Milwaukee Bucks 2018 - 2019

[HiAndTight]

 

By the time the deadline rolled around last year they should have known what they had in Jabari, even in a best case scenario...and Jordan's been a guy I've thought would be a perfect fit. But when you say they're failed to recognize what they had in Jabari for 4 straight years, were you an anti Jabari guy coming out? I personally wanted Wiggins at the time and then when Embid got hurt, wanted nothing to do with him(and I doubt we'd have let him sit for nearly two full years to recover, so he very well may have been out of the league by now as well).

 

But don't you think it's a touch unfair to blame them for not knowing what they had in Jabari earlier? He looked like an explosive player with a good shot. A scorer and not really even a fit in what Kidd was trying to do defensively, but a potential elite scorer regardless.

 

 

Never wanted Jabari, period. It's funny you should ask because there was this back-and-forth on RealGM for years about Jabari and lots of people got really mad at me for it. But I had him pegged from day one as a pure empty stats scorer who isn't even better than a typical glue guy, let alone a potential future star. I started out comparing him to Jamison, Big Dog, Mashburn, etc, but eventually settled on sf version of David Lee as the best possible comparison. There was a 400-page thread arguing about trading him, and the mod there titled it "sponsored by CHL". I wanted him traded to Utah for Favors/#5 before the draft, as Utah had offered that same package to Cleveland for the right to draft Jabari (the Cavs traded the pick for Love instead and Minnesota drafted Wiggins).

 

The red flags were there all along, some going all the way back to high school. Didn't consistently take good care of his body and conditioning, was benched in the NCAA tournament, was a superfluous scorer who played the same position as Giannis or Khris, refused to box out or put a body on anyone, couldn't/wouldn't set good screens, was assisted on a ridiculously high percentage of his makes but couldn't really create his own offense in the flow, didn't really shoot well despite the myth of him being a great scorer, was one of the worst defenders I've ever seen, and the team was consistently better with him on the bench or injured than with him playing. The only time he ever was a positive influence on the team's chances of winning was when he hit 50% of his 3's for a 6-week stretch before tearing his ACL a second time, but we all know that kind of shooting was not sustainable. It reminds me of when Charlie Villanueva had a similar stretch in his last year with the Bucks, and Jabari is clearly going to have a similar career to CV. He was pretty much a guy who made a name for himself being bigger, stronger, and more athletic than college guys because he developed physically so much earlier than most athletes, but he couldn't fall back on being a man-child in the NBA and he pretty clearly didn't have the work ethic, mental toughness, or awareness to remain a good player when it got tougher.

 

ETA: Basically I'm just saying I didn't see it as nuanced, even though most people did. So I'm entitled to hold it against them even if others would be guilty of benefiting from hindsight by doing so. There was never the slightest doubt in my mind that he was not a good player.

 

 

Well, I as I said, I didn't love him coming out, though I thought more of his scoring ability and probably still do than you. Everyone thought a healthy Embid was going to be a superstar, but after Oden, that was an enormous risk, and after he was hurt, and Wiggins was gone, I just kinda made my peace with him and hoped he developed.

 

I'd still argue that he was more talented than Lee ever was and that two ACL's have robbed him...but after his comment about being paid to score and not play defense, I don't really even care to defend him. Especially when you watch Giannis play the game with reckless abandon and chase guys down on a nightly basis.

[tmwiese55]

You'd be surprised the arguments I got into with Lillard with people at the time on RealGM. They viewed Lillard as a chucker scrub and wouldn't trade Jabari straight up for him. It was like me and 3 others on the side of preferring Lillard. One guy was mocked so much he quit the board. Everyone had their homer glasses on. Ironically, they bashed Dame for being a PPGZ empty stats only guy (which he's not) while ignoring that's exactly what they had on their hands with Jabari. Now, yea everyone thinks like you just said. 3 years ago, not so much. I've always viewed Dame is the closest thing to Curry in the league as far as his game goes. Yes I know Curry is better so no need to argue, I said closest thing you can get to him.

 

No, ACLs are often a big deal and handing out 130 mil 25-35 mil per year a guy that has the ticking time bomb of a 2nd ACL hanging over his head when it if it happens again you know he's done. And statistics show it's a huge percentage increase of chance of a 2nd once you have the first. Combine that with all his faults as a player, he's the same positions as Giannis/KM and I was out. We couldn't have that variable hanging around Giannis imo, cash out and move onto a clean slate to build a team around Giannis. Also, tough to be a stretch 4 if you're completely unwilling to rebound or even try on D.

