OKC to have 15 1st round picks

[keevsnick]

probably cost a couple to move Paul (unless they take on an equally terrible or worse contract i.e. John Wall).

Doubt it will cost much to move Paul to Miami, or they just won’t do it.  Miami has bad salary to send back, so OKC will take the next couple years of James Johnson in lieu of sending picks.

James Johnson has 1 year at 15.1 million and then a player option at 15.8 million.  They can get out of the entire contract for less than 1 year of Chris Paul.  That isn't a bad contract at least comparatively. 

I think even Miami would want a pick back especially since to get to the 38 million they would gut their depth and give up tradeable assets or expiring contracts (like Dragic, Olynyk, etc.).

Dragic has no value to Miami.  They’ve been trying to dump him all summer — they thought they were going to send him to Dallas to create space for Butler, despite having no PG with which to replace him, but Dallas balked.  The issue with Miami acquiring Paul is that they’re hard-capped, so they have to send out more salary than Paul makes in order to fit Paul in, as they have to sign minimum salary players to fill the roster.

Come September I expect a deal to look something like Paul and Patrick Patterson for Dragic, Johnson, and Meyers Leonard.

He has value as an expiring contract.  And that is the point.  I think in that trade, OKC is giving up a 1st.  They get a ton of salary relief.  To save that much money, I think they have to give up a 1st.  That was the point I was making. 

I just can't see Paul getting traded anywhere without the Thunder giving up a 1st or taking on terrible contract(s) in return, even Miami.  And if the Thunder want real value back, it will cost them a couple of 1st's just like it did for Houston (and Westbrook has an even bigger contract).  Chris Paul is done as a top tier player, yet he has one of the largest contracts in the league.  To move on from him, it will cost a 1st.

I agree with saltlover. An expiring is only an asset if you are using it to bring on bad money which MIA can't really do because of the hard cap. They tried giving Dragic away and couldn't, all their other guys they will trade are bad value. And Chris Paul may not be a top tier player, but he's still a positive impact player which is better than the guys the heat will trade for him. MAYBE OKC needs to include one protected first, but anything more than that they probably just hold off because they are still in the tax and trading with MIA involved taking on more salary  so at some point giving us stuff to pay more tax stops making sense.

[TheSundanceKid]

probably cost a couple to move Paul (unless they take on an equally terrible or worse contract i.e. John Wall).

Doubt it will cost much to move Paul to Miami, or they just won’t do it.  Miami has bad salary to send back, so OKC will take the next couple years of James Johnson in lieu of sending picks.

James Johnson has 1 year at 15.1 million and then a player option at 15.8 million.  They can get out of the entire contract for less than 1 year of Chris Paul.  That isn't a bad contract at least comparatively. 

I think even Miami would want a pick back especially since to get to the 38 million they would gut their depth and give up tradeable assets or expiring contracts (like Dragic, Olynyk, etc.).

Dragic has no value to Miami.  They’ve been trying to dump him all summer — they thought they were going to send him to Dallas to create space for Butler, despite having no PG with which to replace him, but Dallas balked.  The issue with Miami acquiring Paul is that they’re hard-capped, so they have to send out more salary than Paul makes in order to fit Paul in, as they have to sign minimum salary players to fill the roster.

Come September I expect a deal to look something like Paul and Patrick Patterson for Dragic, Johnson, and Meyers Leonard.

He has value as an expiring contract.  And that is the point.  I think in that trade, OKC is giving up a 1st.  They get a ton of salary relief.  To save that much money, I think they have to give up a 1st.  That was the point I was making. 

I just can't see Paul getting traded anywhere without the Thunder giving up a 1st or taking on terrible contract(s) in return, even Miami.  And if the Thunder want real value back, it will cost them a couple of 1st's just like it did for Houston (and Westbrook has an even bigger contract).  Chris Paul is done as a top tier player, yet he has one of the largest contracts in the league.  To move on from him, it will cost a 1st.

That's poor logic. You aren't trading Paul into a vacuum. You're trading him to a team that's hard capped and only has one route to improve. All the leverage there is with OKC. There's no reason they wouldn't just see the contract through, it hardly harms them doing so.

[saltlover]

probably cost a couple to move Paul (unless they take on an equally terrible or worse contract i.e. John Wall).

Doubt it will cost much to move Paul to Miami, or they just won’t do it.  Miami has bad salary to send back, so OKC will take the next couple years of James Johnson in lieu of sending picks.

James Johnson has 1 year at 15.1 million and then a player option at 15.8 million.  They can get out of the entire contract for less than 1 year of Chris Paul.  That isn't a bad contract at least comparatively. 

I think even Miami would want a pick back especially since to get to the 38 million they would gut their depth and give up tradeable assets or expiring contracts (like Dragic, Olynyk, etc.).

Dragic has no value to Miami.  They’ve been trying to dump him all summer — they thought they were going to send him to Dallas to create space for Butler, despite having no PG with which to replace him, but Dallas balked.  The issue with Miami acquiring Paul is that they’re hard-capped, so they have to send out more salary than Paul makes in order to fit Paul in, as they have to sign minimum salary players to fill the roster.

