Merged: Who would you give up for Paul George?

[Minstrel]

It's possible if the remaining 11-13 players are on extremely low contracts in general. You'd be commiting ca. $100M to our big three. Even with a $120M cap that leaves $2M per player for the rest.

I think if we get PG13 then Nurkic is allowed to leave next year. Warriors barely managed their big 4 to all be there because Curry, Thompson and Green were all still underpaid when Durant came. I don't think they will be able to keep all 4, Curry is getting a max this season and then they have to extend Green and Klay in 2 years.

They can if they're willing to pay crazy amounts of luxury tax. The Nets owner briefly flirted with that, then quickly gave up. Of course, that was for a mediocre team. It might be something the owners are willing to do for what has the potential to be a dynasty.

I think it's a different situation again for the Blazers. Depending on how this post-season goes, the Warriors will likely know that this is a championship core. Paying nearly as much for a core (in Lillard/McCollum/George/Nurkic) that could plausibly never win a single title (because of the Warriors, largely) would be a much harder call to make.

 

[Boob-No-More]

I think if you win 55+ games and take it to 7 games in the WCF it wouldn't be too unrealistic to get him to resign for another 3 years. He is perfect for our teams age range, has been vocal about just wanting to win, he would be back on the west coast and a 2 hr flight away from LA.

I look at that and see a higher ceiling and better chance of contending given our foundation than I do looking at anybody we could draft in our range for the next couple years.

I think all the talk of him going to the Lakers is just that: talk.

He says he wants to win and the Lakers aren't winning anything anytime soon - even with him. It kind of made sense when it looked like both Westbrook and George could end up in LA as free agents in the summer of 2018, but ironically, the same super max contract provision in the new CBA that would have kept George in IND will most likely keep Westbrook in OKC.

He's not going to go to GSW and replace Durant or CLE and replace LeBron or SAS and replace Kawhi. BOS wouldn't be a bad fit, but I don't think Ainge wants to sacrifice their future to trade for him, plus it's even further from his family. If we did get him for a year, and we're a top 4 team in the West (possibly even top 2), I think we'd have the upper hand in re-signing him next summer.

As noted him and Dame are the same age, so they would play the prime of their careers together. C.J. is a year younger and Nurk helps keep that window open a little longer. He could certainly do a lot worse (like the Lakers) if his goal is to play for a contender during the prime of his career.

Paul George has always been a solid 2-way player, but he first made his mark as a stud defender when he had Roy Hibbert playing behind him. I think with Nurk behind him, we'd see a resurgence in PG's defense. Miles Turner is a good shot blocker, but he doesn't clog the paint the way a wide body like Hibbert or Nurkic do.

BNM

 

[PtldPlatypus]

the same super max contract provision in the new CBA that would have kept George in IND will most likely keep Westbrook in OKC.

Minor point--the extension Westbrook signed this past off-season already keeps him in OKC through his 10th year in the league, after which point he'll be fully eligible for a 35% max, no matter where he signs. The designated veteran extension only applies to players in their 8th or 9th season.

 

[Boob-No-More]

Minor point--the extension Westbrook signed this past off-season already keeps him in OKC through his 10th year in the league, after which point he'll be fully eligible for a 35% max, no matter where he signs. The designated veteran extension only applies to players in their 8th or 9th season.

Good point. I know at one point there were rumors about him and George teaming up on the Lakers. The 10 year thing was the reason Westbrook only signed a two year (with a 3rd year player option) extension last summer. He knew he'd be eligible for the 10-year max after the 2017-18 season and could get a much larger contract at that point.

Still, if I was PG13, I would not want to team up with Westbrook (for the exact same reason Kevin Durant left). I know I'm viewed as the resident Westbrook hater, but would a guy like PG, who has been his team's No. 1 option for several years, really want to play out the prime of his career with someone as ball dominant as Russell Westbrook? Hopefully, he'd have a conversation about it with Kevin Durant before making that kind of career decision.

BNM

 

[BigGameDamian]

 

[Boob-No-More]

Why did you post that here?

That article doesn't even mention mention Paul George and there is already another thread about the exact same article.

BNM

 

[Pinwheel1]

The Atlanta Hawks offered up 4 - 1st round picks for Paul George at the deadline. Now obviously not all those picks would be high ones but that is a healthy offer.

That and more nuggets worth learning about the PG situation here: http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...-extend-paul-george-missing-all-nba-qualifier

What years are we talking about? They only have 1 this year (#19) They also have 31, but none the less our 3 picks should look pretty good before the draft starts.....when teams are most excited about the prospects. We know Pritchard loves picks!

 

[KeepOnRollin]

What years are we talking about? They only have 1 this year (#19) They also have 31, but none the less our 3 picks should look pretty good before the draft starts.....when teams are most excited about the prospects. We know Pritchard loves picks!

If I am speculating:

Their's this year, Min's (that they own) next year. CLE and WAS in two years (that they own).

