re: If you were in Griffin's position, what general track would you take?

Coach-- Let Gayle, Langdon and Cash make decision. Langdon is the GM, but most people dont know it. GM's select and hire coaches. Langdon was on his way to Sacramento, until Griff persuaded him to stay somehow. I guess we will see if Langdon gets a chance to have REAL input and put his stamp on his tenure here.

PLAYERS:
Time to start using the warchest of picks. About time. U can have too much assets and paralyze yourself from inaction or thinking you can't take a chance on possibly giving up too much in a trade and lose out on getting what u need/want to solidify contender/Championship status (i.e. Danny Ainge-- AD).

1. Trade Bledsoe: The objective should be to get cap relief 1st and foremost. Gotta use a 1st round pick and whatever else. If you can get something back in the trade, a player or lesser pick, lagniappe.

2. RESIGN BALL: This was a no-brainer midway thru the season when Lonzo was showing he is worthy of the 20mil he is asking for. Should have been guaranteed when BI/Zion said they wanted him back. Now with the "news" of Zion wanting out, Griff should let LANGDON come out and say, WE MATCHING ANY OFFER and LONZO is OUR PG and a CORE MEMBER. Helps to make Zion happy but moreso, attempt to sway teams from not even giving Lonzo an offer and tying up their cap space during the most crucial time during the opening of free agency. You are trying to make NY and Chicago, whoever, not submit contracts that would overpay Lonzo.

2. SIGN AND TRADE J. HART
I like Hart and what he brings with his defense, rebounding and intangibles, but he is too small when he is typically being played out of position at SF which neutralizes any advantages he has defensively (think Jrue for years guarding Bron, KD, Giannis). Plus, his 3pt. shooting is a factoring issue.
We need height and length besides shooting to put around Zion. Positional vesatility is the key to defending in the modern NBA and if u want to truly unlock Zion's potential (point Zion), you need players who can assume Zion's post role in situations and cover for his perceived defensive shortcomings. Thats why I have thought and said many times prior, on this board, that we should have tried to sign Jeramie Grant last year. If he there is ANY WAY to get him now from Detroit, you do it, but I digress. More importantly, having Didi Louzada and Naji Marshall, optimistically show they are capable of backing up Ingram, at a cheaper price, then Hart's value is diminished and redundant on this team and needs to be re-distributed in terms of securing size and shooting.

3. FIND YOUR 3RD STAR (If possible/reduce Championship window)
One thinks this should be the 1st consideration in off-season moves, but its tough to find one available, for the right price and doesnt handicap your cap flexibility/deplete assets to solidify true Championship aspirations, for many years. So, yes, we would love Bradley Beal, Zach Lavine, etc., to form our own Big 3, but at what cost and do we have to go that route yet? I dont think that is the path we should take because it narrows the margin for error for any team to sustain success. History shows that if an injury to one of them, practically exposes the lack of depth and quality in the rest of team. Miami (Bron years) and Cleveland (Bron 2nd tour), GS (2 years running), have shown that using 85% of your cap space on 3 players ONLY WORKS if they stay healthy, but at some point, it is inevitable to not be sustainable. Plus, we are small market team that believing solid role players will come to N.O. on minimum deals just bc of a supposed contender status is doing so at your own peril. Bron never got that benefit really in Cleveland in his 1st tenure and I cant recall any small market team ever getting it either. Im not saying dont go that route, but understand that your ability to field a team with depth is basically out the window and your scouting department better be San Antonio good to find late 1st/2nd rounders that contribute and outperform their draft status, DAY 1. This front office (Griff) has not shown his ability to find the diamonds in the rough, EVER.
Likely outcome if 3rd star is secured this offseason. Win the PR outlook, 1-2 seasons (maybe) of relevance, misuse whatever assets remain, lose some of the developing youngsters due to cap, become cap- strung to make moves, Zion asks for trade AFTER signing his max-deal at some point.

4. DRAFT: (Trade package/Select)
This point may actually be the biggest decision of the summer. Do you keep the pick, if not #1 (Cunningham), or use it as a chip to get 3rd star? Answer: All depends on factors not known at this moment. Plus, see #3 above. I suggest selecting a player that fits the overall need of this team--length and defensive versatility 1st, shooting 2nd. If we select another damn undersized guard, Griff needs to be fired. Period.

4. FREE AGENCY
If we dont unload Big Kiwi, in a similar fashion like we HAVE to do with Bledsoe, then we are lkkely to be limited to the MLE and BLE. I think Griff goes into next season with Adams on the roster, so here are a few of the REALISTIC FA Players we should target with the MLE: