It's tough. I don't think you can afford Johnson, Waiters, and a big name FA. I love Johnson. He's been by far the biggest surprise this year, but if you can keep Waiters, and sign a Heyward, and that means losing Johnson, then I think you have to bite the bullet.
Utah isnt going to let Hayward go. Theyre not going to go from 4th seed to back to the lottery in a year. They have his bird rights and can offer him the extra year.
It's not up to Utah. Yes, they can offer him more, but Heyward might want to leave. Realistically, he can probably make up the money and then some by playing in a market like Miami with endorsements. There's also the state income tax issue. Utah is one of the higher in the country at 5%. Florida, as you know doesn't have one.
So, if I may ask, what does Hayward do with a max contract that dollar-for-dollar makes him a better move than Johnson at less money? Johnson seems to provide plenty of punch with better defense, but I admit I might be ignorant of Hayward's greatness on that end of the floor...
James Johnson has been an end of the rotation player his entire career. He's having an amazing season and you hope he continues to be this player, but at 30 it might never get better than this. Hayward is a legitimate all-star, and is 27 meaning he's right in the middle of his prime. He has been a guy that can score for just about his entire career. He's also someone that can stretch the floor with a 37% 3 point shooting percentage for his career (almost 40% this year). He is a guy that combined with Dragic and Whiteside (and maybe Waiters) could potentially take this team to the next level. I think he's an excellent fit alongside those guys. He's probably the biggest reason why the Jazz are a 4 seed in the West. The alternative (unless you trade for a big name) is to stick with essentially the same team you have right now, plus a middle of the round draft pick. That's just not going to move the needle unless Winslow comes back and is a star.
We have to win 3 of the next 4.. and its not going to be easy.. toughest schedule and we have been subpar at the end of the season
Hayward and Gobert are similarly important, I'd probably give Gobert the slight edge being a 24 year old C who is getting better offensively and is a legit DPOY candidate this year. Hayward is a better player than James Johnson though as he is a knockdown shooter, can get to the hoop, and ok on D. Johnson is really a perfect 2/3 tweeter off the bench as he injects a little of everything but I'm not sure the consistency on offense will ever be there.
From what I can tell he's a solid defender. That's not why you're signing him, though. You're signing a scorer. He'll hold his own on D, and I'm sure Spo would make him an even better defender. Johnson is a nice role player. Hayward is a potential game changer.
Meh, we fought hard but these grind out games are a specialty for Toronto. Theyre very comfortable playing this style. Lots of turnovers, a lot of credit to Toronto for forcing a lot of them but there were quite a few boneheaded turnovers that if we just played smarter we would be in the winning circle..
Getting rid of our 2 best players isn't going to get us closer. I can't think of a better C and PG we could get next year.
With them, not because of them. The first year was a bit of a transition year anyway. And we didn't miss the playoffs yet this year. Who would you replace them with? Who is taking on their contracts?
James Johnson should be back. If we've kept Haslem around this long to play bench coach, he deserves a 2-3 year contract.
Go watch Hassan's Post game interview. "When a 3 time NBA champion, not 1,not 2, 3 time champion coach tells you you're the NBA defensive player of the year, I listen."
I caught that as well. Guess I shouldn't have quoted him, but wanted to convey what he meant. Either way, great ****ing quote.
I'd have to imagine it's a brutal sprain and his ankle is still swollen. I'd rather him rest until 100%.. that kinda sprain lends itself to overcompensation on the other leg.
We need the hawks to punch cleveland in he mouth today.. they dont have to win, but they need to make cleveland work their *** off.. if cleveland is resting players in the 4th we are in trouble tomorrow
Kyrie Irvings repaired knee has been bothering him.. hope the hawks can make him work. Lol mcroberts can stay out for season..
i asked the Hawks to give the cleveland a game, make them work.. 44-18 at the fourth quarter, outscored them in the 4th by 26 points and took their asses to overtime.. 48 minutes for Lebron 46 minutes for a hobbling Kyrie 43 minutes for Kevin Love And one giant L for the cavs and going to Miami for a game tomorrow night. If we blow this giant opportunity it just wasnt meant to be
Epic collapse by Cleveland. Good luck with a pissed off LeBron coming up. By the way, the MVP had a chance to climb to the 4th seed, but instead is on the verge of back to back blowout losses to the Suns and Nuggets. Welp, as long as he gets his triple double though...MVP-MVP-MVP
Let's see if they even play him. He has a habit of sitting against Miami, and it's a back-to-back. I also don't know that they care much about securing home court. And instead of back to back blowout losses, Westbrook hits a buzzer beater to win while setting a triple double record. That's probably it for the MVP race.
