re: Pels trying to acquire a draft pick

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the team would benefit greatly from adding another B player to the roster

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Of course. Same time though how many B guys can we expect to be on one roster? They've got 4 right now. That they don't make for a straightforward fit (and were injured) is the problem, not a lack of talent.

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best opportunity to do that by a large margin is with cap space before AD's extension kicks in

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Yep. Which is why the combo of Holiday and Evans moves and not unloading Gordon bothers me. Demps bet on it working or still being able to move one of those guys. Jury is still out on that thought.

But they've got <$30M for 2016/17 guaranteed right now. That will obviously go up some, but they look to have massive room as Davis starts his prime. They can renounce Gordon if it comes to that and clear up a lot of space heading into FA.

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But what these rumors are suggesting to me isn't desperation by Demps, but Demps smelling an opportunity

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He should be shopping Gordon to see if he can pull off a good deal. But I don't think the dream deal is out there. Golden State had to give up 4 picks (2 1sts, 2 2nds) to dump dead salaries to a resetting Utah. Gordon is more useful than any of those players, but I can't imagine the Pelicans not having to sweeten the pot to get someone to bite on him and his contract at this point.

Yet, if we take this in concert with the Evans/Gordon rumors from the winter, the clear issue with Evans role/playing time, the team's repeated stated desire to find a 2 way big and add a starting caliber SF, Demps potentially on the hot seat, and Monty/Dell not on the same page w/ the roster, it's not unreasonable to speculate that these are course correction/panic moves.

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Is a core of Holiday/Evans/AD paired with either Anderson vs. Monroe that much different?

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I think it has the potential to be.

It may take time to see the difference, but I think Davis and Monroe would have an easier time defining defensive roles than Davis and Anderson. Monroe may be a terrible defender, but he's a big body. If Monty employs a decent system / scheme, Monroe can find his niche on that end of the floor and Davis can roam. We saw how poorly Anderson faired against opposing centers this year.

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It's all speculation any way. Aren't offseasons fun?

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This one has surprisingly had more to talk about than I thought it would considering the cap space, lack of picks, trade pieces. I figured we'd be dead until after the draft.

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but I do not see Monroe as being worth a max contract.

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He isn't.

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I do not see Monroe as being worth a max contract.

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He's not. But you can spend your money in much worse ways than a max for a 24 year old 15 and 9 C/PF. Like I said, Favors money ($12M/year) is ideal. But a max isn't terrible or franchise crippling.

ETA: I'd rather give Monroe a max than Gortat the $10M he wants. Or Ariza the $8M he's looking for.

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He's not. But you can spend your money in much worse ways than a max for a 24 year old 15 and 9 C/PF. Like I said, Favors money ($12M/year) is ideal. But a max isn't terrible or franchise crippling. ETA: I'd rather give Monroe a max than Gortat the $10M he wants. Or Ariza the $8M he's looking for

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The problem would be that his max contact would overlap with ADs max contract when he is up. Can we afford 2 max contracts when our guards will be up for new contracts as well? Is Monroe that much of a difference maker on this team that he is worth $15-$16 million a year?

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Yes. The cap and luxury tax line will continue to rise. Max deals end up being a % of the cap, but the team will hold Bird Rights to any guards so they can go over the cap to keep them, if they want and if both are still on the team. I'm not advocating Monroe or bust. They can sit tight with their unconventional core and be a playoff team next season. If they want a more traditional team, and some reports indicate they do, Monroe is a way to get there. Ideally, Monroe would take a 4/$48-$52M deal. Maybe that happens, but if not, a max is an overpay, but it isn't a terrible one. If you believe in two strong bigs, a Monroe/Davis pair on 2 max level deals through their mid to late 20s is not a bad way to go.

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I like Monroe, but just cannot see paying him the max. We will see soon if the Pelicans are really even interested in him.

Hey buddy thoughts on Mitch mcgary I'll hang up and listen

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If we could do Gordon + 2015 1st for a 2014 1st without taking back a bad contract, that's a good move in my book.

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If they can get it, they should jump all over that deal.

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Chicago has been aggressively shopping its two first-round picks, according to league sources, with an eye on either moving up for a shot at a better player or flipping them for a veteran scorer.

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Chicago has interest in Melo and Love and they have no desire to amnesty Boozer. Maybe if they strike out on trading the picks for a scorer and miss out on Melo and Love, Gordon for Boozer would become palatable. That's a lot of ifs though.