sturt

Damn that's funny.

Ouch. Looks like @kg01 has competition... hehe. Don't worry Spud.... some of us think the world of you, even though you haven't figured out yet how to get away from Sodom (SF) and Gomorrah (Oak)... ;)

Well, they did draft a PG. And they do have a history, unlike Bud, of actually giving rookies a serious shot at rotation time. But, for the record, the trade doesn't actually hinge on Mills to any great degree. Remove him and remove Thabo, and you've got essentially the same trade. Here's why I think, balanced-thinking, Green is valued, but not nearly so valued as sometimes thought, and with the right return, could be part of a deal... I'm a big fan of researching what the other team's fans say when they're not actually being prompted to respond to a trade idea.... and especially fans so invested in their team that they bother to start a blog and a podcast.... FF to about the 17:19 mark, if it doesn't already do it on its own.

You have Warriors friends? Dang, that's almost as bad as having Cavs friends. What's wrong with yoooouuuuu?!? You've got to watch who you associate with... bad companions corrupt good morals and all that!

Anxious to see if Delaney ends up on our SL roster.

Interview posted on Malcolm's website... offers some insight into how he thinks.... http://malcolmd23.com/news/the-deciding-moments-of-the-season/ Guys and gals, honestly, I think this is a Pero Antic-type signing for us.... HQ bringing over a proven Euro commodity to fill a role from Day 1, not to develop into it.

Happy to see @Spursfanpeacemaker appears to find it acceptable... that's always the crucible test, ie how does a fan from the other team perceive the deal. Of course, a year from now, all that would be left of this trade would be Gasol in SA, and for us, Green and Livio-Charles, as everyone else would have completed their current contracts. I like that aspect of it--no one is pinned down by this deal entering next off-season's FA sweepstakes.

So, let's play with this. Before I was saying we need to send out $10.5-ish and take back $15.75-ish, giving them the $5.25 of room they need to sign Gasol, and concurrently putting us over the cap so we can gain the $5.6m MLE.... and in it all, arguably improve both teams. And that's true, except... if Scott is part of the deal, then SA can just not pick up his contract, and that's that much less you have to take back, in order for them to meet their goal. Of course, on our side of the calculation, we're wanting to end up with enough in return that it vaults us over the cap, and can claim the MLE--so, in that way, there's a balancing act that takes some playing with the numbers to make both sides' spreadsheet happy. Here's what works most efficiently numbers-wise, in concert with what seemingly could work for both of our rosters: To Spurs (Total Salaries $18,014, 938) - Tiago Splitter - Thabo Sefalosha - Tim Hardaway, Jr. - Mike Scott Total Payroll After Trade (including Mike Scott release and Pau Gasol signing): $91,997,697, under the cap by $2,165, 303 (If Duncan retires, as is now expected, Spurs reportedly will stretch his $6.2m salary, which is important in allowing them the cap space to sign Ginobili, Marjanovic, Bertans, and potentially 2 others to fill their roster; if he does not, it could be more problematic to fill a 15-man roster, though that's probably a problem Spurs' front office would welcome.) To HAWKS (Total Salaries $21,853,938) - Danny Green - Boris Diaw - Patty Mills - Livio Jean-Charles (Note: Key to the trade is that Spurs intend to sign from Europe, and can negotiate a $1,275,000 salary that makes all the numbers work) Total Payroll After Trade : $94,164,437, over the cap by $21,437 (Asterisk to Patterson, b/c he could very well be replaced by another player acquired via the MLE, or let go and replaced by the Lithuanian combo forward we recently worked out, Mindaugas Kuzminskas... and yes, I checked the spelling.) Critique away.... and fortunately @Spursfanpeacemaker is around and can critique from the other team point of view.

So, let's play with this. Before I was saying we need to send out $10.5-ish and take back $15.75-ish, giving them the $5.25 of room they need to sign Gasol, and concurrently putting us over the cap so we can gain the $5.6m MLE.... and in it all, arguably improve both teams. And that's true, except... if Scott is part of the deal, then SA can just not pick up his contract, and that's that much less you have to take back, in order for them to meet their goal. Of course, on our side of the calculation, we're wanting to end up with enough in return that it vaults us over the cap, and can claim the MLE--so, in that way, there's a balancing act that takes some playing with the numbers to make both sides' spreadsheet happy. Here's what works most efficiently numbers-wise, in concert with what seemingly could work for both of our rosters: To Spurs (Total Salaries $18,014, 938) - Tiago Splitter - Thabo Sefalosha - Tim Hardaway, Jr. - Mike Scott Total Payroll After Trade (including Mike Scott release and Pau Gasol signing): $91,997,697, under the cap by $2,165, 303 (If Duncan retires, as is now expected, Spurs reportedly will stretch his $6.2m salary, which is important in allowing them the cap space to sign Ginobili, Marjanovic, Bertans, and potentially 2 others to fill their roster; if he does not, it could be more problematic to fill a 15-man roster, though that's probably a problem Spurs' front office would welcome.) To HAWKS (Total Salaries $21,853,938) - Danny Green - Boris Diaw - Patty Mills - Livio Jean-Charles (Note: Key to the trade is that Spurs intend to sign from Europe, and can negotiate a $1,275,000 salary that makes all the numbers work) Total Payroll After Trade : $94,164,437, over the cap by $21,437 (Asterisk to Patterson, b/c he could very well be replaced by another player acquired via the MLE, or let go and replaced by the Lithuanian combo forward we recently worked out, Mindaugas Kuzminskas... and yes, I checked the spelling.) Critique away.... and fortunately @Spursfanpeacemaker is around and can critique from the other team point of view.

