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Hoops Rumors Live Chat: 3/30/2021
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Luke Adams
12:00
Hey guys, thanks to those who submitted questions early. We're about to get going here.
Talking About Practice
12:02
If/When Otto Porter gets bought out... think he lands in Philly, Lakers or the Heat?  Or do the Nets waive someone to make room?
Luke Adams
12:04
Orlando has a few guys I thought would be buyout candidates. Besides Porter, I wasn't sure they'd have much use for Khem Birch or James Ennis anymore. But so far there's no indication they have plans to drop any of the three.
12:05
If Porter does get bought out, he'd draw interest from a lot of playoff teams, so it'd come down to his preference. If his top priority is competing for a championship, the Lakers would be a good bet
Cavs Fan
12:05
The NBA has to get rid of buyouts, period!  It's the only sport that allows this garbage!
Lakers Nets
12:05
Do you think it was unfair that they were able to sign those players for just some money? They didn't break the rules
Luke Adams
12:07
The buyout market has been the subject of a lot of ire recently, with the Nets and Lakers each getting former All-Stars for free. I don't really consider it a huge problem -- as impressive as their resumes are, I don't expect guys like Drummond, Aldridge, and Griffin to have a significant impact on this year's postseason. There's a reason their teams were willing to move on from them in the first place, and it's not just because they want to play younger guys.
12:09
If the NBA did come up with some sort of solution to give more teams a shot at bought-out players, I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to it, but I could see it creating new problems while addressing others.
Dealin' Danny
12:09
Why didn't we make any bigger deals? Should I be worried about Fournier's debut?
Luke Adams
12:10
It looked like the Celtics were sort of caught in the middle at the deadline -- not wanting to go all-in on this season, but feeling like they needed to do SOMETHING. Fournier was the compromise, and the more significant moves will wait until the offseason.
12:11
I wouldn't be too concerned about Fournier's debut -- he's always been pretty streaky.
Bill Goldberg
12:11
Do you think Beal gets traded in the off season?
Luke Adams
12:12
The Beal situation is a weird one because I don't think the Wizards will ever trade him unless he wants it. So now everyone's just waiting to see if he'll change his mind. Which could happen next week, or it could never happen!
12:13
I do think the Wizards will want to get a sense this offseason of whether he plans to sign a new contract with them when his current one is up. And I think he respects the franchise enough to give them a straight answer -- that answer will probably dictate whether he's dealt. I think it's a coin flip at this point.
Amir
12:14
Dennis Schröder is crazy for passing up 4/$84M to stay with the Lakers, no? I don't think he is worth more than that, actually think that might be a slight overpay.
Luke Adams
12:15
I'll be writing about that report on the site after this chat, but I'll point out -- we don't know if that was a "real" four-year, $84MM offer. Was the final year non-guaranteed? Is it actually worth $70MM with a bunch of annual incentives?
I do think if Schroder expects to get more than that on the open market, it might be tough sledding. I can't see too many execs eagerly offering him more than what Brogdon and VanVleet got.
Adam
12:16
If Andrew wiggins was a FA this off-season, what kind of contract do you think he would get?
Luke Adams
12:17
It's probably not all THAT far off from the one he's playing on right now. Maybe not $30MM+ per year, but I bet he'd get $20-25MM.
DeMarcus Cousins
12:17
Any news on Boogie?  Are any teams being linked to Signing him?
Luke Adams
12:18
It's been pretty quiet for the last few weeks. Even when he's healthy, Cousins is a guy who can help you with instant offense but will probably be a liability on defense in big-time playoff games. In Houston this year, he didn't look that great on offense either, so I think most teams keeping an eye on him are probably doing so as a fallback option.
Andre Drummond
12:19
I was averaging 17 and 13. I've had the most rebounds for like 7 years in a row. Don't act like I'm not a good player.
Luke Adams
12:20
You definitely put up great stats! But I think those numbers probably outweigh your impact on winning. You'll probably be more of a situational player in the playoffs, depending on the matchup, like Dwight and JaVale were last year.
Buyout Exception
12:20
I like the new Rule proposed the other day about each team receiving a Buyout Exception, to use on One player every year.  Something has to change as these players gravitate to the Big Market teams.
Luke Adams
12:22
That's an interesting idea, but I don't know that it would be enough to stop people from being upset -- it wouldn't have prevented the Lakers from signing Drummond.
TWolves Lottery pick
12:22
Say the TWolves end up with the 4th pick in the Draft and have to convey it over to the Warriors.  Could they theoretically trade Ant Man to the Warriors if they like somebody better at that 4th spot?
Luke Adams
12:23
As soon as the lottery results are in, that pick belongs to Golden State (assuming it lands at No. 4 or below). So yeah, the Warriors could theoretically trade it back to Minnesota for Edwards or something else.
Talking About Practice
12:23
Do you think the NBA reprimands the Thunder for benching a healthy Horford for the rest of the season?  It looks like tanking.
Luke Adams
12:24
There hasn't been any indication so far that they're thinking about it. If Horford was upset about it and pushing to play, it'd be a different story, but it sounds like he's on board. We'll see.
12:25
For as much as small-market teams gripe about stuff like the buyout market, I feel like this is sort of a hidden benefit of being in a small market -- if the Lakers or Knicks were doing something like this with Horford, we'd be hearing a lot more about it on ESPN talk shows, etc.
Cody
12:25
I don't get all the negative opinions surrounding the buyout market. If these players didn't have the option to join a contender they wouldn't even agree to a buyout. Why would a player agree to a buyout from Cleveland just to get picked up by the Twolves? Makes no sense.
Luke Adams
12:26
I think a lot of people would be happy if a rule change led to the buyout market essentially being shut down. Not great for the players who are stuck in situations where their teams are done with them though.
Horton Tucker
12:26
What kind of contract do you think he gets offered? What do you think the Lakers limit is on matching?
Luke Adams
12:28
I expect this will be the first time in a few years that we get an Arenas rule contract offer (big raise in year three), which is always fun. I could see a team doing at least 4/$60MM or something like that. You'd be paying for his potential, and getting to put financial pressure on the Lakers would be an added bonus.
I anticipate the Lakers matching pretty much any offer. The cap hits won't be too bad in the first two years, and by the time they spike in year three, they'll have far less money on their books.
Tom Emanski
12:29
What do you think of the Vuc deal from the Bulls perspective?  It probably means the writing is on the wall for Lauri in Chicago right (terrible fit defensively and somewhat redundant offensively + about to get paid as an RFA)? Do you think he would fetch something solid in a sign and trade?
Luke Adams
12:32
The value of that deal probably comes down to how you feel about Carter. I expected the Magic to get three first-rounders for Vucevic, or at least two + a pick swap or two, but it seems like they essentially viewed Carter as that third asset. If the Bulls weren't confident about his development, that's a very fair price to pay.
12:33
As for Markkanen, yeah, I think the odds of him sticking with the Bulls are declining. I wouldn't expect a substantial return in a sign-and-trade, especially if it seems like the Bulls won't match an aggressive offer. Maybe a couple second-rounds picks though.
Trade deadline
12:33
Baseball has a Rule whereby a player added after August 1st is not Eligible to participate in the Playoffs.  How about adopting a similar Rule in the NBA?
Luke Adams
12:34
The NBA does sort of have a similar rule. Any player waived after March 1 in a normal year (April 19 this year) isn't playoff-eligible for a new team. I guess you could move that date up or adjust it so that players SIGNED after a certain date aren't playoff-eligible. But I think that would just inadvertently end up hurting other players, and may not achieve the desired effect -- buyouts could just happen earlier.
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