO. One of the issues regarding Noah and his horrid contract is it often overshadows the real pooch of a deal given to Thomas, who is a 12th-15th man energy guy getting paid like a middle of the pack rotation guy.

The guy does nothing exceptionally well, worse, the more minutes you give him, the more he plays out of control and outside his actual skill set. He's an energy guy and a grinder and you can use guys like that on the roster, but not for the years and total money given to him by Phil Jackson.

There are times when a team is outbidding itself ( Texas Rangers and ARod) , and in a case like this with Thomas, there are times when teams are just setting money on fire.

I like Thomas as a fan of the game itself. He's a hard worker and he's fought to get into the NBA and try to carve a role out. From a fan level, good for him. But as a Knicks fan, he's a gross overpay for a limited skill set the Knicks could have gotten cheaper and more efficiently elsewhere.

Lance Thomas has been banged up this past season, so I would not be too critical of him given the circumstances. When healthy, he has been both a solid shooter and defender, which at ~$6 million is reasonable in this league especially when taking into consideration that he'd be traded for DeMarre Carroll who is making about 3 times as much as him.

But if Thomas is unappealing to them, we could always revamp the proposal to remove Thomas from it or have him re-routed to a third team. Personally, I think that either the Pelicans or Wolves (who will probably lose Shabazz Muhammed) would have interest in him.

TOR Trade: DeMarre Carroll, Corey Joseph and the 23rd pick
TOR Receive: -$23 million in contracts and $3 million cash (via NYK)

NYK Trade: Lance Thomas, $3 million cash and $23 million trade exception
NYK Receive: DeMarre Carroll, Corey Joseph, Quincy Pondexter and the 23rd pick

NOP Trade: Quincy Pondexter
NOP Receive: Lance Thomas