The Official 2015-2016 Regular Season Thread

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

Also guys we all know Vucevic can hit the 3.. I've seen videos in practice of him banging them in constantly. Any chance he could play PF and C?

 

zero chance. Not enough foot speed to defend on the perimeter.

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

Zach Lowe really doesn't like the Harris trade.

[Murphy13 185]

Zach Lowe really doesn't like the Harris trade.

 

He seemed emotionally attached to Harris at some level more akin to that of a fan than in an objective way.

[Soul Bro 1,421]

Zach Lowe really doesn't like the Harris trade.

Well Harris looks really solid in Detroit under Stan. For me, I like Fournier better on the Magic than Harris, so I hope we re-sign him under less or similar terms.

[Wilbur 48]

Well Harris looks really solid in Detroit under Stan. For me, I like Fournier better on the Magic than Harris, so I hope we re-sign him under less or similar terms.

 

In my mind that move was all about freeing up shots/playing time/leadership roles for other players. Harris is a good offensive player. He will never be a star, but he can be a decent second option on a playoff team or a third option on a contender. In that respect, I think he is a lot like Vuc. Henny didn't want to pay him, but didn't want to let him walk away for nothing. Ultimately he pretty much received nothing for Harris as an asset so the trade doesn't look good. That said, when Harris was resigned, we didn't know where Gordon was in his development and weren't entirely sure we had seen the best of what Harris had to offer. As those issues became more clear the salary for Harris was simply not the best use of resources for this club.

 

I may draw fire, but I think Fournier and Vuc are in the same boat. They are good players that have a role, but they are expendable if the salary they draw can be used elsewhere to improve the club. It may sound like that would apply to anyone on the roster, but I see Vic and Gordan as mainstays unless they are dealt to get a superstar.

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

He seemed emotionally attached to Harris at some level more akin to that of a fan than in an objective way.

 

Not really.

 

He's looking at it from an objective standpoint. there's room for 18 different teams to offer one max contract and like 5 players worth a max contract therefore we have a 28% chance of signing one max guy and a 7% chance of signing two max guys.

 

Harris is a 23 year old above replacement level player who has shown flashes of being pretty good but those flashes are far and few between and haven't occurred frequently since we gave him competition for touches (i.e. he was fantastic when we gave him all the offense he could handle but struggled and deferred too much when we added oladipo).

 

Harris was definitely worth at least a solid veteran (thad young-ish) plus a heavily protected draft pick as he's a young player signed to a long contract.

 

so do a value based analysis of the trade. On a scale of 1-10, a borderline starter plus a late draft pick sometime in the future is pretty likely to be a 5 on a scale of 1-10. helpful but very likely not franchise changing. maybe it nets us a few games this season and in the 2017 playoffs that player plus a pick helps win us a playoff game. something similar to when Portland traded for afflalo.

 

the prospects of signing two legit max contract players would be a 10 on the 1-10 scale. signing one max player might be a 7. a 7% chance of signing 2 max contract players would be valued at a 0.7 and a 28% chance of signing a single max contract guy is basically a 2.0. (there are more options in this analysis but many of them would provide negative values so they basically cancel eachother out).

 

0.7+2.0 = 2.7

 

2.7<5.0

 

Therefore we'd be better off trading harris for value and not betting on free agency during a time where most of the league will be involved with free agency and we've seen in the past that its easy to convince yourself to overpay for a second or third tier player mortgaging your future cap flexibility.

 

 

why I disagree with this thinking:

 

-There is some intrinsic value to having two max contracts available instead of 1

 

-All teams are not equal. Our situation (situation defined as both basketball and physical location) is objectively better than the following teams: Denver, Memphis, Minnesota, Utah, Milwaukee, Brooklyn, Charlotte, and Philly. You could also make financial arguments of why a player would be better off coming here vs teams like Atlanta and Washington. if you weigh our odds of signing a top player higher than those other franchises then you have a much greater chance of signing a top guy. this does go both ways though. we aren't as likely to sign a max guy as LA is.

 

-There's value to the press that Gordon is getting that probably wouldn't have happened if harris was still on the team. ESPN, NBA, and SI are retweeting videos of his dunks literally every single night. A player with his visibility is something we can use in a free agency pitch (i.e. we have oladipo who has shown the ability to be a top 3 player at his position post all star. We have Gordon who is set up to become a stud. we have good pieces to build around you. we just need you to come in to be the face of the franchise. You don't have to do it alone, we're also looking at bringing in _____ to help out. We feel you, _____, oladipo, and Gordon is a championship lineup. We'll have flexibility to surround you with complimentary free agents going forward. We have shooting off the bench with Hezonja and hopefully we can retain Fournier. this would be great for you).

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

So best case scenario: Durant and Horford

 

not a bad second option: Derozan and Whiteside

 

we definitely got better: Conley and Dwight

 

I guess we improved at least?: Batum and ryan anderson

 

I hope this works out but I'm not convinced: Barnes and Clarkson

 

Burn this team to the ground: Noah and Evan Turner

[TheNameIsOrlando 310]

Lol @ Noah and Turner.

 

I'd quit my Fandom asap! That's so bad a really did Crack a smile reading that.

[The Neighborhood Bully 266]

Chandler Parsons answered affirmatively when Tim MacMahon of ESPN.comasked whether he and Dwight Howard would have conversations this summer about teaming up again. Parsons and Howard, who played together on the Rockets during the 2013/14 season, are both expected to turn down their respective player options for next season and hit free agency this summer.

 

The Mavericks are the front-runners to retain Parsons, as MacMahon previously reported, and while the Mavs have interest in Howard, they wouldn’t approach the maximum salary of nearly $30MM in a contract offer to him, MacMahon hears (ESPN Now link). Parsons, in his interview with MacMahon, expressed his affection for Dallas, the Mavs organization, coach Rick Carlisle and Dirk Nowitzki. Parsons called Mark Cuban the best owner in the NBA and said he wouldn’t want to play for anyone else, but he stopped short of committing to stay with the Mavericks. The versatile forward has played a key recruting role for the Mavericks as they’ve pursued free agents in the past, but he indicated that’s on hold until his own contractual situation is resolved.

 

“It’s tricky, because if I’m going out and I’m recruiting a free agent right in the beginning of free agency, and they obviously know that I’ve opted out of my contract and I’m still not signed with the Mavs, it’s difficult for them to get an understanding of what the foundation of the Mavs is going to be going forward when the main guy recruiting them still isn’t signed,” Parsons told MacMahon. “That’s something that [agent Dan] HWNSNBU and Mark and [president of basketball operations] Donnie [Nelson] and everybody, they have to talk early on to maybe get something done. Obviously, Dan will be talking to every team in the league with there being so much cap space everywhere, but that’s a tricky thing. I can’t really recruit anybody to Dallas until I know that I’m coming back to Dallas.”

 

The Magic are reportedly Parsons’ second choice, and Howard apparently has interest in returning to Orlando if he can’t re-sign with the Rockets. Parsons also detailed the close relationship he still has with other former teammates still with Houston as part of his chat with MacMahon.

I really hope we're not interested in either one.

[Soul Bro 1,421]

I think we have a solid chance at Horford or Whiteside. The way Easy has been playing lately, I'm not sure we go for a PG unless it's a clear upgrade.

[Voodoo Man 99]

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I really hope we're not interested in either one.

How old is this article. I thought Dan was no longer Dwight's agent. Maybe I read it wrong.

[Franchero MVP 391]

Easy with whiteside would be a great combo