Can we steal Draymond Green with a max offer?

[Roy H.]

Plenty of guys are going to be worth an old salary cap max deal under the new salary cap.

I think that this point gets overblown a bit.  If Green gets the max this off-season, his salary in the second year (when the cap goes up) would be around $17.2 million, I believe.  If the cap is at the projected $88 million, that's still spending 19.5% of your cap on a (very good) role player.

I agree that NBA teams will overpay this off-season in light of next year's cap increasing, but I'm not sure that it's smart business.

[fairweatherfan]

I've said this before, but while I love Draymond and think he'd be a great piece, he's the guy you build with, not the guy you build around.  We need some elite talent in place before we'd want to splurge to add a guy like Draymond.  Carrying a team or being a #1 guy is not the kind of role you want for him.

[saltlover]

Plenty of guys are going to be worth an old salary cap max deal under the new salary cap.

I think that this point gets overblown a bit.  If Green gets the max this off-season, his salary in the second year (when the cap goes up) would be around $17.2 million, I believe.  If the cap is at the projected $88 million, that's still spending 19.5% of your cap on a (very good) role player.

I agree that NBA teams will overpay this off-season in light of next year's cap increasing, but I'm not sure that it's smart business.

Golden State is paying a comparable amount of their cap to Andre Iguodala, who also at this point in his career is a very good role player.  It seems to work with their budget, or at least it has so far.

I do think you're overestimating the 25% max salaries by a  little (and if you're not, it's because the cap is on the high range next year, which means the 2016 cap will be closer to $92 million rather than $88 million).  Assuming a $66.5 million cap, I'm getting a $15.6 million salary next year, and a $16.3-$16.8 million salary in year 2, depending on the size of the raise (which will probably be no more than 4.5%, since Golden State can just match another offer).  I think it will be closer to 18% of the cap. 

Furthermore, you have to consider Golden State's situation -- a) they're willing to go above the cap, and the luxury tax in 2016 will be somewhere around $110 million -- $16-17 million for your third or fourth best player doesn't sound as crazy when your payroll is that high, and b) they got Curry on a great deal, which subsidizes their ability to somewhat overpay other players through 2017.  Finally, Golden State is over the cap next year even if they let Green walk and completely rid themselves of David Lee's salary.  Their ability to replace Green is non-existent -- letting him walk because you'd rather pay him $12 million (what Iggy's getting) instead of $16 million is focusing too much on the long-term when you can win a championship in the short-term.

[Atzar]

Really, really hope we stay out of those sweepstakes.  Draymond is nice, but you can handicap a team for a long time by tying up max money in a guy who is ultimately just a good roleplayer.

[jonaslopes]

Really, really hope we stay out of those sweepstakes.  Draymond is nice, but you can handicap a team for a long time by tying up max money in a guy who is ultimately just a good roleplayer.

TP!

[Celts Fan 508]

Plenty of guys are going to be worth an old salary cap max deal under the new salary cap.

I think that this point gets overblown a bit.  If Green gets the max this off-season, his salary in the second year (when the cap goes up) would be around $17.2 million, I believe.  If the cap is at the projected $88 million, that's still spending 19.5% of your cap on a (very good) role player.

I agree that NBA teams will overpay this off-season in light of next year's cap increasing, but I'm not sure that it's smart business.

Do you think teams will overpay on mid range free agents or save their money so when the cap expands in 2016 so they can max out a player next offseason?  I think the mid range free agents might go at a discount this offseason.  I also envision players resigning for one year deals to max out in 2016. 

[LHR]

Interesting scenario but in all likelihood this will take a sign and trade.

[35Lewis]

Antawn Jamison 2.0 and he's not even doing as well as Antawn did by this point in his career. 

Could he explode and be like James Harden getting his own team?  I don't think he has that in him.  Danny knows borderline talent, he had Jeff Green here.  Maybe he'll put it together but Draymond isn't 19 or 20 either.

Jeff Green is about the most absurd comparison you can make for Draymond Green. JG has oodles of talent and atheticism, but just can't bring it consistently night in and night out.  Draymond Green has gotten where he is because he always leaves it on the court.  It's been like that since college, and it's why three years removed from being a second-round pick he's viewed as an indispensable starter on the best team in the NBA.  If you want to make a Celtics comparison, he's a bigger, more talented Jae Crowder -- and no offense to Crowder, but I'm not sure why he was picked one spot earlier.  But they both play with that same fearless drive

Here's what I said about Green a month before the draft -- while I'm surprised he's been largely a 4 in the NBA, I'm not at all surprised about his success.

What if he were called a 3/4?  Then would you like him?  In reality, that's likely to be his role.  A 3 who sometimes plays the 4 depending upon who's on the floor.  The kid has everything else you could want -- passing skills, shooting, rebounding, defense, great work ethic, and that leadership rare enough that you don't find it in every draft.  As a Michigan fan, I hated him in college, but he'll be a great pro with a long career.

Now would I prefer it if DA were able to trade down 5 spots to pick him up?  Absolutely.  But he will make some team very happy for the next decade, and I hope it's us.

I didn't compare him to Jeff Green as a player, I compared him to Jeff Green as a borderline talent.  He's good at a few specific things but I don't think he can lead a team and therefore don't think he's worth a max deal. But that's just my opinion.  I definitely don't think he's Jeff Green the player.

[35Lewis]

In what world is Draymond Green "Antawn Jamison 2.0"? Since when did Antawn play defense?

In a world where an undersized power forward who is great on one side of the ball gets paid a ton of money. 


Don't get me wrong, I love defense and earned a good living being a defensive big guy but I'm not gonna pay max salary for a guy that does this.  There's always a guy that is supposed to revolutionize the position or create mismatch problems, guys like Jamison were supposed to do that so he gets paid, on the other side you have guys that are supposed to be able to defend multiple positions and therefore singlehandedly change the game.  You need a more balanced player.

Now, he shows a solid shooting skill that may translate to more offense and his elite defense would make him a star with better offense.  But there's tons of guys that never put both together.

[Boris Badenov]

I'm wary of Green being a one-year wonder, and I'm further wary of paying a very good role player like a superstar.

Not to mention he's proven only that he can excel in a specified role on that fairly unique GSW team. That is not the team we'll have, to say the least.