LoPo
Well-Known Member
Hey guys - relatively new but I thought I would still test the waters.
Gordon Hayward - I really like the guy. He does everything at a good rate. I don't believe he does anything at an elite rate and that includes all the intangibles that are hard to quantify (hustle, athleticism, leadership, "clutch ability", undeniable determination to win and insert any other intangible that don't really have a stat). From a GM perspective, don't we have to view him as entering the last year of his contract? He's signed for this year but he's got a player option for 2017-18 at what figures to be at least $5 million below where a new max would begin due to an anticipated inflated 2017 salary cap. Due to this, I'm going to act under the premise that next year is the last year of his current contract barring some horrific injury (I never even want to imagine these things so I will not go down that path at this time). So Hayward has one guaranteed year left. And if we're being honest, there is no way in hell I think we give him a 2017 max deal. He's just not worth it. He's not worth 25% of a team's salary.
We all know that Boston would love to have the guy. He fits their needs pretty well and Stevens would be for it if we made Hayward available. They want a guaranteed good player rather than waiting on #3 which could either bust or take time to develop. Hayward at Boston just makes sense, and he could actually help entice Durant to make the leap there in either 2016 or 2017.
So take this hypothetical trip with me with the moves we should potentially take:
#1 - we trade Hayward to Boston for #3. There might be little throw ins here and there from either team, but that's the meat of the trade.
#2 - we stay at #3 and we draft one of the 3 best players in the draft as things sit right now - Simmons, Ingram or Murray
#3 - we sign Harrison Barnes to a max deal
So let's walk through it. After we trade Hayward and before we draft, we have the following "core" roster:
PG Exum, Mack
SG Burks
SF Hood
PF Favors, Lyles
C Gobert
My estimation is that roster above is a playoff roster. Mack has an offseason to get better acquainted. Exum and Burks are both playing which provide us with more production combined than Hayward did by himself. Gobert develops a little more as does Hood. The above roster makes the playoffs. Some might say keeping Hayward makes us stronger which he definitely does, but he doesn't get us past the 2nd round if we get there at all.
Taking Murray as the 3rd pick gives us a dynamic scorer. Star? I don't know, but I think he gives us a much needed personality and edge especially at the end of games. He could play with Exum, run our offense at PG, etc. Simmons is a budding superstar who we'd have to get incredibly lucky or trade more assets to get. If we had #3, scenarios could exist where shoot the moon for Simmons if we so wanted. Ingram seems like a pretty safe bet to be a great SF for years to come. If he fell to #3, we say thank you very much. Either way, the upside for any of them is higher than what Hayward provides us. Regardless, we could get 4 years of one of these 3 and maybe just one more year of Hayward. Since we aren't contenders, this is just better business than maybe watching Hayward just walk in 2017.
And now to Harrison Barnes - wouldn't it just make sense to pursue him? After all, GS put their tails between their legs and lost on purpose to get him in the first place. Max for Barnes is a little steep, but I think he's worth it. The kid has it all and he has played every position for that GS team. And consider this, Barnes at a max this year would be much cheaper than Hayward at a max in 2017 due to the 2017 cap explosion. In a lot of ways, they offer the same skill set, but Barnes just seems like a star being held back simply by lack of playing time. He's been well coached and he's got a comprehensive skill set. Barnes is a restricted free agent so GS could match. If they don't, we just switched Hayward for Barnes and added the 3rd pick. If GS does match, we stick a knife in the side of their chances of adding to that amazing roster. And potentially, we hurt their chances of actually keeping that amazing team intact. So even if we "lose out" on not signing Barnes to a max, we hurt our biggest threat to a future Jazz title.
Some of this might be a little far fetched, but just dream a little bit with me about this potential lineup:
PG Exum, Murray, Mack
SG Murray/Hood, Burks
SF Barnes, Hood
PF Favors, Lyles, Barnes
C Gobert, Favors, Lyles
Tons and tons of match-up possibilities. Our roster flexibility would only be rivaled by the Warriors (who actually lose their small ball PF to us).
