Hornets Shopping Tenth Pick
2012-06-06
Hornets will entertain offers for 10th pick if someone also agrees to take Ariza or Okafor contracts.
I mention this only because the Cavs have a bunch of cap space and could conceivably absorb one or both of those contracts. Okafor will make $28 mil over the next two seasons, and Ariza (who has a player option for the 2013-14 season) is owed $7.2 mil next season and $7.7 mil in 2013-14. I haven’t heard anything as far as the Cavs being in talks with the Hornets, but I thought I’d make you guys aware.
Something to keep in mind: I’m not sure exactly what the cap is going to do this offseason, but the Cavs will likely need to have about $50 mil committed to player salaries to hit the mandatory salary floor (else they’ll have to distribute the extra money evenly amongst their roster), and as it stands (per this article, which I think is accurate) they have $31.5 mil tied up at this very moment, without having signed any rookies, picked up or terminated Daniel Gibson’s team option, or dealt with the proposition of re-signing Alonzo Gee.
It may be feasible that the Cavs could sign a major FA like Harden but how likely is it compared to drafting one with another lottery pick in a strong draft? The draft is not a sure way to acquire stars but I like the odds better than the Cavs odds of signing such a player.
Cranky, Calm down. As explained, OKC won’t have the money to sign harden to a max deal. Ibaka, being a cheaper and more complementary player, will be their first priority. Without resigning either restricted player (ibaka and harden) they’ll have 48 million on the books. Ibaka is likely to get at least $10m a year, harden ~$15m, there is about a .5% chance they resign both and pay the $2.50 luxury tax (that’s without filling out their other roster spots either). There is the chance they determine they should let ibaka walk and keep harden, but its certainly not a… Read more »
This trade could be a big winner for both teams. The extra CAP space allows NOLA to re-sign Gordon, Kaman, Landry and Belinelli while bringing in Davis plus whoever they could acquire from any picks the Cavs gave them. I’d have to think that the Cavs #24,33 and 34 from this year would be in play as could the Heat’s first rounder from next year. The Cavs could take on both Okafor and Ariza if they had to, in order to keep as many of the aforementioned picks as possible. Okafor and Varejao could mentor any developmental bigs the Cavs… Read more »
http://tracking.si.com/2012/06/08/charlotte-bobcats-shopping-first-round-pick/
Some of you people are delusional. I have no idea where you come up with some of these ideas, such as trades that no GM in their right mind would ever consider making. And putting all of our eggs in the Harden basket? What are you smoking? There are so many reasons that Harden will never come to Cleveland that it’s pointless to even try listing them all. Although, for starters: OKC will match, and there will be a dozen other teams offering him the max anyways, which leaves him absolutely zero reason to sign with Cleveland. @ TheKyrieShow: why… Read more »
I’m guess New Orleans just want’s Okafor out and won’t necessarily require BOTH contracts to be absorbed in order to relenquish #10. This should definitely be a high priority for Grant & Co.
Bumsquare, he shot 11% worse. 11% is HUGE for Fg percentage. That right there is damning evidence, but then he also is a significantly worse shot blocker and slightly worse rebounder in slightly more minutes. I’m all for giving TT a chance to improve, but realistically it should not be expected that he’ll be as good as ibaka. It could happen, but it probably won’t.
One thing that should be noted is that in the new CBA, the amnestied contract of Baron Davis still counts against our cap floor, so with our added rookies that shouldn’t be a factor in our decisions.
hoopsdogg, you exaggerate a few things, but overall you have solid points. – There will always be teams that go over the tax still, just not as deep. – Ibaka, as good as he is, is not a max contract guy. Harden may be, but he may not. along with the harder cap will come more stringent definitions of max contract players. The – The draft is deep, but Zeller, perry jones, Henson and Lamb are significantly better prospects than Fab Melo, moultrie, and jeff taylor. The cavs may or may not have to give up 24 to move up… Read more »
I don’t know why everybody seems to be so hard on TT. Comparison of Ibaka’s and TT’s rookie seasons:
http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=1&p1=ibakase01&y1=2010&p2=thomptr01&y2=2012
It’s clear from this comparison that Ibaka was a more efficient offensive player his first season, but all of the other stats are inconclusive in my opinion. I don’t see any reason why TT can’t show the same improvement countless other big men have made subsequent to their rookie years.