[RollieTime]

Bucks owner Marc Lasry releases a statement today saying “we hope it would be players like Anthony Davis and others who want to come to Milwaukee”. Whether or not it is tampering, Brian Windhorst believes he is letting the upcoming free agents know that the Bucks have the financial room to offer a max contract to a player this offseason.

 

If the Bucks finish strong and make some noise in the postseason, could Giannis and the Bucks convince a top free agent to come play for Milwaukee?

 

Some of the top players that are free agents this summer as it sits right now are Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Kemba Walker, Demarcus Cousins, Jimmy Butler, Nikola Vucevic, Tobias Harris, and Kristaps Porzingis.

 

It may seem crazy, but Durant probably has the highest likelihood of leaving where he’s at. Durant, Thompson, Walker, and Tobias Harris are the guys I think could realistically be on the move next offseason.

 

With Giannis becoming the face of the eastern conference for years to come, could the Bucks have a realistic shot at signing one of these guys? Could the Bucks entice Durant to sign with Milwaukee?

[homer]

Durant is a wild card. He's taken so much guff for signing on with an already awesome team that I can't imagine he'd do it again. But then again who knows?

[FVBrewerFan]

Bucks owner Marc Lasry releases a statement today saying “we hope it would be players like Anthony Davis and others who want to come to Milwaukee”. Whether or not it is tampering, Brian Windhorst believes he is letting the upcoming free agents know that the Bucks have the financial room to offer a max contract to a player this offseason.

 

If the Bucks finish strong and make some noise in the postseason, could Giannis and the Bucks convince a top free agent to come play for Milwaukee?

 

Some of the top players that are free agents this summer as it sits right now are Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Kemba Walker, Demarcus Cousins, Jimmy Butler, Nikola Vucevic, Tobias Harris, and Kristaps Porzingis.

 

It may seem crazy, but Durant probably has the highest likelihood of leaving where he’s at. Durant, Thompson, Walker, and Tobias Harris are the guys I think could realistically be on the move next offseason.

 

With Giannis becoming the face of the eastern conference for years to come, could the Bucks have a realistic shot at signing one of these guys? Could the Bucks entice Durant to sign with Milwaukee?

 

I can accept the fact LeBron/Lakers is a bigger magnet for FA than the Bucks. But if a player wants to go to the Knicks to try to create some sort of big 3, I don't get it. The Bucks are already "there." Klay Thompson would be a perfect fit, but he's not coming to Milwaukee. He'll stay with GS or be a Laker next year. Durant isn't coming here. Porzingis has already said he wants to stay in Dallas. Want no part of the attitude of Butler or Cousins. I would say of that list Vucevic would be most likely to sign with the Bucks.

 

That's actually one of the great things about the Mirotic trade, they now have one more player as an option if they lose one of the other 4 FA. With all the max contracts sitting out there, plus KD and maybe others to be traded it may be near impossible for Kris to get a max deal anywhere. There's also a couple max PGs in there, along with Conley and who knows who else that may be traded. So Bledsoe may be cheaper to sign than we think too.

 

It was a wild trade deadline, and the off-season will be even more fun.

[wallus]

Even with Giannis, I can't wrap my mind around a deserving max free agent coming to Milwaukee.

[tmwiese55]

Crazy as it is to say the best basketball titles location for Kawhi and KD is MKE. Aside from KD just staying in GSW of course.

[superfly]

I lovvvvve Cardiac Kemba myself. Would be perfectly happy with him.

[young guns]

If we were to sign a max from outside of the organization, theoretically how much would we have left for any of our own guys?

[RollieTime]

If we were to sign a max from outside of the organization, theoretically how much would we have left for any of our own guys?

 

Looks like the Bucks have approximately $55 million in payroll for next season. The luxury tax is around $123 million. The Bucks are right around that number for this season. They will have about $70 million or so to spend, but a max contract would be around $38 million per season. They could theoretically sign Durant and bring back Brogdon and Lopez for around $60 million.

 

Ilyasova could probably be traded to just clear his $7 million. That might free up enough to entice someone like Bledsoe or Mirotic to stick around for $15 million. But Middleton and one of Mirotic or Bledsoe would most likely be on the move.

