I Feel Bad for Saying This.....

[crimson_stallion]

Swing a deal for Cousins via Smart, Morris, Baynes picks and fillers. Then you need Tatum off the bench.

Do you really think NO would do that deal, I don't.  Take off the homer glasses.

Honestly, even if the Pelicans did consider trading Cousins - with the way he's playing this year, and the major improvements his shown in his maturity on and off the court (no real issues reported at all), combined with the fact that he's clearly been the biggest reason for the Pelican's competitiveness so far...

I imagine the Pelicans would hang up the phone on any offer that doesn't include at least one of Brown / Tatum.

In all honestly, my gut tells me the Pelicans would trade Davis before they'd trade Cousins at this point.  That team hasn't gotten past lottery status as long as AD has been at the helm.  This season AD has been out for a large portion of the year, and Cousins has carried the Pelicans into being a playoff calibre team.

Cousin's past history indicates that he's an extremely loyal guy.  He's having more success right now in NO then he's ever had before.  He's in a good situation where he seems to get along with everybody around him.  He's on a young team that has ton's of future potential.  I can't fathom any reason why he wouldn't want to re-sign with the Pelicans unless they refuse to offer him a max contact - then he might go elsewhere.  But I can't imagine why they wouldn't considering that he is clearly the best big man in the NBA right now.

[Csfan1984]

People are still all over the place when Cousins is mentioned. Some see him as an elite top 10 guy others see him as a total loser. Given what he was traded for last year I feel my suggested offer isn't far off regardless.

My main point isn't we get Cousins. It's that we try to continue to add top level talent and not worry about who goes to the bench. Put the best starting five out there. And hopefully you actually do have three starter quality level players to come off the bench. It's a problem you want.

[crimson_stallion]

People are still all over the place when Cousins is mentioned. Some see him as an elite top 10 guy others see him as a total loser. Given what he was traded for last year I feel my suggested offer isn't far off regardless.

My main point isn't we get Cousins. It's that we try to continue to add top level talent and not worry about who goes to the bench. Put the best starting five out there. And hopefully you actually do have three starter quality level players to come off the bench. It's a problem you want.

There's a very big difference between what Cousins went for last season, versus what he's seen as now.

Before he was in Sacramento, and he'd never led any of those Sacramento teams to the playoffs - or even especially close to the playoffs.  Anybody with a logical mind knows that the King's lack of success is not Cousins' fault - that entire franchise has been a disaster for years.  But as the franchise player on that team, Cousins was always first to cop the blame, and I get that. 

Combine that lack of team success with his reputation for being a trouble maker, an aggressor and a bad teammate, and it's understandable why nobody wanted to touch him.  Teams are always weary of guys with questionable attitudes, but they'll take the chance on those guys if they feel they can win you games.  Nobody is taking a chance on a troublesome guy who can't win games. 

Now things are different.  Cousins is playing for the Pelicans, and I don't think there's seriously been a single concerning news article about him all season.  He's staying clear of the drama, he's putting his head down, and he's playing the game the right way - handling things like a pro.  Nobody has ever doubted Cousins' talent, and if you had even a glimmer of hope that you could make a pro out of him, you'd have to take the chance.  Up until last this year he'd never given any team a reason to believe that was possible.  Now he has.

And when you have a guy with Cousins' talent who is not only acting like a pro, but also being a leader and carrying his team to wins - you can't ignore that.  All those teams who previously passed on him will now be thinking "hmm...maybe he really CAN work, in the right environment!".

I've been keeping my eye on some of the sports commentators out there - guys like Skip Bayless, etc.  These guys are mostly a pointless waste of time in all honest, but it's still important to hear their thoughts.  Many of these guys who previously wrote Cousins off completely, are now expressing curiosity. 

Hell, NBA.com has had him on their Race-to-MVP list many times this year.

The Pelicans have been CONSISTENTLY playing Playoff calibre basketball - something Anthony Davis could never lead them to. 

If you are the Pelicans GM, and you are playing playoff basketball for the first time in history, and this super talented big man is the one who's at the centre of it all - would you trade him?  I'd rather keep him and risk losing him for nothing rather than trade the best big man in the NBA for a bunch of scrap parts that won't do anything to transform your team.

With Cousins and Davis the Pelicans are one big name away from being a perennial contender.  Let Cousins walk, and Anthony Davis is the only hope they have of not being a perennial lottery team.  Why would you care about adding some late first round picks and role players to a lottery calibre team?  It's pointless.  You want a star or future potential star if you are giving up somebody like Cousins.

If I'm the Pelicans GM, I'm turning down every single offer that doesn't include either Tatum, Brown or the Lakers pick.  Anything less and I would hang up the phone on the spot. 

And before anybody mentions the poor return Sacramento got for Cousins, remember - Sacramento got Buddy Hield, a top 6 pick who was starting to play very well and who they had reportedly coveted for a long time and who still may have potential to become an offensive star.  And the got him at a time when Cousin's value was at it's all time low.

