The Eliminateds Off-Season (Nets/Hornets/Pistons/Rockets/Grizzlies/Trail Blazers/Spurs/Raptors/Jazz/Wizards)

[NYG]

Fans of the teams below... Answer the following for the teams already eliminated...

Nets
Hornets
Pistons
Rockets
Grizzlies
Trail Blazers
Spurs
Raptors
Jazz
Wizards

1. The following players will 100% be back with the team next year...
2. The following players will 100% be gone next year...
3. The 3 things my team must accomplish this off-season are... (Note: this could be cap wise, on the court needs wise, coaching change, free agency/draft needs/targets, etc.)

[Snakebites]

Back:

Cade
Ausar- don’t sell low
Grimes- ditto
Fontecchio- RFA who fits like a glove

Gone:
Wiseman
Fournier
Brown Jr
Flynn
Gibson and the other randos


Accomplish:

Fire Weaver
Draft well
Sign solid vets to reasonable contracts
Be willing to trade guys like Duren and Ivey who may not be viable fits
Firing Monty is a pipe dream at his salary.

[tester551]

Portland: ***edited***

100%+ chance back:
+ Sharpe
+ Scoot
+ Ayton

90%+ chance back:
+ RWIII
+ Murray
+ Banton
+ Walker
+ Camara
+ Rupert

70%+ chance back: (I would anticipate that only 1 player of Grant/Simons/Brogdon/Thybulle will be traded... but I think Thybulle is most likely)
+ Grant
+ Simons
+ Brogdon
+ Hagans

70%+ chance gone:
+ Reath (decent player, not a need so cash in on what value he has)

90%+ chance gone:
+ Thybulle (mostly due to ducking the tax line)

100%+ chance gone:
+ Moses Brown (he sucks)
+ Badji (he sucks)


3 things to accomplish:
+ Drop ~$10M in salary to duck the tax line
+ Add more talent
+ Look for assets in the future (ie - picks in the '26-'29 drafts)

[eitanr]

I'll start with Detroit, but other Pistons fans may disagree:

1. I would put who would be back in highly likely and semi likely
HL - Cade, Duren, Stewart, Sasser, Thompson
SL - Ivey, Grimes, Simone, Wiseman, Metu

2. TBJ, but more likely is 3 new guys come in (rookie, free agents) and everyone in the rotation moves down at least 3 slots.

3. They need to improve everywhere, obviously, but at first here's what I would note:

A. Focus on putting their youth in position to be successful
-Cade/Ivey/Thompson/Duren will need spacing and 2-way talents

B. Ensure some vets for more competitive play
-They need higher IQ glue vets around their young core

C. Understand who is part of their future core (i.e. can Cade/Ivey really co-exist, how about with insert new rookie)?

My best idea for them is to look for quality vets other teams want to dump, and may attach an asset to, or may cost a light asset i return.
Examples: CJ, Huerter/Barnes, Clarkson/Collins

I would try with one of the above teams, with the goal of netting a future core piece. I think New Orleans, for example is interesting. CJ has some slight negative value because of his contract and is a tough fit in New Orleans. The Pels also have a pending cap crunch with Ingram and Zion's salaries...Murphy should expect a healthy extension...which would be tough for New Orleans to give.

How about: Duren/Ivey for CJ/Murphy

Detroit could then draft Sarr to replae Duren and sign a center like Jalen Smith or potentially overpay for Claxton or Hartenstein to ensure enough presene at the 5.

For Detroit, it fixes a lot of the above concerns in one fell swoop. More free agents can round out roster. Or you can keep Simone etc.
PF T. Murphy/ I. Stewart
SF A. Thompson/ S. Fonteichio
C A. Sarr/ J. Smith
SG CJ / Q. Grimes
PG C. Cunningham/ M. Sasser

[psman2]

Memphis: I like the percentage angle here.

100% Chance Back This is our core and only way we move one is in a star for star trade and I don't see one on the horizon this offseason.
Ja
JJJ
Bane

95% Chance Back: Salary so cheap we would never move them unless the cherry on top of a star trade.
Vince Williams
GG Jackson

80% Chance Back:
Marcus Smart - he still fills in a ton of holes for us that he very likely isn't traded, but that are scenarios where we would consider it.
Brandon Clarke- Has looked good enough to be worth his contract again and is very much needed. But if the right trade came along that we needed his salary and he wasn't viewed as a negative asset he could be moved.
Scotty Pippen Jr. - We have on a 2 way contract next year but I think he will be pressuring us to convert him or letting him go. I think we keep him on the 2 way to start the season and convert him when and if it makes sense. He is a nice 3rd PG and shown enough to warrant a regular NBA contract.
Trey Jemison - We have him locked into a 2 way deal and he as played well enough that we want to bring him back. Small chance we find someone better than him so I he has a high likelihood of staying.