 

Of course, this is all just speculation. The Bucks would need guys like DiVincenzo, Brown, Wilson, Connaughton, and Snell to step up like they have for most of this season. And I think they could.

[young guns]

Thanks for the reply. That is both exciting and sad. This team has been so fun to watch this year that the thought of dismantling it sucks, but also the though of another potential super star to play with giannis is exciting.

[young guns]

Well, I think we are all in agreement that now that giannis better stay healthy. Also back to backs where you have to basically fly the length of the country between suck. 0-2 now with terrible results in both games.

[LouisEly]

Middleton 4-17, Lopez 4-12, Brogdon 4-18, Wilson 2-8.

 

Those four plus Connaughton a combined 1-24 from 3. Highly unlikely that happens again. Just one of those games.

[wallus]

If the Bucks sign a max player, they are going to pay the luxury tax and try to keep as many guys as possible.

[coolhandluke121]

If the Bucks sign a max player, they are going to pay the luxury tax and try to keep as many guys as possible.

 

They can't keep anyone except Brogdon if they sign a max free agent though. Can't even use the MLE to keep Lopez, since you choose cap space or the MLE but not both. And they certainly can't sign a max free agent and pay the luxury tax. It's mathematically impossible because max cap space implies renouncing Bird Rights, which means you can't go over the cap (let alone the luxury tax) to keep those guys. You basically just sign draft picks and veteran minimum salaries.

 

At this point, I'm pretty sure only Brogdon's low cap hold can work with a max free agent. It would be an absolutely terrible decision to decimate the best supporting cast in NBA history, arguably by far (seriously, what team has ever sniffed best record in the NBA with a +10 differential with just 1 truly deserving regular all-star?), for a chance at 2 superstars, Brogdon, and a bunch or role players. What would they actually be better at as a team? Because that's what matters, not formulaic cliches about the number of stars and non-stars on the team. They would be worse at everything except maybe ratings, lol.

[Baldkin]

If we were to sign a max from outside of the organization, theoretically how much would we have left for any of our own guys?

 

They would have to renounce Bledsoe or Middleton's cap holds, meaning they could not resign them.

 

They wouldn't have any money beyond the tax payer MLE to pay for Lopez (about 5.6 M).

 

To resign the player they didn't renounce, as well as Brogdon and Mirotic, they have unlimited $, assuming the owners are willing to pay the luxury tax.

[Mr Southpaw]

Look at the team Bud had in his first season at Atlanta. Horford was the best player with a bunch of role players. Horford signed with Boston and they Atlanta became mediocre. Similar team here in Milwaukee, Giannis is way better than Horford, but after that, a bunch of role players.

 

Signing these players during the off season will be a chore. I don't think the Bucks can replace Bledsoe. He is so strong and quick at the same time. I wish his shot selection was a little better, but with speed, you will have accidents. I like the steadiness of Middleton. He seems to take over when GA is out of the game, just not as well. I just don't know if he is worth $30 for lots of years. Love Brogdon and Lopez for many different reasons and hope we can sign both for reasonable contracts. $10 per year for each, maybe $12??? I don't know much about Mirotic, seems to be a younger version of Ersan with a little more basketball talent and less defense. He is making $12 right now. I would imagine he will need a raise. Does the following sound reasonable or am I off base or is it even possible...

 

$27/3 years Middleton

$27/3 years Bledsoe

$12/2 years Lopez

$12/3 years Brogden

$14/3 years Mirotic

[long ball]

I think you're a little light on Midd and a little heavy on Bled. I'm not sure they can sign Lopez to that much without dumping Ersan or Snell. If I understand bird rights correctly, they will have them for Mirotic so they could theoretically re-sign him.

 

Honestly, I don't care who they keep and what they pay them. The Bucks just need to get Giannis to sign that super max next summer.

[coolhandluke121]

If we were to sign a max from outside of the organization, theoretically how much would we have left for any of our own guys?

 

They would have to renounce Bledsoe or Middleton's cap holds, meaning they could not resign them.

 

They wouldn't have any money beyond the tax payer MLE to pay for Lopez (about 5.6 M).

 

To resign the player they didn't renounce, as well as Brogdon and Mirotic, they have unlimited $, assuming the owners are willing to pay the luxury tax.

