The following assumes similar CBA
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Pierce and Rondo to LAC
Kamen, Gordon, Bledsoe, Aminu, Min #1 to BOS
The Clippers are instant favorites in the West. Rondo-Whoever-Pierce-Griffin-Jordan with Williams-Foye-Gomes of the bench is a sick team.
Boston's 2011-2012 offseason contract commitment: $12 million
That is enough cap to offer three $14 million deals. Chris Paul, Kevin Love and Dwight Howard.
Paul - Gordon - Aminu - Love - Howard
Bledsoe, Bradley and the kids from Purdue do not make the most impressive bench, but add some vet minimum guys AND A TOP 5 DRAFT PICK...
Lets also not rule out the posibility of KG and Ray coming back for one or two more rings on tiny contracts...
What if you don't sign the three max contract players? then you've traded PP and Rondo for a chance to be the TWolves or the Kings.
Plus, won't DH and CP get more than $14M? They both make more than that now. They'd probably combine for $33M or so in the first year of their deals.
There are only three other teams that can afford to sign Paul and Howard: Indiana, Houston and New Jersey.
We can hopefully scratch Indiana due to location/market
Houston can offer each player about $16 million to play next to Lowry, Martin and Scola. They would have to dump every other player option on that team. Pretty solid, but probably not as good as the Boston situation described above.
Jersey can offer Howard the max to play with D-Will, Outlaw, Morrow, Farmar and Petro. That number drops to $14 million if they pickup the Lopez qualifying offer. Very solid, a few extra dollars, get to play in Brooklyn.
If it is a dollars issue, Boston could max out Howard and Paul, and still have $8 million to go after a power forward. The supporting cast of Gordon, Aminu, Bledsoe, Bradley, Purdue and the pick is probably just slightly better than what the other teams have. Doc is obvious a big part of it, as is the willingness of KG and Ray to come back on vet-minimum deals.