Offseason Thread

[Birdman]

All these Bleacher report trade ideas...

Payton Pritchard and 5 second-round picks for Derrick Lively. Will you do it

Nope

[Who]

All these Bleacher report trade ideas...

Payton Pritchard and 5 second-round picks for Derrick Lively. Will you do it

Of course but Dallas would never do that.

[keevsnick]

So quick reset of the Celtics. they now have 13 players under contract. Assume they fill a 14th roster spot with a vet min guy and that would put them a little over 17.3 million into the tax. If they dumped Hauser+Niang that's 18.3 million, but they'd still have to fill those roster spots with minimums which would put them back over the tax. Basically, if they are trying to get under the tax there's no real way to do so without trading Simons (assuming White/Brown are staying).

Assuming all they wanted to do was bring back Kornet and Horford on minimums to fill out their roster, that would still push them back over the 2nd apron (just barely). Of course they'd still have until the trade deadline to get back under.

So all of this leads to two conclusions. If they just want to stay under the 2nd apron they'll probably dump Niang somewhere to open up enough to bring back Kornet and/or Horford on something more than the minimum. If they want to get under the tax it will probably involve Simons and Niang being traded for less salary coming back.

[Who]

With the Spurs having acquired De'Aaron Fox at the trade deadline, and drafting Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper in back-to-back years, Paul's time in San Antonio is expected to be over.

A suggested natural transition would have been to the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavs are looking for a veteran point guard to hold down the fort until Kyrie Irving returns from his torn ACL around midseason. Paul would seem to be a perfect fit.

However, 40-year-old is focused on playing closer to home. Paul talked at time last season about how hard it was to be so far away from his family, who have made Los Angeles their home base. That has the point looking at teams on the west coast, which could include both LA teams, as well as the Sacramento Kings or Phoenix Suns.

Sacramento would be a great for CP3. They desperately need a PG after losing D Fox. CP3 (offense) and Devin Carter (defense) can be a nice 1-2 punch at PG.

I also like the LA Clippers for CP3. He would be a good backup PG behind Kris Dunn. They avoided playing a backup PG last year and stayed big with 3 wings and no small guard. That worked well. But CP3 could give them something different.

Phoenix could be good. CP3 feels more like a lateral move from Tyus Jones. But stilll. CP3 did well there. They have that connection. And they could use a backup PG if not a starting PG.

[mobilija]

So quick reset of the Celtics. they now have 13 players under contract. Assume they fill a 14th roster spot with a vet min guy and that would put them a little over 17.3 million into the tax. If they dumped Hauser+Niang that's 18.3 million, but they'd still have to fill those roster spots with minimums which would put them back over the tax. Basically, if they are trying to get under the tax there's no real way to do so without trading Simons (assuming White/Brown are staying).

Assuming all they wanted to do was bring back Kornet and Horford on minimums to fill out their roster, that would still push them back over the 2nd apron (just barely). Of course they'd still have until the trade deadline to get back under.

So all of this leads to two conclusions. If they just want to stay under the 2nd apron they'll probably dump Niang somewhere to open up enough to bring back Kornet and/or Horford on something more than the minimum. If they want to get under the tax it will probably involve Simons and Niang being traded for less salary coming back.

Hence the need to acquire 2nd round picks over drafting better fringe potential rotation players.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

All these Bleacher report trade ideas...

Payton Pritchard and 5 second-round picks for Derrick Lively. Will you do it

Nope

I don't know what to make of that. I love Pritchard, and having him on his contract is super valuable, but Lively is an excellent fit as a young big.

I also think the Mavs have plenty of bigs between Gafford and Davis, with Washington and Flagg able to slide up to the 4 as well.

But why wouldn't the reigning 6moty be worth enough not to need to add any picks to get Lively? I mean, if you think Lively is a future all-star, obviously he's worth more than Pritchard, but does anyone think that? I haven't seen enough offense from him for that.

[Who]

Wizards have an interesting roster

G: CJ McCollum, Bub Carrington
G: B Coulibaly, Tre Johnson
F: Kyshawn George, M Smart
F: K Middleton, Justin Champagnie
C: Alex Sarr, K Olynyk

Others: Will Riley, Jalen McDaniels, Dillon Jones (from OKC draft day trade), Richaun Holmes

Strange roster.

