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The Move Forward Plan - NO TANK DISCUSSION IN THIS THREAD

Ben Simmons and Lonzo Ball... we might even get a pick or two to take on them... shots at reclamation projects with low risk(expiring contracts). And if they actually get healthy and recover, they both have some of the things this roster is lacking the most - playmaking and unselfishness, defensive length and versatility.

Obviously I can't tell much sitting on my couch, but I would say I'm more optimistic about Ben's health compared to Lonzo. He's at least played basketball in the past two seasons. I think it's clear that Hardy doesn't want to be a high PnR team. He wants to have a tall playmaker in the middle of the floor to do dribble handoff stuff/hit cutters. This works well with Lauri and why I think Dunn+Olynyk were pretty good for us. I don't expect Ben to ever be the same, but when he's been back he's still been a great defender and I feel like that would be huge for Lauri to get a true passer like Ben/Lonzo.

The other guy who fits this mold is Giddey....I actually think he's a good target this year as OKC is unlikely to extend him.
 
Yeah…Bridges doesn’t even seem to have remorse for what he did. He committed a heinous, violent crime.

Ben has red flags if you’re treating him like a superstar player. Taking a flier on Ben on a one year deal (that leaves us in a better future cap situation anyways) is not really a red flag.

They should not be compared.
Simmons has played 57 games total in the last 3 seasons. Like I said it’s a salary dump deal similar to Westbrook where you likely buy him out because it’s not worth having him around. It’s not a buy.
 
Simmons has played 57 games total in the last 3 seasons. Like I said it’s a salary dump deal similar to Westbrook where you likely buy him out because it’s not worth having him around. It’s not a buy.

Idc what you call it or label it. Taking a flier on a player and cleaning up the cap situation can definitely be part of a move forward plan.
 
Idc what you call it or label it. Taking a flier on a player and cleaning up the cap situation can definitely be part of a move forward plan.
*shrugs* ok it just gives us cap space a year early. Have we thought about why Brooklyn would do this deal when they can just create the cap space themselves next offseason?
 
*shrugs* ok it just gives us cap space a year early. Have we thought about why Brooklyn would do this deal when they can just create the cap space themselves next offseason?

That is a fair question. But the idea of acquiring Ben, who is obviously very available, still aligns. Buy low opportunities + clearing cap should always be considered regardless of direction.
 
Brooklyn may not do it. Its why I mentioned Don signing an extension and that they may be in on Trae etc. I think there are plenty of reasons for them to do it... if they are ready to get off the BS roller coaster and don't think he's healthy enough... if they want to get some solid production out of that cap allocation. They also don't control their own picks and are in the East so some mild improvements could push them to the play in.

They also may not do it... that's the case with every fake trade. I think there is a rational case for it.
 
The time to trade for Jon Issac isn’t now, it was last season. Sometimes you’ve got to take on a little risk to get a win. That’s what the Jazz were trying to do with Collins last summer. But the “risk” of Simmons is clearing off unwanted future salary….so not really any risk at all unless you want to bet on Collins regaining positive value (which could happen tbh). Seems as though the FO has already expressed regret over the Collins trade and they should be regretting the Clarkson contract.

It doesn’t surprise we that Simmons became a big talking point because people love to **** on him more than just about any player in the league. If you don’t believe in Collins or Clarkson going forward, this would be a good exit plan if BKN made it available. If we were talking about trading those two bad contracts for “bob” there wouldn’t be much pushback.

Collins I can see rationale either way…Clarkson I don’t think can help us even in a move forward situation.

We should be think about the cap situation this year and the near future as well. One thing to keep an eye on and consider is Sexton’s next contract? If we want to keep him, he would also be a good R+E candidate next summer. We could try to get him on heavily front loaded deal like Myles Turner’s deal. Big decisions will have to be made on Sexton soon. Having that extra $40M in cap to keep options open for Sexton is a good idea.

When we compete, we will need to have good, starter level players on bargain deals. Sexton R+E is one potential avenue for that and it’s something we should keep in mind when adding any future salary. I think that if we trade for a big salary player, it’s important that we get off of at least Clarkson.

That is if we even want Sexton as a part of our plans of course.
 
Speaking of the Pelicans, I do think they are a team who could have more interest in both Sexton and Collins. What do we think of a trade built around Sexton+Collins for Ingram?
 
Speaking of the Pelicans, I do think they are a team who could have more interest in both Sexton and Collins. What do we think of a trade built around Sexton+Collins for Ingram?
I think trading away Sexton takes away some appeal to trading for Ingram. I’d much rather do something around Collins + Clarkson + Kessler if possible.
 
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