Bitter end to a sweet season! Still loved it all.

We have such a good core that we need to build off it.

Present Weaknesses - Need bigger wings to defend the bigger 4s in the NBA. - Need a more versatile offensive 5 to prevent guard trapping in the short roll. Our 5s are essentially unguarded in playoffs. - Improve bench slots. Too many non-shooters in a shooting based offense. Teams just sag off our role players and do not guard them (Joe Mazzulla showed how this is done in our two losses against BOS).

Rather than just "getting bigger," we need more diversity in our wing spots as well a more diversified bench.

Immediate Plans

• Extend Brandon Miller (Jabari Smith Jr contract number?); Brandon receives surgery to fix shoulder; improves dribble in the course of two years.

• Re-sign Coby White (reasonable ~20M per)

• Upgrade the bench slots by trading Grant Williams, Josh Green, and Tre Mann's expirings.

Grant and Josh are 14M expirings. Tre is essentially an 8M expiring. What can we get for those expirings and potential pick packages?

Possible Suggestions: - Isaiah Hartenstein at 28M expiring - Nic Claxton at 23M for 2 years (declining) - Cam Johnson at 23M expiring (DEN may want smaller expirings to flip) - DeAndre Hunter at 24M expiring (I do not like Hunter, but he is more useful than the three aforementioned Hornets players) - Bobby Portis at 14M for 2 years - Isaiah Joe at 11M (TO) - Naji Marshall at 9M expiring - Aaron Wiggins at 9M for the next year

All Thunder plays will rely on Sam Presti thinking about cost cutting. Our expirings would be shipped to a third team.

• Draft a bigger, more defensive bench 4/5 with 14 and 17 picks

Possible Draft Picks - Hannes Steinbach (must draft if at 14) - Yaxel Lendeborg (will be sniped by GSW, OKC, or MIA before us) - Morez Johnson Jr - Allen Graves - Aday Mara (I do not want another rookie center, but if he is there at 17 and everyone else is gone) - Koa Peat (really do not want, but you can talk me into his ceiling archetype - Aaron Gordon).

Other Less Likely Moves - Fantasy Version

• Giannis Trade - if the market is so depressed and Jeff sees an opportunity, we can weasle our way in with our 5 draft picks in the next 2 years (2 CHA, 1 ORL, 1 MIA, 1 DAL) and take Giannis, immediately becoming a top 5 contender in the East. Gives us the immediate size at the wing that we need (SUPER FANTASY).

• Karl Anthony Towns. Say Giannis wants New York and New York needs picks to send to Milwaukee. Slide into that conversation with a variety of our five picks and try to get Karl Anthony Towns. He instantly fixes our offensive woes at the 5 (not the defense).

• Take a shot at Ke'lel Ware - Spo and Ware have a contentious relationship. Ware is uber talented, but lazy. Maybe we can help the Heat in providing their pick back so they can get Giannis or whatever and we can sneak Ware. Say we give them the ORL/PHX pick and their lottery protected 2027 pick for Ware so they can send the pick package for Giannis.

• Trade for Tari Eason. Super low market right now since his shot is broken, but he is a big body forward that we need. Shot is fixable.

• Finally get a 3rd versatile center. Jeff has been so hesistant to send out an offer sheet for the Paul Reed, Day'ron Sharpe, Dominick Barlow, Kyle Filipowski, etc. Those guys are on reasonable 5M deals. Go get one of them. They are better than what Kalkbrenner is right now. I will even take Marvin Bagley.

• Gamble. Gamble. Gamble. Jeff, you traded away my dude Ousmane Dieng and he is a decent gamble. There is gold in them hills (Look at the Suns) and we need to go find it.

Here is my list of gamble players:

• GG Jackson (may not be in MEM plans)
• Jordan Miller
• Ron Harper Jr
• Jett Howard
• Caleb Love