2013-14 NBA Offseason/Draft Thread

[bulletsponge]

heres an idea that peeps are sure to hate, but get rid of the draft entirely. have the kids choose which team they play for and have rookie contracts 3-4 years max. that will encourage all teams to build solid rosters (to sell to the kid that they can be the centerpiece to a solid team). all rookies would have the same contracts

[nol]

The main problem with that is giving rookies all the same contract. Their value is already artificially limited by the rookie scale (Kyrie Irving makes $5.9 and 7.5 million over the next two seasons). Giving them all the same contract would either screw the top players even more or make NBA teams sign guys from Europe or the D-League for the minimum rather instead of overspend on a rookie outside the top 15-20 in his class. If Andrew Wiggins entered the NBA as a free agent, he'd be offered the max. If the top prospects are limited to making some token rookie amount, it looks much more attractive to just sign a bigger contract in Europe for a couple years and and then enter the NBA as true free agents, and that's the last thing the league wants.

Edit: and this is coming from someone who thinks the best solution would be to have players enter the league as free agents with no restrictions (although a years restriction would be a good idea). The problem is that it has zero chance of ever happening through collective bargaining. The players' side always gets its ass kicked in labor negotiations. In the last round, they were forced to take a smaller slice of the pie when it comes to basketball-related income AND they couldn't get the owners to repeal the age limit. When it comes time to make concessions to the owners, the players will gladly allow an age limit and a rookie scale because all player salaries come from the same pool. Less money for future rookies means more money for the journeyman veterans who hold leadership positions, and since the journeymen make up a larger proportion of players, the union looks out for their interests first.

[nol]

Clippers just traded Eric Bledsoe and Caron Butler to the Suns; they'll get Jared Dudley and JJ Redick in a sign-and-trade. Milwaukee gets two second rounders for their trouble.

Not a bad haul for the Clippers, the Suns have a young point guard and a big to build around going forward, and the Bucks basically traded Tobias Harris for half a season of Redick and a couple second round picks.

[Groundhog]

Great trade for the Clippers. Dudley and Redick seem like perfect pickups to me. Great deal for Suns too to get a young prospect.

Bucks............ no idea what they are doing. Positioning for future cap space?

[Simbo Klice]

How about this for an idea on the draft- all teams get to place a bid with a maximum of their free cap space for their pick in the first round. Teams with no cap room default to the minimum salary and any ties go to the team with the worse record. The highest bid gets the #1 pick, 2nd highest gets #2, and on down.

The draft pick then is paid the salary that the team bid, flat, for 4 years. That way, teams aren't intentionally trying to lose but they are watching what they spend. In years where there's a Wiggins or a strong all around class, the bids will naturally be higher and in years like this year they'll be lower.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Great trade for the Clippers. Dudley and Redick seem like perfect pickups to me. Great deal for Suns too to get a young prospect.

Bucks............ no idea what they are doing. Positioning for future cap space?

The Bucks were in a position to get something for nothing, because Reddick was going to leave no matter what. So they were willing to accept a couple picks to help facilitate the trade.

[Groundhog]

Then teams will be tanking to free up cap space and spending big on rookies who go on to suck.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

The Bucks were in a position to get something for nothing, because Reddick was going to leave no matter what. So they were willing to accept a couple picks to help facilitate the trade.

What they got was two 2nd round draft picks for Tobias Harris. That's trading something for nothing.

[Groundhog]

I'll also add re: Harris that and it's not like no one knew he had some talent pre-trade. He's looked impressive whenever he got minutes in Milwaukee last season. So they trade a talented young SF - not a position of strength for Milwaukee - for a SG - Monta's position, for better or worse - on the final year of his deal. Makes no sense to me unless they plan on blowing up the roster entirely, which doesn't seem to be the case given the rumours that Jennings will be back.

[nol]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

The Bucks were in a position to get something for nothing, because Reddick was going to leave no matter what. So they were willing to accept a couple picks to help facilitate the trade.

Yeah, it's more of a question of why they traded Tobias Harris, who's 20 years old and averaged 17 and 8 down the stretch for the Magic, so they could have JJ Redick for a few months and secure the 8th seed.

Originally Posted by Simbo Klice

How about this for an idea on the draft- all teams get to place a bid with a maximum of their free cap space for their pick in the first round. Teams with no cap room default to the minimum salary and any ties go to the team with the worse record. The highest bid gets the #1 pick, 2nd highest gets #2, and on down.