Hibbert for $5m? Yeah. Zaza gave them some discount.

Wouldn't be at all surprised if we're on that list. It's a system that he knows he can flourish in, and you have to think he'd love to play for Bud.

Zaza for $3m? Dang. That was a sweet deal for them. I'm going to assume until we see a pattern of those kinds of numbers show up for others, that Zaza gave them an "I-want-in-on-this-budding-dynasty" discount. I mean, if not... if that $3m number is the standard at the other end of the payroll spreadsheet for NBA teams, then we're going to be able to do a lot with $8m (the number I'm using which is inflated by my assuption we'll drop Scott and Patterson at some point, or use them as trade chips).

I'm not communicating well. What I mean is, if the Hawks make a trade that puts them over the cap while taking back SAS' assets, the rule says we cannot take back more than 150% of salary in that trade--ie, to acquire a $7m player, you the Hawks would have to send back $4.66. So, doing some more math, to get them under the cap (their current projected payroll w/ Gasol is $5.15m), we'd have to send out (round numbers) $10.5m and take back $15.75m--yielding 5.25m in cap space for them that they're after in order to accommodate their Gasol signing. (Technically, the number is 150% + $100,000, fwiw.)

Don't think @AHF was proposing same salaries for everyone. I'm not precisely sure what he is proposing, but I take it that he's proposing that there ought not be any max at all for teams to keep their own Bird rights players, which to the contrary, would actually be a capitalist play, not a socialistic one. I'm sure he'll correct me to whatever extent I'm missing it, but that's my takeaway. It's an idea worth thinking about.

All I know is, Calvin Murphy better hope Kuzminskas isn't on the Rockets radar.... remember this?....

Um. Hardly fair, imo @AHF ... that is, given the post I was responding to.... trying to be fair to you, perhaps your definition of "owning" is somewhat lower than mine. When I hear/read "owning," I think the stuff of dynasties... several consecutive championships.

To make a trade that puts us over the cap, we have to send out $4.66 or more salary (ie, one that Diaw's contract @ 7m would represent 150% of).... but that doesn't seem to sere SAS's purposes here. They want someone to take the entire salary off their books b/c they're looking to carve $5.1m off to accommodate Gasol. So the trade would have to be significantly bigger if we're involved.

@kenkejas it appears it's b/t us and the Lakers... this was posted this morning.

I might have worded it better, but just rushed to make the point.... yes... you're right.... IF Durant wins a ring, it will get the same asterisk beside it in many minds including my own that LBJ's w/ MIA and w/ CLE has. Oh.... I should have said.... if Durant wins a ring with GSW... don't want any misunderstandings as to what my larger point is for the lack of clarity on the details.

Setting aside the point that there is always the next superstar waiting in the wings, and that Durant's contract is pretty dang short... I believe that's what they said about MIA's fortunes. How'd that turn out. Didn't quite turn out as designed. Life has a way of getting in the way of this kind of thing.

Pierce was already there. Garnett arrived via trade, as did Allen. Had Garnett, in particular, arrived in BOS via FA, you'd have a point.

Truly, you never know who is going to be injured or when, and you have to be ready to jump on opportunities presented to you... for that matter, you never know when a young player is going to bloom into something special. Anyone who lived through Smith for Rider should fully appreciate the lesson that tossing in the cards out of frustration can lead to.... not merely roster purgatory.... but roster hell.

Not mad at any team. Not actually "mad" at any player.... more likely disgusted. No specific malice, so much as the same reaction as when you're driving in the country, and you come upon the unmistakably foul odor of a pig farm up ahead. I just think LeBron and Durant both get asterisks beside their names for the championships they've won. What KD and LBJ before him did is not a legitimate claim to a championship ring. They've taken advantage and made a mockery of the process. It's wrong.

I remember a lot of teams trying to pry away their draft pick, most prominently the Knicks, that became Curry. I also remember a very hard luck franchise that, once they became respectable, just kept churning and churning. Had they not developed the players around Curry that they did, this would be another hamster-wheel roster. The lesson to me is, develop your players.

I think this is the kind of player I'd want to add to our roster--ie, a combo forward--but I'd sure like to see it be someone who is already established in the league. I'm not impressed that Prince is penciled-in as the starter out of the gate (and of course, I'm hoping he changes my mind in Summer League), and I'm eager to see Korver coming off the bench and Baze playing the 2. This would be a great pick-up, to me, if we already had a solid #1 at the 3. Then again, maybe he's seen as a potential replacement for Scott... that might be a more plausible thought.