Will/Should the Spurs Offer OG a Near Max Contract Next Summer?

[Ditty]

We are in the dog days of summer and was checking out the top free agents next summer.

OG Anunoby has a $19 million player option after this season which he will most likely will decline.

He will be 27 next summer. He is an elite 3&D player. There was some interest back in 2018 with the Kawhi trade.

There has been rumors that he has not been happy in Toronto and Pascal might be traded.

Seems like the Raps are going to blow it up soon and hoping to build around Barnes to turn into their next franchise player.

Of course, we are all hoping the Raps suck a bit this season.

Anyways, do you think the Spurs could possibly offer OG a max contract next summer?

A Wemby, Sochan and OG defensive lineup :elephant

[CorrectCrusader]

No

[spurraider21]

he'd be a much much better fit than keldon. better defender, better shooter, and even better at finishing when attacking the basket (say, in transition or off a closeout). keldon is better at scoring off the dribble and creating for himself, but thats not a skill that we'd necessarily need if Wemby is what we think he is, and if Vassell's game continues to ascend

but is that difference enough to justify a max or near max deal? prob not. especially with the new CBA, dont really want to be tossing max money at guys who are not high end stars. and what does "near" max mean? dno.

if wemby starts setting the league on fire and looks like an all-nba caliber player in the back end of the season, would make those types of moves more justifiable.


also, if the raps move siakam just after FVV left in free agency, its not like they'd be in a tough cap spot and be hesitant to retaining OG. they'd probably look to sign and trade him, or just sign him outright and trade him when a deal becomes available.

[exstatic]

No. Teams need to, and with the new second apron penalties, eventually will stop offering MAX contracts to really good support players. That's all OG is. No team has ever really game planned for him, because he's like a 3-4 option.

[RC_Drunkford]

why would you offer the max to a role player?

[SPURt]

No. Teams need to, and with the new second apron penalties, eventually will stop offering MAX contracts to really good support players. That's all OG is. No team has ever really game planned for him, because he's like a 3-4 option.
+1

[Leetonidas]

OG Anunoby has got to be the most overrated player in the NBA. It's insane that Toronto balked at multiple 3 first round pick offers for him. Guy is treated like some kind of role player superstar but hasn't done shit in his career to justify it imo. I definitely would not offer him a max contract. This is a career 11/4/1 guy and that's not even mentioning him being injury prone

I'd like him on the team but definitely not for max money

[CorrectCrusader]

OG Anunoby has got to be the most overrated player in the NBA. It's insane that Toronto balked at multiple 3 first round pick offers for him. Guy is treated like some kind of role player superstar but hasn't done shit in his career to justify it imo. I definitely would not offer him a max contract

Literally the only play I think of when I hear OG is that bubble buzzer beater

[spurraider21]

OG Anunoby has got to be the most overrated player in the NBA. It's insane that Toronto balked at multiple 3 first round pick offers for him. Guy is treated like some kind of role player superstar but hasn't done shit in his career to justify it imo. I definitely would not offer him a max contract. This is a career 11/4/1 guy and that's not even mentioning him being injury prone

I'd like him on the team but definitely not for max money
i dont believe that they actually received that offer tbh. i know it was reported, but i dont buy it at all

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

No. Teams need to, and with the new second apron penalties, eventually will stop offering MAX contracts to really good support players. That's all OG is. No team has ever really game planned for him, because he's like a 3-4 option.

Yeah, it's going to be really interesting to see how teams manage under the new cap rules. Probably elitist "franchise" players, with the rest of the group kind of leveling off, contract-wise, far behind these chosen ones. Small pool of giant contracts, and then everyone else.

[itzsoweezee]

OG is absolutely a max player in this NBA. I don’t if the spurs will give it to him, but he’s definitely getting a max deal from someone.

[CGD]

OG needs to show something. He’s not Patrick Williams (1 year from
Being 1 year away), but still always feels like we’re still waiting for him to pull it all together.

[CorrectCrusader]

OG is absolutely a max player in this NBA. I don’t if the spurs will give it to him, but he’s definitely getting a max deal from someone.