 

Without Hill and Middleton, they have $59m in salary + dead money and about $40m in cap space. An unrestricted free agent would barely fit into that with the low cap holds on Brogdon, a draft pick, and a bunch of minimum salaries as placeholders for vacant roster spots. They would have to clear a significant amount of salary just to keep one cap hold on Mirotic, Bledsoe, or Middleton. Since unrestricted max free agents start at roughly $30m per year or more, they'd basically have to clear Snell and Ersan before free agency in order to keep a cap hold on Mirotic, Bledsoe, or Khris.

 

It gets worse though. You can't use all your cap space unless you renounce your exceptions. That's a fact that I have never seen anyone else mention or be aware of in all my years of posting on RealGM and reading up on the CBA on basketball hype sites. You have to go straight to the source:

 

http://www.cbafaq.com/salarycap.htm#Q26

 

"If a team is below the cap, then its Disabled Player, Bi-Annual, Mid-Level (either the Taxpayer or Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level, whichever applies to the team) and/or trade exceptions are added to their team salary, and the league treats the team as though they are over the cap. This is to prevent a loophole, in a manner similar to free agent amounts (see question number 37). A team can't act like it's under the cap and sign free agents using cap room, and then use its Disabled Player, Bi-Annual, Mid-Level and/or trade exceptions. Consequently, the exceptions are added to the team salary (putting the team over the cap) if the team is under the cap and adding the exceptions puts them over the cap. If a team is already over the cap, then the exceptions are not added to their team salary. There would be no point in doing so, since there is no cap room for signing free agents.

...

A team has the option to renounce its exceptions in order to reclaim its cap room."

 

That's worded a little ambiguously in cases where adding the exceptions still doesn't put a team over the cap, but I'm pretty sure it applies to all teams under the cap. So no Lopez either if you want an outside free agent, unless he signs for a contract similar to this year's salary (no way that happens the way he's been playing). I keep trying to explain why the team just has to forget about free agency and pay the tax to keep everyone, but everyone is working on a woefully incomplete understanding of the CBA. That's understandable since it's exceedingly complex, but I've read all parts of the CBA that pertain to player transactions, and though I've forgotten a fair amount of it, I still have a lot of insight to add in that department.

 

Brogdon is the only guy who could fit with a star outside free agent, and even that's cutting it close when you count the cap hold on a draft pick and automatic cap holds on vacant roster spots. If they don't clear a little more salary before free agency (Snell or Ersan to a team with cap space, or combine one of them with a pick to clear salary), they might not even be able to keep Brogdon. But the great thing is they can keep everyone on the team right now except maybe Lopez (if he demands more than the tax-payer MLE) if they are willing to pay the tax.

 

Option A:

Mirotic

Bledsoe

Middleton

Lopez

Brogdon

And even Hill if they're willing to pay a lot of luxury tax

 

Option B:

Durant/Kyrie/Kawhi

maybe Brogdon if they're lucky

 

If you think option B is remotely as good as option A, how do you figure this team has the best record in the NBA and has a strong chance of being the 12th team in NBA history to finish the season with a +10 ppg scoring differential? Is Giannis worth two Olajuwons?

 

It would be Giannis + Durant + the worst supporting cast in NBA history. No way that's a contender. The closest comparison to that kind of star power with such a horrible supporting cast would be Stockton/Malone. They lost in the first or second round 15 out of 20 seasons together (often to other forgettable playoff teams I might add, though admittedly they weren't the stars of the team right away) and never had a team that was as good as the Bucks are right now. And even their pathetic supporting casts were a lot better than the Bucks would be (Eaton, Dantley, Rickey Green, Hornacek, and Kirilenko were all-stars at some point, while Mark Jackson, Harpring, Bryon Russell, and Donyell Marshall were pretty good role players).

[FVBrewerFan]

Thanks for explaining all this CH Luke. NBA cap/contracts has always been a murky haze for me. Apparently I'm not alone, as even the Bucks owners are saying things about attracting big FA when it makes no sense to do so.

 

Seems they are stuck, but that's not all bad. Just a matter of spending a lot of money but they can keep everyone. So, the next question is how would a future trade work? Example, let's say they wanted to put together a package to trade for a stud player in 2020/2021. Could they trade Brogdon/Middleton/1st round pick? Just curious, because it looks like if they do keep all these guys they won't have any flexibility for several years?

[long ball]

That post basically needs to be shouted from the rooftops and then pinned.

