I keep seeing people talking about how we can't afford KO so we have to lose him and keep Wiggins. But, since the Warriors have Oubre's Bird rights, they could sign him to a max contract, offload Wiggins for expiring contracts, and end up in about the same place (minus some draft picks, probably). Or, if Lacob's pockets were truly bottomless, he could pay to keep five max/near-max players. But with Chase Center not earning on events for the near future, that seems pretty much impossible.
Wiseman, by the way, costs a pretty penny too as the #2 pick, even on a rookie salary. So when you think about how much money he'll command by the time he's, y'know, actually good, you have to wonder what contracts the rest of the Warriors will be on. Perhaps the end of the core three could be when one of them is offloaded to make Wiseman's eventual max contract palatable, tax-wise. That's of course if we even still have him at that point and assuming he will actually get good.
If anyone is interested in listening to a bunch of Wiseman talk, I hopped on a podcast today with an old Hoops Habit writer (who ALS0 wrote a crazy deep article on Wisemam this week)
So far, there doesn't seem to be any movement towards moving anyone by the trade deadline. That leaves us with the off season to see what the Warriors will do. I firmly believe that Oubre should be signed and Wiggins moved, if possible. Oubre gives the Warriors a dimension that no one else on the team can deliver. Plus, with the rise of Wiseman, scoring chances have to go his way and less for Wiggins. The bigger the Wiseman option, the less for Wiggins. Oubre is a player who can create his opportunities anywhere on the floor and is a solid rebounder, able to move constantly and slashing like no other teammate. The only possibility of not signing Oubre is if his asking price rises dramatically and they can't move Wiggins.
I'm a little surprised that Alex Toupane wasn't offered more by the Warriors. He seems to have a game that could have worked off our bench. His size and tool box scream sign me.
But this year MN sucks, and if the pick doesn't convey (because they luck out and get a top 3), and they get a lot better next year, that unprotected pick might be a lot lower.
note: there was an error in my initial article. It's been corrected now, but if you read the article in your email, then you still will get the old version saying DPE. Sorry!
Yeah, but whoever that person is will cost Joey Lightyears a ton of money so it would probably have to be someone that moves the needle more than worn out PJ Tucker or something
re #1 - like Oubre, Wiggins holds an important, and otherwise irreplaceable, salary 'slot' for us. Best options would maintain those slots for the team.
First of I've heard of an SGA trade (I miss a lot, sigh) - interesting stuff.
I think this was from the perspective of, “We’d rather have Oubre, but it’s too expensive with Wiggins on the books.” Like I said below, I don’t blame ownership at all if they’re thinking this way. If there’s such a thing as $80+ million player, it’s not Oubre.
At this point do we really care about the max slot? At some point were going to have to look at loosing it because right now it really is not doing us any good. Now if we can pull some block buster trade sure but what can you really get for Wiggins right now?
I only hear good things about SGA - why would OKC want to get rid of a talented, young player who is clearly developing, particularly when they hold a ton of top draft picks already?
We can move Wiggins in the 2021 offseason and keep that slot open for a year, save a boatload of tax in 2021-22. In fact, if we can duck below the tax threshold in 2021-22 it puts the Warriors out of the repeater tax and lets them spend all out in the following two seasons.
That’s probably a next off season move if it comes? The highest trade value might be if Wiggins has a good year on a contending Warriors team and has only one year left on his contract?
In that case an unprotected 2022 Wolves pick might be just as good as if the Warriors get the pick this year for star purposes.
Yeah, the 3rd makes us better now. But I think #1 makes sense if you really want to keep Oubre but can’t justify the cost with Wiggins on the books. And theoretically, Derozan would be able to create more offense on the 2nd team than Wiggins. I go back and forth on #2, but what does Bagley bring that Chriss doesn’t, other than being available this year?
#2 makes no sense for Sacto. Bjeloca is UFA after this season but Bagley is under contract next season and the club exercised its option for '22-'23, after which he's RTA. He's worth a lot more than a couple of rentals and a salary dump when the Kings are a lottery team.
#3 would be so good for the Warriors it’s somewhat incomprehensible that’s a viable trade scenario. Why are you getting my hopes up? And I ❤️ Looney
#2 is terrible but gets a decent box score player with team control. You have to move Paschall if you bring in Bagley don’t you? Overall an asset play like Dlo.
