SB Nation User Blog: limozeen

Question for GS fans

limozeen — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 09:45:54 -0000

The Warriors obviously have a massive stockpile of very talented players who primarily play the tweener-guard and wing positions, and it's no secret that they've been looking for an offensive presence at the four to play off of this strength.

If the Warriors aren't able to get Stoudemire, does it make sense to try to clear cap space for the 2010 frenzy by dealing Maggette? The sideplot to the Wade/Bron storyline is the massive crop of talented power forwards who will be available in 2010: Chris Bosh and Carlos Boozer are the headliners, but there's a decent chance that Dirk, David Lee, Lamarcus Aldridge, and/or Amare will be unrestricted free agents as well. With Don Nelson's run-and-gun style, the fan enthusiasm, the promising nucleus of young players in Golden State, and the team's explicit desire for a premiere PF, it seems likely that one of those guys would sign with the Warriors if they had the cap space.

Any team taking Maggette would have to have a pretty big need at small forward, as well as have the future cap flexibility and the current expiring deals to pull off a deal. It seems to go without saying that in the current financial state of the NBA, the team getting Maggette would expect to get other useful players in return as well. A team who might see Maggette as a decent fit is the Timberwolves, who have a Corey Brewer-sized hole at the three and $14.1MM in expirings in Brian Cardinal and Etan Thomas. Maggette provides a lot of the things that the Wolves lack, most importantly triple-threat ability and foul-drawing.

The Wolves also match up well with Golden State because they have a big need for shooters at the two and defense in the middle. Two players not central to the Warriors' title contention plans would benefit the Wolves a lot: Marco Belinelli and Ronny Turiaf. Maggette, Belinelli, and Turiaf add up to nearly the exact same cost as Cardinal and Thomas's expiring deals.

The potential for Curry, Ellis, Jackson, Amare (or any legit power forward), and Biedrins with Azubuike, Randolph, Morrow, and Wright getting significant minutes has to be scary for the rest of the league. All of those players save the FA PF are under contract for 2010 for a combined $41.1MM, so basically the Warriors would have the room to offer a max deal to someone unless the cap goes down by more than about $4MM next year. Even if the Warriors needed to wiggle and deal Wright or Azubuike in order to get a few extra million, those players would be desired and would command value.

So as a follower of the league, my question is, would you give up Belinelli and Turiaf to get rid of Maggette's deal and have cap space in 2010? Would the Wolves have to give up more (draft picks, players potentially useful to G.S. like Oleksiy Pecherov or Craig Smith, etc)? If you wouldn't do it now because of other possible moves, would you do it at the deadline if no better deal emerges?

Trade proposal

limozeen — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 00:56:21 -0000

Oleksiy Pecherov and Wolves' second-round 2010 pick to the Warriors for Marco Belinelli.

Biedrins is the Warriors' only seven-footer, and Pecherov would be the kind of highly-skilled big that Don Nelson likes to play. Pecherov has a cost-effective team option for 2010-11. The Warriors have a slew of players capable of being swing forwards, but they could use a tall guy with upside to take some backup minutes. More importantly, they just added Steph Curry to an already-crowded guard/wing equation.

The Wolves have a lot of power forwards and very few wing players. They could use a young floor-spacer with the ability to put the ball on the floor and finish at the rim, which are all things that Belinelli has the capability to do. Belinelli played like a poor man's Rudy Fernandez last year and is actually a year younger than Rudy. They are very similar players in their abilities and numbers.

Both players actually have the exact same contract in terms of salary and numbers.

If the Wolves really wanted to get creative, here's another something that might work. Since the Warriors are so intent on getting a marquee power forward, this frees up cap space in 2010 for them to go after Bosh, Boozer, Lee, or Stoudemire.

To the Wolves: Ronny Turiaf, Corey Maggette, Marco Belinelli ($14.63MM in 2009 salaries)

To the Warriors: Brian Cardinal, Etan Thomas, Oleksiy Pecherov ($15.64MM in 2009 salaries)

The Wolves would get a floor-spacer and a pretty efficient second scorer in Maggette and a legitimate post defender as the third man for the PF/C rotation in Turiaf. They would also have fairly significant cap room in 2010; payroll would stand at about $47.7MM (assuming Rubio signs this year, and the team options for Brewer and Gomes are not exercised).

The cap for next year will probably be somewhere between $52MM and the current cap of $57.7MM. Max salary offers will start around $13.5MM, if I'm understanding the cap correctly. The Wolves could still be in position to offer a max salary if the cap is on the mid- to high end of that, and they can rent someone's cap space or trade exception (like Philly did with us when we got Carney and Booth) on Songaila and Telfair (assuming both exercise their player options, they're owed a combined $7.5MM expiring). They could also easily do a lopsided salary trade, using their cap space and Songaila and Telfair's expiring deals.

Most importantly, the Wolves would be respectable enough next year to a) ensure that the Clippers get a non-top-ten draft pick in 2010 instead of an unprotected pick in 2012, and b) show 2010 free agents that the team is moving in the right direction. Jefferson, Love, Rubio, Maggette, Flynn, Turiaf, Belinelli, Ellington, and a 2010 free agent is an excellent starting point.

