smackeddog wrote:Remember we have kanter at $18mil too. think we'll end up flipping either his $18mil or Mathews to the Bulls for Parker, to save the bulls $2mil when buying out the contract (Parker is $20mil)
Certainly possible.
GoNyGoNyGo wrote:technomaster wrote:I think Matthews and Jordan are serviceable players - particularly if they can get traded to playoff caliber teams. Any decline seen in those players could be seen as drop off from being part of losing situations.With that, I think the best trade opportunity would be another team's 2015-2018 first round bust still on a rookie deal.
Think along the lines of: Marquese Chriss, Thon Maker, Dragan Bender, Stanley Johnson, Frank the Tank, Tyus Jones.
Correct - this makes sense....cheap PF types.
I agree. Right now the hype about two mega contracts is the sizzle the MSM and fan-accountants like to have wet dreams about. No one can argue that its impossible - yet its highly improbable.
Paul Pierce, speaking about Kyrie during the post-game last night, made the observation that Kyrie was *TROLLING* Knicks fans last night and there's a preponderance of evidence that this is true - Kyrie ain't leaving a well-coached, well-oiled winning franchise to join the Wannabes. Never say never but Pierce makes sense.
In fact, the NBA has stacked the odds in the favor of the home team in terms of maintaining existing talent - TO A TIPPING POINT.
Golden State, maybe Boston, and maybe a few other teams may shed some talent simply because they cannot afford it or because the make-up of the team is festering resentment from players being keep back.
So Durant signing with the Knicks is less unlikely than all the rest of the speculation.
IMO, Butler has done nothing since leaving Chicago to indicate he's a sure-bet mega-contract.
and so it goes.
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Assume we get Durant. Then that second bucket of available cash is more likely to go to less-than-superstars who are still rising in value.
Maybe we resign Vonleh.
Maybe we offer a poison pill contract to a promising RFA who isn't on the radar.
My assumption is that this FO isn't recklessly planning to dole out massive contracts whimsically. Good for us.
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Don't be surprised if Kanter is retained until the end of the season. He's the tank commander and he provides the franchise a plausible deniabilty from being accused of tanking that money can't buy. He's a fanbase sympathy whore that enough fan's genuflect to that he's popular.
For actual fans of the game he's the you-can't-make-this-up bad. Good for the tank, keeps the critics at bay, and distracts the MSM from the reality of watching Washington Generals futility.
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Vonleh is the canary in the trade deadline coal mine. Many teams need him for a playoff push due to injuries or weak bench depth. IMO, he's a keeper. His fate will tell us a lot about next year's strategy.
Most likely, he and Mudiay get bundled with either Kanter, Thomas, or Hezonja for picks or inexpensive, heretofore disappointments needing a second chance.
