Masai is not playing wait and see

[Shantz]

MIlwaukee is in a win now mode?

I would agree that "in win mode" would be misleading, but Milwaukee's owner has made it very clear that he expects them to be competitive (i.e. playoffs) every year. Anything less is a failure in his eyes. This is the reason that Milwaukee has been speculated as a possible destination for Gay, DeRozan, or Lowry. I fully expect them to make some sort of a move, it's just a matter of what they are willing to give up (Knight? Giannis? Draft Picks? etc?).

[Shantz]

The conversation seems to come back to Charlotte a lot of the time. Chad Ford was asked today what his thoughts are on the direction of the Bobcats:

Islander (Barcelona)



If the Bobcats get the number one pick, how are they going to mess it up?

Chad Ford
(2:01 PM)



Not sure you can mess it up this year. Though I'm sure they'll try. Most likely, Michael Jordan and company will keep trying to add veterans to make a playoff push. They're .500 and want to win now. Could see the selling off a young player or two (Michael Kidd-Gilchrist gets most of the attention) if it could land them another veteran who could guarantee a playoff seed.

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat/_/id/49436

According to Chad, Michael Kidd Gilchrist could potentially be dealt as the Bobcats aim for playoffs. I would love MKG on the Raptors!

[Edgar]

Dallas - No use for a player like Gay right now, Marion is giving them better defense, more rebounding and higher efficiency at the 3. Maybe down the road they may want him to supplement Dirk/Monta, but for now at 19M? No.

You don't think Cuban would consider replacing a 35 y/o Marion for Gay? The money isn't an issue to him as long as he gets wins, and he's proven he will never blow it up.

Marion and Brandon Wright for Gay would work after January 15th - (inclusion of Quincy/Daye/Stone optional)

Dallas traded their pick this year top 20 protected but can trade it conditional to being under 20th - and they have 2 second rounders - they're own and Boston's.

Wright can also be replaced by Vince Carter (who?) and Larkin to make the deal today...

I could actually see Gay flourish in a system where he's clearly the second option and isn't expected to create - Plus Dallas has 2 primary distributors and a demanding coach.

[mcHAPPY]

Lol so essentially expiring because there's no way they would've opted into that last year unless their GM smoked a bowl or two every night during the offseason.

Yeah any contract can be traded, but not every contract can be traded for something you actually want. Your two counter-examples of Arenas and Rashard are just examples of bad contracts being traded for well... other bad contracts which isn't really what we want to achieve with Gay.

If you wanted to give a good example you should've used Joe Johnson, but he was still playing at an all-star level at the time he was traded, and was also traded to the one owner that gives absolutely zero fucks about the cap/tax threshold.

Exactly what I was saying.

[mcHAPPY]

MIlwaukee is in a win now mode?

They seem to be perpetually caught between rebuilding mode and win-now mode.....like the Raptors.

I don't think they'll trade for Gay who can - and likely will - opt out.

Last year they basically traded Harris for a 2nd round pick.

I think DeRozan would fit in Milwaukee because of his contract. He is 'stuck' there for 3 years.

[mcHAPPY]

You don't think Cuban would consider replacing a 35 y/o Marion for Gay? The money isn't an issue to him as long as he gets wins, and he's proven he will never blow it up.

Marion and Brandon Wright for Gay would work after January 15th - (inclusion of Quincy/Daye/Stone optional)

Dallas traded their pick this year top 20 protected but can trade it conditional to being under 20th - and they have 2 second rounders - they're own and Boston's.

Wright can also be replaced by Vince Carter (who?) and Larkin to make the deal today...

I could actually see Gay flourish in a system where he's clearly the second option and isn't expected to create - Plus Dallas has 2 primary distributors and a demanding coach.

No it can't.

Next year it could be over 20 and that would be 2 years in a row without a 1st round pick which is not permitted.

Dallas could offer TOronto right to swap 1st round picks.

[KeonClark]

The conversation seems to come back to Charlotte a lot of the time. Chad Ford was asked today what his thoughts are on the direction of the Bobcats:



http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat/_/id/49436

According to Chad, Michael Kidd Gilchrist could potentially be dealt as the Bobcats aim for playoffs. I would love MKG on the Raptors!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't MKG basically a younger Derozan with slightly better defense? If so, goood god, no more!!

[white men can't jump]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't MKG basically a younger Derozan with slightly better defense? If so, goood god, no more!!

More than slightly better defense, generally better ball IQ and intangibles as well. MKG is weak on the offensive side, but better than DeMar in pretty much every other way. And while his scoring isn't great, because he's not a totally stupid player, he plays within himself most of the time and does what he does with decent efficiency. His free throw shooting is the thing I dislike about him. It's almost Bo Outlaw ugly.

[Nilanka]

Yeah, I'm not very high on MKG. His offense is soooooooooo damn raw. His jumper could rival Fields' as one of the ugliest in the game. He's a liability at that end of the court.

I'll take his rookie scale contract, but he's a project by every definition....something I have very little patience for. If you haven't got your basic basketball fundamentals down (like shooting!) by the time you're a pro, I'm not interested.

[Edgar]

No it can't.

Next year it could be over 20 and that would be 2 years in a row without a 1st round pick which is not permitted.

Dallas could offer TOronto right to swap 1st round picks.

Ahh yes - Dallas has protection until 2018.... What if we bought the last pick in the 1st round and swapped that? My head is spinning...

[mcHAPPY]

Ahh yes - Dallas has protection until 2018.... What if we bought the last pick in the 1st round and swapped that? My head is spinning...

Maybe but I have not heard of a pick being traded before draft night.

[Masai Ujiri]

Exactly what I was saying.

If that's what you were saying, fine (even though it isn't and you switched your narrative).

Either way it doesn't have a whole lot to do with this thread, because I'm pretty sure nobody here would be smiling if we traded Rudy Gay for Joe Johnson.

[Masai Ujiri]

I don't think they'll trade for Gay who can - and likely will - opt out.

Last year they basically traded Harris for a 2nd round pick.

I think DeRozan would fit in Milwaukee because of his contract. He is 'stuck' there for 3 years.

What position would he play? Their best healthy player is a 2.

[connected]

Yeah, I'm not very high on MKG. His offense is soooooooooo damn raw. His jumper could rival Fields' as one of the ugliest in the game. He's a liability at that end of the court.

I'll take his rookie scale contract, but he's a project by every definition....something I have very little patience for. If you haven't got your basic basketball fundamentals down (like shooting!) by the time you're a pro, I'm not interested.

If we traded for MKG. He would be a project, yes, but he would get a lot of burn this year (assuming a tank). A full summer of work on his offensive arsenal... and he would be a perfect complement next to Parker, Wiggins (assuming AW moved to SG), Randle or Exum .... with JV, the 2014 pick (and ross/DD/FA signing) handling the offensive load

I'm excited by the thought of it.. which means it's probably too good to be true

[mcHAPPY]

If that's what you were saying, fine (even though it isn't and you switched your narrative).

Either way it doesn't have a whole lot to do with this thread, because I'm pretty sure nobody here would be smiling if we traded Rudy Gay for Joe Johnson.

What position would he play? Their best healthy player is a 2.

DD and Ilyasova could start with Mayo and Henson off bench

OR

Mayo and Henson could start with DD and Ilyasova off bench