#1 purely a cost cutting measure that’s a sign the Warriors brass are seriously hurting for cash. They tried the partial sale of the team for a cash infusion and the league shot them down.
DeRozan is like wet tissue paper on D, and may have been one of the most impactful players at helping Wiseman achieve his best career game to date. Simply having one less guard Curry can blow by with ease to play against should disqualify this concept trade.
#3 would require a corresponding move though as it leaves them with just two guys over 6’7”. On of them has played 30 games since high school and the other is Smiley.
Re Oubre...the key is that GS is not just a basketball operation, it is an event center operation with a basketball team. They are getting hammered by Covid and empty seats not just for Warriors games but for the entire venue. An extra few dozen millions for the basketball operation are nothing compared to the benefit of getting deep into the playoffs next year and the Chase Center getting filled up with events other than the Warriors. Oubre has to be seen as part of a much larger long ranger picture.
That is interesting. I wonder what is better from an overall revenue generation standpoint for the Chase Center: an extended run of deep playoff pushes (say, multiple consecutive Western Conference appearances including 1-2 Finals appearances), or fewer playoff pushes but a single Championship as well as some bad years. I still lean toward the latter, since hanging that fourth championship banner (especially when it gets attached with a Steph/Klay "come back" narrative for the ages) is still the strongest marketing boost one could have. Think of the commercials!
There are a lot of moving parts to this piece so it’s hard to tell what will actually happen. But I’m still adamant that there’s an internal competition between Wiggs and Oubre for the starting SF position next season. It seems like Meyers would want to keep both, if only for the sake of continuity, but you know he’s mapping all the options on the logic tree because there are several benefits to keeping Oubre over Wiggins (if Oubre proves to be the better fit):
If Wiggs doesn’t keep his 3p average above 35% at season’s end, he’d be an offensive liability next season; Oubre will be cheaper; and Meyers could get some decent assets by trading Wiggs. That’s a lot to weigh. If Wiggs is open to taking a pay cut or restructuring is contract, it would go a long way to keeping him in the Bay, tho.
It will be fun to see how they perform in the playoffs; that’s where one of them can separate from the other.
Whatever happens, next season’s roster will look different from this one. Meyers has to make room for Klay, the incoming draft picks, FAs, Jessup, and whatever moves he makes this season.
I’m both saddened to see who won’t be back and excited to see what the new team looks like.
I would like to point out that pretty much everyone commenting on my post is by and large missing the point. None of the objections here really touch upon my main argument.
Not for nothing, but: I'm all for arguing the merits of what I'm actually saying. But even if the objections were correct, they don't refute my main point, so it's a bit odd to be going in circles around something so trivial.
To clarify, the point is, is that you can bet that Myers is already looking into ways to move Wiggs if he *doesn't* pan out. He wouldn't a good President of Basketball Operations and GM if he wasn't anticipating something potentially so obvious and detrimental to the team's success. If you're going to argue against something I said, argue against that.
I think the quibble is not the idea the Myers and the FO have talked about trading Wiggins, but rather the idea that Wiggins on his own returns some package of players that makes the team better this season
If they trade Wiggins, they'll likely be losing one of their 1st round picks (and probably the pick from Minnesota). Otherwise, I don't see how anyone would be willing to do the trade.
Like Attila said, what makes you think we can trade him for “decent assets”? To us, he’s better than D’Lo, and therefore better than nothing when KD left, but unless we’re willing to throw in sweeteners, we’re looking at players other teams are trying to offload.
Hey, that's my line lol. Additionally, it's pretty tiresome going in circles around something that may not be true and even if it were, doesn't undermine my actual argument.
Nah, I think the point is that it's really hard to fit a max salary into an existing team. We got real lucky with the cap spike and added KD, and then managed to snag Wiggins.
But I have to politely disagree, the lines intersect because he's (I think) replying to your line about
> ...could get some decent assets by trading Wiggs.
Wiggins value is really unknown, I think, but it's not necessarily true that Wiggins along returns "some" decent assets. Maybe we can find a team that sees the value in trading in a max contract slot - which was part of the metrics that made bringing Wiggins here make sense - but on the whole, he's a non superstar getting paid superstar money.
That's the problem (in my mind) with trading Wiggins: he's not returning a lot of value unless you ALSO throw in assets like Wiseman or someone with more upside
I said the Myers "could", not "would", get decent assets in return for Wiggs. It's a hypothetical statement speaking to the realm of possibility. I have faith in Bob to make that happen.
