What’s your top two free agent targets

[stnick2261]

Most players in that list are pretty much unattainable, over the hill, or not that much to begin with. So if there's a real option now that makes sense (say, Jalen Smith), I wouldn't wait.

That's why I said "a few names" on the list.

The names on that list are better than the names this summer. But Jalen Smith won't be expensive enough to ruin the '23 Free Agency, so I'm all for it. Murray, a team loaded with solid role players, and cap space for a max contract might be enough to bring in someone really good.

[montgod]

Yeah agreed. Although it should be said, while unlikely, it’s hard to see Portland investing in Micro Backcourt 2.0 if Dame is staying.

If Dame does request a trade, maybe Portland wants to run the tank bank and load up on assets for the 2023 Wembanyama sweep stakes.

I always thought J. Rich would be a perfect backcourt partner for Dame too…

Yeah it looks like they are just duplicating what they had before with Dame/McCollum and now Dame/Simons. Cheaper at least but I don't see Rich going anywhere in his Patty Mills role

[exstatic]

I was trying to find info on whether if J Smith is sign and trade, can it be done above the $4.7M. however there does not seems to have a statement on this. I think a fair contract for him now is probably $8 to $10M. There might be team willing to pay him higher.

I don’t want to dig for it now, but when he blew up in PHO whenAyton was out, one of the NBA analysts did the blow by blow of the effect of his non tender, and the bottom line is that the team holding his contract, now Indy, cannot in anyway benefit from his non tender. They cannot pay him or S&T him for more than $4.7M, even if they have the cap room to do so.

[buttsR4rebounding]

Isn't next year's free agent class supposed to be way better than this year's? If so, I could see the Spurs just running it back one more time and renting out cap space for assets again while getting the young players more seasoning. Maybe go after the big fish but please don't splurge on a non-star.

What would you think about trading Richardson, McDermott and Langford for Westbrook plus LA's 27 FRP unprotected and Washington's 28 SRP which LA owns. Depending on who else we sign this year and assuming we sign the draft choices we currently have we would have about $58 million in salaries ($50 million if we waive Collins) with a salary cap projected around $130 million. That includes the cap hold of around $11,600,000 for Keldon. We could sign 2 max players, then extend Keldon. I may be a few million off with cap holds for minimum number of players, but close.

[Atl Spur]

I don’t want to dig for it now, but when he blew up in PHO whenAyton was out, one of the NBA analysts did the blow by blow of the effect of his non tender, and the bottom line is that the team holding his contract, now Indy, cannot in anyway benefit from his non tender. They cannot pay him or S&T him for more than $4.7M, even if they have the cap room to do so.

I believe you are correct. Nevertheless we should poach him for a reasonable multi year contract

[Seventyniner]

I don’t want to dig for it now, but when he blew up in PHO whenAyton was out, one of the NBA analysts did the blow by blow of the effect of his non tender, and the bottom line is that the team holding his contract, now Indy, cannot in anyway benefit from his non tender. They cannot pay him or S&T him for more than $4.7M, even if they have the cap room to do so.

That makes me wonder even more why the Pacers traded for him. They got Phoenix's second-round pick in return, but #60 hardly seems worth locking yourself out of being able to sign Jalen Smith in free agency. Unless they just plain never wanted to keep him and actually wanted the #60 pick?

[R. DeMurre]

Yeah agreed. Although it should be said, while unlikely, it’s hard to see Portland investing in Micro Backcourt 2.0 if Dame is staying.

The whole undersized backcourt thing drives me crazy. When McCollum went to New Orleans and played PG beside bigger SGs he became extremely effective, rather than being an undersized SG next to a smaller PG. That experiment went on in Portland for 8 years. Utah's doing the same thing with Conley & Mitc . It doesn't work like 99% of the time (if your goal is going deep into the playoffs), but some teams still keep trying it out. Sacramento is trying to pair Fox with a 6' Davion Mitc .... I just don't get it.

[ZeusWillJudge]

Some of you might be sleeping on malik🙈 Way better than Walker

I think a lot of people are figuring out that Monk is probably a good FA target. Of course, that means a lot of other teams see it too. But the Lakers just aren't allowed to pay him as much as other teams - one of the quirks of the current structure. And the Spurs cap room makes them more able than most. It would have to be more than the MLE, to give him a financial motive, and I wouldn't mind of the Spurs paid a little more than that.

The Martin brothers would be pretty bargain-priced bench players. I liked Caleb better in college, and still do today. Pretend the Spurs are in the playoff next year, and Pop is doing is usual rotation-shortening. Would either of them see more than a couple of minutes a game in the post season? Probably not. They're both pretty steady, though, so maybe a bit more than that. Teams need a couple of steady but ho-hum guys who can fill in.