Come September I expect a deal to look something like Paul and Patrick Patterson for Dragic, Johnson, and Meyers Leonard.

He has value as an expiring contract.  And that is the point.  I think in that trade, OKC is giving up a 1st.  They get a ton of salary relief.  To save that much money, I think they have to give up a 1st.  That was the point I was making. 

I just can't see Paul getting traded anywhere without the Thunder giving up a 1st or taking on terrible contract(s) in return, even Miami.  And if the Thunder want real value back, it will cost them a couple of 1st's just like it did for Houston (and Westbrook has an even bigger contract).  Chris Paul is done as a top tier player, yet he has one of the largest contracts in the league.  To move on from him, it will cost a 1st.

Do you know what value expiring contracts have? Expiring contracts have value in that they allow you to make a trade with another team while not encumbering that team in the future.  That’s it.  Yes, OKC gets salary relief.  If they’re trying to straight salary dump, sure, they owe a pick.  But Miami seems bent on getting a big-name PG.  Why, I don’t know, maybe Riley has finally lost it.  But for whatever reason they seem to want to convert Dragic into a different player, presumably on a long-term deal.  And if they use Dragic to achieve that goal, that’s their gain.  If it happens to align with OKC’s goal of moving Paul, then that’s fine, but OKC is not sending out firsts to move CP3, not this summer.  You pay picks to dump CP3’s salary when you have something better to do with the cap space, or need the luxury tax room.  At only less than $3 million over the tax line, OKC has many cheaper methods of getting under that line.

[Tr1boy]

If Paul is traded could turn out to be 16 + 1st round picks

OKC predraft workouts is going to be busy times

[Excapegoat]

Except their own picks, none of them is going to be lottery picks as of 2019. The one that they received from Miami is lottery protected.  So I think they will trade up.

[tazzmaniac]

Except their own picks, none of them is going to be lottery picks as of 2019. The one that they received from Miami is lottery protected.  So I think they will trade up.

They have two Miami picks.  The 2021 pick is unprotected. 

[gpap]

Sounds like a team ripe for a move to a new city

Perhaps a return to Seattle?

[Moranis]

probably cost a couple to move Paul (unless they take on an equally terrible or worse contract i.e. John Wall).

Doubt it will cost much to move Paul to Miami, or they just won’t do it.  Miami has bad salary to send back, so OKC will take the next couple years of James Johnson in lieu of sending picks.

James Johnson has 1 year at 15.1 million and then a player option at 15.8 million.  They can get out of the entire contract for less than 1 year of Chris Paul.  That isn't a bad contract at least comparatively. 

I think even Miami would want a pick back especially since to get to the 38 million they would gut their depth and give up tradeable assets or expiring contracts (like Dragic, Olynyk, etc.).

Dragic has no value to Miami.  They’ve been trying to dump him all summer — they thought they were going to send him to Dallas to create space for Butler, despite having no PG with which to replace him, but Dallas balked.  The issue with Miami acquiring Paul is that they’re hard-capped, so they have to send out more salary than Paul makes in order to fit Paul in, as they have to sign minimum salary players to fill the roster.

Come September I expect a deal to look something like Paul and Patrick Patterson for Dragic, Johnson, and Meyers Leonard.

He has value as an expiring contract.  And that is the point.  I think in that trade, OKC is giving up a 1st.  They get a ton of salary relief.  To save that much money, I think they have to give up a 1st.  That was the point I was making. 

I just can't see Paul getting traded anywhere without the Thunder giving up a 1st or taking on terrible contract(s) in return, even Miami.  And if the Thunder want real value back, it will cost them a couple of 1st's just like it did for Houston (and Westbrook has an even bigger contract).  Chris Paul is done as a top tier player, yet he has one of the largest contracts in the league.  To move on from him, it will cost a 1st.

Do you know what value expiring contracts have? Expiring contracts have value in that they allow you to make a trade with another team while not encumbering that team in the future.  That’s it.  Yes, OKC gets salary relief.  If they’re trying to straight salary dump, sure, they owe a pick.  But Miami seems bent on getting a big-name PG.  Why, I don’t know, maybe Riley has finally lost it.  But for whatever reason they seem to want to convert Dragic into a different player, presumably on a long-term deal.  And if they use Dragic to achieve that goal, that’s their gain.  If it happens to align with OKC’s goal of moving Paul, then that’s fine, but OKC is not sending out firsts to move CP3, not this summer.  You pay picks to dump CP3’s salary when you have something better to do with the cap space, or need the luxury tax room.  At only less than $3 million over the tax line, OKC has many cheaper methods of getting under that line.

To get cap space next summer though, they need to move Paul this year.  If they wait, then they take on salary for next year or it will cost them far more to just dump Paul next summer.  Moving Paul this year for cap relief makes a lot of sense for their long term.  to do that, it will cost them a 1st. 

[pearljammer10]

What a great job. OKC has 15 picks in the next seven drafts and they could still be fighting for a playoff spot this year. They’ve got a perfect rebuild set up for them.

[NKY fan]

What a great job. OKC has 15 picks in the next seven drafts and they could still be fighting for a playoff spot this year. They’ve got a perfect rebuild set up for them.