The draft pick then is paid the salary that the team bid, flat, for 4 years. That way, teams aren't intentionally trying to lose but they are watching what they spend. In years where there's a Wiggins or a strong all around class, the bids will naturally be higher and in years like this year they'll be lower.

You're right in that the players could play hard and try to win as many games as possible without worrying about draft position, but then this would happen:

2009-10 New Jersey Nets Roster and Stats | Basketball-Reference.com
2009-10 New York Knicks Roster and Stats | Basketball-Reference.com

That's what teams did to get a chance at signing LeBron and the other big 2010 free agents. If a team could do that to lock up the number 1 draft pick, they'd do so in a heartbeat.

Speaking of tanking, the Raptors are discussing trading Rudy Gay to the Pistons in return for the expiring contracts of Rodney Stuckey and Charlie Villanueva. Obviously the Raptors would unload another huge contract and put themselves in a better position for Wiggins. Ujiri should win back-to-back Executive of the Year awards if he pulls it off, but nobody's going to vote for a guy whose team is tanking haha.

It's not a terrible trade for the Pistons, either. I know the advanced analytics are none too keen on Gay, but they'd get him for two guys who would be doing nothing for them this year, and after he just has one more year on a max deal. That's a good short-term risk IMO, since the East now has Boston, Toronto, Charlotte, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia in tank mode. They can make a playoff push now and see how things work with Gay. If it doesn't work out, he's a big expiring contract they could deal after this season, and it's better than if they'd used the cap space to sign Josh Smith to a long-term max.

[Groundhog]

Has the Gay trade happened? I know it's rumoured. Not horrible for the Pistons if their young guards develop and can both shoot it, but if you are going to play both Drummond and Monroe as I assume they will, you prob want one pick-roll PG and 2 shooters, because the lane is going to be clogged.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Simbo Klice

How about this for an idea on the draft- all teams get to place a bid with a maximum of their free cap space for their pick in the first round. Teams with no cap room default to the minimum salary and any ties go to the team with the worse record. The highest bid gets the #1 pick, 2nd highest gets #2, and on down.

The draft pick then is paid the salary that the team bid, flat, for 4 years. That way, teams aren't intentionally trying to lose but they are watching what they spend. In years where there's a Wiggins or a strong all around class, the bids will naturally be higher and in years like this year they'll be lower.

The players would never agree to a system that provides such a clear incentive for teams to not only not spend money, but to also give it away to people who aren't yet in the Union.

[Logan]

The Celtics next coach...Brad Stevens of Butler.

http://www.nba.com/celtics/news/pres...ens-head-coach

[Lathum]

Interesting hire.

[Scoobz0202]

Seems weird. Good for him as he seems like a cool dude but I just never thought he would bolt for the NBA. I assumed he would hang at Butler until an elite college team came calling. Good for him, though. Hopefully he can adapt.

[MrBug708]

Hired to be fired.

[Buccaneer]

My son is speechless. The coach of his favorite college team goes to his favorite NBA team.

[molson]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Hired to be fired.

There's more job security with the Celtics than with UCLA or any big college job. They only way he get into trouble with the Celtics is if he wins too many games too early. Maybe he'll be pushed out for a veteran NBA star coach once/if the Celtics ever make it back to contending, but it will be tough to cut loose the coach of an improving team, though that does happen. And if it does, he'll still be a commodity in college. Where if he goes to the big school with unrealistic expectations now, they'll tar and feather him on his way out and damage his value. For him, it makes perfect sense. For the Celtics, it doesn't really matter, since they're not trying to win, they just need a guy that won't ruin young players.

[whomario]

read a lot of "too big a jump, he´s setting himself up to fail" but even if he crashes and burns, won´t he still be at the top of the list for top college programms in 2,3 years ?

If you are gonna rebuild but still have a team that fans don´t hate, he seems to be an ideal candidate. Will likely be a guy working well with young players, is used to working with a team that´s outclassed on the talent scale.

Personally also think that while rebuilding, this isn´t the sort of hire you make when you want to outright tank. Guess you´d take a former assistant or an older coach that wants one more paycheck without much work.

[Young Drachma]

Holy shit that is fucking awesome. Love this move by Stevens.