Wiggs' value is an unknown, totally agree. That supports my argument, as well. But again, decent just means acceptable. If Wiggs isn't producing but getting paid max, then the notion of what's "acceptable" shifts to accommodate that reality. You can bet that Myers is already looking into scenarios of how to move him, and if Wiggs doesn't pan out you can bet that he will move him. The Dubs don't want that contract on the books, either. Don't get me wrong, I'm a Wiggins fan and was stoked when they traded for him. But if he can't do what the offense needs then he needs to be moved.
"could get some decent assets by trading Wiggs.... If Wiggs is open to taking a pay cut or restructuring is contract" I wonder about that. How much is Wiggins really worth to other teams, with that contract? Or would we give a valuable pick to unload him and take back expirings/buyouts for tax relief so we could keep Oubre? And what would Wiggs' incentive be to take a pay cut/restructure? He's raking it in through '22-'23, he wouldn't get that money back later, he's not an old guy with one last chance at a ring, and this is not a dynasty. If he gets traded somewhere crappy, he enjoys the money for two more years, then signs a smaller deal where he wants to go. He'll still be in his prime.
That's why I said decent, rather than good. You and I might have different ideas of what "decent" means. As for why would Wiggs restructure his contract, think about it. He's probably aware that this is his best chance, by far, at a successful career. If the FO asks him to restructure and he refuses, he'll likely be traded to a bottom feeder team or a mediocre one at best. I think he's competitive enough (at least on the inside) to want to have a winning career, and therefore might be willing to do what it takes to stay with the Dubs. Also, I never said anything about him actually doing it; all I said was that "it would go a long way to keeping him in the Bay." I was looking at things from the perspective of the FO, not Wiggs.
Correct. NBA collective bargaining doesn't allow re-structured contracts. You sign, and that's the deal no matter what.
Some background: the player reps fight HARD for guaranteed contracts in the NBA. There's a reason that other leagues don't have it as the default - because owners hate it! So what that means is that the players have had to give back concessions in negotiations, and I think this aspect is one of those (because teams don't want to sign a guy, and then get hit with a new contract request if they play too well).
Nice job Duby! Personally, I’d love for the team to keep Oubre, but wouldn’t blame them at all if they price tag is too big, especially when Wiggins and Oubre overlap so much. If Oubre more of a passing playmaker like Igoudala, it’d be an easier decision.
In an ideal world, they’d trade Wiggins for an aging point guard on an expiring deal who’s also considered overpaid and could run the team in Curry’s absence.
Perhaps they could work out an under the table agreement with Oubre. They pay him as he agrees to come off the bench for a season (with spot starts when Klay rests on back to backs) and chase a title. Then after next season, the unspoken part kicks in, and they either trade Wiggins (who would then be an expiring contract and a lot easier to move) and give Oubre the starting spot, or trade Oubre to a team where he has a realistic path to a starting spot.
Although I guess they could also just bench Wiggins, but that move can only be made if they don't have any plans of trading him.
Yup - they have to get his decision to stay now, if they can't get that level of comfort, they have to trade him to retain that salary slot into next season and beyond.
My money is with you Beli. I think (and hope) this is how it will play out. We are a great shot at a title next season and Kelly will be a big part of that.
He'd be an expiring contract, you can move a guy like that without too much trouble. If the Bulls want to trade Otto Porter at the deadline, they can do so pretty easily imo.
The luxury tax is BS and the NBA should eliminate it in the next CBA. Just set an actual hard cap and hard floor and be done with it instead of creating all sorts of Rube Goldberg rules in an attempt to punish teams for trying to be too good. All that said, the smart move is for the Warriors to trade Oubre this year. He is a good player and it would be nice to ieep him around, but he isn't a $85m/year good player though I suppose the right way to thin about it is to spread the $70m tax hit over the other 14 roster spots. Paying everybody an extra $5m/year doesn't sound as bad.
it's just my extremely limited photoshop skills. Hell, that's not even photo shop, it's the "Paint 3D" picture editor program that came with my laptop!
Also, really hope they keep him. Since he really embraced cutting off-ball (and started getting rewarded with a ton of dunks) I've been really looking forward to the future lineup of he, Wiggins and the big 3 playing with pace.