75% Chance Back:
Santi Aldama - starting playing really well the 2nd half of the season. But his limited D will likely limited him to a 3rd big type of role with us. He has some trade value and could be flipped if needed but likely stays since we are so thin in the frontcourt.
Jake LaRavia - has recently started looking like the guy we hoped when he was drafted. Can play the 3/4 and has 2 more cheap years. But he will very likely be buried next year still with GG and VWill stepping up and could be moved if needed.
Konchar - He is our swiss army knife and a very good 9th man. I think more than likely we keep him, but we might need to use his salary in a trade since we don't have a lot of tradeable salary.
Derrick Rose - likely stuck with him, but could see us trying to dump him into space to open up more room under the apron.

50% Chance Back:
Yuta Watanabe - Has a player option for 2.6m. Memphis would prefer him gone but he is not the worst guy to have as a 12th guy. If I was him I would opt out and sign with a team that has more available playing time for him versus not seeing the floor here and could be flipped to anywhere in a trade. I think he opts out.

30% Chance Back:
Luke Kennard - At this point if we cannot make a trade before the draft it just make more sense to decline his option and see what happens in FA. We can open up the full MLE and SNT possibilities without him on the roster. There is a chance we hold him or resign him after his release but I think that is likely not in the cards.
Zaire Williams - He again only showed flashes of nice play this year before his injury. I think he has a high likelihood of being dumped into cap space to open up more room under the apron or just save tax dollars. I think there will be a few teams willing to kick the tires on him as an expiring and won't cost us a lot to move off his money.

10% Chance Back:
Lamar Stevens- I just don't think we will have the roster spot for him. Nice player but the math just doesn't work.
Jordan Goodwin - Again nice depth player but don't think he will take another 2 way I think that is all we would offer.

3 Things we must accomplish.
1. Frontcourt: We need to get a bigger body center that can play 20-25 minutes. Ideally someone that can guard some on the perimeter so we can run different defensive sets rather than just dropping him. We will have a bunch a different avenues to obtain that player, draft, MLE and trades.
2. Address our frontcourt again: Even after landing a 20-25 minute guy there we need to replenish our depth some more. Depending on what we do in the draft and FA this might just be vet min or 2nd rounders in this role.
3. Try to minimize our tax and stay below the apron: I think our goal is to improve the team as much as possible while staying below the apron. If we can find ways to improve the team and stay out of the tax that would be great but I don't think tax avoidance is going to be the driving factor this offseason.

[penbeast0]

WIZARDS

CORE (traded only if blown away by one sided offer)
Deni Avdija
Bilal Coulibaly
1st round DCs (2)

BAD CONTRACT
Jordan Poole was one of the worst players in the NBA while being paid like a star. Washington is as far away from contending as any team in the league, maybe farther. No reason to trade him as I see no likelihood of a positive offer. He shoots enough and works hard enough that you keep him and hope he rehabs his value.

END OF BENCH GUYS WITH POTENTIAL
No reason to trade any of these as no one is offering anything much.
Tristen Vukevic -- showed offensive potential as a 2nd rounder in limited time toward the end of the year
Jared Butler -- played well at G league, in garbage time, then in end of year stretch as backup PG. Freshly signed to minimal 3 year deal

TRADE IF GOOD OFFER
Kuzma -- Declining contract might make him attractive to a team that needs a 3rd scorer but can't afford star salary
Kispert -- Has been a terrific shooter his whole career, last year stepped up his attack the basket game, good size but no defense. If we were a contender, this is the type of player we should keep but I don't see his ceiling any higher than normal year to year improvement so I'd move him for a reasonable offer.