[Young Drachma]

I mean, seriously. It's no lose. You get to coach the Celtics. You win and you get to do it for a long time. Lose? And you go back and coach whatever major program you want. You're 36 and you played D3 basketball. You HAVE to take a shot. Plus you AT LEAST double your salary in the process and always get to be a former NBA head coach.

[murrayyyyy]

Originally Posted by whomario

read a lot of "too big a jump, he´s setting himself up to fail" but even if he crashes and burns, won´t he still be at the top of the list for top college programms in 2,3 years ?

If you are gonna rebuild but still have a team that fans don´t hate, he seems to be an ideal candidate. Will likely be a guy working well with young players, is used to working with a team that´s outclassed on the talent scale.

Personally also think that while rebuilding, this isn´t the sort of hire you make when you want to outright tank. Guess you´d take a former assistant or an older coach that wants one more paycheck without much work.

Someone asked me about it and my first reaction was he is playing from the Petino book. Made final four at Providence. Landed the Knicks job. Wasn't successful but Kentucky sure did line up to take him from the Knicks.

If he gets fired from the Celtics within 3 years he will have big name colleges lined up to sign him.

His success will depend on if Green and Rondo believe his style now that Doc is gone. I don't think KG or Pierce would have listen to him.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Young Drachma

I mean, seriously. It's no lose. You get to coach the Celtics. You win and you get to do it for a long time. Lose? And you go back and coach whatever major program you want. You're 36 and you played D3 basketball. You HAVE to take a shot. Plus you AT LEAST double your salary in the process and always get to be a former NBA head coach.

Completely agreed. Great move for him.

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by Young Drachma

I mean, seriously. It's no lose. You get to coach the Celtics. You win and you get to do it for a long time. Lose? And you go back and coach whatever major program you want. You're 36 and you played D3 basketball. You HAVE to take a shot. Plus you AT LEAST double your salary in the process and always get to be a former NBA head coach.

This. Hired to be fired.

[nol]

If he was hired to be fired, they wouldn't have given him a six-year deal. Also remember that Ainge stayed with Doc even though he wasn't lighting the world on fire the three years before getting KG and Allen.

[cartman]

I'm really, really surprised he didn't wait to for the outcome of the Haith situation to see if Mizzou became available.

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by nol

If he was hired to be fired, they wouldn't have given him a six-year deal. Also remember that Ainge stayed with Doc even though he wasn't lighting the world on fire the three years before getting KG and Allen.

Stevens, not the Celtics.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by Young Drachma

I mean, seriously. It's no lose. You get to coach the Celtics. You win and you get to do it for a long time. Lose? And you go back and coach whatever major program you want. You're 36 and you played D3 basketball. You HAVE to take a shot. Plus you AT LEAST double your salary in the process and always get to be a former NBA head coach.

Exactly.

[nol]

From all the articles that came up whenever bigger schools went chasing after him, he seemed to be very against uprooting his family. I don't see it being just about the money, since UCLA's offer would've been a substantial raise from what he was making at Butler IIRC. I don't think the Celtics offered that much more money than UCLA; if they did, Stevens would be right up there with Rivers and Popovich as the one of the highest-paid coaches in the NBA.

For Stevens to have taken the Celtics job after turning down UCLA suggests that he thought about this long and hard and decided that he could see himself with the Celtics in the long term.

[MrBug708]

UCLA didn't offer him more than 3 million sadly

[molson]

I'm happy they just hired a guy and it isn't like college where we have 25 made-up reports over 3 weeks connecting different guys to the job.

[DaddyTorgo]

If they actually go with the "play the youth and see if any of them are assets" plan this this hire makes total sense. Great hire from that perspective. Who better to coach a bunch of young guys than a college coach?

[DeToxRox]

Pistons apparently really want Rondo if he becomes available. I don't see any reason to keep Rondo considering his reputation when you are breaking in a new coach like Stevens.

I love Rondo's game, but he scares the shit out of me. With that said, it appears we have the flexibility to trade Monroe and an expiring contract like Villaueva or Stuckey for Rondo and then go out and sign Josh Smith.

Smith and Rondo can certainly kill a locker room, but Rondo/Smith/Drummond is good enough on its own to likely put as around the 6 seed.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Pistons apparently really want Rondo if he becomes available. I don't see any reason to keep Rondo considering his reputation when you are breaking in a new coach like Stevens.

