Free Agency Rumors

[Jack Brickman]

Keep in mind the East is going to be absolutely terrible next year

Jesus, it really is going to be terrible.

Hot Garbage:
Orlando - Still going to suck.
Charlotte - *sigh* Why must I be doomed to watch such shitty basketball?
Philly - Put a stamp on next season and already dropped it in the mail.
Boston - Also mailed in next season early. No coach. Basically Rondo and the Scrub Patrol.

Treadmill:
Toronto - Could suck. Could make the playoffs. Either way, total treadmill team.
Atlanta - Not sure what they'll do when they realize even people from Atlanta don't want to play there and all their cap space is useless since they don't have the assets to fill it via trades. Al Horford and the Scrub Patrol.
New York - Too good to suck but not good enough to win. Welcome to the most expensive treadmill on earth.
Milwaukee - May lose two of their best (although in this case that's very contextual) players. No idea what they are trying to do.

Fringe Playoff:
Washington - Potentially a playoff team.
Detroit - No idea what will happen to them. Seems like they've been rebuilding for a decade and haven't really gone anywhere despite (seemingly) nailing picks.

Contender:
Chicago - Derrick Rose will probably be back. Likely a top four seed.
Brooklyn - Hey, a two-year window is still technically a window.
Indiana - Should still be in the running to win the East unless David Kahn stole Larry Bird's identity a la Face/Off.
Miami - I mean, they have LeBron. That's an automatic ticket to at least the second round.

So yeah, the East is pretty wide open right now. The way I count it, there are four teams that have virtually no shot of a playoff berth (Orlando, Charlotte, Boston, Philly), five additional teams that may not make the playoffs (Toronto, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Washington, Detroit), and five that should make it barring a plane crash or catastrophic injuries.

That basically leaves us fighting with that middle group if we want a playoff spot. The Cavs this year could easily be better than Atlanta and Milwaukee depending on what happens in free agency, and I'd say that, right now, we're on a similar level with Toronto, Washington, and Detroit. Should be an interesting season, at any rate.

 

[AZCavs]

I'd pencil in Miami, Chicago, Indiana, Brooklyn and New York as playoff teams.

The other three spots will likely come from the following group:

Atlanta, Philly (Despite losing Holiday, they have enough talent and the east is bad enough for them to compete for one of the bottom three spots), Washington, Detroit, Cleveland, Toronto and Milwaukee.

35 wins could get you into the playoffs next season. 41 could get you the sixth seed.

 

[CodyL1121]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Cavaliers still seeking center, small forward and backup point guard; willing to deal existing talent.</p>&mdash; Sam The Bullshit Whisperer (@SamAmicoFSO) <a href="https://twitter.com/SamAmicoFSO/statuses/350697819314733056">June 28, 2013</a></blockquote>
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[chuck0609]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Cavaliers still seeking center, small forward and backup point guard; willing to deal existing talent.</p>— Sam The Bullshit Whisperer (@SamAmicoFSO) <a href="https://twitter.com/SamAmicoFSO/statuses/350697819314733056">June 28, 2013</a></blockquote>
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I hate this guy

 

[CodyL1121]

I hate this guy

 

[Soar]

I hate this guy

To be fair, The Bullshit Whisperer got this from Grant's radio interview this morning. Grant said they wanted shooting, backup PG, and a big. And when asked about untouchables, he said they would take advantage of unique opportunities.

 

[EdMonix11]

Thompson & Gee for Monroe. Who says no?

 

[Jack Brickman]

Thompson & Gee for Monroe. Who says no?

Probably Detroit because Monroe is a better fit with Drummond than Thompson would be and is currently the better player.

 

[Glenechocreek]

I would back up the truck for Pekovic. It would be our only chance to add a quality C any time soon. Does anyone think he might be worth close to a max?

 

[Jack Brickman]

I would back up the truck for Pekovic. It would be our only chance to add a quality C any time soon. Does anyone think he might be worth close to a max?

Not really. You offer the max to stars. I don't see Pek as a star. I think he's a good center, but that's about the extent of it. He's definitely not worth max money, unless of course you'd prefer to cripple our team's payroll and flexibility.

 

[Soar]

I would back up the truck for Pekovic. It would be our only chance to add a quality C any time soon. Does anyone think he might be worth close to a max?

Well, he seems to have the right idea against the Pistons. :chuckles: Knight would likely fake injury every time we played Detroit considering Kyrie abused him in the Rookie Soph game.

[video=youtube;HApwAOFf9h4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HApwAOFf9h4[/video]

 

[EdMonix11]

Probably Detroit because Monroe is a better fit with Drummond than Thompson would be and is currently the better player.

I proposed this mainly because of the news Detroit coveting TT in the draft a few years ago and Monroe and his agent saying they won't sign an extension without exploring RFA....

 

[Glenechocreek]

Not really. You offer the max to stars. I don't see Pek as a star. I think he's a good center, but that's about the extent of it. He's definitely not worth max money, unless of course you'd prefer to cripple our team's payroll and flexibility.

I didn't say full max. Just enough to bust Minny's balls, but leave us enough room for a real max next year.

At some point, you have to spend that money, and I'm not one who is expecting Lebron to come back. Hell, I'd be tempted to sign Iggy AND go after Pekovic now.

 

[Jack Brickman]

I didn't say full max. Just enough to bust Minny's balls, but leave us enough room for a real max next year.

At some point, you have to spend that money, and I'm not one who is expecting Lebron to come back. Hell, I'd be tempted to sign Iggy AND go after Pekovic now.

Regardless, I'd wait until next summer to spend any money unless a star becomes available in the near future via trade. We can always use the cap space in a trade, and extensions for our 2011 rookies won't kick in until the following summer. The deeper we get into this new CBA, the more likely it is that we'll be able to find someone to rip off.

 

[Soar]

I didn't say full max. Just enough to bust Minny's balls, but leave us enough room for a real max next year.

At some point, you have to spend that money, and I'm not one who is expecting Lebron to come back. Hell, I'd be tempted to sign Iggy AND go after Pekovic now.

Absolutely not. The vets we add will be on expiring deals. 4 years 44 million on Iggy is not worth it. Pekovic I can understand. But given how Flip seems adamant that Love is the guy they build around, I don't see him leaving Minny.