Dude I was dying when the movie randomly got mentioned in the comments yesterday!!! I actually made the header image on Thursday (because actual photoshop guy was like "that's all you lol")
I feel like he's been complaining about random stuff this year just to complain. Like he was complaining that they have to test 3 times a day. I'm pretty sure the nba didn't just pull that number out of their ass
I keep seeing people talking about how we can't afford KO so we have to lose him and keep Wiggins. But, since the Warriors have Oubre's Bird rights, they could sign him to a max contract, offload Wiggins for expiring contracts, and end up in about the same place (minus some draft picks, probably). Or, if Lacob's pockets were truly bottomless, he could pay to keep five max/near-max players. But with Chase Center not earning on events for the near future, that seems pretty much impossible.
Wiseman, by the way, costs a pretty penny too as the #2 pick, even on a rookie salary. So when you think about how much money he'll command by the time he's, y'know, actually good, you have to wonder what contracts the rest of the Warriors will be on. Perhaps the end of the core three could be when one of them is offloaded to make Wiseman's eventual max contract palatable, tax-wise. That's of course if we even still have him at that point and assuming he will actually get good.
If anyone is interested in listening to a bunch of Wiseman talk, I hopped on a podcast today with an old Hoops Habit writer (who ALS0 wrote a crazy deep article on Wisemam this week)
https://m.soundcloud.com/newwaveshoops/thank-the-warriors-episode-1-the-james-wiseman-conversation
So far, there doesn't seem to be any movement towards moving anyone by the trade deadline. That leaves us with the off season to see what the Warriors will do. I firmly believe that Oubre should be signed and Wiggins moved, if possible. Oubre gives the Warriors a dimension that no one else on the team can deliver. Plus, with the rise of Wiseman, scoring chances have to go his way and less for Wiggins. The bigger the Wiseman option, the less for Wiggins. Oubre is a player who can create his opportunities anywhere on the floor and is a solid rebounder, able to move constantly and slashing like no other teammate. The only possibility of not signing Oubre is if his asking price rises dramatically and they can't move Wiggins.
I'm a little surprised that Alex Toupane wasn't offered more by the Warriors. He seems to have a game that could have worked off our bench. His size and tool box scream sign me.
I hope Min gets their pic this year. Then next year it’ll be unprotected and we Cheat4Chet
But this year MN sucks, and if the pick doesn't convey (because they luck out and get a top 3), and they get a lot better next year, that unprotected pick might be a lot lower.
Did the Warriors use the Iguodala Trade exception or the disabled player exception to get Oubre?
TPE
note: there was an error in my initial article. It's been corrected now, but if you read the article in your email, then you still will get the old version saying DPE. Sorry!
But yes, the correct answer is TPE
That DPE could still be used to pick up a roster dump or waiver guy, right?
Yeah, but whoever that person is will cost Joey Lightyears a ton of money so it would probably have to be someone that moves the needle more than worn out PJ Tucker or something
Yes (or trade in).
Keep Oubre, trade Wiggins
If it were that easy wiggins may have already been gone
Uncle Alchemy discusses three possible trades:
1. Wiggins for Derozan (Derozan is expiring, so they could keep Oubre)
2. Oubre + Wanamaker for Bagley + Bjelica
3. Looney + Minny pick for SGA
https://youtu.be/ZMz_3F5CKWc
I like all 3 deals, especially #1
You like 1 because it would never happen lol
They talked about it from the Spurs’ POV and it was Derozan is leaving so they could hold a slot in Wiggins. Their D’Lo, if you will.
Isn't that only if you're above the luxury tax
Actually regardless derozan and lamarcus are both off the books after this year so they'll be under both luxury and normal cap
I should’ve added they expect The Spurs to have trouble attracting FAs
Would OKC really trade SGA for a player option Looney and the Minn pick? That seems extremely imbalanced.
re #1 - like Oubre, Wiggins holds an important, and otherwise irreplaceable, salary 'slot' for us. Best options would maintain those slots for the team.
First of I've heard of an SGA trade (I miss a lot, sigh) - interesting stuff.
I think this was from the perspective of, “We’d rather have Oubre, but it’s too expensive with Wiggins on the books.” Like I said below, I don’t blame ownership at all if they’re thinking this way. If there’s such a thing as $80+ million player, it’s not Oubre.
At this point do we really care about the max slot? At some point were going to have to look at loosing it because right now it really is not doing us any good. Now if we can pull some block buster trade sure but what can you really get for Wiggins right now?