I love Rondo's game, but he scares the shit out of me. With that said, it appears we have the flexibility to trade Monroe and an expiring contract like Villaueva or Stuckey for Rondo and then go out and sign Josh Smith.

Smith and Rondo can certainly kill a locker room, but Rondo/Smith/Drummond is good enough on its own to likely put as around the 6 seed.

As fun as he's been to watch, he's not going to stick around for a rebuilding. You're welcome to him.

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

As fun as he's been to watch, he's not going to stick around for a rebuilding. You're welcome to him.

If he comes back healthy, he'll probably be worth more at the trade deadline. Keep him on the bench for the first 25 games of the season then let him come back healthy for the next 20 before the deadline. As long as he performs, his trade worth would be sky-high considering the acquiring team would have 1 1/2 years of a friendly contract, he'd be a week away from his 28th birthday (in his prime), he's a known playoff force and a triple-double threat on any given night.

In this case time is on the Celtics' side. That doesn't mean the Cs don't move him now, but only for an excellent deal. I'm not sure that Monroe + expiring salary is enough for Rondo. I'm not sure that it's not, either....and I love trading small guys for big guys.

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

I assumed he would hang at Butler until an elite college team came calling.

Considering the talent level on Boston's team for the next few years, it will be an elite college team.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Blackadar

If he comes back healthy, he'll probably be worth more at the trade deadline. Keep him on the bench for the first 25 games of the season then let him come back healthy for the next 20 before the deadline. As long as he performs, his trade worth would be sky-high considering the acquiring team would have 1 1/2 years of a friendly contract, he'd be a week away from his 28th birthday (in his prime), he's a known playoff force and a triple-double threat on any given night.

In this case time is on the Celtics' side. That doesn't mean the Cs don't move him now, but only for an excellent deal. I'm not sure that Monroe + expiring salary is enough for Rondo. I'm not sure that it's not, either....and I love trading small guys for big guys.

Monroe would be a great return for Rondo.

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Monroe would be a great return for Rondo.

Depends on what you think about Monroe. He's a under-the-rim PF/C with soft hands, a scorer's touch and good vision. Defensively, about all you can say about him is that he tries hard. He's certainly a fine young player. But his per-36 went down last year and there's a prevailing school of thought that he's all he's ever going to be. While a 17/10 PF/C is nice to have, a defensively-challenged one is not someone you can build a team around. Of course if he manages to take The Leap, then he's one of the best big men in the league in which case getting him for Rondo would be a steal.

I don't know enough about Monroe to know whether he's maxed out or not. I'm not about to pass judgement on him. He's certainly a reasonable return for Rondo. A great return though? Only time would tell that.

[Groundhog]

Bobcats overpaid Al Jeff for 3 years but, hey, no one is coming to Charlotte if they aren’t paying significantly more than everyone else. Actually a pretty good move for them IMO as Al Jeff may be one of the least mobile bigs in the game on D, but he is the best/only frontcourt scorer they’ve had in their existence and he seems like a good guy to tutor Zeller given what I’ve read about him in Utah the past season or so. Going to be an interesting frontcourt with those two, as Walker now wont have to shoot the ball 20 times a game at 35% to push the Bobcats over 75 points a game.

MKG also makes more sense on the wing now, especially if they can get a ‘3 & D’ guy on the perimeter with him, assuming Walker is the PG. They will still be bad, but at least watchable.

Bellinelli to the Spurs is... well... what more can you say outside of ‘perfect fit’.

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Bobcats overpaid Al Jeff for 3 years but, hey, no one is coming to Charlotte if they aren’t paying significantly more than everyone else. Actually a pretty good move for them IMO as Al Jeff may be one of the least mobile bigs in the game on D, but he is the best/only frontcourt scorer they’ve had in their existence and he seems like a good guy to tutor Zeller given what I’ve read about him in Utah the past season or so. Going to be an interesting frontcourt with those two, as Walker now wont have to shoot the ball 20 times a game at 35% to push the Bobcats over 75 points a game.

MKG also makes more sense on the wing now, especially if they can get a ‘3 & D’ guy on the perimeter with him, assuming Walker is the PG. They will still be bad, but at least watchable.