Man It's John Collins all over again

[Leetonidas]

i dont believe that they actually received that offer tbh. i know it was reported, but i dont buy it at all

of course that is possible, but Zach Lowe reported it I believe and he is fairly reputable, so I believe it. I don't see any reason for him to just make it up unless he has a grudge against Masai and wants to make him look bad? Supposedly they had offers from Memphis and Indy including 3 firsts, and an offer from GS centered on Kuminga

[spurraider21]

of course that is possible, but Zach Lowe reported it I believe and he is fairly reputable, so I believe it. I don't see any reason for him to just make it up unless he has a grudge against Masai and wants to make him look bad? Supposedly they had offers from Memphis and Indy including 3 firsts, and an offer from GS centered on Kuminga
imo raptors told lowe that it happened to make people think he's a hotter commodity than he is

[exstatic]

OG is absolutely a max player in this NBA. I don’t if the spurs will give it to him, but he’s definitely getting a max deal from someone.

Nope. 'This NBA' changed in a major way in April, with the addition of the second apron. It isn't enough to throw money around anymore. Picks frozen and then moved to the end of the first round could cripple an inevitable re-build at just the wrong time.

The salary game has changed. If you need any proof of that, John Collins is it. ATL re-signed him, not wanting him as a player, buy thinking someone would give them a FRP for him, and they didn't, not for two years. They finally dumped him for a SRP in July. The first step is that teams stop trading for trash contracts. The second step is the awareness to not give them out in the first place.

[Chinook]

There's not less money now. Like literally there's more than ever. The NBA didn't limit the amount of money available to players. They just limited range individual teams can spend or save. What this means is that max contracts will still be around, but it won't just be good teams that sign players to them. Guys may have to go to small markets or rebuilding teams to get their money, but those teams will have to spend their money anyway, so the deals will be there. What will definitely go away is the auto-max for any decent young player. A team is less likely to trade for OG with the idea of maxing him. There's a good chance to me that someone pays him, but not unless they have the cap space to do so outright.

As to whether he makes sense for SA, that would depend on who their second building piece is. I don't think OG is good enough to be that guy. But if they had a young impact guard, he'd make more sense.

[spurraider21]

There's not less money now. Like literally there's more than ever. The NBA didn't limit the amount of money available to players. They just limited range individual teams can spend or save. What this means is that max contracts will still be around, but it won't just be good teams that sign players to them. Guys may have to go to small markets or rebuilding teams to get their money, but those teams will have to spend their money anyway, so the deals will be there. What will definitely go away is the auto-max for any decent young player. A team is less likely to trade for OG with the idea of maxing him. There's a good chance to me that someone pays him, but not unless they have the cap space to do so outright.

As to whether he makes sense for SA, that would depend on who their second building piece is. I don't think OG is good enough to be that guy. But if they had a young impact guard, he'd make more sense.
if vassell emerges as that guy and keldon more or less looks the same, then the fit is pretty apparent

[ambchang]

of course that is possible, but Zach Lowe reported it I believe and he is fairly reputable, so I believe it. I don't see any reason for him to just make it up unless he has a grudge against Masai and wants to make him look bad? Supposedly they had offers from Memphis and Indy including 3 firsts, and an offer from GS centered on Kuminga

Could be one of those crazily protected firsts like top 20 protected or something like that.

[TD 21]

Similar to Grant, he lusts to play pseudo star, which will obviously only happen on a treadmill team. If/when Siakam is traded, he probably extends/re-signs.

Either way, since that no longer describes the Spurs, I don't see it.



OG Anunoby has got to be the most overrated player in the NBA. It's insane that Toronto balked at multiple 3 first round pick offers for him. Guy is treated like some kind of role player superstar but hasn't done shit in his career to justify it imo. I definitely would not offer him a max contract. This is a career 11/4/1 guy and that's not even mentioning him being injury prone

I'd like him on the team but definitely not for max money

Blame influential Raptors mouthpiece/propaganda spreading Lowe.

[R. DeMurre]

I think Anunoby is tending to be a little overrated by some these days, but the term "max contract" is relative-- his max isn't going to be above $45mil like some first options stars-- it'll probably start in the $25-30mil range, which in this market isn't really that crazy. He wouldn't necessarily be my first choice and might wind up being a tad overpaid, but then so is Michael Porter Jr... he's certainly a potential good fit with Wemby and Sochan, given his size, defense, and 3pt shooting, though it gets a little muddy when you add in Vassell. I'm always reminded of the story of how Phil Jackson and the Bulls' front office really wanted Derrick Coleman, but then he wasn't available and they settled for Rodman... I think it'll mostly depend on whether Wembanyama looks like he's 2 years away from being completely acclimated to the NBA, or 5 years away. If it's the former rather than the latter, it could make sense, especially if combined with moving KJ and other parts for another legit impact player.

