Player Movement Thread (Was Free Agency Thread)

[Skates]

We could throw a huge fork in the wrench by signing Monta Ellis (rather than Josh Smith) to a huge offer sheet on the first day of free agency.  If we make Monta's cap hold jump up to 11 million rather than the 1 million it's at now, they won't have money to offer Iguodala a Max deal, and we'd now be back to bidding against ourselves to retain Iguodala's services.

Of course someone could do the same to us, to a lesser extent because he would command less, by signing Lou W to a decent sized offer sheet.

Query:  If GS goes after Iggy, would you agree to a sign and trade with Brandan Wright as our compensation, if the alternative was signing Iggy to a bigger contract then we wanted to pay?  It would remove Iggy's cap hold in addition to likely ending our PF search for this year.  Then our back-up plan of grabbing a SG would make more sense.  Thoughts (Assume that GS has designs on trading for or signing another PF if that makes it more real for you)?

[tk76-]

Although I like Wright, I wouldn't consider him fair compensation for Iguodala.

Of course you never get close to fair value when you are trading away players in that type of sign and trade situation.

Another question:
If it comes to a decision between having either Iguodala or Smith starting at 12M next year would you want both, onle one(who?) or neither.

[Skates]

If it comes to a decision between having either Iguodala or Smith starting at 12M next year would you want both, onle one(who?) or neither.

I have been pondering that myself. Assuming equal contracts in length (5 years) and amount (max yearly increases) for the sake of the question.  Wow, that is a tough one.  Value wise it is a little higher than both deserve, but this is a free and sometimes crazy market.  This may be the unpopular choice, but I am going to go with Iggy by a hair.  Neither one is a franchise player or unstoppable scorer.  Both are stat sheet fillers.  Edge to Smith for being a big man which is harder to get and on age.

However, I think there is also a bit of a risk with Smith.  Most scouting reports I have seen on him don't really come out all that great.  He blocks shots at a high rate, but often at the expense of good fundamental D.  He shoots a low percentage for a big, yet is not a great outside shooter or three point threat.  Some of his appeal is still based on potential.  There have also been some questions about his attitude over the years, especially in the coachability department.  Difficult to handle is the phrase I have often heard associated with him.  He has never played in a market like Philly where the fans can be rough and the media rougher.

Iggy is what he is which is pretty darn good.  He makes players around him better and has better fundamentals than Smith.  He fits well on the team and despite some over done whining about ref's calls, he has been a pretty good soldier.  The grass always looks greener on someone else's team, but the excitement and potential of Smith comes with more flaws and downside risk.  I am a big Speights fan which may also influence my decision.  If I only had one guy to spend the money on it would have to be the guy I know and trust to produce throughout the contract.

[pointguard86]

Elton Brand & David Falk were in Philly?

Brand's agent, David Falk, could not be reached, though sources said the pair was in Philadelphia on Thursday hoping to lure the Sixers into the bidding. League sources said that Brand is ultimately expected to join Davis in Los Angeles.

why lure the sixers in a bidding war when i don't think we have enough money to offer compared to GS & LA.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/03/SPV611JS76.DTL

[tk76-]

why lure the sixers in a bidding war when i don't think we have enough money to offer compared to GS & LA.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/03/SPV611JS76.DTL

Thanks for the link.  The Sixers can enter the bidding if they move Willie Green for another 3.5M in cap space.  Given how high the bidding is already (near the Max), I'm not quite sure why Brand wants us to jump in?  I don't think all things equal he picks Philly over the other two teams.  Maybe he just wants to squeeze out every last cent he can from the process- or maybe they are thinking of some type of three way that involves using some of our cap space?

[tk76-]

If it comes to a decision between having either Iguodala or Smith starting at 12M next year would you want both, onle one(who?) or neither.

I have been pondering that myself. Assuming equal contracts in length (5 years) and amount (max yearly increases) for the sake of the question. ...  This may be the unpopular choice, but I am going to go with Iggy by a hair.

