WaltLongmire wrote:With the right partner... Could trading Lee and our #36 pick give us something in the mid 20's ?Would any of these teams see Lee, with 2 yrs left on a cap friendly contract for a quality 2 way player, as someone who could help them?
To get a late first rounder, a non Knicks team would be looking to shed any guaranteed salary possible. So taking in Lee doesn't fit that kind of strategy.
To get a late first, it would be two 2nd rounders ( including the 36th) or Dotson and the 36th. There comes a point late in the first round where a very late first rounder and an early 2nd rounder, there is very little separating those players in terms of talent and upside. I know someone will point out a Rondo or a Kuzma, but these are exceptions to the general rule.
No team will get a late first just for a single 2nd rounder, even an early one. Not in the current marketplace. If Lee was a quality two way player on a cap friendly deal, he would have been traded already.
Now what might start to change things is the last CBA raised the rookie slotting by about 45 percent, but spread out over the life of the current CBA agreement. Cost control is going to going up. A team in the late teens might rethink things if they are cap locked, but moreso to do so a couple of seasons from now.
With more teams going cap locked and into the tax zone, plus with fewer team with much cap space implied compared to previous years, the desire for cost controlled rookie labor will go up. The value of those late first rounders will go up some. Yes, the rookie scale is changing, but even an increase in cost control is still a pittance compared to 2nd/3rd contract market correction for player value. (I.E. Trey Burke shifted back to his actual market when his rookie contract ended, he was a minimum salary player. Durant could demand the max on his third contract. 2nd rounders run against market correction for their value must faster. They trade off guaranteed money for earlier freedom, depending on how they produce. (Think Chandler Parsons)
No one will want Lee for a "positive" asset. The opportunity cost of the cap space implied is too prohibitive.