You can probably get Westbrook
I only hear good things about SGA - why would OKC want to get rid of a talented, young player who is clearly developing, particularly when they hold a ton of top draft picks already?
Max slots, like so many things in life - you'll miss it when it's gone.
Yeah I 100% care about Wiggs max slot because that's the only way we add another star without moving Dray or Klay
We can move Wiggins in the 2021 offseason and keep that slot open for a year, save a boatload of tax in 2021-22. In fact, if we can duck below the tax threshold in 2021-22 it puts the Warriors out of the repeater tax and lets them spend all out in the following two seasons.
That’s probably a next off season move if it comes? The highest trade value might be if Wiggins has a good year on a contending Warriors team and has only one year left on his contract?
In that case an unprotected 2022 Wolves pick might be just as good as if the Warriors get the pick this year for star purposes.
Only the third makes the team better this season...
Yeah, the 3rd makes us better now. But I think #1 makes sense if you really want to keep Oubre but can’t justify the cost with Wiggins on the books. And theoretically, Derozan would be able to create more offense on the 2nd team than Wiggins. I go back and forth on #2, but what does Bagley bring that Chriss doesn’t, other than being available this year?
#2 makes no sense for Sacto. Bjeloca is UFA after this season but Bagley is under contract next season and the club exercised its option for '22-'23, after which he's RTA. He's worth a lot more than a couple of rentals and a salary dump when the Kings are a lottery team.
*Bjelica
Despite the typo, I knew who you meant 😁
#3 would be so good for the Warriors it’s somewhat incomprehensible that’s a viable trade scenario. Why are you getting my hopes up? And I ❤️ Looney
#2 is terrible but gets a decent box score player with team control. You have to move Paschall if you bring in Bagley don’t you? Overall an asset play like Dlo.
#1 purely a cost cutting measure that’s a sign the Warriors brass are seriously hurting for cash. They tried the partial sale of the team for a cash infusion and the league shot them down.
DeRozan is like wet tissue paper on D, and may have been one of the most impactful players at helping Wiseman achieve his best career game to date. Simply having one less guard Curry can blow by with ease to play against should disqualify this concept trade.
#3 would require a corresponding move though as it leaves them with just two guys over 6’7”. On of them has played 30 games since high school and the other is Smiley.
#2 especially looks awful to me
Did you listen to it? They were a lot less down with Looney than I think most of us are around these parts.
Didn't listen. I just don't think the Oubre trade makes them better this season or next season.
I'm not against the third trade at all even if they are giving up Looney, but I'm guessing OKC is.
Re Oubre...the key is that GS is not just a basketball operation, it is an event center operation with a basketball team. They are getting hammered by Covid and empty seats not just for Warriors games but for the entire venue. An extra few dozen millions for the basketball operation are nothing compared to the benefit of getting deep into the playoffs next year and the Chase Center getting filled up with events other than the Warriors. Oubre has to be seen as part of a much larger long ranger picture.
That is interesting. I wonder what is better from an overall revenue generation standpoint for the Chase Center: an extended run of deep playoff pushes (say, multiple consecutive Western Conference appearances including 1-2 Finals appearances), or fewer playoff pushes but a single Championship as well as some bad years. I still lean toward the latter, since hanging that fourth championship banner (especially when it gets attached with a Steph/Klay "come back" narrative for the ages) is still the strongest marketing boost one could have. Think of the commercials!
Sooo many bath tubs and shoes for Klay 🛁 👟
Daniel and I just finished a pod with our old buddy Patrick Murray that touches on exactly this point!
Which podcast? I didn't know LGW had a podcast stream.
We don't do it regularly, it's basically the LGW vidcast whenever Daniel gets bored enough to consent to it.
We did a handful of them during the offseason
Also, I posted it above but I was on another pod today talking Wiseman
https://m.soundcloud.com/newwaveshoops/thank-the-warriors-episode-1-the-james-wiseman-conversation
Did you give Murray some shit about Toppin? 😁
Lol he proposed a trade with the Knicks. He was saying Toppin is stuck behind Tai Gibson in Thibbs rotation
There are a lot of moving parts to this piece so it’s hard to tell what will actually happen. But I’m still adamant that there’s an internal competition between Wiggs and Oubre for the starting SF position next season. It seems like Meyers would want to keep both, if only for the sake of continuity, but you know he’s mapping all the options on the logic tree because there are several benefits to keeping Oubre over Wiggins (if Oubre proves to be the better fit):
If Wiggs doesn’t keep his 3p average above 35% at season’s end, he’d be an offensive liability next season; Oubre will be cheaper; and Meyers could get some decent assets by trading Wiggs. That’s a lot to weigh. If Wiggs is open to taking a pay cut or restructuring is contract, it would go a long way to keeping him in the Bay, tho.
