03-31-2021, 10:36 AM
(03-30-2021, 08:59 PM)mvossman Wrote: I had always been on the side of operating over the cap, but that was under the assumption that they trade Johnson for a future tradeable contract or at least someone they would want to re-sign (Fournier). Now that that ship has sailed, if they operate over the cap their best option is to re-sign THJ and JRich and sign a quality big with the MLE (Holmes, Millsap, Green?). That is not terribly exciting. Maybe you make a trade with some combination of Brunson/Powell/WCS/picks to get a starter who can distribution and create for themselves a little bit. Not sure that is enough assets and/or salary to get done what we would want.
If we go the cap space route, it seems like the options are:
Jrue Holiday (max). This means no THJ or JRich or MLE and the Bucks probably keep him anyways
Kyle Lowry (2/25). Prolly can't fit either THJ or JRich (unless he opts in) but would have cap slightly more than MLE
Mike Conley (2/20). Should be able to keep one of THJ/JRich. Does Utah let him go?
Demar DeRozan (3/20). Should be able to keep one of THJ/JRich. Makes most sense as 6th man. Does he want to do that?
I'm ignoring restricted as that's a fools game (I hope we don't do something stupid like max Collins). If we can't land one of these 4, we are probably better off re-signing the guys we currently have and getting what we can with the MLE.
This is a really good breakdown of the options fit wise and financially. Conley seems the most vulnerable given how much money Utah has committed elsewhere. I can't imagine Jrue leaving or Lowry and DeRozan wanting to come here but they'd all be pretty good fits, I'm just not going to get my hopes up about them.