Some Bonke intel…

Here's $2.1...take it or leave it.

Probably irrelevant but would much rather pay Thiam $5M

If Bonke/Agent asking for $3M, I say go for Thiam or Diop and pay the price.

dkoning1 said:

Probably irrelevant but would much rather pay Thiam $5M

I don’t think they’re paying anybody 5.

Give him $100.00 cash and an IOU for the balance.

Rodmsu1968 said:

Take it FWIW visit went well (when do they not go well, though?). More importantly, both sides had positive feelings about it working. However…the money? Remains to be seen. I’ve heard from two different people the ask is $3mil or thereabouts. Will MSU go that high? Might depend on how they see him. Is he a 25 mpg starter? Is he just a rotation guy ? I’d guess that factors into what they’d be willing to pay.

I think we can go a bit lower than the comp…because of JFJ. His agent should know as much…since he’s the one who’s pimping him to the NBA. If this guy Bonke, has any dreams at all of playing in the NBA…he’s gotta know playing with probably the best PG in the nation (read PnR lobs, etc) is gonna be one of the main reasons he gets there, IMO.

Rodmsu1968 said:

Take it FWIW visit went well (when do they not go well, though?). More importantly, both sides had positive feelings about it working. However…the money? Remains to be seen. I’ve heard from two different people the ask is $3mil or thereabouts. Will MSU go that high? Might depend on how they see him. Is he a 25 mpg starter? Is he just a rotation guy ? I’d guess that factors into what they’d be willing to pay.

They aren’t going to pay $5M to anyone barring something crazy so this is irrelevant but I think it would be easier to sell adding a good player for a premium price than it would be to add this kid and pay him that much. JMO. We talk about the locker room and I suspect Izzo has concerns about paying this kid that much unless they view him as a sure fire starter. That said, seems centers are going for 3-3.5M in the portal so maybe that’s just the market…

KLucas1 said:

They aren’t going to pay $5M to anyone barring something crazy so this is irrelevant but I think it would be easier to sell adding a good player for a premium price than it would be to add this kid and pay him that much. JMO. We talk about the locker room and I suspect Izzo has concerns about paying this kid that much unless they view him as a sure fire starter. That said, seems centers are going for 3-3.5M in the portal so maybe that’s just the market…

Definitely doesn’t strike me as impossible that he’ll be worth that much to somebody. Is that somebody going to be MSU? I really do think it depends in part as to exactly how they see him, and you’re saying the same thing I was here. If they truly think he’s a starter in the “real” meaning of that term (so a guy who plays 25 minutes or so per game), I think there’s a chance they could go that high. I just don’t know if they see him as that or as a guy who plays a bit less than that and just really completes a rotation in their mind rather than tops it firmly. They brought him in, so they liked him to some degree. As I understand it, the visit went well…they liked his personality and he liked the players and coaches. So all that stuff aligns. Now for the money…

Rodmsu1968 said:

Take it FWIW visit went well (when do they not go well, though?). More importantly, both sides had positive feelings about it working in terms of personality, fit, etc. However…the money? Remains to be seen. I’ve heard from two different people the ask is $3mil or thereabouts. Will MSU go that high? Might depend on how they see him. Is he a 25 mpg starter? Is he just a rotation guy ? I’d guess that factors into what they’d be willing to pay.

Sorry if this is common knowledge, but... what is the team's current salary structure by player (directionally correct)??

C. Bryan said:

Sorry if this is common knowledge, but... what is the team's current salary structure by player (directionally correct)??

Nobody knows definitively but the assumption is that Fears will be making a lot…I’d assume more than 3 million. Carr would slot in after him in multiple millions. After that, I would suspect there are a few guys (including two of the incoming freshmen) who are around the million mark. That’s a rough guess

JMO I think MSU is content with letting this play out. I still think Bonke is an option but I get the sense MSU wants more time to look. Maybe there is a Cooper element to this...who knows.

SpartanSpirit said:

I think we can go a bit lower than the comp…because of JFJ. His agent should know as much…since he’s the one who’s pimping him to the NBA. If this guy Bonke, has any dreams at all of playing in the NBA…he’s gotta know playing with probably the best PG in the nation (read PnR lobs, etc) is gonna be one of the main reasons he gets there, IMO.

The other way of thinking about it is that you’d better max out what you can get at this level, because nothing beyond it is guaranteed for a guy like him. So it all depends on the mindset and how those involved think.

Rodmsu1968 said:

Nobody knows definitively but the assumption is that Fears will be making a lot…I’d assume more than 3 million. Carr would slot in after him in multiple millions. After that, I would suspect there are a few guys (including two of the incoming freshmen) who are around the million mark. That’s a rough guess

Really hard to justify paying a guy what at/above what Coen is getting when he isn’t even a surefire starter.

Rodmsu1968 said:

The other way of thinking about it is that you’d better max out what you can get at this level, because nothing beyond it is guaranteed for a guy like him. So it all depends on the mindset and how those involved think.