* Odd mix of PGs. No genuine playmaker.

* Tre Johnson was a nice pickup on draft day. I do not understand why Ace Bailey is rated above Tre Johnson. They look quite similar to me with Tre having superior shot-making ability.

I wonder if they start Tre and Coulibaly. Let Smart be the backup SG and Kyshawn George the backup SF. That may give them better roster balance. Or maybe start Smart with McCollum and have the two youngsters (Bub, Tre) come off the bench in the backcourt.

* Too many guards if Coulibaly continues to at guard. Smart will have to play some forward minutes to get on the court.

* Loads of SFs. Their whole forward rotation is forwards. Coulibaly, K George, K Middelton, J McDaniels, J Champagnie, Will Riley, Dillon Jones. Count that - 7 forwards. Half their roster is forwards.

[Birdman]

So far my predictions afterdraft and trades so far,it will change after free agency of course:

Top 8 in East

1. Cleveland
2. Orlando
3. New York
4. Indiana
5. Toronto
6. Detroit
7. Boston
8. Atlanta

Top 8 in Wet
1. OKC
2. Houston
3. Dallas
4. Minnesota
5. Denver
6. Clippers
7. Lakers
8. Memphis

[Who]

Multiple well-placed observers are describing San Antonio as the foremost threat to sign Yabusele away from the 76ers, but I?m also told that Philadelphia has not yet abandoned hope of convincing him to stay. The Spurs certainly boast a persuasive recruiter in the Yabusele chase ? his Olympic teammate Victor Wembanyama ? but word is Milwaukee is another team to watch here.

? via Marc Stein @ marcstein.substack.com

Yabu!!

He'd be a nice fit in San Antonio. I'd like to see that. A good contrast to Sochan who is a defensive PF with limited offense. Yabu can give them that offense when they need more of it.

[Who]

Shams Charania: Free agent Garrett Temple intends to sign a one-year, $3.6 million deal to return to the Toronto Raptors, sources tell ESPN. The Raptors and Mark Bartelstein of @PrioritySports reached the deal for Temple, who will enter his 16th NBA season

This guy keeps on hanging around. Apparently a great locker room guy and wise vet.

Although it is hard to see what positive impact that has had on the Raptors locker room. They continue to lack team work & underachieve relative to their talent.

Why bother keeping him around?

I would have dumped him.

[action781]

With the Spurs having acquired De'Aaron Fox at the trade deadline, and drafting Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper in back-to-back years, Paul's time in San Antonio is expected to be over.

A suggested natural transition would have been to the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavs are looking for a veteran point guard to hold down the fort until Kyrie Irving returns from his torn ACL around midseason. Paul would seem to be a perfect fit.

However, 40-year-old is focused on playing closer to home. Paul talked at time last season about how hard it was to be so far away from his family, who have made Los Angeles their home base. That has the point looking at teams on the west coast, which could include both LA teams, as well as the Sacramento Kings or Phoenix Suns.

Sacramento would be a great for CP3. They desperately need a PG after losing D Fox. CP3 (offense) and Devin Carter (defense) can be a nice 1-2 punch at PG.

I also like the LA Clippers for CP3. He would be a good backup PG behind Kris Dunn. They avoided playing a backup PG last year and stayed big with 3 wings and no small guard. That worked well. But CP3 could give them something different.

Phoenix could be good. CP3 feels more like a lateral move from Tyus Jones. But stilll. CP3 did well there. They have that connection. And they could use a backup PG if not a starting PG.

Didn't CP3 and Harden clash hard in Houston?  Hard to imagine CP3 choosing to end his career with that again.

[Who]

Up until Saturday, the Lakers can offer Finney-Smith a three-year extension worth $54 million, per ESPN's Bobby Marks.

From Between Sunday and Monday, L.A. can offer him a four-year extension worth $90.2 million -- with his player option being replaced with a new salary.

If Finney-Smith opted in for $15.4 million for next season, he'd be eligible to sign a four-year deal worth $96.5 million, assuming he signs after July 6 when the free agent moratorium is lifted.