[Uriel]

I remember back during the Kawhi trade, we were all upset we got Jakob instead of one of Pascal or OG (and OG was the one thought to have the highest ceiling of the three).

[timtonymanu]

There's player on the Raptors I'd throw that kind of money at before even considering OG. :lol

[Knoxxx]

OG sounds like an “expensive mistake” to me.

[Ice009]

I remember back during the Kawhi trade, we were all upset we got Jakob instead of one of Pascal or OG (and OG was the one thought to have the highest ceiling of the three).

I thought Siakam was considered the better prospect of the three back then? And also the better player now. I wouldn't offer OG a max offer at all.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

Something like 4/120 would be the sweet spot for a high level role player if you believe in his health. Don't think he's ever played more than 70 games in a season.

His max though? It'll start at over $40 mil per next summer as a 7 year vet. No way.

[itzsoweezee]

Nope. 'This NBA' changed in a major way in April, with the addition of the second apron. It isn't enough to throw money around anymore. Picks frozen and then moved to the end of the first round could cripple an inevitable re-build at just the wrong time.

The salary game has changed. If you need any proof of that, John Collins is it. ATL re-signed him, not wanting him as a player, buy thinking someone would give them a FRP for him, and they didn't, not for two years. They finally dumped him for a SRP in July. The first step is that teams stop trading for trash contracts. The second step is the awareness to not give them out in the first place.

There are 30 teams, not all of them are going to have superstars. Just look at what Houston threw at FVV. Under the new contract, teams have much less incentive to be under the salary floor, and the cap is going up. But we shall see.

[exstatic]

There are 30 teams, not all of them are going to have superstars. Just look at what Houston threw at FVV. Under the new contract, teams have much less incentive to be under the salary floor, and the cap is going up. But we shall see.

Wemby
Vassell
Sochan
Malaki

None of these guys are getting paid yet, but they're going to, and Keldon kind of already is. We also have a shit ton more FRPs in the pipeline, and some of them could be high picks.

The worst thing you can do is take on heavy salary for a non-superstar. I don't even think OG will turn out to be as good as Jalen Brown, who I consider pretty mid.

[baseline bum]

Something like 4/120 would be the sweet spot for a high level role player if you believe in his health. Don't think he's ever played more than 70 games in a season.

His max though? It'll start at over $40 mil per next summer as a 7 year vet. No way.

Fuck, didn't know he had been in the league that long. Yeah with say a $146 million cap next year you're looking at $43.8 million starting and a free agent deal being 4 years, $187 million. Though the NBA will have a new TV deal starting 2025-26 that Forbes is speculating could lead to a $50 million bump in the salary cap for 2025-26 like the one we saw that allowed Golden State to sign Durant.

[spurraider21]

Fuck, didn't know he had been in the league that long. Yeah with say a $146 million cap next year you're looking at $43.8 million starting and a free agent deal being 4 years, $187 million. Though the NBA will have a new TV deal starting 2025-26 that Forbes is speculating could lead to a $50 million bump in the salary cap for 2025-26 like the one we saw that allowed Golden State to sign Durant.
if i understand correctly, per the cba rules, cap cant go up by more than 10% in a given year. if the revenue spikes, the cap increase will be smoothed out over a period of time

[baseline bum]

Wemby
Vassell
Sochan
Malaki

None of these guys are getting paid yet, but they're going to, and Keldon kind of already is. We also have a shit ton more FRPs in the pipeline, and some of them could be high picks.

The worst thing you can do is take on heavy salary for a non-superstar. I don't even think OG will turn out to be as good as Jalen Brown, who I consider pretty mid.

With the bump in the cap for 25-26 I'd probably pay Jalen Brown a pre bump max (though not a supermax), but no fucking way on Anunoby. Six years in the league, in his physical prime, and still around just a league average player.

[baseline bum]

if i understand correctly, per the cba rules, cap cant go up by more than 10% in a given year. if the revenue spikes, the cap increase will be smoothed out over a period of time

Oh yeah forgot a new CBA was recently signed and I think the article I was referring to on Forbes was from before that. Good catch.

[KobesAchilles]

I’m not saying we should but if we did then the great thing about it is that we would have length and defense at every single position. And in todays nba that is invaluable. I’m assuming we get a new PG in the draft. But a whole team that could switch would be awesome.