Seems like Cooper being able to return, ... or bust. That's the one option CTI would seem to be ok paying, and the roster would accept as well. Paying outside money doesn't guarantee winning a title, but not paying guarantees you won't. Conundrum...

Rodmsu1968 said:

Definitely doesn’t strike me as impossible that he’ll be worth that much to somebody. Is that somebody going to be MSU? I really do think it depends in part as to exactly how they see him, and you’re saying the same thing I was here. If they truly think he’s a starter in the “real” meaning of that term (so a guy who plays 25 minutes or so per game), I think there’s a chance they could go that high. I just don’t know if they see him as that or as a guy who plays a bit less than that and just really completes a rotation in their mind rather than tops it firmly. They brought him in, so they liked him to some degree. As I understand it, the visit went well…they liked his personality and he liked the players and coaches. So all that stuff aligns. Now for the money…

Right. If you see him as a guaranteed starter and big minute guy, it might make sense. If they don’t see a big gap between him and Jesse, does it make? IMO, no. Again, it goes back to the locker room stuff and I honestly don’t think paying this kid much more than Jesse, Cam, etc would be worth it unless they truly think there is a big gap which would surprise me. I think it would be easier to sell a Thiam type (I don’t expect him to happen just speculating) making a lot of money than it would be to sell a kid like this making that much. I think there’s things to like about Bonke but reasons to be concerned as well IMO.

LakeshoreSpartan said:

Really hard to justify paying a guy what at/above what Coen is getting when he isn’t even a surefire starter.

You can't compare a 3 to a 5.

I mean, not getting anyone seems like a mistake..pay that man 3 mil, he’ll only be here a yeae

Rodmsu1968 said:

The other way of thinking about it is that you’d better max out what you can get at this level, because nothing beyond it is guaranteed for a guy like him. So it all depends on the mindset and how those involved think.

I agree it is about the ‘mindset’. I’ve gotta feeling (could be waaay off base)…that if MSU is gonna offer (real roughly here), say, $2.2 mil, and another team offers $3 mil…while $800k is a huge chunk ‘a change, could playing a year with not only JFJ, but with a team that is good enough to play for championships, be the vehicle for Bonke to make up that difference - and possibly more - by hitching his wagon to Izzo, Fears, and what MSU has going on in ‘26-‘27?

You figure Izzo would talk to his main guys and ask them their input and how much would they want him? It’s an easy approach and one I think CTI would employ.

SpartanSpirit said:

I agree it is about the ‘mindset’. I’ve gotta feeling (could be waaay off base)…that if MSU is gonna offer (real roughly here), say, $2.2 mil, and another team offers $3 mil…while $800k is a huge chunk ‘a change, could playing a year with not only JFJ, but with a team that is good enough to play for championships, be the vehicle for Bonke to make up that difference - and possibly more - by hitching his wagon to Izzo, Fears, and what MSU has going on in ‘26-‘27?

If Kansas, Gonzaga or Arkansas is the one that offers $3 million there really is no difference with those 4 teams from an nba development standpoint so I'm going elsewhere.

SpartanSpirit said:

I agree it is about the ‘mindset’. I’ve gotta feeling (could be waaay off base)…that if MSU is gonna offer (real roughly here), say, $2.2 mil, and another team offers $3 mil…while $800k is a huge chunk ‘a change, could playing a year with not only JFJ, but with a team that is good enough to play for championships, be the vehicle for Bonke to make up that difference - and possibly more - by hitching his wagon to Izzo, Fears, and what MSU has going on in ‘26-‘27?

You have to know how much does this kid really value winning a championship or competing for one? He played at Charlotte‘s so obviously it wasn’t that important previously. But having the opportunity to play for a coach of this caliber on a team with this kind of make up, could be a deciding factor for him?

SpartanSpirit said:

I agree it is about the ‘mindset’. I’ve gotta feeling (could be waaay off base)…that if MSU is gonna offer (real roughly here), say, $2.2 mil, and another team offers $3 mil…while $800k is a huge chunk ‘a change, could playing a year with not only JFJ, but with a team that is good enough to play for championships, be the vehicle for Bonke to make up that difference - and possibly more - by hitching his wagon to Izzo, Fears, and what MSU has going on in ‘26-‘27?

It’s possible. Doesn’t mean it’s likely, though. All depends on the mindset of those involved.

Ryan2000 said:

You can't compare a 3 to a 5.

You can’t if all else is equal. If they don’t see him as a clear cut starter but rather a guy who will be a factor in the rotation but not a 25mpg guy, then it gets to be much more of a factor, IMO.

Ryan2000 said:

If Kansas, Gonzaga or Arkansas is the one that offers $3 million there really is no difference with those 4 teams from an nba development standpoint so I'm going elsewhere.

While that’s true, I don’t think we know yet what the interest level is from those programs. KU clearly didn’t make a Godfather offer because he’s still taking visits. To my knowledge, the other two haven’t even scheduled visits yet. My guess is that if he does get what he’s after, it doesn’t come from any of those schools. We’ll see, though.