When we become a contender...

[Plowright]

So I have been thinking about the rebuild and I have decided we should aim to be competitive in the 2014-5 season. By then Biz will have had 3 years in the league and should be touching his potential. MKG will have had some time, Diop and Matty C will be long gone. We will have our draft picks from Portland next year (maybe detroit) and our own in 2012 depending on how we finish. Then finally we will have this free agent pool to attack

Potential 2014 free agent class: LeBron, Kobe, Wade, Melo, Dirk, Amar’e, Bosh, Pierce, Granger, Deng, Gay & Pau Gasol. GM's are ready.

we can make Charlotte an attractive destination for any free agents. All we have to do is show the potential to contend, much like the timberwolves have done this offseason.

[isguros]

I Like the way you think. However, if everything goes like you said it'll go, I don't think we should sign a player from the caliber of those above. I believe we should think like the Thunder and the Spurs and try to sign players who seem compatible with the style we like to play, instead of looking at the Heat from who I believe are just looking at the free agent rankings and hoping they're able to sign the player who is at the top of it.

[captaincrunk]

The free agent class will be even better when you consider that there are guys we don't know are great playing on rookie contracts and stuff.

[Talent]

I think the only real talent that Charlotte can attract is players that are a step below the top tier. That is not a bad thing as you can go far with a team with no real mega stars. I think the Thunder started a good healthy trend with drafting talent. It will change the league a few years from now if it works for Charlotte too.

[Plowright]

If we get a set up which has the potential to win a title someone will sign. If a star see's our team and thinks " if they add me then were going to be hard to stop" then we have every chance

[captaincrunk]

If we get a set up which has the potential to win a title someone will sign. If a star see's our team and thinks " if they add me then were going to be hard to stop" then we have every chance

Maybe not the main guy but the 2nd or third option on offense, sure!

[CableBoxCat]

I'll take a crack at this, even though I'm not very good with salary cap stuff, so will probably make some mistakes...

Right now, we've only got a few guys on the books for 2014-15 season: young guys like MKG/Bismack/Kemba/Taylor that will make roughly $13.5 million combined (although we could decide to not pick up some of their options to free up more capspace), plus Haywood at the bargain basement price of $2 million. Tyrus is on the books for almost $9.5 million (last year of his contract), but could be amnestied if you actually had use for the cap space it would create. So basically you're putting out $15.5 million for a solid 5 guys.

I'm assuming we'll have about 3 more 1st round picks: our own 2 (I'm assuming we don't lose a pick to the Bulls yet), and at least one of the Blazers/Pistons picks. Let's say you're spending about $9.5 million more for the 3 of those guys. Now you're up to $25 million, but you just added 3 more 1st rounders to your roster (so a total of 8 guys). We now need to find 4 more bodies (or as many as 7), some of which could be 2nd rounders on non-guaranteed contracts.

Salary cap is about $58 million this year, but let's say it goes up to $60 million in 2014 (zero guarantee it even goes up at all). We would then have $35 million left to fill out our roster. You could get two (close to) MAX level players that might want to come as a package deal, plus a roster that includes at least 6 recent first rounders. It's really not a bad situation at all, but you've got to preserve as much cap space as possible. A big free agent will be much more likely to come here if he knows ANOTHER big free agent will also be coming. Then you hope that one of those 6 first rounders turned into a player worthy of being considered part of a "Big 3." Presto, SUPER TEAM! Wishful thinking? You betcha. Fun to dream though.

[Plowright]

my thinking exactly :D