But it’s troublesome to pay a guy $43 million a year when he will be out 3rd option offensively. His stats will be pretty much capped at what they are now and that isn’t a $43 million a year guy. I’d take him for 30 though

[spurraider21]

lol if his max is pushing 40 its not worth considering. he's not that caliber of player.

as i said earlier, i think his fit on the team would be superb, but that comes with an understanding of what his talent level actually is, in addition to fit.

i also dont know if he's going to draw a max offer. then again, fvv did

[exstatic]

lol if his max is pushing 40 its not worth considering. he's not that caliber of player.

as i said earlier, i think his fit on the team would be superb, but that comes with an understanding of what his talent level actually is, in addition to fit.

i also dont know if he's going to draw a max offer. then again, fvv did

The smart thing to do in those situations, and Toronto did it, was to let him walk. The smarter thing to do is get something at the deadline, even some SRPs. They're not a good enough team to overpay players. One of Siakam or OG is gone.

[spurraider21]

The smart thing to do in those situations, and Toronto did it, was to let him walk. The smarter thing to do is get something at the deadline, even some SRPs. They're not a good enough team to overpay players. One of Siakam or OG is gone.
i dont disagree. the question from boston's perspective is how they would be able to replace Brown's production. i'm aware his advanced stats arent very good, but lets just work under the premise that he's a good, productive player in his prime, and was 2nd team all-nba. lets say they made the prudent move to let him walk after this season. suddenly they have the same roser minus brown and are still operating above the cap, in an era where FA pools tend to be pretty limited because of the max/supermax system.

how does boston sustain its ability to perennially contend if its better players just leave. late 20's draft picks? there arent any immediately obvious answers. if you look at contending teams in recent years... theyre not really in the habit of just letting very good players walk

[Spurs Homer]

Who?

first austin reaves is the second coming…
now this scrub?

[Chinook]

i dont disagree. the question from boston's perspective is how they would be able to replace Brown's production. i'm aware his advanced stats arent very good, but lets just work under the premise that he's a good, productive player in his prime, and was 2nd team all-nba. lets say they made the prudent move to let him walk after this season. suddenly they have the same roser minus brown and are still operating above the cap, in an era where FA pools tend to be pretty limited because of the max/supermax system.

how does boston sustain its ability to perennially contend if its better players just leave. late 20's draft picks? there arent any immediately obvious answers. if you look at contending teams in recent years... theyre not really in the habit of just letting very good players walk

I think there are going to be multiple ways to build a team. Too many folks are convinced this CBA is going to stop teams from having multiple max players. But that's not what is hurting Boston. There's enough room for both guys to make the max -- even the DPE given how the cap is rising -- but it means they have to be economical about the rest of their roster. They can't have guys like White, Brogdon and maybe Horford, Williams and Kristaps all making mid-sized deals. The whole, "Well let's give Vassell and Branham and Sochan Keldon-esque extensions and see what we have" logic is also in question. What it means to be a "value contract" may change. Before guys like Balmer and Lacob broke the system completely by throwing out absurd payrolls, buyouts were how teams with multiple max players increased the talent of the rest of their roster. That has been limited by the new CBA. What hasn't been limited has been the benefit of drafting guys, especially in the middle of the draft.

It's always going to be easier to find a guy who can provide mid-sized value for a low-end salary than it is to find a guy who can provide legit high-end value on a mid-sized salary. The Spurs using up their cap space on JAGish young players with some potential is maybe A way to proceed. But they could also use some of their many, many picks to replace guys like Vassell, Branham and the others while using their cap space on stars. Despite the conversation from a couple of weeks ago, this CBA is designed for teams who are good at drafting -- meaning good at picking players who can provide impact on their rookie salaries. It is hostile to teams who drafted well at one point seven to 10 years ago and want to just keep that team together. But teams that can hit often enough on their late-firsts and seconds, who can sign the right two-way guys -- those are the teams that can have success year after year. EVERYONE wants to avoid an expensive mistake -- stop trying to use that quote like scripture. Buying a lemon of a car is an expensive mistake. That doesn't mean the alternative is to take the bus everywhere.

[spurraider21]

I think there are going to be multiple ways to build a team. Too many folks are convinced this CBA is going to stop teams from having multiple max players. But that's not what is hurting Boston. There's enough room for both guys to make the max -- even the DPE given how the cap is rising -- but it means they have to be economical about the rest of their roster. They can't have guys like White, Brogdon and maybe Horford, Williams and Kristaps all making mid-sized deals. The whole, "Well let's give Vassell and Branham and Sochan Keldon-esque extensions and see what we have" logic is also in question. What it means to be a "value contract" may change. Before guys like Balmer and Lacob broke the system completely by throwing out absurd payrolls, buyouts were how teams with multiple max players increased the talent of the rest of their roster. That has been limited by the new CBA. What hasn't been limited has been the benefit of drafting guys, especially in the middle of the draft.

