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Hoops Rumors Live Chat: 12/12/2024
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Luke Adams
2:01
Hi guys. Thanks for all your early questions -- keep 'em coming and I'll get through as many as I can in the next hour.
Jeff
2:01
What's your thoughts on the Warriors holding pat and then extending Kuminga?  Kuminga looks like an elite offensive player who just needs more court time.   Trading Melton and expiring contracts like payton, looney and some draft capital for say Claxton makes sense.   Butler is old and brittle.
Luke Adams
2:03
I'm not 100% sold on Kuminga's star potential yet, but I do think that if the right deal isn't out there in the next couple months, the Warriors can afford to stick with Kuminga through this season and make a decision with him a little later. Sign-and-trades are an offseason possibility, and even re-signing him to a new contract wouldn't rule out a trade starting at the 2026 deadline.

I do think the Warriors and Nets could be interesting trade partners, but I doubt Brooklyn will be eager to move Claxton. Schroder and Finney-Smith are more realistic targets.
Kevin in Houston
2:04
What is Malcolm Brogdon's trade value?  A late first?  Multiple Seconds?
Luke Adams
2:05
If the Wizards can swap Brogdon for expiring matching money and a second-round pick, they'd be doing pretty well, I think. If they could get two second-rounders, they should pull the trigger today. He's a solid player, but his injury history is concerning and his cap hit is a little too high for the role he'd play on most contenders.
Guest
2:05
If the Rockets decline Fred VanVleet's Team Option next offseason, what would be his cap hold?  Can they sign other free agents and then resign VanVleet to a contract with Bird Rights?
Luke Adams
2:08
Declining VanVleet's option, using cap room, and then bringing back VanVleet isn't really an option, since his cap hit will be $46MM+ (ie. his projected max). Cap holds are based on a previous salary, so they'll always be high for players coming off big cap hits.

It's why the best way to maximize a cap hold is for a player coming off a minimum-salary deal with Early Bird or Bird rights (think Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins last summer for OKC -- those two had minimum cap holds, allowing the Thunder to sign Hartenstein, then go over the cap to re-sign Joe and Wiggins).
Guest
2:09
Pacers are looking for a backup center. How about Garza from Minnesota?
Luke Adams
2:11
He's an interesting player, but I suspect the Pacers will be looking for more of a veteran who they could slot right into that backup role and rely on for 15 minutes per night, rather than rolling the dice on a relatively untested guy. In my opinion, a vet like Daniel Theis or Thomas Bryant makes more sense for them. Just a decent stopgap for the rest of the season.
Jalen Johnson
2:11
Am I the leader in the clubhouse for the Most Improved award? Will Daniels steal some of my votes?
Luke Adams
2:15
Voters looove a player who takes the leap from solid starter to All-Star. The last few winners (Maxey, Markkanen, Morant, etc.) have all fit this bill.

With that in mind, I was really liking Franz Wagner as the favorite until he got hurt. Jalen Johnson is definitely an interesting candidate, especially if the Hawks keep winning. Cade Cunningham is one to watch if the Pistons stay in the play-mix and his shooting percentage improvements stick. Wembanyama is another guy I thought might meet that criteria, but he hasn't taken a huge step forward yet.
Pacers
2:16
what would be the cost to get nick richards?  Seems like the perfect backup big man and a potential turner replacement
Luke Adams
2:20
I'm curious about that price myself. Whenever I look at playoff teams that need a backup center, I find myself coming back to Richards, whose $5MM salary is attainable for almost anyone. He's not an impactful enough player to warrant a first-rounder, but multiple seconds certainly seems reasonable.

Depending on who else the Hornets end up trading, maybe there's a way to get a first-rounder in a Richards package the way the Jazz did last year when they sent out both Olynyk and Agbaji in the same deal. Like, a Richards/Josh Green or Richards/Tre Mann package could maybe get them a protected first.
Dtownbobo
2:20
For the first time in years the Pistons look competent and competitive most nights. Do you see them potentially being buyers at the deadline? I think they could be a sleeper team to trade for either LaVine or Ingram.
Luke Adams
2:24
Not out of the question that they could buy, but I'm skeptical about their interest in someone like Ingram -- I just don't see Trajan Langdon being all that eager to take on a player who would immediately warrant a $40MM-per-year commitment this summer.