The Warriors would get a chance to sign a premiere 2010 free agent without trading away any of their important young players. They'd have Ellis, Biedrins, Jackson, Azubuike, Curry, Wright, Randolph, and Morrow under contract for $41MM, with anywhere between $11MM and $18MM to play with. They'd also have more minutes for their younger guys, and would have a clear path to contention. Instead of being mired in pretty-good territory with Maggette and Turiaf handcuffing their financial flexibility, they would have a core worthy of playoff contention along with the cap space to lure or trade for the missing piece to a championship.

Openings for dedicated GMs in a great, GM-friendly sim league

limozeen — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 01:49:38 -0000

Hey everyone,

I am the GM of the Padres in the Fair Off the Foul Pole DMB sim league. We are 1.5 years old, have 22 dedicated GMs and a very active commissioner, and eight current openings, including a team that went to the World Series in the league last year. These open teams are mostly the result of recent departures due to other commitments; the rosters are well-constructed and worth managing. We are seeking eight dedicated and smart GMs to pick up where the last GMs left off.

More importantly, everyone in the league is very active and responds to trade offers. The league is also very friendly to GMs who like to control their rosters. We have a 25-man roster and 25 other keeper slots. Trading of draft picks is allowed, and we have a salary cap structure (using real MLB salaries) to ensure that rosters do not stagnate. I've never seen this as an issue; nearly every GM is at least willing to seriously discuss trades, and several fair deals for megastars have gone down.

Please contact me at danclovic@gmail.com if you would like more information about the league.

The teams that are open are the: Rangers, Yankees, Orioles, Giants, Diamondbacks, Astros, Pirates, and Phillies. The rosters were based on a fantasy draft, so please contact me if you'd like to know what they are. We are open to allowing people to select a roster first, then decide what team they want that roster to correspond to (i.e., you can pick the Giants' roster and decide that you'd rather your team be the Yankees).

Thanks, and again, please email me at danclovic@gmail.com if you're interested.

Oh hey, Shane Lindsay is back

limozeen — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 08:47:59 -0000

I was perusing some minor league stats when I noticed that Shane Lindsay is back from labrum surgery. He had a bit of a rough go of A-ball, but upon his first career promotion to A+, he racked up 56 K in 47 IP and a 3.99 ERA. That's not too bad for a first try in the Cal League.

Is his velocity creeping back to where it used to be? Is he expected to move fast now that he's back?

Guillermo Moscoso, Tigers system

limozeen — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 20:50:22 -0000

This guy seems to be flying way under the radar. Stats this year. Does anyone have info on what he throws? Either way, he's coming off of TJ surgery and has made the AA transition with little effect on his K/9, BB/9 or H/9. He's 24, so he's a bit old, but I think his stats compare favorably to Erik Bedard's, who also was coming back from TJ around age 24.

If he really has the talent to K/9 13 and BB/9 2.5 in AA, he's a great prospect who deserves more hype.

Euclides Viloria?

limozeen — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 22:33:55 -0000

Euclides Viloria was a pretty interesting prospect about a year ago; a 17-year-old who struck out over 1.5 per inning in the AZL. He was a pretty well-regarded international signing with the Padres, and reports are that he's got an impressive changeup and good velocity.

But he hasn't pitched at all this year, and I can't find any updated info on him on Google News or anywhere else. Does anyone know what's up with Euclides?

David Bromberg

limozeen — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 08:09:23 -0000

Anyone know anything about this guy's stuff? I've heard he has a nice breaking ball and one of the really good fastballs in the minors. His K rate seems to support the idea that he has good stuff, and his BB rate isn't too bad, but the ERA is pretty nasty at this point.

I've never seen him pitch, so it would be interesting to hear what he throws and how he throws it from someone in the know. And maybe some insight as to his ceiling or why he's struggling so much right now.

Brandon Hicks

limozeen — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 04:31:06 -0000

Straight out of college, the Braves promoted him to the Sally League and he put up more walks than strikeouts with a .925 OPS. This year he's hitting for power at Myrtle Beach, one of the nastiest parks to hit in in the minors. The strikeouts seem to be a concern now, and they weren't before, but he's still walking a lot and crushing the ball when he does hit it.

Where do others see Hicks ending up defensively? He's a moderately sized guy for a shortstop, and I haven't heard much about his defense.

Not a bad third-round pick, that's for sure.

Kevin Mulvey and Alex Burnett

limozeen — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 10:26:03 -0000

I know that one's a 22 year old college pitcher who went straight to AA the the other is a little-known A-ball pitcher from high school, but I was really struck by the similarities in numbers and scouting reports of Mulvey and Burnett.

Both are GB-inducing righties with mid 90s fastballs and decent-not-great K rates. Both have great control and feature a curve and a change in addition to the FB. Both are shorter righties as well.

Anyway, just wondering if anyone else sees this comparison.

Justin Upton through 131 plate appearances

limozeen — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 20:11:40 -0000

48 flyballs (17 infield flies)
33 ground balls
33 strikeouts
14 line drives
11 walks
0 hit by pitch

Upton is showing the classic signs of a good hitter struggling on his first exposure to big league pitching. His strikeout rate is pretty bad, but what's really hurting his average are 17 infield flies. That's not typical of his minor league record, and probably indicates that he's getting fooled by major league stuff.

That being said, I love the 15 more flyballs than groundballs and I like the not-sickly LD% and BB%. There's plenty of room for improvement in these numbers, and nothing sticks out as particularly alarming.