A source familiar with the talks told ESPN that while Finney-Smith has interest in returning to L.A., he could look elsewhere for a multiyear deal if the only way to stay with the Lakers is to opt into his deal.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/45598239/nba-offseason-2025-hearing-luka-lebron-los-angeles-lakers-offseason

That would be a huge loss for LA. He is their 4th or 5th best player. They key perimeter defender responsible for hiding Luka / LeBron / A Reaves (at least as much as one can do so). A two way wing with the quickness to defend guards. Hard to replace.

The only mechanism the Lakers are projected to have in free agency is the taxpayer midlevel exception, worth $5.7 million

If DFS did leave, they would get access to the full MLE at $14.1mil starting salary.

On the trade market, Dalton Knecht and the Lakers' 2031 first-rounder will continue to be positive assets the Lakers can include in offers, as well as the expiring contracts of Rui Hachimura ($18.3 million), Gabe Vincent ($11.5 million) and Maxi Kleber ($11 million) as Pelinka searches for a center.

Pelinka indicated that Reaves would not be traded when asked about the team's core after the season.

"The level of confidence in Austin Reaves, LeBron James and Luca Doncic is at an all-time high still," Pelinka said. "I think those three guys have incredible promise playing together. And we will collectively do a better job to make sure they're surrounded with the right pieces to have ultimate success."

Pelinka also said he saw Theiro as an OG Anunoby type.

-----------

With the salaries that are going out now, I'd say DFS is comfortably a $25-30mil player. Lack of teams with cap space though. Brooklyn are the team that traded him away. So maybe the odds of DFS leaving LAL are actually very low.

I hope he gets a good payday. I love the way he plays. Great glue guy.

[Who]

League sources say that numerous teams are operating under the belief that the Sacramento Kings have the best chance to sign Dennis Schroder away from the Detroit Pistons

While the Dallas Mavericks are increasingly regarded as the favorites to sign D'Angelo Russell.

- via marcstein.substack.com

[tazzmaniac]

Up until Saturday, the Lakers can offer Finney-Smith a three-year extension worth $54 million, per ESPN's Bobby Marks.

From Between Sunday and Monday, L.A. can offer him a four-year extension worth $90.2 million -- with his player option being replaced with a new salary.

If Finney-Smith opted in for $15.4 million for next season, he'd be eligible to sign a four-year deal worth $96.5 million, assuming he signs after July 6 when the free agent moratorium is lifted.

A source familiar with the talks told ESPN that while Finney-Smith has interest in returning to L.A., he could look elsewhere for a multiyear deal if the only way to stay with the Lakers is to opt into his deal.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/45598239/nba-offseason-2025-hearing-luka-lebron-los-angeles-lakers-offseason

That would be a huge loss for LA. He is their 4th or 5th best player. They key perimeter defender responsible for hiding Luka / LeBron / A Reaves (at least as much as one can do so). A two way wing with the quickness to defend guards. Hard to replace.

The only mechanism the Lakers are projected to have in free agency is the taxpayer midlevel exception, worth $5.7 million

If DFS did leave, they would get access to the full MLE at $14.1mil starting salary.

On the trade market, Dalton Knecht and the Lakers' 2031 first-rounder will continue to be positive assets the Lakers can include in offers, as well as the expiring contracts of Rui Hachimura ($18.3 million), Gabe Vincent ($11.5 million) and Maxi Kleber ($11 million) as Pelinka searches for a center.

Pelinka indicated that Reaves would not be traded when asked about the team's core after the season.

"The level of confidence in Austin Reaves, LeBron James and Luca Doncic is at an all-time high still," Pelinka said. "I think those three guys have incredible promise playing together. And we will collectively do a better job to make sure they're surrounded with the right pieces to have ultimate success."

Pelinka also said he saw Theiro as an OG Anunoby type.

-----------

With the salaries that are going out now, I'd say DFS is comfortably a $25-30mil player. Lack of teams with cap space though. Brooklyn are the team that traded him away. So maybe the odds of DFS leaving LAL are actually very low.

I hope he gets a good payday. I love the way he plays. Great glue guy.

Naz Reid just resigned for 5yr/125M so 25-30M per year for DFS seems high to me.  Going that high would have the Lakers at the 2nd apron. 

[tazzmaniac]

OKC trades Dillon Jones to Washington for Colby Jones and then waived the later whose contract was non-guaranteed.  They had to dump someone as they were at 16 players and only 15 roster spots.

OKC also extends Jaylin Williams for 3yr/24M.