WORTH A ROSTER SPOT BUT NOT VALUABLE
RIchard Holmes -- best center on roster, not saying much, expiring next year
Marvin Bagley -- best statistical center on roster, expiring next year
Anthony Gill -- end of bench vet
Eugene Omaruyi -- end of bench hustle guy
Landry Shamet -- solid journeyman bench 2 without much upside

BACK IF NOTHING BETTER PRESENTS
Guys who haven't shown much
Johnny Davis -- former lottery pick, never shown NBA talent
Patrick Baldwin Jr -- former late 1st, extremely unimpressive so far

G LEAGUE TYPES
Justin Champagne
Jules Bernard

FREE AGENT
Tyus Jones -- a player I like as much as I dislike Jordan Poole, but also a solid vet without much ceiling he hasn't shown. The team had its best stretch with him injured so likely to just run it back without him and look elsewhere to spend that money

[babyjax13]

1. The following players will 100% be back with the team next year...
Colin Sexton, Keyonte George, Taylor Hendricks, Lauri Markkenen (2025 may be a different story)

2. The following players will 100% be gone next year...
Talen Horton Tucker (Clarkson also has a good chance of being moved)

3. The 3 things my team must accomplish this off-season are... (Note: this could be cap wise, on the court needs wise, coaching change, free agency/draft needs/targets, etc.)
1. Pick a direction to start the season instead of tanking halfway through
2. Get rid of players that don't fit (Collins, THT, one of Sexton/Clarkson b/c that's too many score first combo guards)
3. Get some (young) wings on the team, we are almost 100 percent combo guards and F/Cs. Lauri can play at small forward if you have another similarly versatile player at power forward, but John Collins can't create for himself and others and neither can Kessler which means the offense gets bogged down.

[NYG]

WIZARDS

CORE (traded only if blown away by one sided offer)
Deni Avdija
Bilal Coulibaly
1st round DCs (2)

BAD CONTRACT
Jordan Poole was one of the worst players in the NBA while being paid like a star. Washington is as far away from contending as any team in the league, maybe farther. No reason to trade him as I see no likelihood of a positive offer. He shoots enough and works hard enough that you keep him and hope he rehabs his value.

END OF BENCH GUYS WITH POTENTIAL
No reason to trade any of these as no one is offering anything much.
Tristen Vukevic -- showed offensive potential as a 2nd rounder in limited time toward the end of the year
Jared Butler -- played well at G league, in garbage time, then in end of year stretch as backup PG. Freshly signed to minimal 3 year deal

TRADE IF GOOD OFFER
Kuzma -- Declining contract might make him attractive to a team that needs a 3rd scorer but can't afford star salary
Kispert -- Has been a terrific shooter his whole career, last year stepped up his attack the basket game, good size but no defense. If we were a contender, this is the type of player we should keep but I don't see his ceiling any higher than normal year to year improvement so I'd move him for a reasonable offer.

WORTH A ROSTER SPOT BUT NOT VALUABLE
RIchard Holmes -- best center on roster, not saying much, expiring next year
Marvin Bagley -- best statistical center on roster, expiring next year
Anthony Gill -- end of bench vet
Eugene Omaruyi -- end of bench hustle guy
Landry Shamet -- solid journeyman bench 2 without much upside

BACK IF NOTHING BETTER PRESENTS
Guys who haven't shown much
Johnny Davis -- former lottery pick, never shown NBA talent
Patrick Baldwin Jr -- former late 1st, extremely unimpressive so far

G LEAGUE TYPES
Justin Champagne
Jules Bernard

FREE AGENT
Tyus Jones -- a player I like as much as I dislike Jordan Poole, but also a solid vet without much ceiling he hasn't shown. The team had its best stretch with him injured so likely to just run it back without him and look elsewhere to spend that money

What do you have as their 3 biggest priorities?

[SkyHook]

1. The following players will 100% be back with the team next year...
Colin Sexton, Keyonte George, Taylor Hendricks, Lauri Markkenen (2025 may be a different story)

2. The following players will 100% be gone next year...
Talen Horton Tucker (Clarkson also has a good chance of being moved)

3. The 3 things my team must accomplish this off-season are... (Note: this could be cap wise, on the court needs wise, coaching change, free agency/draft needs/targets, etc.)
1. Pick a direction to start the season instead of tanking halfway through
2. Get rid of players that don't fit (Collins, THT, one of Sexton/Clarkson b/c that's too many score first combo guards)
3. Get some (young) wings on the team, we are almost 100 percent combo guards and F/Cs. Lauri can play at small forward if you have another similarly versatile player at power forward, but John Collins can't create for himself and others and neither can Kessler which means the offense gets bogged down.

Pretty solid. I’m not sure I’d have anyone as 100% guaranteed to be on the roster next season though; I’d likely have all four at 80%. No idea the path that the FO will take.

[HornetJail]

Fans of the teams below... Answer the following for the teams already eliminated...