I not saying our picks aren't attractive. More that if IND isn't liking that many picks then they are going to fall on the sword an lose him for nothing (by thinking they can still keep him).

 

[Pinwheel1]

If I am speculating:

Their's this year, Min's (that they own) next year. CLE and WAS in two years (that they own).

I not saying our picks aren't attractive. More that if IND isn't liking that many picks then they are going to fall on the sword an lose him for nothing.

Yeah we can definitely trump that.

 

[Boob-No-More]

What years are we talking about? They only have 1 this year (#19) They also have 31, but none the less our 3 picks should look pretty good before the draft starts.....when teams are most excited about the prospects. We know Pritchard loves picks!

They only have their own pick in this year's draft, but in addition to their own picks moving forward, they also own MIN's 2018 pick (which could be fairly valuable if MIN misses the playoffs for the 15th straight season) and CLE's in 2019 (which will only be valuable if LeBron leaves or dies).

So, I suspect it was something like: Their pick in 2017 + the better of their pick or MIN's pick in 2018 + their pick and CLE's pick in 2019.

And that was when IND still had hope of offering PG13 a super max extension this summer. We can offer more and IND's asking price just took a major hit.

BNM

 

[Natebishop3]

Bigger question is whether George would be happy as the second fiddle here.... this is Dame's team. No question about that. And even if Dame decided to take a reduced role on offense (IE less shots) I wonder if PG would be happy sharing the spotlight?

 

[Wizard Mentor]

Conspiracy Theory:
As someone pointed out, Aaron Mintz's clients ( http://basketball.realgm.com/info/agent_clients/Aaron-Mintz/58 ) are
Allan Crabbe
Meyers Leonard
PG
Jordan Bell

So, we draft Jordan Bell with #26, then trade the other 2 picks, Crabbe, Leonard, ......

 

[KingSpeed]

Bigger question is whether George would be happy as the second fiddle here.... this is Dame's team. No question about that. And even if Dame decided to take a reduced role on offense (IE less shots) I wonder if PG would be happy sharing the spotlight?

He wants to win or he doesn't. Kyrie and Love had to adjust and they're doing quite well now. Does Paul George want to be Minnesota Love or Cleveland Love? Or maybe he wants to be GS Durant? Who the number one option is ultimately works its way out. Everyone thought Miami would still be Wade's team when LBJ got there but it was LeBron who won the MVP Awards.

 

[Natebishop3]

Allen Crabbe/Noah Vonleh/Three picks for Paul George

CJ for Jimmy Butler.

Dame/Napier
Butler/Turner/Connaughton
George/Harkless/Layman
Aminu/Davis
Nurk/Leonard

That starting five would be a contender in the west. I legit think we could go toe to toe with Golden State.

 

[BigGameDamian]

 

[SwissBlazer]

Never heard of this guy. How legitimate is he ?

 

[Scalma]

That's pretty much the offer I've been thinking would at least get their attention.

 

[Sarni]

Never heard of this guy. How legitimate is he ?

He is not reporting that it's happening, only that we should be doing that I think.

I am still not convinced that two mid-first and one late first round picks will be enough of an offer. Crabbe is basically a salary dump/matching for us at this point. If we get George then our 2018 pick becomes worthless as we will have a top 5 record in the league, probably. Would probably better include 2019 pick as Indiana will know that George could well leave by then and we would be in shit because we will have given them all our assets.

Good thing that teams with better picks will likely stay away because George would never resign for any of them. Our offer could be the best they get, unless Boston enter the conversation. I don't think Indiana are going to fancy losing him for nothing.

 

[Scalma]

With three first rounders this year, a team has a realistic shot at landing three rotational pieces. Not something you could really bank on in years past. The depth is this classes strength, rather than "can't miss" talent at the top. Three potential starters and a young, elite shooter is a pretty good offer for a potential rental.

 

[Boob-No-More]

If we get George then our 2018 pick becomes worthless as we will have a top 5 record in the league, probably. Would probably better include 2019 pick as Indiana will know that George could well leave by then and we would be in shit because we will have given them all our assets.

If we give them all 3 of our 2017 picks, we can't give them our 2018 pick anyway. It's against league rules to trade away all your first round picks two years in a row (the Ted Stepien Rule).

BNM

 

[Scalma]

Another thing that makes the George situation unique; the teams wanting to trade for him should only be teams that feel they are one piece away from contention, making the risk worthwhile. That list is limited.

Boston? They have the assets but are they really a Paul George away from contending? Is the first pick in the draft really worth giving up in this situation?
Washington? What would they have to offer?
Houston? What would they have to offer?
San Antonio? " "

Portland is a legit contender with George and they have more immediate assets than any team outside of Boston. Their risk is worthwhile. You can put Dame/CJ/PG13/Nurk up against anybody.

Of course theres probably a stupid GM running one of the non contenders that'll make some crazy offer rendering this whole post useless.

