Trade Deadline Rumors: Feb 21st

[Ghost Kat]

If Pau can't find the sack to get on the floor for the best franchise in the sport, I can't wait to see the excuses for why he can't take the floor for us.

I think he would go back to Spain before he played for this team. He would be so butt hurt like Lamar Odem was when the Lakers traded him to Dallas. He wont show up, It hurt me to say it but Mullens is a better choice then him.....in my opition

[Bogg]

Pek is going to be offered alot of money in the offseason and they don't have money to match any offer as he has outplayed his 4mil contract. Instead of loosing him for nothing why not get Gasol which they want since he plays with Rubio on the Spanish team. They want to get rid of Williams anyway and maybe a pick might sway them.

A) If I understand the CBA correctly, Pekovic is a restricted free agent because he's been in the league only three years, so Minny can match literally any offer Pekovic gets.

B) Pekovic is outperforming Gasol this season and is five years younger. It's safe to say that Pekovic should be able to sustain his current level of play over the next several seasons, which you can't say about Gasol.

C) Gasol makes $15 million more than Pekovic this year and will be making around $5-6 million more than Pekovic next season. If they can't afford to re-sign their own guy, they definitely can't afford a guy making $20 million more between this year and next.

D) Minny doesn't "want to get rid of Williams". They know that he's their last decent trade chip (well, until Love forces his way to OKC or Houston) so they're holding out for a good starting swingman (no, not Henderson) and/or a draft pick of a quality that depends on what it's being packaged with. If they just wanted to get Williams off the payroll, he'd be gone by now.

[Chef]

A) If I understand the CBA correctly, Pekovic is a restricted free agent because he's been in the league only three years, so Minny can match literally any offer Pekovic gets.

B) Pekovic is outperforming Gasol this season and is five years younger. It's safe to say that Pekovic should be able to sustain his current level of play over the next several seasons, which you can't say about Gasol.

what is the maximum you would offer for pek and do you think minny matches?

[SWedd523]

Pek is my #1 target, and he's also probably high up on many lists across the league so bids will be abound.

Bigs command big money so it may seem inflated, but I'd offer a deal in the 12-14 per year range. Hard to tell if they'd match though.

[Bogg]

what is the maximum you would offer for pek and do you think minny matches?

Look at last summer with Hibbert and Lopez. Pek's going to get offered the maximum, and Minnesota has to match if they intend on keeping Love around. I'd be hesitant to tie up money in signing Pekovic to a restricted free agent sheet, unless there were no other free agents the team was targeting that you could miss out on by tying up your money for a few days.

[Chef]

Look at last summer with Hibbert and Lopez. Pek's going to get offered the maximum, and Minnesota has to match if they intend on keeping Love around. I'd be hesitant to tie up money in signing Pekovic to a restricted free agent sheet, unless there were no other free agents the team was targeting that you could miss out on by tying up your money for a few days.

i wouldn't care so much as to that. if we aren't signing a starter to a big deal, i could care less about middling free agents who are going to only serve to tie up space and make us marginally better.

i would be fine offering him bigger money if for no other reason than to force minny to match. but looking forward, he would allow us to play a lineup of wiggins or mclemore and mkg, with a solid offensive pf. and he is a "back alley guy" to steal the phrase from jalen rose.

[Bogg]

Don't get me wrong, he'd be a great addition to the squad, if they think they can get him it's worth a shot. However, if there are other guys the team's also looking at who are unrestricted, it may be better to lock them up immediately than run the very real risk of missing out on everyone because option numbers 2 and 3 signed elsewhere while you were waiting to see if Minny matches. This is assuming, obviously, that options 2 and 3 are smart signings who can help the team in the first place.

[mrtarheel]

A) If I understand the CBA correctly, Pekovic is a restricted free agent because he's been in the league only three years, so Minny can match literally any offer Pekovic gets.

B) Pekovic is outperforming Gasol this season and is five years younger. It's safe to say that Pekovic should be able to sustain his current level of play over the next several seasons, which you can't say about Gasol.

C) Gasol makes $15 million more than Pekovic this year and will be making around $5-6 million more than Pekovic next season. If they can't afford to re-sign their own guy, they definitely can't afford a guy making $20 million more between this year and next.

D) Minny doesn't "want to get rid of Williams". They know that he's their last decent trade chip (well, until Love forces his way to OKC or Houston) so they're holding out for a good starting swingman (no, not Henderson) and/or a draft pick of a quality that depends on what it's being packaged with. If they just wanted to get Williams off the payroll, he'd be gone by now.

A) Yes he is restricted but they don't have money to match an offer worth what he is expecting to command
B) Yes he will and Gasol is on the decline but they want playoffs because Love wants a run in the playoffs or he is gone
C) True but why not get something for him instead of letting him walk for nothing because he will not be in Minny next yr.
D) They are said to be wanting a big instead, so maybe even they could get a big and wing out of this deal.

[Bogg]

A) Yes he is restricted but they don't have money to match an offer worth what he is expecting to command
...
C) True but why not get something for him instead of letting him walk for nothing because he will not be in Minny next yr.

Minnesota's committed to around 50 million in salary next season before you start talking about things like rookie contracts, extensions, and new players. Pekovic's new contract is going to start between $13 and $14 million, putting them right around the amount of money they're laying out this year. After factoring in rookie contracts and few journeymen signings that every team makes, they'll still be paying under $70 million in salary - and they can get back down to around $65 million if they decline the options on Stiemsma and Cunningham in favor of minimum guys.

So, once again, yes - they do have the money for Pekovic, and won't be forced to let him walk.

B) Yes he will and Gasol is on the decline but they want playoffs because Love wants a run in the playoffs or he is gone

All well and good, but Gasol has been worse than Pekovic this season and comes with more injury risk for a team that's already had their season derailed by injury. Pekovic is giving them an efficient 16 and 9 - it's unlikely Pau does any better even in the short term.

D) They are said to be wanting a big instead, so maybe even they could get a big and wing out of this deal.

Maybe they can get all sorts of things. However, they're only trading him if it makes the team a good deal better. The motivation won't be that they want to get rid of him anyway, so they might as well toss him in the trade.

[spectre]

It looks like the Bucks have a plan to net Smith & Redick while dumping Monte. Hope so...as that pushes BKN to trade us Hump for the Cancer.