Nets
Hornets
Pistons
Rockets
Grizzlies
Trail Blazers
Spurs
Raptors
Jazz
Wizards

1. The following players will 100% be back with the team next year...
2. The following players will 100% be gone next year...
3. The 3 things my team must accomplish this off-season are... (Note: this could be cap wise, on the court needs wise, coaching change, free agency/draft needs/targets, etc.)

Hornets:

100% back:
LaMelo
Mark Williams
Miller

100% gone:
STEVE CLIFFORD AND MITCH KUPCHAK
Bertans
(I really don't think there are any other players that are a lock to leave. I'd guess we decline options on/cut Thor, McGowens, Seth, and the three two-way guys but it wouldn't be a shock to see any of them back)

Three things to accomplish:

-have to nail the coach and GM hires and enter the 21st century. We've gone way too long with a snoozer at GM and a coach stuck in 1999 that is hilariously running veteran 8-man rotations in the final week on a 20-60 team with a bench full of 1st-3rd year guys waiting for minutes.

-address the center position. Mark Williams is a foundational piece but isn't reliable, and isn't even a big minute player when he is healthy. A borderline starter level backup has to be found that can play 20mpg behind Mark or more when he's out, and preferably versatile enough to get spot minutes alongside him. Nick Richards, in no uncertain terms, is not that guy. Someone like Valanciunas would be a welcome addition.

-a versatile big wing would be nice to complete our wing rotation between Miller and Bridges. Defense and shooting are must-haves.

[penbeast0]

WIZARDS...

What do you have as their 3 biggest priorities?

Next year needs to be a tanking year even as this one was, more if anything. We need a team star and I don't know if there is one in this year's draft.

So, the first priority is to develop talent. We need to draft well and give our draftees every opportunity to develop their games.

The second priority is to continue to accumulate talent. Trade where we can, our vets and cap space for future 1sts. We aren't ready yet to worry about shoring up weak spots; if anything it might be good to have our center position continue to be a gaping hole so we can play our best without jeopardizing a chance at drafting a centerpiece player next year.

The third priority is to keep the strain of losing from destroying the team. One real positive about Kuzma is that nothing seems to get him down; he has been a positive influence no matter how bad the team is playing. The coach needs to work with the team to nurture the signs of hope. We need to keep from despair.

[NYG]

Loving the responses so far... Feel free to add to an already covered team or cover one that hasn't been yet

[HadAnEffectHere]

I would not count any player as 100% back for the Jazz. I would not be shocked to see Markkanen, Sexton, or Kessler dumped to tank or be shocked to see George and Hendricks moved for a pseudo star to contend for the playoffs.

[Kiss of Death]

The Rockets are in a really good spot. They have the assets to make a big splash, but they don’t have to.
They get Sengun and Tari Eason back and add Steven Adams to a 40+ win team.

A lot will depend on the draft lottery in a few weeks. With some luck, they could have 2 top 10 picks. At worst, they’ll have 1 top 10 pick.

There is no 100% either way. They are likely to keep the Core 6, unless a crazy good deal comes along.
FVV will probably draw a lot of interest and could help a lot of teams, but I doubt they entertain any offers.
Dillon Brooks could be on the market due to
Amen and Eason being ready to take his starting spot and contenders needing his skill set.
Tate, Landale and Jeff Green will probably be shopped, along with the Nets picks.
Aaron Holiday and Reggie Bullock will probably search for bigger roles and paychecks elsewhere.
Boban might just retire and move to Hollywood.
That leaves 3 open roster spots likely.

They will be a better team next year without making any major moves. They have the assets to make a major move.

[esvl]

Memphis: I like the percentage angle here.
.

A few comments:
Yuta - about 0%
Rise - about 0%
Kennard - 10%
Jemison - 80% if we go with a rookie center
30% if we bring Claxton, 0% if we bring both
Lamar - 90% he was phenomenal
Goodwin - 30% just because of Pippen, 60% otherwise

[NYG]

Nets
Spurs
Raptors

Where you at?

[bluerap23]

Raptors
1. The following players will 100% be back with the team next year...
Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickly, RJ Barrett, Gradey Dick, Kelly Olynyk

2. The following players will 100% be gone next year...
Jontay Porter

3. The 3 things my team must accomplish this off-season are... (Note: this could be cap wise, on the court needs wise, coaching change, free agency/draft needs/targets, etc.)
a. Draft well (need to find at least one rotation player)
b. Continue developing young player, specifically Scottie, IQ and Dick
c. Find one rotation player in free agency, or via trade. Ideally an upgrade over GTJ, otherwise resign GTJ to a reasonable contract (15x3).

