Detroit has been shopping Drummond since the deadline last year and there was the rumor that Detroit was interested in Bledsoe as well (
LINK), preferably in a swap for Reggie Jackson. McD said there was a potential blockbuster deal with an Eastern Conference team before the deadline but there wasn't enough time for it to go anywhere. Gambo said it was a 3 for 3 swap with Detroit, with
Booker, Bledsoe, and Chandler for Drummond, Caldwell-Pope, and Reggie Jackson (
LINK). I think we should open those talks back up, without Booker being included, of course. Caldwell-Pope is a RFA also, so no Booker or KCP. Drummond is signed for the next 3 years, with the 4th year being a player option, but he's due $76.3 million over those 3 years and $105 for all 4. He's only 23, will be 24 when the season starts, so he fits with the rest of our core as far as his age is concerned. I'm not sure what Detroit would be interested in but we could offer them some salary relief and Bledsoe, plus one of the Miami picks.
A deal of Bledsoe & Chandler for Drummond & Jackson works under the cap and saves Detroit a lot of money, with Chandler & Bledsoe both expiring in 2 years while Jackson and Drummond have at least 3 years a piece. I'm not interested in Jackson though, that's a step sideways if anything, he makes $3 million more than Bledsoe annually, has 1 more year on his contract, is a worse defender, and is also injury prone. It might be hard to get a 3rd team involved to take Jackson because of the number of quality FA PG's this summer. We could let them keep Jackson though and offer
Drummond & Ish Smith for Bledsoe & Chandler, which works under the cap. That gives them salary relief long term by shedding Drummond's contract, they'd get an upgrade at PG with Bledsoe who is someone they're interested in. They'd still have Jackson who could then be their Sixth Man, a role he excelled in while in OKC, or play Jackson at SG with Bledsoe. They could trade him elsewhere, not our problem. Ish is only owed $12 million over the next 2 years, $6m per, so it's not a bad contract for a backup PG. He's a solid backup PG who is a pass first player, which would allow us to keep a passing PG on the court all game with him and Ulis. Without Jackson included, I think we could do that without any other assets involved but they might want to send us Leuer's contract in that deal, for more cap relief, but I'd still jump at it. Drummond's age aligns with our existing core, we wouldn't have to part with any of our youngsters, and he could be the star we've been looking to add. Leuer was decent while he was here, he's a better PF than Dudley, can play some minutes at Center, and is a good stretch big. Sure, he's overpaid but we get the best player in the deal, Drummond. Leuer is owed $30 million over the next 3 years, which isn't awful.
If we took on Leuer's contract we'd be capped out this year but we wouldn't have any big holes in our roster to fill either. We'd still have the MLE available for depth at Center, or to retain Big Sauce. Everyone in our core would be 24 or younger, so our window would be the same but perhaps we could start making the playoffs as early as next year. We'd still have Dudley as a veteran leader, Ish could compete with Ulis for the starting PG spot and he's also be a vet here who would provide stability for our 2nd unit. Knight might actually be able to step up without Bledsoe here anymore but I wouldn't count on it. Ish and Ulis are similar pass first PG's who make their teammates better, Ulis is a better scorer though but Smith would just be a backup so he doesn't need to score much. We'd have Jackson as our top perimeter defender with Drummond as our rim protector. Between Jackson and Drummond on the boards, Chriss' lack of rebounding wouldn't be as noticeable either. We could then let Len walk without a 2nd though because we'd have a young Center for years to come in Drummond.
A big 4 of Booker, Drummond, Jackson, and Chriss sounds really good for the next 3-4 years. Let them grow together and hope they peak as the Warriors are slowing down. We'd have a better starting 5 than Portland, Utah, Memphis, and whatever the Clippers are left with.
Drummond/Bender/ (Resign Williams?)
Chriss/Dudley/Leuer
Jackson/Warren/Jones Jr
Booker/Barbosa/Knight
Ulis/Smith/Knight
