by Mike1989 » June 6, 2018, 5:48 pm
I'll be honest I don't think I would do that deal in order to get the 11th pick. I just don't see there being enough value in it for us. If we were starting our rebuild this year from the ground up, fair enough I could understand taking on a terrible contract in order to start a rebuild around two young prospects that we rate. However, we aren't rebuilding from the ground up and as such I don't see taking on a bad contract which will likely be on the books for the next three seasons because I very much doubt he will opt out of a $27 million pay day in 2020-21.
What I look at is that in 2019 we will lose $45 million from our current payroll, this could grow if we find a way to get Noah's contract off the books. The last thing I want to do is start taking on bad contracts that last beyond next season because I want to see us maximize our cap space for 2019. The list has some pretty appealing names on it like Kemba Walker and Klay Thompson, both would be ideal partners for Frank in the back court if we haven't filled that vacancy by this time next year. Then there are the player option candidates like Kyrie Irving, Harrison Barnes, Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard, and Khris Middleton to name a handful of them. Now admittedly Hardaway and Mudiay (if he receives a qualifying offer for 2019/2020) will combine for $24 million compared to Batum's $25.5 million, so a saving of only $1.5 million. However, if we don't extend a qualifying offer to Mudiay (which is possible) then that saving grows by $5.7 million, and while $7.2 million doesn't sound like a lot that can make a big difference when trying to balance the books when attempting to bring big name free agents on board.
I would rather have Tim Hardaway on the roster than Nicolas Batum. For three reasons: one, Hardaway is a better scorer; two, he costs $7-8 million less; and three, he is younger (he'll be 29 when he hits unrestricted free agency in 2021, Batum will be 32. Now working on the basis that Batum has regressed these past two seasons so much so that some Hornets fans wanted him to come off the bench, and if that trend continues there is little to no chance his contract is off the books by 2021 and he will a burden to this team. I'll be the first to admit that Tim Hardaway isn't perfect. He's streaky as a hell. But he has arguably got better each year he's been in the league and perhaps our new head coach can help him get more consistent when shooting from beyond the arc and with his general performances. Even if Tim continues as he is, there is a good chance he can be a secondary scoring option on this team after Porzingis, and in an absolute worst case scenario he could be a fine sixth man - expensive, but he could be a prolific option in that role if we felt the need to shift him from starting to the bench. I would also argue that Hardaway's contract is potentially easier to move than Batum is both players go in the same direction as they have been doing (i.e. Hardaway has been improving, while Batum has been regressing).
Don't get me wrong I can see the appeal of bringing on board two young prospects while sacrificing Hardaway for Batum, but I just have a feeling that we should hold onto Hardaway and see what Fizdale can do with him. Fizdale already commented on Hardaway being a talent and someone that fits what he wants to do offensively, and if that's the case then we should want to hold onto him because maybe Hardaway can still emerge as a future all star. This year we saw Bradley Beal make his first all star game in his sixth season, and Goran Dragic made his first appearance in his twelfth season. Another player that waited a long time was Kyle Lowry, he took ten seasons to become an all star with Toronto. If Hardaway continues to get better and Fizdale helps iron out some of the inconsistency, then there's no reason an all star appearance can't be in his future, and even if he never makes it to the all star game he could still become a borderline all star like Rudy Gay and that can be valuable if the team runs a scheme that makes use of their talents while hiding their flaws.
For me, I think Hardaway is more valuable to us than Nicolas Batum and the #11 pick. With that said if we did do a deal which saw Hardaway leave and us gain another lottery pick because I could see the appeal of coming away from the draft with Sexton and Mikal, or Sexton and Carter (etc).
*Figures used are from Hoopshype