 

[Scalma]

My original idea was our three picks, crabbe, and either Harkless or Leonard for George and one of their shittier contracts (Monta Ellis or Al Jefferson.)

 

[Boob-No-More]

Another thing that makes the George situation unique; the teams wanting to trade for him should only be teams that feel they are one piece away from contention, making the risk worthwhile. That list is limited.

Boston? They have the assets but are they really a Paul George away from contending? Is the first pick in the draft really worth giving up in this situation?
Washington? What would they have to offer?
Houston? What would they have to offer?
San Antonio? " "

Portland is a legit contender with George and they have more immediate assets than any team outside of Boston. Their risk is worthwhile. You can put Dame/CJ/PG13/Nurk up against anybody.

Of course theres probably a stupid GM running one of the non contenders that'll make some crazy offer rendering this whole post useless.

What a complete waste it would be for a non-contender to trade for George. It would be like back when Elgin Baylor was running the Clippers (into the ground) and they traded Danny Manning, who was 7 years younger, to ATL for Dominique Wilkins. There was no fucking way Dominique was going to resign with the Clippers, who won 27 games that year. It ended up being a 25 game rental and a horrible trade for both teams (Manning also left ATL after just 26 games). Absolutely stupid, pointless trade.

BNM

 

[BonesJones]

My original idea was our three picks, crabbe, and either Harkless or Leonard for George and one of their shittier contracts (Monta Ellis or Al Jefferson.)

I'd prefer to give them the picks, AC, Harkless, and Vonleh for George and Young.

However, I'd try to trade a could future 1sts for a great backup SF to make us better (making it more likely PG would stay) and to be insurance if PG left.

For example: I'd toss in a couple future 1sts (to CHI) for Crowder in a 3-team trade if Butler got traded to BOS. Send out Aminu and Leonard and bring back Lopez in that deal as well. If PG left, Dame/CJ/Crowder/Young/Nurkic would still be a very good starting lineup.

For next season you'd have ET, Crowder, Lopez, and Young off the bench. That would be the best bench in the league, to go along with 4 all-star level starters. I'd rather start Ed or an MLE F.A. like Amir Johnson and bring Young off the bench.

 

[Boob-No-More]

My original idea was our three picks, crabbe, and either Harkless or Leonard for George and one of their shittier contracts (Monta Ellis or Al Jefferson.)

I'd be fine with Big Al. His contract is actually pretty team friendly, and he's still a productive backup. And we need a backup center. Monta's production has fallen off a cliff.

BNM

 

[Scalma]

I'd be fine with Big Al. His contract is actually pretty team friendly, and he's still a productive backup. And we need a backup center. Monta's production has fallen off a cliff.

BNM

Yah but Jefferson would be dead weight as well in a rebuilding scenario. If we trade crabbe we could use another guard and Ellis does have experience in Stotts' system. I'd take either fuck it just give me Paul George dammit

 

[Sarni]

If we give them all 3 of our 2017 picks, we can't give them our 2018 pick anyway. It's against league rules to trade away all your first round picks two years in a row (the Ted Stepien Rule).

BNM

True.

Also, people were outraged that Cousins only fetched Buddy Hield and a first round pick. Our offer would be even lower. Hield was a no. 6 pick and New Orleans pick turned into no. 10 in a fine draft. Indirect outcome of that transaction was also Sacramento defending their pick and getting no. 5 which was 100% considered at the time. Cousins was also a disgruntled star who destroyed the atmosphere.

Then again, when that deal was made everyone though Pelicans would make it into playoffs so it would have been no. 15-19. This was also risk for Kings.

I guess it also depends on who is available. If OG or Jackson are still on the table at 15, they could bite. Nobody should know the value of well selected mid-first picks than Indiana, they got George at 10 and Turner at 13. I bet they would kill to get two more Turners in.

 

[Boob-No-More]

I guess it also depends on who is available. If OG or Jackson are still on the table at 15, they could bite. Nobody should know the value of well selected mid-first picks than Indiana, they got George at 10 and Turner at 13. I bet they would kill to get two more Turners in.

They also drafted Kawhi at 15 the year after taking George at 10. So, they definitely know how valuable the 15th pick can be in a deep draft.

BNM

 

[Sarni]

They also drafted Kawhi at 15 the year after taking George at 10. So, they definitely know how valuable the 15th pick can be in a deep draft.

BNM

To be fair after being so reluctant to that trade, I start feeling good about this. Mainly because I feel like we could actually put together an offer that would at least be a bit tempting, and secondly because you guys almost convinced me he might resign here. Also, I guess we could get some decent free agents for next season with our big 4 here. I am thinking about Randolph/Johnson as MLE and maybe someone like Barbosa and Nene on veteran minimum?

I think they'd prefer to get Harkless + another player than Crabbe though. Maybe Aminu or Davis, or Vonleh. True value in that trade would be the picks.

 

[BonesJones]

Alright, I'm fully on the trade for George bandwagon.

Taking a risk like this is the only way we'll ever contend. It's about time to.