BatManu, I think Brunson would be a good choice, too. But I also agree that the Mavs are likely to match. I know some people think that DJ is the right PG, but I'd still rather have a natural PG at the point and slide Murray to the 2. I get the arguments the other way, but I do think Brunson would fit and make some things better.

[ZeusWillJudge]

Jalen Smith & Malik Monk both acquired in sign & trades if possible. ( Dougie back to Indiana or Josh R. ) ( Lonnie to LA for 4/40 or 4/44 )

Like others said, I think Smith is unlikely to happen, but I do like Monk a lot as a target.

I had thought I would be floating Marvin Bagley III this offseason as a cheap reclamation project with lots of potential. But he really caught on in Detroit, so he may be harder to acquire, and I wouldn't want to invest too much. Still, I think I would make a phone call.

[KobesAchilles]

Do we have to spend the cap money? I always forget between the sports which is the one you don't have to have like 90% of cap salary full at the start of the year. Whoever we get, i would want one year deals with everyone or two with a team option.

[Atl Spur]

I think a lot of people are figuring out that Monk is probably a good FA target. Of course, that means a lot of other teams see it too. But the Lakers just aren't allowed to pay him as much as other teams - one of the quirks of the current structure. And the Spurs cap room makes them more able than most. It would have to be more than the MLE, to give him a financial motive, and I wouldn't mind of the Spurs paid a little more than that.

The Martin brothers would be pretty bargain-priced bench players. I liked Caleb better in college, and still do today. Pretend the Spurs are in the playoff next year, and Pop is doing is usual rotation-shortening. Would either of them see more than a couple of minutes a game in the post season? Probably not. They're both pretty steady, though, so maybe a bit more than that. Teams need a couple of steady but ho-hum guys who can fill in.

BatManu, I think Brunson would be a good choice, too. But I also agree that the Mavs are likely to match. I know some people think that DJ is the right PG, but I'd still rather have a natural PG at the point and slide Murray to the 2. I get the arguments the other way, but I do think Brunson would fit and make some things better.

^i agree

[Atl Spur]

Like others said, I think Smith is unlikely to happen, but I do like Monk a lot as a target.

I had thought I would be floating Marvin Bagley III this offseason as a cheap reclamation project with lots of potential. But he really caught on in Detroit, so he may be harder to acquire, and I wouldn't want to invest too much. Still, I think I would make a phone call.

Why not smith? We can sign him outright can’t we?

[Leetonidas]

These are mine ; who are your selections?

Uh probably Lavine and Ayton. Admittedly a pipedream but I'd rather the Spurs make an attempt to pry one of them away

[exstatic]

Like others said, I think Smith is unlikely to happen, but I do like Monk a lot as a target.

I had thought I would be floating Marvin Bagley III this offseason as a cheap reclamation project with lots of potential. But he really caught on in Detroit, so he may be harder to acquire, and I wouldn't want to invest too much. Still, I think I would make a phone call.

Why do you think Smith won’t happen?

[exstatic]

What would you think about trading Richardson, McDermott and Langford for Westbrook plus LA's 27 FRP unprotected and Washington's 28 SRP which LA owns. Depending on who else we sign this year and assuming we sign the draft choices we currently have we would have about $58 million in salaries ($50 million if we waive Collins) with a salary cap projected around $130 million. That includes the cap hold of around $11,600,000 for Keldon. We could sign 2 max players, then extend Keldon. I may be a few million off with cap holds for minimum number of players, but close.

A FRP and SRP isn’t near enough to eat $47M in salary,let alone introducing his awful game and personality into the team.

[mystargtr34]

Lavine and Ayton.

Covington or Batum as cheaper options to fill some of the void at the 4-spot. Would still look to draft a 4 too.

[Ocotillo]

The whole undersized backcourt thing drives me crazy. When McCollum went to New Orleans and played PG beside bigger SGs he became extremely effective, rather than being an undersized SG next to a smaller PG. That experiment went on in Portland for 8 years. Utah's doing the same thing with Conley & Mitc . It doesn't work like 99% of the time (if your goal is going deep into the playoffs), but some teams still keep trying it out. Sacramento is trying to pair Fox with a 6' Davion Mitc .... I just don't get it.

I know they were not the starters but my mind flashed to Patty Mills and Bryn Forbes playing at the same time in the past.

[BatManu20]

Y’all are really in here talking about adding Westbrick to this team

[Sugus]

Not a fan of throwing a max at either Lavine nor Ayton.