The Lakers pick right now is no more valuable then Buddy Hield was at the time of the last trade - arguably less valuable since there's no guarantee they even get it. If I'm the Pelicans that would be the BARE MINIMUM that I would want as a centerpiece to the trade.  I'd demand Tatum first, then when that is declined I would demand Brown.  Then when both are clearly declined (assuming they both are) then I'd fall back to the Lakers pick as an absolute last resort - anything less and I'm walking away.

[Csfan1984]

People are still all over the place when Cousins is mentioned. Some see him as an elite top 10 guy others see him as a total loser. Given what he was traded for last year I feel my suggested offer isn't far off regardless.

My main point isn't we get Cousins. It's that we try to continue to add top level talent and not worry about who goes to the bench. Put the best starting five out there. And hopefully you actually do have three starter quality level players to come off the bench. It's a problem you want.

There's a very big difference between what Cousins went for last season, versus what he's seen as now.

Before he was in Sacramento, and he'd never led any of those Sacramento teams to the playoffs - or even especially close to the playoffs.  Anybody with a logical mind knows that the King's lack of success is not Cousins' fault - that entire franchise has been a disaster for years.  But as the franchise player on that team, Cousins was always first to cop the blame, and I get that. 

Combine that lack of team success with his reputation for being a trouble maker, an aggressor and a bad teammate, and it's understandable why nobody wanted to touch him.  Teams are always weary of guys with questionable attitudes, but they'll take the chance on those guys if they feel they can win you games.  Nobody is taking a chance on a troublesome guy who can't win games. 

Now things are different.  Cousins is playing for the Pelicans, and I don't think there's seriously been a single concerning news article about him all season.  He's staying clear of the drama, he's putting his head down, and he's playing the game the right way - handling things like a pro.  Nobody has ever doubted Cousins' talent, and if you had even a glimmer of hope that you could make a pro out of him, you'd have to take the chance.  Up until last this year he'd never given any team a reason to believe that was possible.  Now he has.

And when you have a guy with Cousins' talent who is not only acting like a pro, but also being a leader and carrying his team to wins - you can't ignore that.  All those teams who previously passed on him will now be thinking "hmm...maybe he really CAN work, in the right environment!".

I've been keeping my eye on some of the sports commentators out there - guys like Skip Bayless, etc.  These guys are mostly a pointless waste of time in all honest, but it's still important to hear their thoughts.  Many of these guys who previously wrote Cousins off completely, are now expressing curiosity. 

Hell, NBA.com has had him on their Race-to-MVP list many times this year.

The Pelicans have been CONSISTENTLY playing Playoff calibre basketball - something Anthony Davis could never lead them to. 

If you are the Pelicans GM, and you are playing playoff basketball for the first time in history, and this super talented big man is the one who's at the centre of it all - would you trade him?  I'd rather keep him and risk losing him for nothing rather than trade the best big man in the NBA for a bunch of scrap parts that won't do anything to transform your team.

With Cousins and Davis the Pelicans are one big name away from being a perennial contender.  Let Cousins walk, and Anthony Davis is the only hope they have of not being a perennial lottery team.  Why would you care about adding some late first round picks and role players to a lottery calibre team?  It's pointless.  You want a star or future potential star if you are giving up somebody like Cousins.

If I'm the Pelicans GM, I'm turning down every single offer that doesn't include either Tatum, Brown or the Lakers pick.  Anything less and I would hang up the phone on the spot. 

And before anybody mentions the poor return Sacramento got for Cousins, remember - Sacramento got Buddy Hield, a top 6 pick who was starting to play very well and who they had reportedly coveted for a long time and who still may have potential to become an offensive star.  And the got him at a time when Cousin's value was at it's all time low.

The Lakers pick right now is no more valuable then Buddy Hield was at the time of the last trade - arguably less valuable since there's no guarantee they even get it. If I'm the Pelicans that would be the BARE MINIMUM that I would want as a centerpiece to the trade.  I'd demand Tatum first, then when that is declined I would demand Brown.  Then when both are clearly declined (assuming they both are) then I'd fall back to the Lakers pick as an absolute last resort - anything less and I'm walking away.

Lol, sorry but you want half a season in a contract year to rewrite a established M.O./ career. No GM is giving up a top 5 pick for a half a season of a guy with on the court baggage.

[Phantom255x]

If Cousins gets traded, then AD will want out too. In that case, why not just trade for AD.. 

I mean, in AD's case, trading away Cousins means another rebuild instead of adding shooters around AD + Cousins (which is the plan), and AD is NOT going to like that, and he may legitimately demand out.

Pelicans won't trade Cousins now for anything short than a premium (even though he's a rental), and frankly, the Pelicans aren't elite BUT aren't horrible either. They are the 8 seed in a loaded west, and frankly, could actually give a team like Houston or Golden State problems if they met in the first round (given the match-ups, Twin Tower duo of AD-Cousins, now having Rondo, etc.)

[spikelovetheCelts]

If Cousins gets traded, then AD will want out too. In that case, why not just trade for AD.. 

I mean, in AD's case, trading away Cousins means another rebuild instead of adding shooters around AD + Cousins (which is the plan), and AD is NOT going to like that, and he may legitimately demand out.