It's always going to be easier to find a guy who can provide mid-sized value for a low-end salary than it is to find a guy who can provide legit high-end value on a mid-sized salary. The Spurs using up their cap space on JAGish young players with some potential is maybe A way to proceed. But they could also use some of their many, many picks to replace guys like Vassell, Branham and the others while using their cap space on stars. Despite the conversation from a couple of weeks ago, this CBA is designed for teams who are good at drafting -- meaning good at picking players who can provide impact on their rookie salaries. It is hostile to teams who drafted well at one point seven to 10 years ago and want to just keep that team together. But teams that can hit often enough on their late-firsts and seconds, who can sign the right two-way guys -- those are the teams that can have success year after year. EVERYONE wants to avoid an expensive mistake -- stop trying to use that quote like scripture. Buying a lemon of a car is an expensive mistake. That doesn't mean the alternative is to take the bus everywhere.
does a rising cap really have anything to do with how you handle DPE guys since they're indexed to the cap anyway?

150% agreed on the "eXpEnSiVe MiStAkE" discourse

[TD 21]

^ I still think having a bunch of good (perceived or real) young players on team friendly contracts will have value because you almost always need them to grease the wheels in a superstar/star trade.

Whether his catch all advanced metrics indicate it or not, Johnson, for example, is an easy sell for president/GM X who just traded star Y to the Spurs for him, salary filler and picks. He can always sell to casuals (who comprise the majority of every fan base) that he was on the U.S. Olympic team and has been a 20+ ppg scorer, etc.

[Chinook]

does a rising cap really have anything to do with how you handle DPE guys since they're indexed to the cap anyway?

150% agreed on the "eXpEnSiVe MiStAkE" discourse

The DPE is only tied to the cap it's first year. After that, the cap rises faster than the contract, and thus it becomes a smaller percentage of whatever salary limit you want to use. Wemby's DPE would be way more than what Brown just agreed to. Like Westbrook's DPE had dropped from 35 percent of the cap this first year to 33 percent the last year, despite COVID depressing the cap for a couple of seasons. Of course, the cap may not grow that fast, but there's a decent chance that Brown's absurd 24/25 number will end up being a big-but-way-more-common 28-29 number. The Cetlics should still have several 10s of millions of dollars to fill out their roster while staying under that second apron. It's very doable, so long as they don't overpay their supporting players and draft well.

[Chinook]

^ I still think having a bunch of good (perceived or real) young players on team friendly contracts will have value because you almost always need them to grease the wheels in a superstar/star trade.

Whether his catch all advanced metrics indicate it or not, Johnson, for example, is an easy sell for president/GM X who just traded star Y to the Spurs for him, salary filler and picks. He can always sell to casuals (who comprise the majority of every fan base) that he was on the U.S. Olympic team and has been a 20+ ppg scorer, etc.

If the Spurs are planning on building through trades, having good players on mid-sized contracts can be a plus. If they're planning on building through the draft or free agency, it's a harder sell. Surprisingly few young players on mid-sized deals get moved. It's somewhat because they're valuable to their own teams. But it's also because there isn't a huge trade market out there. It's way too easy to end up overvaluing them, ala Toronto with OG and Brooklyn with Bridges. Every once in a while, you have a Covington and Saric for Butler deal fall into your lap, but it's feels more like a trap to my mind than a legit boon.

[spurraider21]

The DPE is only tied to the cap it's first year. After that, the cap rises faster than the contract, and thus it becomes a smaller percentage of whatever salary limit you want to use. Wemby's DPE would be way more than what Brown just agreed to. Like Westbrook's DPE had dropped from 35 percent of the cap this first year to 33 percent the last year, despite COVID depressing the cap for a couple of seasons. Of course, the cap may not grow that fast, but there's a decent chance that Brown's absurd 24/25 number will end up being a big-but-way-more-common 28-29 number. The Cetlics should still have several 10s of millions of dollars to fill out their roster while staying under that second apron. It's very doable, so long as they don't overpay their supporting players and draft well.
ah, i forgot those are set raises and not just continually pinned to the cap.

2025 offseason will be the big test for them. thats after tatum's big money will kick in, and its when White/Brogdon/Horford are expiring. horford will be ancient by then, and it already seems like brogdon is breaking down, but nevertheless those are big rotation players that will have to be replaced.