Both are extremely locked into their own, win-now, teams, and both poised for deservedly huge contracts with their respective teams (Ayton didn't sign his because he wanted the 5-year max, yet Suns offered only 4 years; but they'll insta-match any max sheet from other teams, since they in no way can afford to lose him). And of course Bulls won't let go of their main star and cog of their offense, no matter how badly they get spanked in this playoff round. DeRozan, in any case, would be the more likely one to go; Zach knows he'll get his max and has already spoken on it.

I think the Spurs' cap would be much better spent on smaller contracts to players looking to rehab their value, or build it at all (Jalen Smith is my #1 target, I've liked him since last years' draft and he showed promise this season when given the chance). Don't tie up money for the future, try to eat some bad salary for extra picks (definitely not Westbrook-level contracts, though, nothing that hinders the current group's play). Play it smart, hold your cards, wait until next offseason to see where the team is at before chasing any big tigers.

[exstatic]

Not a fan of throwing a max at either Lavine nor Ayton.

Both are extremely locked into their own, win-now, teams, and both poised for deservedly huge contracts with their respective teams (Ayton didn't sign his because he wanted the 5-year max, yet Suns offered only 4 years; but they'll insta-match any max sheet from other teams, since they in no way can afford to lose him). And of course Bulls won't let go of their main star and cog of their offense, no matter how badly they get spanked in this playoff round. DeRozan, in any case, would be the more likely one to go; Zach knows he'll get his max and has already spoken on it.

I think the Spurs' cap would be much better spent on smaller contracts to players looking to rehab their value, or build it at all (Jalen Smith is my #1 target, I've liked him since last years' draft and he showed promise this season when given the chance). Don't tie up money for the future, try to eat some bad salary for extra picks (definitely not Westbrook-level contracts, though, nothing that hinders the current group's play). Play it smart, hold your cards, wait until next offseason to see where the team is at before chasing any big tigers.

Smith, Monk, rent space to PHO to offload Saric for a FRP.

[scott]

Players who are UFA who I'd like to be brought into the team to some degree:

Lavine - Max deal. Prob won't happen.
TJ Warren - short term deal if it were cheap. Prob won't happen
Serge Ibaka - I just always liked this dude. Backup C. Doesn't fit the timeline, don't care. Would be a short term deal anyway.
Thomas Bryant - if we trade Jak, could this be a replacement?
Jalen Smith - been covered at length
Andre Drummond - same comment as Ibaka. Probably wouldn't play for what we would want to pay.
Mitc Robinson - same comment as Thomas Bryant

[ZeusWillJudge]

Why not smith? We can sign him outright can’t we?

Why do you think Smith won’t happen?

They can, and I probably phrased that badly trying to be brief. And if I'm being honest, it sort of reflects bias more than objectivity. I think someone will vastly overpay for him, and I'm not 100% sold. He piled up a lot of his numbers on a team that was in lose-now mode.

No one called me on it, but that's exactly the argument against Bagley's end-of-season numbers in Detroit. Their situations are similar in a lot of ways, but if you just look at raw numbers Bagley could be the better value. Up until those 22 games with the Pacers, there's just not much to recommend Smith. Bagley actually put up pretty consistent numbers 5 years in a row, even if the number of games he played is a little iffy.

I should have said that, and I don't blame you guys for jumping on that statement.

[exstatic]

They can, and I probably phrased that badly trying to be brief. And if I'm being honest, it sort of reflects bias more than objectivity. I think someone will vastly overpay for him, and I'm not 100% sold. He piled up a lot of his numbers on a team that was in lose-now mode.

No one called me on it, but that's exactly the argument against Bagley's end-of-season numbers in Detroit. Their situations are similar in a lot of ways, but if you just look at raw numbers Bagley could be the better value. Up until those 22 games with the Pacers, there's just not much to recommend Smith. Bagley actually put up pretty consistent numbers 5 years in a row, even if the number of games he played is a little iffy.

I should have said that, and I don't blame you guys for jumping on that statement.

Smith put up good numbers in PHO, too, when Ayton was out on protocols. They’re not a bottom feeder. That’s what originally made people sit up and notice. It’s also probably what cost PHO the ability to re-sign him at a bargain.

[T Park]

Won’t happen but I’d still max out Ayton and force Phoenix’s hand. At worst you their salary cap up for the future.

[XDT76]

Won’t happen but I’d still max out Ayton and force Phoenix’s hand. At worst you their salary cap up for the future.

Not really a wise move on our side, in order to sign Ayton to the max we need to cancel all our non-guranteed contracts and then we would not be able to make a move for other FA. By the time Pho decided to match we might be in a ty position. Unless we decided to go all in or top 4 lottery pick offering the MAX to a RFA is not a great choice.