It will be fun to see how they perform in the playoffs; that’s where one of them can separate from the other.
Whatever happens, next season’s roster will look different from this one. Meyers has to make room for Klay, the incoming draft picks, FAs, Jessup, and whatever moves he makes this season.
I’m both saddened to see who won’t be back and excited to see what the new team looks like.
I would like to point out that pretty much everyone commenting on my post is by and large missing the point. None of the objections here really touch upon my main argument.
Not for nothing, but: I'm all for arguing the merits of what I'm actually saying. But even if the objections were correct, they don't refute my main point, so it's a bit odd to be going in circles around something so trivial.
To clarify, the point is, is that you can bet that Myers is already looking into ways to move Wiggs if he *doesn't* pan out. He wouldn't a good President of Basketball Operations and GM if he wasn't anticipating something potentially so obvious and detrimental to the team's success. If you're going to argue against something I said, argue against that.
I think the quibble is not the idea the Myers and the FO have talked about trading Wiggins, but rather the idea that Wiggins on his own returns some package of players that makes the team better this season
If they trade Wiggins, they'll likely be losing one of their 1st round picks (and probably the pick from Minnesota). Otherwise, I don't see how anyone would be willing to do the trade.
Like Attila said, what makes you think we can trade him for “decent assets”? To us, he’s better than D’Lo, and therefore better than nothing when KD left, but unless we’re willing to throw in sweeteners, we’re looking at players other teams are trying to offload.
Decent just means acceptable. Look it up.
We are all Warriors fans here, let's try and treat each other with kindness please
Hey, that's my line lol. Additionally, it's pretty tiresome going in circles around something that may not be true and even if it were, doesn't undermine my actual argument.
What do DLo and KD have to do with what I said? Nothing.
Nah, I think the point is that it's really hard to fit a max salary into an existing team. We got real lucky with the cap spike and added KD, and then managed to snag Wiggins.
And I hear ya on keeping Oubre
Still, what Goofus wrote is orthogonal to what I wrote. Tangential, at best.
"Meyers could get some decent assets by trading Wiggs"
Okay what are "acceptable" assets for Wiggs, that help us, that Bob "One-E" can realistically get without throwing in assets?
And most of all, maintain the salary slot?
Read D3's response below, and my response to his response.
lmao! I've never heard it phrased like that!
But I have to politely disagree, the lines intersect because he's (I think) replying to your line about
> ...could get some decent assets by trading Wiggs.
Wiggins value is really unknown, I think, but it's not necessarily true that Wiggins along returns "some" decent assets. Maybe we can find a team that sees the value in trading in a max contract slot - which was part of the metrics that made bringing Wiggins here make sense - but on the whole, he's a non superstar getting paid superstar money.
That's the problem (in my mind) with trading Wiggins: he's not returning a lot of value unless you ALSO throw in assets like Wiseman or someone with more upside
I said the Myers "could", not "would", get decent assets in return for Wiggs. It's a hypothetical statement speaking to the realm of possibility. I have faith in Bob to make that happen.
Wiggs' value is an unknown, totally agree. That supports my argument, as well. But again, decent just means acceptable. If Wiggs isn't producing but getting paid max, then the notion of what's "acceptable" shifts to accommodate that reality. You can bet that Myers is already looking into scenarios of how to move him, and if Wiggs doesn't pan out you can bet that he will move him. The Dubs don't want that contract on the books, either. Don't get me wrong, I'm a Wiggins fan and was stoked when they traded for him. But if he can't do what the offense needs then he needs to be moved.
"could get some decent assets by trading Wiggs.... If Wiggs is open to taking a pay cut or restructuring is contract" I wonder about that. How much is Wiggins really worth to other teams, with that contract? Or would we give a valuable pick to unload him and take back expirings/buyouts for tax relief so we could keep Oubre? And what would Wiggs' incentive be to take a pay cut/restructure? He's raking it in through '22-'23, he wouldn't get that money back later, he's not an old guy with one last chance at a ring, and this is not a dynasty. If he gets traded somewhere crappy, he enjoys the money for two more years, then signs a smaller deal where he wants to go. He'll still be in his prime.
