Masai is not playing wait and see

[Axel]

It's nice to think these things because they benefit us, but how about you look at it from this perspective.

The Raptors are rebranding soon and have new management coming in. They need to make a trade for a solid but extremely overpaid player in order to make a playoff push.

See how similar that reasoning is? And I'm sure nobody here has any interest in us going out and trading for yet another overpaid player.

Just because Charlotte wants to make the playoffs, doesn't mean they're going to mortgage their whole future to do so. Tbh, Rich Cho is actually a good GM, they just haven't been getting particularly lucky in lotteries.

I don't think the comparison fits.

Toronto, capped out with a terrible roster devoid of potential except for 2 players (JV and Ross), going to tweak the logo/colours so when they host the 2016 all-star game people are impressed, with a multinational media conglomerate as the owners.

Charlotte, lots of young players (Walker, Henderson, MKG, Zeller), potentially 3 lottery picks this year (Portland Trail Blazers 1-12 protected and Detroit Pistons 1-8 protected) and are only committed to $41M next year (not including cap holds). Charlotte's ownership group is much weaker (financially) and are in a smaller market and their owner has the biggest ego, likely, in NBA history and is beyond description in competitiveness.

The devil is in the details, bad team A does not equal bad team B.

[CalgaryRapsFan]

That's an exaggeration, Jefferson isn't signed to an "absurd" deal. He's a center for starters, so he's going to get paid a premium. 13.5M a year for a 20-10 center entering his prime is far from absurd. Considering that Gay makes 6M more than that per season and is nowhere near as useful, why would Charlotte want him?

I'm not hung up on MKG, although it keeps being suggested by others here. I'm not sure why Charlotte would even trade Ben Gordon STRAIGHT UP for Rudy Gay's contract, let alone actually including picks and lesser prospects.

I'm not blowing smoke. Moving Rudy Gay would essentially require us to trade with a Bryan Colangelo clone, because he has the lowest production-to-contract value in the entire league.

I meant absurd for such a young, rebuilding team. Every 'expert' was panning the signing as one of desperation by Charlotte, in order to try and compete for the playoffs and win back their fans ahead of their rebranding. For a team that has been in rebuild mode for several years (Cho being the guy who said something about being willing to take 1 step back to take 2 steps forward, upon being hired by Charlotte), it was completely stupid for them to decide to change their strategy ahead of such a strong draft. Had they stayed the course, they likely would be in a position to add a potential superstar to their already strong, young lineup.

For a team lacking a scorer, being able to acquire Gay as a half-season rental (assuming he verbally agrees to opt-out) for Ben Gordon's expiring contract and one of multiple 1st round picks, would be a great deal for a team gunning for the playoffs. I don't know how you could argue otherwise.

[Katman]

Or maybe we can use history to tell us that teams don't typically do trades until after Dec 15th (I believe). It takes at least 2 partners in this trade dance. It could be everybody in the League is waiting until ALL their trade chips are available and enough time has past to justify making a move....just a thought.

[peanutwoozle]

One thing I'm sure of is there is no such thing as an untradeable contract. Gay and Derozan are very movable. Take a look at the contracts everybody said couldn't be traded: Marcus Banks was traded a couple of times, Theo Ratliff was traded 3 times during the worst years of his deal, Jermaine O'neal was traded twice -- once at $21 million and another time at $23 million, Bargnani so far once, even Agent Zero, perhaps the worst contract in league history was eventually traded.

It's the good contracts that teams can't trade, because they want too much in return. A good player on a good contract won't be traded, to be sure. So Gay and Derozan are not only tradeable, according to league history as unproductive players on bad contracts, they are in fact likely to move.

What about guys like Mark Madsen and Charlie Villanueva? They were/are unmoveable.

[Craiger]

One thing I'm sure of is there is no such thing as an untradeable contract. Gay and Derozan are very movable. Take a look at the contracts everybody said couldn't be traded: Marcus Banks was traded a couple of times, Theo Ratliff was traded 3 times during the worst years of his deal, Jermaine O'neal was traded twice -- once at $21 million and another time at $23 million, Bargnani so far once, even Agent Zero, perhaps the worst contract in league history was eventually traded.

It's the good contracts that teams can't trade, because they want too much in return. A good player on a good contract won't be traded, to be sure. So Gay and Derozan are not only tradeable, according to league history as unproductive players on bad contracts, they are in fact likely to move.