[tmwiese55]

Also one has to realize how unlikely getting a true superstar max FA guy to choose MKE is. I know it's not like 10 years ago or anything since we have Giannis, but it's still very unlikely. Now, getting a 2nd or 3rd tier star to come here because we pay him 'max' when he's really not that good yes they could do that but then you might as well just sign your own guys who are basically at that same level and you can go over the cap for them.

 

I've said/thought for years the most likely way another true #2 star gets to MKE is by trade not FA. The reason I just said but also because we ruined our cap for those offseasons with Delly, Mirza, Monroe, Snell, Henson, Plumlee. The most likely way we're going to get a guy everyone is dreaming of is to sign our guys to be over the cap/tax and then wait for an issue to come up where one of those true stars is forcing a trade (George, Kyrie, Kawhi as example recently and of course AD). for example, since everyone is obsessed with AD (though I don't think he's a perfect fit) if he's not traded in the offseason once we have our guys locked into contracts we then have them to match up contracts with AD to go along with young guys and draft picks. An under the radar guy to me that we could get after we have Middleton signed is Bradley Beal. Wash never wants to tank and no way Beal is staying there long term.

[brwrsfan]

If we were to sign a max from outside of the organization, theoretically how much would we have left for any of our own guys?

 

They would have to renounce Bledsoe or Middleton's cap holds, meaning they could not resign them.

 

They wouldn't have any money beyond the tax payer MLE to pay for Lopez (about 5.6 M).

 

To resign the player they didn't renounce, as well as Brogdon and Mirotic, they have unlimited $, assuming the owners are willing to pay the luxury tax.

 

Without Hill and Middleton, they have $59m in salary + dead money and about $40m in cap space. An unrestricted free agent would barely fit into that with the low cap holds on Brogdon, a draft pick, and a bunch of minimum salaries as placeholders for vacant roster spots. They would have to clear a significant amount of salary just to keep one cap hold on Mirotic, Bledsoe, or Middleton. Since unrestricted max free agents start at roughly $30m per year or more, they'd basically have to clear Snell and Ersan before free agency in order to keep a cap hold on Mirotic, Bledsoe, or Khris.

 

It gets worse though. You can't use all your cap space unless you renounce your exceptions. That's a fact that I have never seen anyone else mention or be aware of in all my years of posting on RealGM and reading up on the CBA on basketball hype sites. You have to go straight to the source:

 

http://www.cbafaq.com/salarycap.htm#Q26

 

"If a team is below the cap, then its Disabled Player, Bi-Annual, Mid-Level (either the Taxpayer or Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level, whichever applies to the team) and/or trade exceptions are added to their team salary, and the league treats the team as though they are over the cap. This is to prevent a loophole, in a manner similar to free agent amounts (see question number 37). A team can't act like it's under the cap and sign free agents using cap room, and then use its Disabled Player, Bi-Annual, Mid-Level and/or trade exceptions. Consequently, the exceptions are added to the team salary (putting the team over the cap) if the team is under the cap and adding the exceptions puts them over the cap. If a team is already over the cap, then the exceptions are not added to their team salary. There would be no point in doing so, since there is no cap room for signing free agents.

...

A team has the option to renounce its exceptions in order to reclaim its cap room."

 

That's worded a little ambiguously in cases where adding the exceptions still doesn't put a team over the cap, but I'm pretty sure it applies to all teams under the cap. So no Lopez either if you want an outside free agent, unless he signs for a contract similar to this year's salary (no way that happens the way he's been playing). I keep trying to explain why the team just has to forget about free agency and pay the tax to keep everyone, but everyone is working on a woefully incomplete understanding of the CBA. That's understandable since it's exceedingly complex, but I've read all parts of the CBA that pertain to player transactions, and though I've forgotten a fair amount of it, I still have a lot of insight to add in that department.

 

Brogdon is the only guy who could fit with a star outside free agent, and even that's cutting it close when you count the cap hold on a draft pick and automatic cap holds on vacant roster spots. If they don't clear a little more salary before free agency (Snell or Ersan to a team with cap space, or combine one of them with a pick to clear salary), they might not even be able to keep Brogdon. But the great thing is they can keep everyone on the team right now except maybe Lopez (if he demands more than the tax-payer MLE) if they are willing to pay the tax.

 

Option A:

Mirotic

Bledsoe

Middleton

Lopez

Brogdon

And even Hill if they're willing to pay a lot of luxury tax

 

Option B:

Durant/Kyrie/Kawhi

maybe Brogdon if they're lucky

 

If you think option B is remotely as good as option A, how do you figure this team has the best record in the NBA and has a strong chance of being the 12th team in NBA history to finish the season with a +10 ppg scoring differential? Is Giannis worth two Olajuwons?

