2018 NBA Draft

[mac222b]

Originally Posted by Magnum_3_Ball

From a post I made in the Mavs at the Trade Deadline thread about a possible Faried/1st round pick deal with DEN.



Faried would limit us to only being able to sign a mid level exception FA this offseason. But I say so what? Say we luck out & draft Ayton and our early 2nd round pick winds up being some impact player like Kyle Kuzma was for the Lakers this year. DSJ, Barnes, Ayton, Impact player, Dirk, Wes, etc... and what FA are we going to sign that's going to take that group & make it a contender next season? My answer would be no one.

So why not just absorb the salary, take the extra 1st round pick (and get a young player who's cost-controlled for 4 years), win less games next year, get a higher pick & then hit the FA market in 2019 when Faried drops from the books, the team is a year older & year closer to being ready and you've accumulated more assets?

I meant that there always remains the possibility of opening up more cap space later. Move JJB. Or even better, Powell. Unlikely but not impossible. See if Wes will opt out for a longer term deal (*vomits*). Could save 5m that way.

All that said, the safe play is to not do anything that isn't an obvious slam dunk trade for us. That way if something better presents itself, we have max flexibility. As much as I value and want another pick in the teens/early 20's, those deals may still be there later(Brooklyn/TOR deal last draft)-- and potentially something much better. Worst case scenario we have 20-25 mil to throw at FA's, Gordon and Capela are great RFA targets.

[Magnum_3_Ball]

Originally Posted by mac222b

I meant that there always remains the possibility of opening up more cap space later. Move JJB. Or even better, Powell. Unlikely but not impossible. See if Wes will opt out for a longer term deal (*vomits*). Could save 5m that way.

All that said, the safe play is to not do anything that isn't an obvious slam dunk trade for us. That way if something better presents itself, we have max flexibility. As much as I value and want another pick in the teens/early 20's, those deals may still be there later(Brooklyn/TOR deal last draft)-- and potentially something much better. Worst case scenario we have 20-25 mil to throw at FA's, Gordon and Capela are great RFA targets.

I like the thinking. It's definitely one way to go. I did hear one anonymous GM quoted as saying it'd be easier to trade picks at the deadline if you knew where teams were drafting (eluding to the fact that more deals get done on draft night for that reason). So, I'm on board with that idea. Say DEN slips to 8th, gets bounced by Golden State in the 1st round of the playoffs & their pick is 16th. Yeah, you feel better about trading away a player & taking on a contract for that pick, then you do if the DEN pick winds up being 23rd or something. Plus, by that time you've had more time to scout the college players & you should have a better idea of how valuable that 16th pick really is. So, I'm all on board for waiting til the draft to make that kind of move. (The only problem with that is if another team jumps out there while you're waiting & snatches up that 1st round pick along with Faried. It's the risk you take).

Personally for me, I don't want to sign any difference maker type FAs this summer. I'd rather take the approach the 76ers did & be bad for a few years and collect 3 or 4 young talented players. I'm not saying tank next year, necessarily. But, I don't think even if we did add Capela or Gordon next year that it would make us a playoff team. I'd rather let nature take it's course, take the extra year (hopefully leds to a higher pick) and target 2019 to make that kind of a move.