Summer 2009

[AgentDrazenPetrovic]

What are the plans for Summer of 2009.

We'll be about 7.5-8 million dollars under the salary cap. Raef's Contract and Francis' contract are off the books. Honestly, for all that wheeling and dealing on draft day 07, I thought we would be in a much better position. This does not seem like that much or can deliver much for us.

Exactly, what are our options for this summer?

 

[MAS RipCity]

Personally, I would use it to take back more salary in a trade, this FA crop sucks..HARD!

 

[PapaG]

What are the plans for Summer of 2009.

We'll be about 7.5-8 million dollars under the salary cap. Raef's Contract and Francis' contract are off the books. Honestly, for all that wheeling and dealing on draft day 07, I thought we would be in a much better position. This does not seem like that much or can deliver much for us.

Exactly, what are our options for this summer?

I'd start at good players on bad teams with big contracts and work from there as a starting point.

 

[PapaG]

Personally, I would use it to take back more salary in a trade, this FA crop sucks..HARD!

I'm guessing that is what will happen. I also wonder how much Rod Thorn is going to kick himself for not moving Carter. The Nets could have been very active this off-season in both trade and FA with $26 million in cap space.

 

[AgentDrazenPetrovic]

Personally, I would use it to take back more salary in a trade, this FA crop sucks..HARD!

The problem is that now we'll have to include some of the players in our rotation in order to get talent back. With no expiring contracts (unless we can "Trade" Darius Miles "expiring contract"), there's not much we can have to deal with. I think in order to get even a team to answer our call, we're going to have to say the words Bayless or Rudy or Batum.

 

[SodaPopinski]

What are the plans for Summer of 2009.

We'll be about 7.5-8 million dollars under the salary cap. Raef's Contract and Francis' contract are off the books. Honestly, for all that wheeling and dealing on draft day 07, I thought we would be in a much better position. This does not seem like that much or can deliver much for us.

Exactly, what are our options for this summer?

We'll actually be about $5 million under the cap, unless we renounce the rights to some guys.

Our plans are that we are hoping some team wants to take our scraps in the summer and send us back an All-Star caliber player.

In other words, we are going to be attempting to sell a Ketchup Popsicle to a woman in white gloves.

-Pop

 

[PapaG]

The problem is that now we'll have to include some of the players in our rotation in order to get talent back. With no expiring contracts (unless we can "Trade" Darius Miles "expiring contract"), there's not much we can have to deal with. I think in order to get even a team to answer our call, we're going to have to say the words Bayless or Rudy or Batum.

I think that most teams will be in a panic by this summer as the economy continues to tank and it will be even more of a buyer's market.

 

[retroblazers]

i'm guessing Mike Bibby or Raymond Felton are 2 PG's portland's going to look at. one of them might be able to be had at that price.

 

[SodaPopinski]

I'd start at good players on bad teams with big contracts and work from there as a starting point.

Right. Because that worked so well for us in the days leading up to this year's trade deadline.

-Pop

 

[AgentDrazenPetrovic]

I'd start at good players on bad teams with big contracts and work from there as a starting point.

The problem is that these type of players will be generally much older veterans versus youth, since good players on bad teams, if they are young, will develop. I don't see teams dumping young good players in order to trim salaries...I see them dumping past peak players for young guys and to clear cap space.

 

[PapaG]

The problem is that these type of players will be generally much older veterans versus youth, since good players on bad teams, if they are young, will develop. I don't see teams dumping young good players in order to trim salaries...I see them dumping past peak players for young guys and to clear cap space.

You mean like Vince Carter? NJ wouldn't even move him and they're on the verge of bankruptcy.

 

[AgentDrazenPetrovic]

You mean like Vince Carter? NJ wouldn't even move him and they're on the verge of bankruptcy.

Yes. Like Vince Carter. We'll be targeting players like Vince Carter but will be likely have to give up more youth and better players to get him.

 

[PapaG]

Yes. Like Vince Carter. We'll be targeting players like Vince Carter but will be likely have to give up more youth and better players to get him.

I don't want Vince Carter.

 

[AgentDrazenPetrovic]

i'm guessing Mike Bibby or Raymond Felton are 2 PG's portland's going to look at. one of them might be able to be had at that price.

You think we can sign Bibby for 8 million?

 

[andalusian]

I think it will be pretty minimal - Frye will probably be renounced or traded for some marginal veteran backup. Probably a cheap veteran backup PF and a 1st round pick for our TE and a free-agent signing of someone like Sessions - with the expected growth of the good rookies Oden/Batum/Bayless and Rudy's expected adjustment to the NBA game - I think we will be in a good place. Might be another smaller deal to move someone like Sergio and either Outlaw or Webster for something - but that's about what I would expect at this point.

Might also bring big bad Joel-F from Spain to plug the backup PF position.

The only thing that might change this scenario is if someone like Washington is willing to let Butler go for some salary relief. Hard to imagine it happening unless more team owners are really into financial problems.

 

[PapaG]

You think we can sign Bibby for 8 million?

Of course. Who else has oodles of cash this summer, regardless of cap space?

 

[AgentDrazenPetrovic]

I don't want Vince Carter.

yeah, well that's the calibur/age/type/salary of players we will have to be targeting if we're going to go after players that bad teams want to dump. They don't usually want to dump young, up and coming players in small contracs...they want to cut their losses with their fading stars with bloated contracts in order to rebuild. those are the guys we're probably going to be targeting.