Presti also has our rebuild in 14-18 as a case study and what the risks are of having too many picks and young talent and veterans that want to win now

[tazzmaniac]

probably cost a couple to move Paul (unless they take on an equally terrible or worse contract i.e. John Wall).

Doubt it will cost much to move Paul to Miami, or they just won’t do it.  Miami has bad salary to send back, so OKC will take the next couple years of James Johnson in lieu of sending picks.

James Johnson has 1 year at 15.1 million and then a player option at 15.8 million.  They can get out of the entire contract for less than 1 year of Chris Paul.  That isn't a bad contract at least comparatively. 

I think even Miami would want a pick back especially since to get to the 38 million they would gut their depth and give up tradeable assets or expiring contracts (like Dragic, Olynyk, etc.).

Dragic has no value to Miami.  They’ve been trying to dump him all summer — they thought they were going to send him to Dallas to create space for Butler, despite having no PG with which to replace him, but Dallas balked.  The issue with Miami acquiring Paul is that they’re hard-capped, so they have to send out more salary than Paul makes in order to fit Paul in, as they have to sign minimum salary players to fill the roster.

Come September I expect a deal to look something like Paul and Patrick Patterson for Dragic, Johnson, and Meyers Leonard.

He has value as an expiring contract.  And that is the point.  I think in that trade, OKC is giving up a 1st.  They get a ton of salary relief.  To save that much money, I think they have to give up a 1st.  That was the point I was making. 

I just can't see Paul getting traded anywhere without the Thunder giving up a 1st or taking on terrible contract(s) in return, even Miami.  And if the Thunder want real value back, it will cost them a couple of 1st's just like it did for Houston (and Westbrook has an even bigger contract).  Chris Paul is done as a top tier player, yet he has one of the largest contracts in the league.  To move on from him, it will cost a 1st.

Do you know what value expiring contracts have? Expiring contracts have value in that they allow you to make a trade with another team while not encumbering that team in the future.  That’s it.  Yes, OKC gets salary relief.  If they’re trying to straight salary dump, sure, they owe a pick.  But Miami seems bent on getting a big-name PG.  Why, I don’t know, maybe Riley has finally lost it.  But for whatever reason they seem to want to convert Dragic into a different player, presumably on a long-term deal.  And if they use Dragic to achieve that goal, that’s their gain.  If it happens to align with OKC’s goal of moving Paul, then that’s fine, but OKC is not sending out firsts to move CP3, not this summer.  You pay picks to dump CP3’s salary when you have something better to do with the cap space, or need the luxury tax room.  At only less than $3 million over the tax line, OKC has many cheaper methods of getting under that line.

To get cap space next summer though, they need to move Paul this year.  If they wait, then they take on salary for next year or it will cost them far more to just dump Paul next summer.  Moving Paul this year for cap relief makes a lot of sense for their long term.  to do that, it will cost them a 1st.

Why would they want cap space next summer?  To overpay for mediocre free agents?  The free agent class is going to be terrible next summer and OKC doesn't attract top free agents anyway.  If OKC is going to rebuild, it'll be through the draft and maybe trades not free agency. 

They were able to get good value for Westbrook even though many people think he's a negative value with that contract.  If they bide their time, I expect they won't have to give up a 1st to move CP3.   It won't cost them more to dump CP3 next summer.  He'll be older but it'll be a bad 2 year contract which is much more movable than a bad 3 year contract. 

[tazzmaniac]

What a great job. OKC has 15 picks in the next seven drafts and they could still be fighting for a playoff spot this year. They’ve got a perfect rebuild set up for them.

Presti also has our rebuild in 14-18 as a case study and what the risks are of having too many picks and young talent and veterans that want to win now

No such thing as having too many picks.  OKC should follow the Hinkie process not ours.  They need to do a full rebuild and should be focused on player development not winning the next couple years.   They need to move any vet (e.g. Gallo) that they can get a decent return on. 

[NKY fan]

They can definitely get a first round pick (maybe even unprotected) for Galo

[RockinRyA]

What a great job. OKC has 15 picks in the next seven drafts and they could still be fighting for a playoff spot this year. They’ve got a perfect rebuild set up for them.

Presti also has our rebuild in 14-18 as a case study and what the risks are of having too many picks and young talent and veterans that want to win now

No such thing as having too many picks.  OKC should follow the Hinkie process not ours.  They need to do a full rebuild and should be focused on player development not winning the next couple years.   They need to move any vet (e.g. Gallo) that they can get a decent return on.

  Better go back to Liberty Ballers.

[Eddie20]

What a great job. OKC has 15 picks in the next seven drafts and they could still be fighting for a playoff spot this year. They’ve got a perfect rebuild set up for them.

Presti also has our rebuild in 14-18 as a case study and what the risks are of having too many picks and young talent and veterans that want to win now

No such thing as having too many picks.  OKC should follow the Hinkie process not ours.  They need to do a full rebuild and should be focused on player development not winning the next couple years.   They need to move any vet (e.g. Gallo) that they can get a decent return on.

  Better go back to Liberty Ballers.

He was banned from there for being overly positive about the Sixers.