Someone like LaVine, whose contract will expire in a couple years, is a little more realistic, but I think they'll be more inclined to just play it relatively safe, maybe selling off a veteran or two, using their cap room to get a couple more draft assets, and targeting younger players on more team-friendly contracts.
Suns fan
2:24
What do you think the suns will do at the deadline?
Luke Adams
2:26
Would expect they'll use Okogie's pseudo-expiring contract and whatever draft capital they can scrounge up to see if they can upgrade a weak spot in the rotation. They can't aggregate salaries, so it'll be tough to do too much (for Okogie, they'd have to take back someone making $8.25MM or less). Nurkic could be worth keeping an eye on too, but his contract won't have positive value so it'll be tough to extract value for him.
Go Wizards
2:27
Where does Kuzma end up?  What can the return be?
Luke Adams
2:30
I can't see the Wizards actually trading Kuzma this season unless he starts playing better. He still has two years left on his contract beyond this one, so no point selling low when they'll have so many more transaction windows to potentially move him.

Having said that, if Kuzma were playing at his usual career level, I'd expect the Wizards to seek two second-round picks and ultimately settle for one. As for a destination... that's trickier. A lot of the ones that made sense last season (like Sacramento or Dallas) make less sense now.
Guy
2:31
Who says no? Warriros get Butler, Heat get LaVine/Anderson, Bulls get Wiggins/Melton/Jovic/2005 1st
Cam Greenish
2:31
3 way Trade Idea would love to know your thoughts... Warriors get Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic & Torrey Craig... Bulls get Andrew Wiggins, DeAndre Melton, Gary Payton, Kyle Anderson, Kevon Looney, Warriors 2025 1st round pick, Hawks 2026 & 2028 2nd round picks..... Bulls would then flip Wiggins, Anderson & Looney (Pistons would use MLE to absorb his contract) along with Jevon Carter to the Pistons for Tim Hardaway, Simone Fontecchio, Paul Reed, Wendell Moore Jr, and the Knicks 2nd round picks in 2028 & 2029.... Bulls would pretty much insure they keep their top 10 protected pick this year while clearing almost $65M in cap space for next summer and adding a 1st and four 2nd's.
Luke Adams
2:34
Have gotten a few trade suggestions along these lines and I can tell that a good amount of thought has been put into making them CBA legal based on how close the salaries are, but it's worth reiterating that "close" isn't good enough in a lot of cases this season because of the restrictive apron rules and how close certain teams are to their hard caps. For instance, based on my quick math, both of these proposals have the Warriors exceeding their hard cap and therefore wouldn't be legal (the Heat also aren't allowed to take back more salary than they send out).

This isn't to say that those trade ideas are bad (though I do think at least one team would say no in each case). The point is that it's SO hard this season to find a trade that both abides by all the CBA rules and actually makes sense for all the teams involved. Will be a very interesting trade season for that reason.
EonADS
2:35
Should the Cavs ask Jaylon Tyson to play in the G-League once Strus comes back? He's barely getting any run right now, and while his upside is nice, he needs more minutes to actually develop.
Luke Adams
2:37
Would absolutely make sense, even if you just put him on the "only play G League home games" plan so he can stay around the NBA team on road trips. The Cavs are vying for the No. 1 seed, so they've gotta prioritize fielding the best possible rotation over trying to develop a rookie. There are higher picks than Tyson spending plenty of time in the G League this season -- no shame in it.
Kevin in Houston
2:37
Is Paul Reed a deadline trade candidate?  Take a second rounder + matching salary?
Luke Adams
2:39
Certainly don't think the Pistons will make him untouchable, and he'd be a decent option for some of the teams that need frontcourt depth. The interesting thing about Reed is that because of the Pistons' cap room, you could make a trade that sends out, say, a $16MM player and only take Reed's $7.7MM back and it would still work for Detroit. If that kind of deal helps a trade partner get out of the tax or significantly reduce its tax bill, it'll give the Pistons' leverage to ask for more than just a single second-rounder. (This same logic could be applied to any Pistons trade candidate, for what it's worth.)
Centers
2:40
Hawks have 3 centers who should all be getting time - Capela, Okongwu, Nance.  Will any of them get moved? What would the Hawks want in return for each - players or picks?
Luke Adams
2:43
Very curious to see how the Hawks manage those three guys this season. Nance is a great backup option who's barely playing at all because Capela and Okongwu are getting all the minutes. I don't think the Hawks intend to move Okongwu and I actually think Nance might be more appealing than Capela to many teams because his versatility makes him a better fit in a lot of playoff lineups and his cap hit is half of what Capela's is.