 

[AgentDrazenPetrovic]

I think it will be pretty minimal - Frye will probably be renounced or traded for some marginal veteran backup. Probably a cheap veteran backup PF and a 1st round pick for our TE and a free-agent signing of someone like Sessions - with the expected growth of the good rookies Oden/Batum/Bayless and Rudy's expected adjustment to the NBA game - I think we will be in a good place. Might be another smaller deal to move someone like Sergio and either Outlaw or Webster for something - but that's about what I would expect at this point.

Might also bring big bad Joel-F from Spain to plug the backup PF position.

The only thing that might change this scenario is if someone like Washington is willing to let Butler go for some salary relief. Hard to imagine it happening unless more team owners are really into financial problems.

sort of agree with this scenario. don't think we're going to be making huge splashes in Summer 09. We'll maybe trade Sergio and Outlaw for a somewhat more experienced point guard...someone like Heinrich if we're lucky.

 

[PapaG]

yeah, well that's the calibur/age/type/salary of players we will have to be targeting if we're going to go after players that bad teams want to dump. They don't usually want to dump young, up and coming players in small contracs...they want to cut their losses with their fading stars with bloated contracts in order to rebuild. those are the guys we're probably going to be targeting.

That's the caliber of player that was "targeted" in the past few weeks. Carter is the only All-Star of the group (I won't count Butler since I heard zilch about him recently), and his days of playing like an All-Star are over. I just don't get how not trading for some non-All Stars means the team dropped the ball. It sure seemed like you were advocating a trade earlier today.

 

[AgentDrazenPetrovic]

That's the caliber of player that was "targeted" in the past few weeks. Carter is the only All-Star of the group (I won't count Butler since I heard zilch about him recently), and his days of playing like an All-Star are over. I just don't get how not trading for some non-All Stars means the team dropped the ball. It sure seemed like you were advocating a trade earlier today.

So you base a player's worth based on whether he's an "all star" or not?

I'm just advocating some better consistency and skill at the SF position, not the slack-jawed yokels we have there right now. I mean I love me some TROUT but if we could have possibly upgraded to Crash, RJeff or Butler, I would have thought it was a no brainer.

 

[Minstrel]

I don't know what Pritchard plans to do. I'd like to see him go after Josh Childress and Ramon Sessions in free agency. I'd alternatively like to see him try to find a good player who generally fits the window of the big three in trade.

Pritchard will have between $5 and $13 million of cap space, his own first-round pick and potentially another first round pick (that trade exception he acquired in the Diogu/Ruffin swap seems perfect for acquiring a first round draft pick) and Outlaw as trade assets before even looking at the "super six" (as MrJeyremmie dubbed them).

I think he'll have a fair amount of options in the summer.

 

[AgentDrazenPetrovic]

What's Childress' situation? Doesn't he make assloads of $$$$ in greece?

 

[PapaG]

So you base a player's worth based on whether he's an "all star" or not?

I'm just advocating some better consistency and skill at the SF position, not the slack-jawed yokels we have there right now.

Well, Webster may still give that this year, or Batum may give that next season. I think once the initial anger subsides, many of you will sit back and realize that not making a trade isn't really that big of a deal.

 

[PapaG]

I don't know what Pritchard plans to do. I'd like to see him go after Josh Childress and Ramon Sessions in free agency. I'd alternatively like to see him try to find a good player who generally fits the window of the big three in trade.

Pritchard will have between $5 and $13 million of cap space, his own first-round pick and potentially another first round pick (that trade exception he acquired in the Diogu/Ruffin swap seems perfect for acquiring a first round draft pick) and Outlaw as trade assets before even looking at the "super six" (as MrJeyremmie dubbed them).

I think he'll have a fair amount of options in the summer.

You may also want to throw Webster in there as a trade asset if Batum continues to show he's a future productive player.

 

[Minstrel]

What's Childress' situation? Doesn't he make assloads of $$$$ in greece?

Assloads? I thought he makes $6-7 mill / year there, but I could be wrong.

 

[AgentDrazenPetrovic]

Well, Webster may still give that this year, or Batum may give that next season. I think once the initial anger subsides, many of you will sit back and realize that not making a trade isn't really that big of a deal.

I think its a huge deal. we had an asset, didn't use it and all it did was open up some cap space this summer. I'm trying to find out what exactly our options are this summer, not some mysterious "let's have Tom Penn figure it out"...because Summer 09 was the target when we traded Zach, wasn't it?

 

[Minstrel]

You may also want to throw Webster in there as a trade asset if Batum continues to show he's a future productive player.

Yeah, I forgot Webster. Hopefully, he's still a trade asset even if he doesn't play again this year.

 

[AgentDrazenPetrovic]

You may also want to throw Webster in there as a trade asset if Batum continues to show he's a future productive player.

I'm a big fan of Webster and hope he doesn't get traded. He's a cheap contract for multiple years to boot...

 

[alex42083]

So is the summer of 2009 the very 'last' chance for KP to make a big splash and bring in someone to go with Roy/LMA/Oden? With cap space gone after the summer, I could see this being the last really big shot to land someone big.

 

[AgentDrazenPetrovic]

So is the summer of 2009 the very 'last' chance for KP to make a big splash and bring in someone to go with Roy/LMA/Oden? With cap space gone after the summer, I could see this being the last really big shot to land someone big.

In my opinion, that has already passed with this deadline.

While we can fill in role players, I think we're going to have the same basic framework of the team.