Gordon Hayward - I really like the guy. He does everything at a good rate. I don't believe he does anything at an elite rate and that includes all the intangibles that are hard to quantify (hustle, athleticism, leadership, "clutch ability", undeniable determination to win and insert any other intangible that don't really have a stat). From a GM perspective, don't we have to view him as entering the last year of his contract? He's signed for this year but he's got a player option for 2017-18 at what figures to be at least $5 million below where a new max would begin due to an anticipated inflated 2017 salary cap. Due to this, I'm going to act under the premise that next year is the last year of his current contract barring some horrific injury (I never even want to imagine these things so I will not go down that path at this time). So Hayward has one guaranteed year left. And if we're being honest, there is no way in hell I think we give him a 2017 max deal. He's just not worth it. He's not worth 25% of a team's salary.
We all know that Boston would love to have the guy. He fits their needs pretty well and Stevens would be for it if we made Hayward available. They want a guaranteed good player rather than waiting on #3 which could either bust or take time to develop. Hayward at Boston just makes sense, and he could actually help entice Durant to make the leap there in either 2016 or 2017.
So take this hypothetical trip with me with the moves we should potentially take:
#1 - we trade Hayward to Boston for #3. There might be little throw ins here and there from either team, but that's the meat of the trade.
#2 - we stay at #3 and we draft one of the 3 best players in the draft as things sit right now - Simmons, Ingram or Murray
#3 - we sign Harrison Barnes to a max deal
So let's walk through it. After we trade Hayward and before we draft, we have the following "core" roster:
PG Exum, Mack
SG Burks
SF Hood
PF Favors, Lyles
C Gobert
My estimation is that roster above is a playoff roster. Mack has an offseason to get better acquainted. Exum and Burks are both playing which provide us with more production combined than Hayward did by himself. Gobert develops a little more as does Hood. The above roster makes the playoffs. Some might say keeping Hayward makes us stronger which he definitely does, but he doesn't get us past the 2nd round if we get there at all.
Taking Murray as the 3rd pick gives us a dynamic scorer. Star? I don't know, but I think he gives us a much needed personality and edge especially at the end of games. He could play with Exum, run our offense at PG, etc. Simmons is a budding superstar who we'd have to get incredibly lucky or trade more assets to get. If we had #3, scenarios could exist where shoot the moon for Simmons if we so wanted. Ingram seems like a pretty safe bet to be a great SF for years to come. If he fell to #3, we say thank you very much. Either way, the upside for any of them is higher than what Hayward provides us. Regardless, we could get 4 years of one of these 3 and maybe just one more year of Hayward. Since we aren't contenders, this is just better business than maybe watching Hayward just walk in 2017.
And now to Harrison Barnes - wouldn't it just make sense to pursue him? After all, GS put their tails between their legs and lost on purpose to get him in the first place. Max for Barnes is a little steep, but I think he's worth it. The kid has it all and he has played every position for that GS team. And consider this, Barnes at a max this year would be much cheaper than Hayward at a max in 2017 due to the 2017 cap explosion. In a lot of ways, they offer the same skill set, but Barnes just seems like a star being held back simply by lack of playing time. He's been well coached and he's got a comprehensive skill set. Barnes is a restricted free agent so GS could match. If they don't, we just switched Hayward for Barnes and added the 3rd pick. If GS does match, we stick a knife in the side of their chances of adding to that amazing roster. And potentially, we hurt their chances of actually keeping that amazing team intact. So even if we "lose out" on not signing Barnes to a max, we hurt our biggest threat to a future Jazz title.
Some of this might be a little far fetched, but just dream a little bit with me about this potential lineup:
PG Exum, Murray, Mack
SG Murray/Hood, Burks
SF Barnes, Hood
PF Favors, Lyles, Barnes
C Gobert, Favors, Lyles
Tons and tons of match-up possibilities. Our roster flexibility would only be rivaled by the Warriors (who actually lose their small ball PF to us).
