2015-2016 Around the NBA

Rich said:

The Wizards aren't going to make the playoffs. I said that like in the first week (even though I picked them in the prediction thread to get the 8th seed) and I'm sure of it now. Just looking at that roster....they don't have another gear. That roster isn't better than Orlando or Boston or even New York. It's a really bad roster with two good players on it.

Click to expand...

The Red Viper said:

Last year, Wall was playing as a Top-5 player calibre level. This year, it hasn't been the same. They have good talented players but overall the roster ain't that good IMO, in terms of depth and also Randy Wittman is an average coach.

Click to expand...

Triumph36 said:

i think it's somewhat naive to only consider washington as a potential destination. nobody knows his list of priorities. after playing in okc for years, is he more open to small cities? given his massive new nike deal and overall endorsement income, is an absolute max deal necessary or would he sacrifice a little per year to maximize the quality of the team? does he care about sharing the spotlight?

it's kind of like lebron in 2010. miami wasn't really considered a serious threat until the few months leading up to it, and particularly once bosh committed. it was always the knicks, nets, bulls, lakers, or staying home. then he ends up sacrificing a bunch of money and the spotlight to go play with 2 other stars in a city he has no connection to and offers no legitimate appeal other than the nightlife and weather.

i think there are more than a handful of teams that are rarely mentioned - if mentioned at all - but should be right up there. ultimately i hope he does leave, don't care as much about where he lands though. given okc's mismanagement in recent years, i hope there's at least 1 team out there that can pull him away.

Click to expand...

Czvosec said:

If he wants to go the Bron to Miami route, he could go to Golden State. Yes, its possible.

Click to expand...

Frank Reynolds said:

Or Cleveland? LeBron playing the role of Wade. KD and Bron on one team would win 3 titles.

Click to expand...

Czvosec said:

Cleveland can't pay him the max. Golden State, theoretically, could open up a max slot.

Click to expand...

Czvosec said:

If he wants to go the Bron to Miami route, he could go to Golden State. Yes, its possible.

Click to expand...

Spoiler

Most disappointing team in the season to date? Yep, I went there. The Rockets have underperformed this season - the off-season is an opportunity to hit the reset button. It will require some salary cap magic but nothing too outrageous. $13M on the books for Ty Lawson can immediately be slashed to zero by cutting him. The biggest hurdle is getting rid of one of Corey Brewer or Trevor Ariza; adding some minor assets & cash would make either feasible given the increased salary.cap. Finally, they're left choosing between Jones and DMo, and that one could be tacked on to help the Brewer/Ariza trade.

That gives the Rockets a big three of Harden, Durant, and Howard with supporting pieces like Beverly, Capela, Jones/DMo, Brew/Ariza, and Harrell. Capela is a rising stud that shares a lot of the tools with Howard which would allow them to preserve Dwight without significantly hurting the team. They would need to find some vet min type players to fill out their backcourt bench, which shouldn't be that hard. Technically, albeit unlikely, Morey could even go all out and find a way to dump both Brew and Ariza so they can offer enough $$ to get Llull over. Either way, they'd be in a great position going forward.

Most importantly, this would give Durant a better team. It'd also provide a massively (!) bigger market, less-frugal owner, and closer proximity to Austin....if any of those things appeal to him.

Spoiler

Crazy? Not as much as you'd think if sustainable winning is the highest priority for KD. Minnesota's biggest issue is spacing making KD an absolute perfect fit there. They're already in the ballpark for cap space and that's if Martin picks up his $7M player option. Ideally, Pekovic plays halfway decent when he gets back and they can use Bazz or LaVine to get rid of him. That'd easily give them enough space.

You're left with Rubio, Wiggins, Durant, Bjelica, KAT, LaVine/Bazz, Payne, Dieng, KG, and Martin. That is insane. Best part? It could be sustainable without an astronomical tax bill. By the time Wiggins and KAT get big extensions, they should be good enough to make Rubio and his large salary expendable if desired.

Would they be ready to seriously contend next year? Maybe. It'd likely be similar to LeBron with the Cavs in that a Finals appearance in year 1 is unlikely because of all the youth but they'd still be in the hunt. After that first year? They'd have a longer and better championship window than any team in the league. By a massive margin. Durant was already in that situation once and ownership fucked it up - why turn down the opportunity to do it again?

It's an even stronger option if Durant chooses a 1yr extension in OKC then hits the market in 2017.

jking948 said:

Who would they have to get rid of to do so? If they could open up a max slot while keeping Curry, Klay, and Draymond than it could be a serious option.

If I'm a betting man -- and I'm not, so don't hold me to anything -- I'd say KD stays in OKC.

Click to expand...

Triumph36 said:

I think retaining Ezeli and Iggy would be more important than Klay.

Click to expand...

jking948 said:

Who would they have to get rid of to do so? If they could open up a max slot while keeping Curry, Klay, and Draymond than it could be a serious option.