 

It would be Giannis + Durant + the worst supporting cast in NBA history. No way that's a contender. The closest comparison to that kind of star power with such a horrible supporting cast would be Stockton/Malone. They lost in the first or second round 15 out of 20 seasons together (often to other forgettable playoff teams I might add, though admittedly they weren't the stars of the team right away) and never had a team that was as good as the Bucks are right now. And even their pathetic supporting casts were a lot better than the Bucks would be (Eaton, Dantley, Rickey Green, Hornacek, and Kirilenko were all-stars at some point, while Mark Jackson, Harpring, Bryon Russell, and Donyell Marshall were pretty good role players).

 

 

Thanks for explaining all of this. So...what about other free agents? Not max guys per say but middle-upper tier others. Are we pretty much in the same boat? I kinda read this that we're kinda stuck with what we have outside of the MLE (if Lopez doesn't take it?). Thoughts?

[coolhandluke121]

 

 

Thanks for explaining all of this. So...what about other free agents? Not max guys per say but middle-upper tier others. Are we pretty much in the same boat? I kinda read this that we're kinda stuck with what we have outside of the MLE (if Lopez doesn't take it?). Thoughts?

 

It just doesn't make sense. You'd still have to renounce your Bird rights to multiple players just to sign one outside free agent. It basically comes down to being allowed to spend x dollars on outside free agents vs. being allowed to spend 2x-3x or more on your own free agents. What free agent out there could top that for x dollars? There's a reason these guys have the best record in the NBA with a +10 ppg differential. They're good, and being allowed to keep all of them is far better than anything they could get with outside free agents. It's literally a 4-birds-in-the-hand is better than 1-in-the-bush situation. (Bird Rights pun alert.) And even if that bird in the bush is Larry Bird, it's not like the ones in hand are chopped chicken liver.

 

The interesting free agent questions are:

 

- Will the Bucks come in with good enough offers to keep unrestricted free agents from walking for nothing?

- Will Lopez accept exception money to stay in a great situation? They don't have full Bird Rights to over-pay him, unlike the other free agents.

- If not, will their exception money be able to attract a good veteran looking for the right situation? Keep in mind that all contenders have some exception money to play with.

- Will Milwaukee be a desirable destination for the best minimum-salary veterans, or will they still have to settle for seconds like Jason Terry? (Didn't hate him, but the most desirable destinations get better minimum-salary veterans.)

- What will Brogdon get? I think it could be gross and have made it clear that I would have traded him at the deadline if a good return was available, but I won't argue that again until the off season.

[coolhandluke121]

 

Seems they are stuck, but that's not all bad. Just a matter of spending a lot of money but they can keep everyone. So, the next question is how would a future trade work? Example, let's say they wanted to put together a package to trade for a stud player in 2020/2021. Could they trade Brogdon/Middleton/1st round pick? Just curious, because it looks like if they do keep all these guys they won't have any flexibility for several years?

 

They would still have lots of trade flexibility. There's no reason you couldn't sign all your guys and then trade them a few months later (there is usually a waiting period of sorts, but it's not long). That's the other key to this. You should spend as much as the CBA will allow to maximize the talent on your team. You can't just say "we want to go over the cap and win" at any time. Timing is key. You have to have the right to go over the cap when you're a contender, but if you forego that opportunity, it might be years before you have another golden opportunity to raise your payroll to those levels. You have to have Bird Rights to your free agents, and they have to be worth paying. If the Bucks want to use cap space on outside guys, they can only spend ~$110m, but if they want to just keep their own guys, they can spend ~$150m or more. They should jump at the chance to go way over the cap while they can, because once you're there, you're allowed to stay there. Then if you don't like everyone you re-signed, you can trade them as early as next winter. I don't believe anyone will see their trade value change much between now and then.

 

The great irony here is that even if you do want an outside star/superstar, it would be far easier to acquire one by keeping everyone now and eventually using them in a multi-team trade for a guy who wants out. Davis will probably be off the market by then, but others will come available eventually. And you would be able to add them to a much better supporting cast that way, because you wouldn't have to trade all of Lopez, Bledsoe, Middleton, Brogdon, and Mirotic for a star.