re: Murray to Pels is OFFICIALLY OFFICIAL

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We have shown interest in Mitchell Robinson and NY needs to shed salary. Could he come at a reasonable price?

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You’re not wrong but the question is do you want an elite or very good center or just a decent serviceable one? I think if you want an elite/very good you may have to act quicker with the BI trade but just a serviceable one you can probably get when the market settles. I just don’t want Willie to have issues with the center like he did with JV/Nance if they aren’t exactly switchable. That shite was so annoying.

The whole reason they’re trying to shed salary is to be able to pay Hartenstein.

Robinson would be a good cheap get for us if we were able to send BI out into cap space.

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Unless you are saying that they are trying to shed enough salary to get to 20 mil below the cap, which I don’t think is possible for them, but I haven’t looked into it.

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No chance, for as good of a deal that they have Brunson on, they just added an equally terrible one with OG, which immediately becomes one of the worst contracts in the NBA imo

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You’re not wrong but the question is do you want an elite or very good center or just a decent serviceable one? I think if you want an elite/very good you may have to act quicker with the BI trade but just a serviceable one you can probably get when the market settles. I just don’t want Willie to have issues with the center like he did with JV/Nance if they aren’t exactly switchable. That shite was so annoying.

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We likely do not have the cap space for an "elite" center. Who would you even put in that category that is potentially available?

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Btw the trade can be expanded. It isn't finalized yet.

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Yeah just like the Memphis trade

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BI would be going out for cap purposes. From a defensive standpoint I think Kessler and Allen are the cream of the cop. Both Kessler and Allen would be combined with other salaries. I’m not going to technically say “elite” because everyone has different definitions. But they are defensive impact centers. I think everyone else is just middle tier or passable and can be had whenever like you said. You can technically throw Ayton in there because of his offensive impact but im not a big fan of his.

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I wouldn't overpay for Kessler. He is fantastic on defense, but evidently his offensive issues are why he did not play more. His FT% is terrible and the fact that there is a lot of criticism around his screen setting ability (or lack thereof) concerns me. He may have issues staying on the court at times., I would love him for his defense, but would not overpay.

He's just saying another team or other assets can still be added.

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NOSHAU
Griffin has the ability now to wait for the market for BI to develop. Once the FA market settles, someone will be left holding the bag and become more desperate.

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Teams that are angling for Paul George and miss out may quickly turn to BI as Plan B.

Presumably, we have already finalized negotiations with BI on an extension and both sides have decided that an extension isn't happening (if it were, I think we'd have heard today). Presumably, Griff and BI's agent are calling around the league to find out which teams are willing to give BI an extension and what those numbers would look like.

That's the part that a lot of you are ignoring in your various trade proposals: BI can basically nix any trade by telling that team that he won't sign an extension with them. If only one or two teams are willing to give BI a big extension, then that really hurts Griff's ability to extract big value in a trade.

On the other hand, I think that the Murray trade strengthens Griff's hand. If we were unable to trade Ingram right now, Murray is likely to be the #2 on this Pels team. That could mean lower usage for BI and lower scoring and assist numbers as a result, which could hurt his next contract. So, the addition of Murray really reduces the ability of BI to bet on himself to simply play out this coming year and then get a huge contract as a free agent.

The tricky part for Griff is the waiting for the BI deal while free-agent centers sign with other teams. The danger is that Griff waits on a BI trade (for a center) that never happens, and by then most of the options at center are already gone and we're forced to trade Hawk, Reeves, and/or picks to get a center or two, and we get bad deals because teams know that we are desperate.

It's for that reason that I personally see us quickly signing one (relatively low salary) center, with Griff possibly locking him up tomorrow night. The idea would be for him to be the backup to the center we get in an Ingram trade, but it would also be a guy who can start in a pinch.

Candidates for this would be Drummond or Xavier Tillman for somewhere around $5 million. Guys who would make less than that are Kornet, Plumlee, Bitadze, Saric, and Bamba.

It's just my guess that Griff goes after one of these guys right away once free agency starts. I might very well be wrong about this.

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while free-agent centers sign with other teams. The danger is that Griff waits on a BI trade (for a center) that never happens, and by then most of the options at center are already gone

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Not a concern. Hartenstein/ Val are the only free agent centers worth a shite or starting spot.

We essentially have to get a center through trading BI or add Capella to a trade with BI trade exception.

Capella salary for BI trade without a center is probably worst case scenario.

We very well could do this.

I could also see Capella/ Missi/ vet min.

I am hoping there is atleast 1 or 2 teams BI likes with options.

Id rather a Reed/ Capella/ picks or Williams/ Capella/ picks if we can't get a starter.