Decent just means acceptable.
That's why I said decent, rather than good. You and I might have different ideas of what "decent" means. As for why would Wiggs restructure his contract, think about it. He's probably aware that this is his best chance, by far, at a successful career. If the FO asks him to restructure and he refuses, he'll likely be traded to a bottom feeder team or a mediocre one at best. I think he's competitive enough (at least on the inside) to want to have a winning career, and therefore might be willing to do what it takes to stay with the Dubs. Also, I never said anything about him actually doing it; all I said was that "it would go a long way to keeping him in the Bay." I was looking at things from the perspective of the FO, not Wiggs.
I don't think they can restructure their contracts anymore.
Interesting, say more...
Correct. NBA collective bargaining doesn't allow re-structured contracts. You sign, and that's the deal no matter what.
Some background: the player reps fight HARD for guaranteed contracts in the NBA. There's a reason that other leagues don't have it as the default - because owners hate it! So what that means is that the players have had to give back concessions in negotiations, and I think this aspect is one of those (because teams don't want to sign a guy, and then get hit with a new contract request if they play too well).
Interesting, thanks. Pros and cons for both sides.
Nice job Duby! Personally, I’d love for the team to keep Oubre, but wouldn’t blame them at all if they price tag is too big, especially when Wiggins and Oubre overlap so much. If Oubre more of a passing playmaker like Igoudala, it’d be an easier decision.
In an ideal world, they’d trade Wiggins for an aging point guard on an expiring deal who’s also considered overpaid and could run the team in Curry’s absence.
Perhaps they could work out an under the table agreement with Oubre. They pay him as he agrees to come off the bench for a season (with spot starts when Klay rests on back to backs) and chase a title. Then after next season, the unspoken part kicks in, and they either trade Wiggins (who would then be an expiring contract and a lot easier to move) and give Oubre the starting spot, or trade Oubre to a team where he has a realistic path to a starting spot.
Although I guess they could also just bench Wiggins, but that move can only be made if they don't have any plans of trading him.
Yup - they have to get his decision to stay now, if they can't get that level of comfort, they have to trade him to retain that salary slot into next season and beyond.
Ask Joe Smith, Kevin McHale, and the Minnesota Timberwolves about secret deals.
My money is with you Beli. I think (and hope) this is how it will play out. We are a great shot at a title next season and Kelly will be a big part of that.
Unfortunately Wiggins is also under contract for the 22-23 season.
He'd be an expiring contract, you can move a guy like that without too much trouble. If the Bulls want to trade Otto Porter at the deadline, they can do so pretty easily imo.
The luxury tax is BS and the NBA should eliminate it in the next CBA. Just set an actual hard cap and hard floor and be done with it instead of creating all sorts of Rube Goldberg rules in an attempt to punish teams for trying to be too good. All that said, the smart move is for the Warriors to trade Oubre this year. He is a good player and it would be nice to ieep him around, but he isn't a $85m/year good player though I suppose the right way to thin about it is to spread the $70m tax hit over the other 14 roster spots. Paying everybody an extra $5m/year doesn't sound as bad.
Hard cap would be fair and simple... but, it would really hurt us lol... a big market team with an owner willing to dip into the tax
Based on that pic, rumors of Oubre's 7'-3" wingspan appear greatly exaggerated.
lol!
"Wait, does he have white guy arms?"
Racist!
it's just my extremely limited photoshop skills. Hell, that's not even photo shop, it's the "Paint 3D" picture editor program that came with my laptop!
Also, really hope they keep him. Since he really embraced cutting off-ball (and started getting rewarded with a ton of dunks) I've been really looking forward to the future lineup of he, Wiggins and the big 3 playing with pace.
He really is fitting into the Kerr scheme nicely.
Wow. Fast. That's pretty funny that you had that all T'd up.
(KOjr was still most of a decade away from being born when that came out)
Dude I was dying when the movie randomly got mentioned in the comments yesterday!!! I actually made the header image on Thursday (because actual photoshop guy was like "that's all you lol")
You should make that “author” icon on your profile pic!
Never!!
(I'm still waging my campaign with Substack to get my tag removed)
Now I really need Oubre to sign next year just so I can see your header
I feel like he's been complaining about random stuff this year just to complain. Like he was complaining that they have to test 3 times a day. I'm pretty sure the nba didn't just pull that number out of their ass