If I'm a betting man -- and I'm not, so don't hold me to anything -- I'd say KD stays in OKC.

Click to expand...

No NBA team ever has had two former MVPs in their primes on the same roster. That could change, though, if the Golden State Warriors — with Stephen Curry, last season’s championship and this year’s best record at 11-0 — were to sign Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant next summer. And yes, it could happen.

The Warriors waited on extensions for both Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli earlier this month. Those moves largely were seen as disagreements on value, but they had the added benefit of keeping the books clean. If the Warriors could bring Durant in, they arguably would have the two most unstoppable offensive weapons in the NBA sharing the court at age 28.

Golden State benefits from the remarkable 2016 cap spike (from $70 million for this season to an estimated $89 million next) because it allows them to pursue Durant without sacrificing any players or assets beforehand. If he chooses to go elsewhere, they can shake it off and retain their current team. The Warriors have their core under contract for next season, which makes it much easier to lay out how they could make it happen.

This analysis relies on two core assumptions:

1. Durant not taking less than his first-year maximum salary, currently estimated at $25,098,000.
2. The Thunder not facilitating Durant leaving by agreeing to a sign-and-trade, so the Warriors need to clear enough space to sign him outright. This was the case with Andre Iguodala in 2013 even though the transaction ended up being a sign-and-trade.

To sign Durant at his maximum using cap space, the Warriors could only have about $64 million in committed salaries and holds on their books. Remarkably, they can stay under that number while retaining their key pieces thanks to Stephen Curry’s comically cheap $12.1 million salary. (Note: These salary amounts come from Eric Pincus at Basketball Insiders.)

Not including roster holds ($543,471 per spot under 12 players on roster), the Warriors still would have about $20 million to work with. Amazingly, the next-best fit for some of that space is blossoming center Festus Ezeli because he only carries a $5 million cap hold heading into restricted free agency since he was the 30th overall pick in the 2012 Draft. The Warriors can match any contract Ezeli signs and go over the cap because they have his Bird rights.

From there, the choices get tougher. Golden State would only be able to retain one of Andrew Bogut, Andre Iguodala and Harrison Barnes, while also grappling with partial guarantees for Jason Thompson ($2.65 million) and Shaun Livingston ($3 million). Barnes’ situation makes the Warriors’ summer even more complicated because not extending him means the team only has three options: retain him, let him go for nothing or get really lucky and work a sign and trade before all the other necessary moves.

With Bogut, Iguodala and Livingston on expiring contracts for the 2016-17 season, there will likely be teams more than happy to take them on at their prices and possibly some willing to give up assets in the form of cheap contracts, future draft picks or taking on an extraneous salary.

Barnes is the one the Warriors probably will want to keep anyway. He is eight years younger than Bogut and Iguodala, and his cap hold is worth about $1.5 million less than Iguodala’s final year. Also, the Warriors can wait until after filling their cap to give him a long-term contract, securing their future instead of dealing with Bogut or Iguodala leaving in 2017.

While there are a few different workable avenues, this may be the most likely roster/cap composition if Kevin Durant decided to join the Golden State Warriors:

The Warriors would also have the room mid-level exception worth about $2.9 million next season that could be used for one or more players on 1-2 year contracts. For reference, Manu Ginobili signed for that exception with the Spurs this summer to help make San Antonio’s remarkable offseason a reality. That limited $553,121 wiggle room would also be enough to retain a late first round pick in the 2016 Draft, and many around the NBA expect the salary cap to be slightly higher than the projected $89 million, anyway.

What makes the Warriors’ potential Durant chase different from almost every other star pursuit in recent years is that they do not need to do or sacrifice anything to facilitate it unless and until he commits to join the team. Their other salaries are movable, and a long July Moratorium combined with the restricted free agency process buys the Warriors almost two weeks of time to get it all done.

Furthermore, the sheer number of franchises with space mitigates the risk of any team forcing the Warriors to pay a king’s ransom to make it happen, as reluctant as they may be to help form a super-team. Many franchises would be thrilled to add a key contributor like Iguodala or Bogut on an expiring contract worth a little more than $10 million, while in other years, the Warriors might have to tack on a future first-round pick or something similar to get trade partners to bite.

Durant joining the Warriors is far from the most likely outcome. As Sporting News’ Sean Deveney reported, Durant’s hometown Washington Wizards are seen as the Thunder’s principle threat in free agency. Durant picking the Warriors would create a shock to the system in the year before a potential lockout, akin to LeBron James joining the Miami Heat in 2010.

The new TV deal and the resulting massive rise in the salary cap have given Golden State a chance to build on its success. Even if Durant says no, Golden State will have the ears of other top free agents next summer, and the likelihood is that the rich will get richer.

Click to expand...

Sticker114 said:

If the Warriors get KD I'm going to kill myself

Click to expand...