[G R E Y]

100% back:

Wemby

Vassell

Sochan

Tre Jones

Keldon

Sidy


Most likely also Blake Wesley, Branham, Dom Barlow

I'd like us to bring back Mamu and Cedi

100% off the team:

This is more of a hope - Julian Champagnie

Collins is a decent back up but at the upcoming cost may be trade fodder. Not sure how Bassey is progressing in rehab... It may affect Collins' future with us.

Perhaps Graham will be looking elsewhere/ we may send him elsewhere after he played fewest games in his career. Great locker room vet though, knows how to play.

Must accomplish: shooters. We made the most 3s in franchise history but that's because we moved up to 11th in attempts per game. Our efficiency is exactly the same as last season, placing us last. Shooters shooters shooters.

Draft well. We have a ton of picks, both our own and from trades so it's a priority to stock pile the team with good high end young talent. It's cheaper and they learn our system from the get go. Priority is BBOQ, two-way play, competitiveness.

Starting level SF. For the love of quality basketball and in the best interest of Spurs fans' nerves.

Even if we keep Tre at PG, fine, but the 3 is a big immediate hole to fill.

The whole go all in with assets to trade for a big star is not happening yet. There may well be some trades made, and it's good to have some vets on the team who are willing to teach younger players and accept a role, but we're not in the business of helping out teams who we've already traded with to get great assets. Let them figure out how to get themselves out of their own holes. In the meantime, we await where their picks land.

We draft 2024, 2025, and are ready to strike for a high end star then. That's not to say we would turn down a great opportunity, but we won't overpay. If after this year some stars are openly talking about what it would be like to play with Wemby, well then things will only get more attractive.

We can improve by drafting guys who push current crop for positions (at times it felt like a few were too comfortable with their jobs and played like they didn't have to be earning anything), and now with the first year of Wemby, we have a much better idea of how to best surround him with quality talent.

Separate wheat from chaff.

Draft well.

Get complementary pieces. 3&D BBIQ.

Strike when it's most opportune with trades.

[oldncreaky]

I think Raptor fans are a bit shell-shocked from discovering what tanking really entails -- it has been ugly. Also, the FO remains inscrutable

It's also really hard to evaluate the team given the minute sample size of a stable and relatively healthy, non-tanking Raptors roster: Is it play-in level if healthy? Close to play-in? Deep in the lottery? Nobody knows!

1) Players who will 100% be back next year
Scottie Barnes
RJ Barrett
IQ
Gradey Dick
Jacob Poeltl
Kelly Olynyk
Ochai Agbagi

2) Players who 100% won't be back
Johntay Porter (bet on it!)
Jordan Nwora

2B) Players who I really hope aren't on the roster next season
Bruce Brown -- $23M is about $10M too much, so Toronto should decline the team option
Gary Trent Jr -- UFA, his minutes should be given to younger and cheaper players
Jalen McDaniels -- shaky D, no 3, but on an expiring $5M deal

The rest of the roster is mostly irrelevant
Chris Boucher -- expiring energy big who doesn't fit with Coach Darko's system, but not worth any cost to move
Garrett Temple -- well-liked vet on a min contract, whatever
Jevon Freeman-Liberty -- converted to a rookie min, has played well enough to get invited to training camp
... Plus a bunch of marginal 2-way and 10-day guys who may or may not get a SL or training camp invite


3) Off season priorities

3a)This may be the last time Toronto has significant cap space for a while: they can get around $30M of space if they decline Brown's $30M TO. I think they should do this to try and fill at least one of the glaring roster holes:
-- More playable size. After Poetll, Barnes, Olynyk and Boucher, they're too small
-- a backup PG (haven't had one for 3 straight seasons )

3b) Lock up IQ

3c) Find some young talent through draft or FA to invite to SL that both fits with Scottie's timeline (age 20-25) and fits with Darko's playing style, a read-and-react system somewhat similar to GS, but really it's much based on Serbian basketball and the style the Serbian National Team plays

[ItsDanger]

1) Scottie Barnes. The rest are expendable but the guys that should comprise the core at least most of next season should be Barnes/Quickley/Barrett/Dick/Olynyk. But the only 100% lock is the all star.
2) Trent, Brown. I'll ignore the non impact guys.
3) Get talent that can impact winning. Hire a completely new analytics department.