Ibaka isn’t close to a max player. If some idiot GM gives him a max contract the Thunder will laughingly decline to match.
I’m fine with giving Harden a max offer, but the Thunder are almost certainly matching.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Ibaka is a good young player whose game has a little room to grow. But he’s not, nor will he ever be a max player. If Ibaka is a max player, then Andy V. would be too if he hit the open market. The team that makes either a max player is the team that makes a serious mistake managing its salary cap.
Exactly, HoopsDogg, Ibaka and Harden will not be on the Thunder for their next contracts unless they ship out Westbrook. I absolutely offer Harden a max deal. Paired with Irving, that backcourt could be very dynamic as both guys are great playing on or off the ball. We need to at least be in the running. Ibaka will also get a huge deal, but I am not sure about a Max. But as I have said before, while I am a believer in Tristan, there is no way he will ever be the player Ibaka is, offensively or defensively. Ibaka… Read more »
Both Dave and HoopsDogg have valid points. Cleveland will definitely be set up well for 2013 FA. They have only 9 mil committed currently (I think only Utah has less). You figure they will resign Gee, but Casspi and Gibson will come off the books. If the Cavs continue to develop and becomes a lower-seeded playoff team, I think it will be easier to sign an elite FA (that and due to the new CBA). But it’s still risky counting on that. I remember Dan Gilbert sending out a tweet about a year ago (I think), saying something about waiting… Read more »
I’m sorry but Ibaka is nowhere near a max contract player. He is good, but extremely overrated. Ariza has a player option for 13/14 so maybe he doesn’t pick that up. Maybe a contender takes Okafor’s contract for a playoff run and both contracts are up after 13/14 so the Cavs will at most be slightly over the cap for one year if they do this. You just can’t rely on one player and free agency. It’s far too risky and the Cavs should know that
@Pete; HoopsDogg, I’ve yet to see a compelling scrap of evidence that we’ll get anything resembling a top free agent. If they wouldn’t come play with LBJ, why come now? Cleveland will never be a top-tier FA destination, and we should plan accordingly. Cap space is valuable – because it lets us make moves like this. We could never have lured Kyrie here with cap space, but we could absorb a big contract with that cap space, and get a pick in return. Not saying the space isn’t valuable, but this is exactly the kind of thing that it’s valuable… Read more »
Sorry Aaron and Dave, but your thinking reflects the realities of the old CBA, not the new one. In the new CBA, which really starts in 2013-2014, it is prohibitively expensive to be over the luxury tax. The Knicks might do it for a season or two, and maybe one or two other big market teams that have a window, but no one is going to have the money to sign all the players they want to sign. Players won’t just have to take less to stay with the home team, they’ll have to take a LOT less. It’s going… Read more »
Aaron, I agree that we should put all our eggs in the Harden basket, And I would definitely want that 10 pick. That said, taking both ariza and okafer is crippling to our flexebility, and we keeping an option open to sign one good player, and having them have some continuity with our youngsters before they have to decided to resign would be helpful. Being competitive and making the playoffs is not the ultimate goal, winning a championship is. Okafer aria and the 10 pick would make us a lower end playoff team, and we would be pretty much stuck… Read more »
Jim Brickman’s 7-man rotation has me Pretty excited. I’d bring in Okafor this instant if it meant adding the tenth pick. I’m not crazy about Barnes, but having a young group of rookies/sophs on this team (Kyrie/Lamb/Barnes/Tristan) would be a lot of fun. We’d be able to watch them develop as a unit and really, having a bunch of guys invested in one another is maybe the only chance we have of keeping a young core together long term. I totaled some 2013-2014 salaries to see where we’d be next summer. Even assuming we keep Boobie around then sign him… Read more »
I’m with HoopsDogg on this one. Save the money for the Harden sweepstakes unless we are given a deal that is in the Cavs’ favor long-term… OR there’s still a guy available that Grant and Scott REALLY want with the 10th pick (or 8th, if the Raps are willing to deal with us).