A contract may not necessarily be untradeable for the entirety of its length, but I think there are contracts that are untradeable at certain times. We've seen numerous contracts amnestied, or players on teams getting paid alot, despite not playing at all. If no contract was untradeable, that kind of stuff should never happen.

The value of their contract may change when the circumstances of their contract change (eg. they become an expiring) but I don't think its fair to assume all contracts are moveable at all times. With that length of time possibly being an extended period depending on the length of the contract.

[Primer]

Trades won't start happening until December 15th when the moratorium on trading players signed in the offseason is lifted. A lot of the potential deals for Gay would likely involve players on short contracts that were just signed (Bynum, Clark, etc...). Plus I don't think the teams panicking are panicking hard enough yet for Masai to really bend them over a barrel. We aren't winning so there isn't any rush to get into tank mode, we're doing a fine job of it with the current roster / coach.

[Miekenstien]

Gay for Gordon and MKG makes so much sense for Charlotte. They get to add a perceived "star" player, plus if they keep their pick, then they can replace MKG fairly easily through the draft. If Gay opts-out, they try to resign him or they play their 2014 rookie instead. If Gay opts-in, they continue to compete and have an expiring to deal.

any deal without bigV that gets us MKG is a win for us. Love love love MKG.

[NoPropsneeded]

any deal without bigV that gets us MKG is a win for us. Love love love MKG.

I seriously doubt he's ever going to be effective on offense, his shot is so fugly. When he shoots FT's it reminds me of Chuck Hayes, yea its that bad.

[ceez]

Kennedy just tweeted that Sac and Cle have been working the phone lines to make a move after their slow starts

[mcHAPPY]

Kennedy just tweeted that Sac and Cle have been working the phone lines to make a move after their slow starts

Just to clarify, I'm not saying the Cavaliers and Kings are in negotiations. I was just told that those two teams have been very active.

— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) November 14, 2013

[psrs1]

I would also add with the difference between Charlotte and Toronto is the Bobcats have been tanking for 3 years, they've already had high draft picks, and been screwed by the lotto balls all around (they have lost position after every lottery). Toronto has, incredibly, been trying to improve and actually be good.... obviously an epic fail.

Getting screwed by lotto balls after all those loses....,lol.

[ezz_bee]

This is exactly what I'm trying to say. For the people suggesting Charlotte would make that deal, if YOU were Charlotte, would you trade the former #2 overall pick for an albatross contract just to get 8th place? No. Hell acquiring Gay might actually make the team worse. Gilchrist has a 59% TS percentage this year. He also defends at an elite level.

Yep this is best case scenario, scrubs and expirings for Gay.

In regards to the bold, I agree that I wouldn't; However, there are sooooo many things that GM's do (KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ) that I would NOT do, that undermine's the ability to apply your logic universally. I think VERY few players have untradeable contracts, and thought that Barg's was one of them.

I will however concede this point, deals like Gay for MKG, are more HOPE than reality. That said, Masai might just be a miracle man!

[Bendit]

In regards to the bold, I agree that I wouldn't; However, there are sooooo many things that GM's do (KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ) that I would NOT do, that undermine's the ability to apply your logic universally. I think VERY few players have untradeable contracts, and thought that Barg's was one of them.

I will however concede this point, deals like Gay for MKG, are more HOPE than reality. That said, Masai might just be a miracle man!

If Gilbert Arenas was traded with his contract, injury history and gun problems....anyone can. This gives me some hope.



http://www.thescore.com/buzz/article...-contract-ever

[Primer]

This is exactly what I'm trying to say. For the people suggesting Charlotte would make that deal, if YOU were Charlotte, would you trade the former #2 overall pick for an albatross contract just to get 8th place? No. Hell acquiring Gay might actually make the team worse. Gilchrist has a 59% TS percentage this year. He also defends at an elite level.

What if they see Gay as the missing piece to pair up with Jefferson that will finally get them into relevance in the Eastern conference? If they have plans to resign Gay long term then trading for him does make sense.
Not saying it's going to happen, but I think you're way overvaluing MKG. A lot of teams probably feel like Gay is the better player and always will be.

[Masai Ujiri]

If Gilbert Arenas was traded with his contract, injury history and gun problems....anyone can. This gives me some hope.



http://www.thescore.com/buzz/article...-contract-ever

But Arenas was traded for Rashard Lewis' equally bad contract.