On the surface, this is a typical shitty Jordan move. (keep reading)

I like Al Jefferson. The guy works hard and really raised his game. By all accounts he's a great teammate. He's a dramatic improvement for the Bobcats and should help them to win more games next year. But the Bobcats won only 21 games last year. A healthy Al Jef might push that to 28 or 30. He's not going to get them over the hump and next year should be a great year for shitty teams. So the Bobcats will be just good enough to miss out on a top 5 pick in a draft that looks stacked for top 5 picks. Furthermore, it's questionable how his talents will blend with Cody Zeller. Will they try Zeller at the stretch 4? It's a move for short-term benefits when those benefits look to be minimal.

With all that said, there may be some method behind the madness. This is the Bobcats last year...at least as the Bobcats. Next year they return as the Hornets. And Charlotte was NUTS for the Hornets. They loved that team until Shinn continually fucked the community over. The Hornets name stretches back to the Revolutionary War and Charlotte is proud of that name. But the team has been so horrible for so long that no one cares about the Bobcats. You literally can't even give tickets away to their games unless the opponent was the Lakers, Heat or Clippers. If the Bobcats can be more competitive next season, it might generate some excitement when they're able to "bring back the Buzz" in 2014. Getting a fan base again may be more important than having yet another top draft pick in 2014.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Warriors are rumored to be "aggressively trying to clear cap space to acquire Dwight Howard."

Am I crazy for hating (like, with every fiber of rmy being hatred) this potential move?

[sterlingice]

I don't quite understand it. If you have to gut the team to get Howard, what's the point of getting Howard?

SI

[Danny]

As a Lakers fan, I'd almost think we'd be better off doing a sign an trade for either Bogut and Barnes or Asik and Lin from a 2013/2014 team success standpoint.

[sterlingice]

From a Rockets standpoint, I'm not sure about the S&T angle to the Lakers. Dwight doesn't get a 5th year unless he's on the Lakers so it doesn't help him. In fact, for Golden State, it likely hurts their case as it makes the team's future cap situation weaker by stealing away one of their good, young (cost controlled) players and replacing them with D12. Anyone reporting otherwise about the 5th year (and there are many) need to brush up on the current CBA because they are WRONG: NBA Salary Cap FAQ. If Howard does a S&T deal, he only gets 4 years.

For the Rockets, I guess I could see a point to it to free up cash space to go get Josh Smith. But, you could just offer the same deal to Atlanta and then there's no loss of leverage if the S&T happens in the same transaction. The only benefit is if there's a deal the Lakers are willing to take that the Hawks won't.

SI

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

Warriors are rumored to be "aggressively trying to clear cap space to acquire Dwight Howard."

Am I crazy for hating (like, with every fiber of rmy being hatred) this potential move?

I don't think Howard is really going to work out wherever he goes, so I wouldn't if I was a fan.

[Danny]

Good points though I wonder of te hawks would prefer not to do a sign and trade so that they can tank more easily.

[Vince, Pt. II]

The prevailing logic 'round these parts is that having Dwight Howard makes Golden State an attractive landing spot for LeBron or Carmello the following year. I honestly can't see either of them coming here, though, and then there's the whole "we need to pay for this young talent at some point" problem. I think if it costs either Barnes or Thompson, Howard is a terrible idea.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

The prevailing logic 'round these parts is that having Dwight Howard makes Golden State an attractive landing spot for LeBron or Carmello the following year. I honestly can't see either of them coming here, though, and then there's the whole "we need to pay for this young talent at some point" problem. I think if it costs either Barnes or Thompson, Howard is a terrible idea.

I have seen some noise that Thompson is currently a bit overrated so this would be a decent way to cash in on that.

SI

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by Matthean

I don't think Howard is really going to work out wherever he goes, so I wouldn't if I was a fan.

Is this opinion based on his game or his off the court stuff? The reason for me asking is you are not the first person I have seen to express such an opinion and many have given his game as a reason for the criticism. The idea of people having such a low opinion of his game is shocking to me when I compare it what the opinion was a year or so ago.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

Is this opinion based on his game or his off the court stuff? The reason for me asking is you are not the first person I have seen to express such an opinion and many have given his game as a reason for the criticism. The idea of people having such a low opinion of his game is shocking to me when I compare it what the opinion was a year or so ago.

As a fan of a team wanting to acquire him (Houston), I think this back injury may have taken him from dominant to very good but he still wants to be paid and treated like one of the top 5 guys in the game.

SI