Again though, we're probably talking second-round picks or an intriguing young prospect for either of them, not a first-rounder or a young starting-caliber guy (unless maybe the Hawks add another piece or take back a bad contract).
Davey J
2:44
Aren't multi-team trades the route to get all the money right on these upcoming potential trades? Mike Dunleavy Jr already pulled off a 6-teamer not long ago...
Luke Adams
2:46
Yeah, I expect the ratio of multi-team trades to two-team deals to look a lot different this season than it normally does.

Still, there aren't a ton of teams who can act as facilitators since so many are operating over the tax or close to the tax line, even among the rebuilding teams (the Nets, Bulls, and Blazers are a few of the sellers who are less than $5MM from the tax).

Plus, those facilitators will generally want draft picks for helping out -- the Hornets got three second-rounders for taking on three minimum-salary (sorry, minimum-salary + $1) players in the Towns deal.
Daniel
2:47
The Mavericks have interest in Jimmy Butler and Herb Jones but they would be limited in assets to move.  Whats the most likely outcome going to be for the Mavericks in terms of trades?
Luke Adams
2:50
I don't think Herb Jones is going to be available, and Butler isn't a realistic target for the Mavs unless they want to trade Kyrie for him (can't imagine they do). The Mavs will probably have to aim a little lower -- Maxi Kleber's $11MM looks to me like the most obvious salary-matching piece, so maybe someone in that range, or a little higher if they attach a second player.

A Finney-Smith reunion would make some sense for them. Also, he's not healthy now, but I'm sorta curious whether they still have interest any interest in Matisse Thybulle, who's right around that $11MM range and signed an offer sheet with Dallas that was matched by Portland last year.
Free Agents
2:50
Any guys that are still on the free agency pile that you think could have an impact at some point this year?
Luke Adams
2:53
Would imagine the Knicks will bring back Landry Shamet if and when he gets healthy, and I could see him potentially getting rotation minutes in New York.

Will not be shocked at all if Marcus Morris ends up on a playoff team this spring.

Robert Covington and Markelle Fultz are a couple others I'm a little surprised aren't on rosters.
Cam Greenish
2:54
Re: Warriors Hard Cap.... Warriors would not go over the Hard cap in the trade I proposed. They would be only be taking on an extra 800K ($65M outgoing - $65.8 incoming) which would still leave them a little wiggle room under the hard cap
Luke Adams
2:55
The Warriors are only about $533K away from their hard cap due to the $1MM in unlikely incentives for Looney which count against the apron. So even taking on an extra $800K wouldn't work. But when the numbers are that close, there are usually ways to figure them out.
Luke Adams
3:05
Before I call it a day, just want to follow up on this note to clarify one point: Because Looney is included in that prosped outgoing trade package, it would technically be a legal move, but the Warriors would be left with 12 players and would have to get back to 14 two weeks later, at which point I don't believe (based on my back-of-the-napkin math thre) they'd have enough room under their hard cap to sign two new players. Which is another consideration for hard-capped teams sending out more players than they take back. I don't envy front offices this year!
Picks
2:55
Which should the Hawks do?
  1. Trade the Lakers and Kings picks next year for players to help the team this year
  2. Hold onto them and draft 2 more youngsters to replace guys who will leave as free agents
Luke Adams
2:57
I'd hold onto them for now. The Hawks are exceeding expectations, but I still don't consider them a legitimate contender in the East and I don't think they'll become that this year with a move or two. Better to slow-play it a little -- the way the Lakers have played lately, that pick could end up being even more valuable next summer than it is now.
HeatBaby!!!
2:59
I'm over the drama that is Jimmy Butler.  Do you see him getting traded by the deadline? If so, where/for whom?
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