11-21-2020, 09:25 AM
Good Morning All. Anything happen overnight? 
For quite a while we've talked about strategic direction. Spend a bunch of money or hang onto cap room in 21 or something in between. If "something in between" looked like improvement, then I termed it Plan HIBW's (Have it Both Ways). I think this qualifies. We moved off of the guaranteed money of Curry and Wright and now have max GA cap room in 21 if we want it. Richardson is a good fit at starting SG and improves us. I think many of us wanted something more than James Johnson (though he was brought up in discussions), but did you see what something-more-than-James-Johnson cost?
I thought an average of $13mm for Wood was about right. But $20mm per year for Grant? (who was it that said Denver would never "let" him go after paying a first rounder for him). Plumlee? $16 x 4 for 31 year old Marcus Morris. No thank you. Even $20.5 for Gallinari was a little rich for my blood (and what happens with John Collins now)? I think Dallas had two ways to go last night. Deal Wright/Jackson for Wood (Wright did end up in Detroit...Casey...as predicted) and sign DJJ to the MLE both of which would have tied up long term money. OR, something along the lines of what they did creating cap room in 21. I feel like Dallas was probably in on some of the long term ideas but either got outbid or players saw better opportunities for minutes/role elsewhere.
I'm left a little empty on Johnson, but just a little (like getting a B when I was expecting an A). It is an excellent strategic move, don't get me wrong. And, I think Johnson checks some boxes. Perimeter D with size against bigger wings. Some outside shooting. I think you'll find he's much better above the break. Johnson isn't good at standing in the corner and launching 3's. Can run the PnR and more especially the Pick and Pop. Is a better ball handler than you probably expect. Is a good finisher and is a tough veteran enforcer. I like all of that. I was just hoping for it in a younger body tied up on a longer term deal.
Carlisle now has TREMENDOUS lineup flexibility. As I've said before, the fourth starter looks like it will be "by committee". KP, THJ, Richardson and Luka seem like locks to me. The fourth could be Powell, Maxi, DFS or Johnson depending on the opponent. All of Maxi, Powell and Johnson are good in the PnR, but have other ways of taking advantage of the attention paid to Luka and KP when they are the focus of the play (especially Johnson and Maxi). We can go heavy on D with KP/Johnson/DFS/Richardson and Luka. We can go small with Johnson/DFS/THJ or Richardson/Burke and Luka. The flexibility will come in handy in the playoffs. BTW, who do you play off of if you are defending the primary action between Luka and KP?
From here, I'd probably just bring back WCS for most of the rest of the MLE for one year (maybe team option for the second). I'd also probably bring back Lee. If everyone is healthy, we might not need another center. But, everyone isn't healthy. One thing to point out...we can turn around and trade Johnson for someone making $21mm right now. I need to look up the aggregation date under this new arrangement. I think it more likely we keep what we have and roll into 21 with max space. We worked too hard and it is too exactly on the money for GA's number to give up now. Obviously, 21 doesn't have to be just about Giannis. I think much will depend on how Richardson looks here and how successful we are in the playoffs.
For quite a while we've talked about strategic direction. Spend a bunch of money or hang onto cap room in 21 or something in between. If "something in between" looked like improvement, then I termed it Plan HIBW's (Have it Both Ways). I think this qualifies. We moved off of the guaranteed money of Curry and Wright and now have max GA cap room in 21 if we want it. Richardson is a good fit at starting SG and improves us. I think many of us wanted something more than James Johnson (though he was brought up in discussions), but did you see what something-more-than-James-Johnson cost?
I thought an average of $13mm for Wood was about right. But $20mm per year for Grant? (who was it that said Denver would never "let" him go after paying a first rounder for him). Plumlee? $16 x 4 for 31 year old Marcus Morris. No thank you. Even $20.5 for Gallinari was a little rich for my blood (and what happens with John Collins now)? I think Dallas had two ways to go last night. Deal Wright/Jackson for Wood (Wright did end up in Detroit...Casey...as predicted) and sign DJJ to the MLE both of which would have tied up long term money. OR, something along the lines of what they did creating cap room in 21. I feel like Dallas was probably in on some of the long term ideas but either got outbid or players saw better opportunities for minutes/role elsewhere.
I'm left a little empty on Johnson, but just a little (like getting a B when I was expecting an A). It is an excellent strategic move, don't get me wrong. And, I think Johnson checks some boxes. Perimeter D with size against bigger wings. Some outside shooting. I think you'll find he's much better above the break. Johnson isn't good at standing in the corner and launching 3's. Can run the PnR and more especially the Pick and Pop. Is a better ball handler than you probably expect. Is a good finisher and is a tough veteran enforcer. I like all of that. I was just hoping for it in a younger body tied up on a longer term deal.
Carlisle now has TREMENDOUS lineup flexibility. As I've said before, the fourth starter looks like it will be "by committee". KP, THJ, Richardson and Luka seem like locks to me. The fourth could be Powell, Maxi, DFS or Johnson depending on the opponent. All of Maxi, Powell and Johnson are good in the PnR, but have other ways of taking advantage of the attention paid to Luka and KP when they are the focus of the play (especially Johnson and Maxi). We can go heavy on D with KP/Johnson/DFS/Richardson and Luka. We can go small with Johnson/DFS/THJ or Richardson/Burke and Luka. The flexibility will come in handy in the playoffs. BTW, who do you play off of if you are defending the primary action between Luka and KP?
From here, I'd probably just bring back WCS for most of the rest of the MLE for one year (maybe team option for the second). I'd also probably bring back Lee. If everyone is healthy, we might not need another center. But, everyone isn't healthy. One thing to point out...we can turn around and trade Johnson for someone making $21mm right now. I need to look up the aggregation date under this new arrangement. I think it more likely we keep what we have and roll into 21 with max space. We worked too hard and it is too exactly on the money for GA's number to give up now. Obviously, 21 doesn't have to be just about Giannis. I think much will depend on how Richardson looks here and how successful we are in the playoffs.