Pelicans won't trade Cousins now for anything short than a premium (even though he's a rental), and frankly, the Pelicans aren't elite BUT aren't horrible either. They are the 8 seed in a loaded west, and frankly, could actually give a team like Houston or Golden State problems if they met in the first round (given the match-ups, Twin Tower duo of AD-Cousins, now having Rondo, etc.)

I see Pelicans getting better. I watched them the other night i see growth. Cousins and Davis are trusting. Rondo is leading. If they can get a better bench they could win. But when you rotations shrink come playoff time they could be real good. Plus Allen comes back to guard the best scorer on other team too. If they can get to 6th seed they could beat that team. I don't see a trade from NO. They are all in for 2017. Clippers and Utah Maybe sellers before NO.

[droopdog7]

My money is on brown never being as good as Hayward is now.  Tatum, on the other hand, probably had a slightly better than 50/50 chance to at least reach Hayward’s level down the line.

So yeah, I’m not going to worry about what to do with Hayward since he’s likely to be the better player for the duration of his contract.

[Erik]

Anyone else already know it was another Hayward guilt thread before opening it?

[JBcat]

Didn’t Hayward play lots of small ball 4 during the Jazz’s playoff run last year?  I think he could also play some 4 as well.

[tenn_smoothie]

Why can't Tatum or Brown slide into the famous Celtics 6th man role until it is their turn to start again ? Worked out pretty well for Kevin McHale, widely recognized as an all-time Top-5 power forward in the league.

We definitely need an upgrade at Center, though I want to keep Baynes as our backup.

[blink]

We all know Brad looks at positions as ball handlers, wings and bigs. So there's easily space for 3 wings. But let's break it down to typical positions.

Brown primarily plays the 2.
Hayward will play the 3.
Tatum will play the stretch 4.

No problem.

This.

I feel Tatum is most effective as a stretch 4, as he can give opponents all kinds of trouble with his outside shooting and his quickness / ball handling at that position.  Most NBA fours cannot defend him, yet he does a surprisingly good job of using his length to defend other fours. 

Brown will play the SG spot, as he has done for the majority of this season. 

Hayward will slip in to his natural SF spot. 

Such a deadly lineup, because all three of those guys can guard 2, 3 and 4 spots so they can all switch on to each other's assignment seemlessly as needed.

It will also strengthen our second unit, as we will then have Rozier, Smart, Morris and Baynes permanently coming off the bench - and that's a pretty strong second unit on both ends of the court.

exactly what I was going to say.  This is how we started the year, and that was before Brown and Tatum just came out and played like vets this season.  Why in the world would you change that base starting 5?  I mean there may be some games where maybe you move Tatum to 6th man to get bigger and stronger to start the game, but not many. 

After JB / JT get this full year of starting under their belts, getting GH back our starters are fairly set I feel for the next year or two.  We gotta improve the bench, hopefully sliding Morris to the 2nd unit and getting a high lotto draft pick from the lakers will help.

[gouki88]

Not entirely sure what you're worried about. Hayward isn't the one who would get moved to the bench of that lot.

A lot depends on the draft. If we get the pick, and pick a big, it will be quite an interesting transitional period. I could definitely see Horford being moved to the bench long-term (assuming he doesn't demand big money at the end of his contract) if we pick Bagley or Ayton, or even Bamba. If we pick Doncic or Porter, i.e. a wing player, things get really tricky rotation wise, but talent wise we're on an insane level.

If the pick doesn't convey then we'll all be bummed, but we still have that Sacramento pick

[Granath]

We all know Brad looks at positions as ball handlers, wings and bigs. So there's easily space for 3 wings. But let's break it down to typical positions.

Brown primarily plays the 2.
Hayward will play the 3.
Tatum will play the stretch 4.

No problem.

There could be a bit of a problem depending on how the draft goes.  If push comes to shove I see Brown on the outside looking in.  Both Hayward and Brown can play SG and SF.  While Tatum can play some PF he is more deadly as a SF.  Like wise I'd say given their hight Hayward and Brown are more deadly at the SG position.  So if we get the LAL pick this year our pick will affects how our team shapes up long term. 

If we pick Michael Porter, then he will be our PF and Tatum will then be our SF leaving Hayward and Brown to vie for the SG spot.  The same thing if we draft Marvin Bagley, as he is a natural PF in the Chris Bosh/KG mold.  If we draft Mohamed Bamba or DeAndre Ayton then either of them would be our center of the future and Tatum would play PF, Hayward SF, and Brown SG.  Because I don't see Hayward coming off the bench, I really see Brown playing more of an Evan Turner/Marcus Smart 6th man role going forward into the future.   

On side note there are a bunch of UFA centers available this summer and I could legitimately see us making a run at Noel or Alex Len.  So I think that Porter will be the pick over Bamba if we draft 4 or 5.

I wouldn't mind seeing this roster for next year:

PG: Uncle Drew! / Rozier / Shane Larkin
SG: Hayward / Brown / Grayson Allen (dare I say Danny Ainge 2.0)
SF: Tatum / Morris / Semi Ojeleye
PF: Horford / Porter / Guerschon Yabusele
 C: Len / Baynes / Daniel Theis

We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. There's little reason to worry about "what ifs" from a draft in 6 months.