sturt

Deng signing for actually slightly more per-year than Baze. *nods head*

In Bud I trust... but that doesn't mean the sky isn't blue and it doesn't mean that Dwight isn't a liability on the offensive end in the system he runs. To the original point... I'm not big on Dwight, but I don't mind the acquisition if there's a plan that was in-place all along... it's just that it's very unclear what that plan could have been, when you don't start with the premise of locking up your Bird asset right away. Don't get me wrong... again... there's only so much you can plan as fast and furious as the environment is. I get that. Holding my breath that it all becomes clearer soon, and I know I'm not alone.

Buzz, I wouldn't have offered Horf the 5th year, but I would have been open to max money for the 4 years (which is still significantly more than anyone else can offer). I'm intrigued, but not excited by acquiring Dwight. He is actually one of the last players I would have thought Bud would be interested in signing... sure he bring the rebounding, but then, at what cost.... all things considered, in Bud's system, he's a liability on the offensive end. But, as you said.... let's see how the rest of this plays out.

Difference between when you technically sign a player (which can't happen until next week anyhow) and when you come to an agreement with a player. Baze' early bird rights, as were DMC's before him, were meaningless to this process. And... assuming you have a plan going into it if you're Budcox.... it would seem you'd want to lock-down an agreement with your Bird rights player first b/c you're essentially able to play the rest of the FA game knowing you've got that asset at a cap-hold discount (ie, by virtue of only counting 18m, but later signing for more). I'm waiting for the next shoe to drop, and hoping to learn we have had a trade in-place to keep Horf.

Put me down for "agree strongly" on "a," and "agree somewhat" on "b"... I'm one of those who don't see a real role for Dwight in this offense, and one of those who laughed last year as Bud sent him to the foul line over and over again in what proved to be a big factor in the comeback win in Houston. And as for Baze, that was also my initial thought, but I've been wrong before, and waiting to see the rest of this.... assuming there is a "rest to this"... play out. Maybe I'm missing something. God knows I hope I'm missing something.

I'm someone who tries to appreciate that I don't know what I don't know, but in this case, what I don't know is whether there is any semblance of a plan in all of this toward any desired purposeful final result. I get it that free agency is a fast-moving, difficult to navigate free-for-all Black Thursday of sorts (without any discounts, of course). But it just seems if you want Horf, you take care of him first, then if you want Dwight plus Baze, you make the trades necessry to shed salary after that first move in order to keep them... no? This just feels too random. Holding out hope that it makes sense later... or at least makes some sense later.

Warm thoughts and prayers for you, Vol, and your family. Lost mine 6 years ago, and still sit sometimes and just reflect on all he did to make my life better.

Baze is in? Honestly, how does this make any sense to toss away Horford and our Bird rights and the cap maneuvering inherent with that. I can't wait to learn.

I'm thinking more in terms of what timeline we might expect... his contract becomes guaranteed on 7/10 if I recall correctly.

Whiteside returning to MIA probably helps eliminate what was probably one of the top 2 or 3 competitors... or maybe, the top competitor for Horf... no?

"So, my wish for Horford to re-sign overnight, eschewing the Rockets meeting after all, didn't happen," he said. Darn.

I'll say it again.... what matters is the number of years involved. Bird rights carry a high value, no matter the cap era. It makes all the difference in the world to us right now w/ Baze (... not that we had any choice in his case, but just making the point that had things been different when we got him, we definitely would be feeling much better right now w/ those Bird rights we can only wish we could have). You want to have that advantage in the next round of negotiations. If you think enough of a player to want to sign him now, you almost certainly want to protect your future prospects of keeping him.

Why it makes more attractive ("sensible," maybe, maybe not)...? Players you're getting in return are like paying your 2016 taxes with 1976 money.... the price on those players is already locked-in, though the new environment/expansion of the cap means they're effectively playing at a discount. Doesn't that mean sign and trades are less likely b/c their players will sign with their new team's cap space? In a situation where a player is signing for 3 or more years, true. In a situation where a player is signing for next year plus a player option the following season--seemingly a popular option this FA period especially given next year's projections--Bird rights can be especially important.

Given how the market is resetting itself before our eyes, suddenly all these players currently under contract are playing at a discount. At the same time, this is also a lesson for next season's anticipated additional boost upward.... that even these FAs today are going to potentially be playing at a discount to the degree that they are signed long-term. Other thoughts?

For me, it's a matter of what's there in the market.... and Crabbe really stands alone as a wing whose trajectory and age predict stardom in the next 3-4 years... really, even more so than Baze, on balance, b/c he's 2-3 years younger.

That's rational to me.... which is why I asked the question, I suppose. If Horf wants to be here as he's said, and if... if... we're offering a superor deal than anyone else demonstrating that we do indeed want him here... what's the fuss?

Crabbe first. His trajectory and his age make him the right play, imo, even if at the same numbers that Baze is getting.

(bump)

Thx for the insight, @kg01.... if all of this holds true and we're being priced out of the market on Baze, I'm giving Allen Crabbe's agent a call.

And.... again.... who is Tom Ziller? I ask, guys and girls, b/c we live in an age when bloggers on Bleacher Report and Fansided et al are taken too often as reporting gospel.

A follow-up tweet said, "This has Nets written all over it." Wouldn't be surprised. I should be. But I wouldn't be. I'm also still skeptical, though... who's Howard Beck and why is he a reliable source... anyone know?

Realistically... honest question... what is the argument for giving him a 5th year if we're otherwise maxing his starting salary and then giving him 7.5% raises that no one else can?

Upon even closer examination, the blurb does link at the bottom to a David Aldridge "10 things that oughta happen in FA" article. THIS, my friends, is the basis for the blurb... Don't know about anyone else, but this hardly gets my knickers twisted.

Let's slow down. If you click, the tweet takes you to a RealGM blurb that actually contains NO source... not his family, not a friend, not his agent, not his barber, and not even some vague something that Horford might have said himself. I call BS. ________________________________ Well, not completely BS, but pretty darn close to it... see the revision below.