I agree, but part of it might be that I am more of an Iguodala fan, and am biased.

I think Smith is more of a special talent, with more upside, but I have more confidence Iguodala will get the most out of his talent (which is a credit to Iguodala and not a criticism of Smith, who also seems very driven.)

I also agree that despite some peoples worries, it is actually easier to integrate Iguodala into a winning team than Smith.  Smith at PF or SF will always have major trade-offs.  Iguodala has some limitations at SF/SG, but not as hard to work around (just team him up with a shooter at the other swingman.)

I agree neither is a franchise player, and starting at 12M is a bit more than they deserve, but I wouldn't risk losing them at that number.

[DuckyNinja]

Also, reported on the Philaphans board:

Josh Smith left Philadelphia impressed with the organization and the presentation designed to try to lure him to the Sixers, but he also left without an offer, the Philaelphia Inquirer is reporting.

"Um, not yet," Smith said in an interview with Comcast SportsNet when asked if he received an offer. "We've got to wait and see what goes on with the revenue and stuff."

When asked directly if an offer sheet was delivered to his client, agent Brian **** would not say.

"I'm not getting into that," **** said in a telephone interview. "I have no comment. I don't want to play this thing out through the media."

I don't know his agent's last name, so I can't fix the ****.

[Derek Bodner]

The Sixers can enter the bidding if they move Willie Green for another 3.5M in cap space

We'd still be considerably short.  If the cap is set at 58.5 million, golden state will be able to offer him over 17 million to start.  We'd still be about 2 million short to start their offer, which would come out to over 10 million off the total price GS can offer.

[Skates]

Arenas heading back to Washington and leaving a little money on the table for other players to be signed:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3473164

[tk76-]

The would be a bit short, but I think Brand falls just short of 10 years of service, so his max 1st year salary will be just over 16M.  The Sixers would have to move Evans or WG + Booth to approach that- but the cap is still not set to know the exact numbers.

http://members.cox.net/lmcoon/salarycap.htm

[Derek Bodner]

The max contract for a player with 9 years of experience is 30% of the cap.  30% of 58.5 million is 17.55 million.  Hence why I said "if the cap is set at 58.5 million..."

[TheGuiltyParty]

Arenas heading back to Washington and leaving a little money on the table for other players to be signed:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3473164

This deal is very reminiscent of the Lewis signing last year. He's a nice player who will help you make the playoffs every year but he isn't going to win a title and his contract will keep you from obtaining players that could help you win a title.

[tk76-]

The max contract for a player with 9 years of experience is 30% of the cap.  30% of 58.5 million is 17.55 million.  Hence why I said "if the cap is set at 58.5 million..."

I'm not questioning the math (30% of cap)- just surprised to see the max will jump so much this year.  Is cap supposed to make a big jump.

Per my prev link the 9yr player starting max the  last 3 years has been: 14.4M, 14.9M, 15.6M.

15.6->17.5 seems like a sudden jump, but maybe I'm missing something.  I just figgured it was likely to go to about 16.5 based on how slow the cap and max contract has gone up the last 3 years.

[jemagee]

According to New York Newsday - as many as NINE teams have inquired about a sign & trade for Monta Ellis...teams mentioned include the Cavs, Heat, and of course the Knicks.

With all that work to do, I'm not sure Chris Mullin will have the time to pay attention to Iguodala.  He's never struck me as playing with an overly full deck

[Skates]

According to New York Newsday - as many as NINE teams have inquired about a sign & trade for Monta Ellis...teams mentioned include the Cavs, Heat, and of course the Knicks.

With all that work to do, I'm not sure Chris Mullin will have the time to pay attention to Iguodala.  He's never struck me as playing with an overly full deck

I could easily see GS getting themselves into a pickle contract wise this summer.  They did not expect to have the cap room they have (for now) and are seemingly shooting from the hip.  They are scaring everyone else, but in the end it might be possible to take advantage of them.