Have to agree with Aaron. While I would love to see the Cavs sign some major players via free agency, I don’t think we are going to do that. Just look at OKC, they made the Finals with their draft picks and Perkins. I can see the Cavs getting a solid role player like Perkins, but no major pieces will be acquired thru free agency. I’ve been looking at this draft for a while and the Cavs have too many picks. With a deep draft we could conceivably walk away with two solid impact players this year. For that reason,… Read more »
Agree with Aaron. Harden will get resigned and we already have Ibaka Jr. in TT (or they hope). I think we’ve seen Cleveland spurned enough by FAs that no plan should focus on signing a particular guy.
Taking Ariza would be perfect because he did not want to come to Cleveland years ago so he would not pick up his option in 2013. Okafor would fit a need.
Great suggestions, but I would prefer Gerald Wallace in a sign-and-trade for Walton & Gibson,,
Andre Miller to back up Kyrie and free Kyrie to play a little SG,
Oden , who would not play until the playoffs,
David Lighty, who I think may be free after playing abroad.
Oden, Wallace, Miller, Lighty + rookies would bring playoff possibilities.
Miller at $4 mill., Lighty at 1, Wallace at 12, and Oden at 1.5, 3, 4 (Option) would be affordable.
@TheKyrieShow IMO, Ariza would be a perfect fit to come off the bench behind Barnes, so I think that could end up being not too big of an issue. @HoopsDogg I think us Cavs fans should know that free agency is NOT the way you want to build a team. Relying on FA is never a good strategy. Just because Harden and Ibaka are available doesn’t mean they are coming here. Other teams have cap space and they are both restricted and might want to stay for at least one more year, especially if they win a couple times between… Read more »
Argh. No. We don’t want those guys. We want MAXIMUM cap space for 2013-2014. Would you rather have Ariza and/or Okafor, and a 10 instead of a 24 (in a loaded draft), or would you rather have the money to offer max contracts to both Harden and Ibaka, and make OKC choose between the two? The 2013-2014 free agent class is LOADED. We want to absolutely as much cap space as possible that year. Pay some scrubs on a one year deal to get up to the minimum salary this year, and then kill the 2013 free agent class.
http://www.hoopsworld.com/2013-nba-free-agents
Yeah.. Dont think the Cavs will be taking arizas contract. It’s looking more and more like they want to draft Harrison Barnes in this year and they probably dont want to mess with the 3.
Do it. Take both contracts. Both players fill needs and they can afford it. Trade Walton and Boobie and the 24/32/33 in the trade (I would even include the LAL/MIA pick next year or maybe the Kings pick) or to try to move up to the teens. PG – Irving, Sloan SG – Rookie, Gee, Harris SF – Rookie, Ariza, Casspi PF – TT, Andy, Samuels C – Okafor, Rookie, Erdin This would be a very competitive team. Would more than likely compete for the playoffs. This would put them at right around $50 million before the rookie contracts. So… Read more »
How about pick 24 for 10 and Okafor? Actually, that probably isn’t even enough since you guys have to remember, we aren’t the only team that will be after the pick and the Hornets will obviously take the best offer. I think if we end up getting the pick we will have to give up 24, 33, and 34 or the Sacramento pick.
I feel like Terrence Ross would be a great pick at #10 if we could do this trade. He’s a better shooter than Waiters and is surprisingly athletic.
I think it really depends what the Hornets would want in return. If it is just taking on Ariza or Okafor (I think both would be a bit too much), I think doing it is a no-brainer. Kyrie and Tristan are still on their rookie contracts and the Cavs have almost thirty million in cap space. Ariza would be nicer from a cap perspective since his contract is more reasonable, but since we’re probably drafting Harrison Barnes with the fourth pick, I’m not sure he makes sense. Okafor’s contract is worse, but he fits a need on the team. Having… Read more »
Also, the Raptors are trying to trade the 8th pick for a proven small forward. Wonder if a sign-and-trade with Gee would be a possibility.
Oh man, I would do this in a heartbeat! You could get a real player at 10! Maybe Lamb falls to there. Jones from UK. Even my dude, Henson. Or Dion Waiters if he knocks the Cavs out in workouts. Totally worth Ariza or Okafor. Plus, both of thoseguyscould get but with the Cavs this coming year. Then they come off the books when it’s playoff push time. What’s motto like??