Doubt any player is thinking twice about coming to Boston for that reason. So if an organization is using a player to the best of his ability to make the player's value go up in free agency they are scum? Ummm, that's the reason players want to come play for D'Antoni on a short term basis. IT was a sixth man until Boston inflated his value and if IT didn't break down he would have gotten a contract much higher than he would have without Boston. You act as if IT is some sort of mule that they just worked on the farm too hard lol, this is the NBA and IT is a grown ass man that can make decisions on his own. With that type of logic the Rockets are the worst org on the planet, exploiting Yao Ming for marketing reasons, forcing him to get numerous surgeries, guilting him into coming back because they believed in him as the #1 overall pick, and continue to profit from his pain today, hell Yao can't even walk right and the Rockets are all about China still.
Agreed, nothing is guaranteed since players change their minds (i.e. Paul George), but just saying the comparison made between Cleveland and Boston announcement is nowhere near the same.
If Devin Booker was James Harden and Scary Terry was CP3, it could work. Problem is the ceiling for Booker/Terry is closer to Wall/Beal than Harden/CP3. At least ONE of the guys has to be an actual superstar franchise player. Booker has the salary but not the game and Terry is a good player who will never be a great player. Suns need a dynamic 3/4 or 4/5 swing player to complement Booker (and Ayton) to have any future championship chances.
Did we trade Yao when he got hurt? No, we didn't. So you can throw that comparison out of the window. It's one thing to drive up the value of a player, who then makes money in free agency. It's beneficial to both teams. It's another thing when you make said player believe he's the cornerstone of the franchise, build strategy around him that you know you will change soon because it doesn't bring you a ring, and then trade him to a place he didn't want to go. Imagine D'Antoni making Harden a PG only to drive up his stats and at end of season, trading him to Cleveland for LeBron. Yes, we got the better player in the deal. But good free agents would think twice before committing to Houston after a stunt like this.
Of course they are thinking twice they won't turn down money but they will treat the org like it's a business which wasn't really the case with Boston during the Big 3 era. You can see it when Irving refused to play last year when he got injured and his comments about resigning with Boston if they want him. The mystique or culture about Boston is gone nobody talks about it anymore because they understand Ainge is a stone cold assassin who will stick a knife behind your back if it benefits him. Sure IT is a grown ass man who makes his own decisions but Boston gave him the impression he wasn't gonna be traded thats why he played through pain when he could have started his rehab as soon as the playoffs started. Yao comparison is so dumb, did the Rox trade away Yao Ming for Blake Griffin or Dwight Howard when he got injured? No? Then stfu. Also Rox PAID Yao Ming for his services, he can't walk right but at least he has hundreds of millions of dollars to hire people to ****ing carry him around. I would totally have leg problems for the rest of my life it means I can roll around in money all day worst case I pay the best doctors in the world for a new leg and spine w/e. What about IT? Did Boston pay him the max after they used him to make noise in the regular seasom and playoffs? No,he got nothing from that team in fact his stock even plummeted and he is on a garbage deal now. This is also the reason why Morey signed Cp3 to the max even if he isn't gonna be worth it in 4 years. Sometimes relationships and reputation are worth more than the stated contract on paper.
Lol comparing a player like IT to Harden is absurd, comparison doesn't really make sense. Morey would do the same thing in a heartbeat if he had the opportunity with a player like IT to get a player like Kyrie (an actual significant upgrade), not with a player like Harden. It is IT's fault for not actually being a cornerstone, I don't think anyone who understands basketball would think IT was going to really get a massive deal from a smart team. You don't like the Yao comparison, then an even better comparison would be the reality of Patrick Beverly. He laid his body on the line every game, played his heart out, had some injuries, was considered the heart and soul of this team, was going to get a contract that they didn't think would be worth it, trade him away for a true Superstar in Chris Paul, then Bev's play catches up, blows out his knee again before he even gets started, and will likely be signing a much smaller deal. So yeah, this is not uncommon. The only difference is that IT's story was highly publicized because the media wanted to talk about his tragedy and they brought it up a ton.
I'm not comparing players, but situations. Situation is: changing an offensive system just to drive up the value of your MAIN player (which Beverly was not) and making him think he is the cornerstone of franchise's vision, only to trade him at first opportunity for a slight upgrade. Harden -> LeBron = slight upgrade IT -> Irving = decent upgrade (Irving doesn't make his teammates better, so it's not a huge upgrade) Wolverine -> CP3 HUGE upgrade (also D'Antoni didn't go out of his way to showcase Bev) I think I'm done arguing on internet with strangers whose reading comprehension is at least a bit suspect.
Trading players is not uncommon but the difference is in the way the trade happened. Morey made no promises to Beverly he would still be on the team in fact according to Beverly he asked for a trade himself. So how is Beverly situation where himself asked to be traded the same as what happened to IT? You gotta be kidding me!? Beverly asked for the trade himself but the only difference between him and IT is IT's story got publicized LOL WTF! The difference between Morey and Ainge is Morey is transparent, he makes no promises and everybody knows they can be traded if they aren't a superstar. Here is Isiah Thomas' reaction to getting traded tell me again how this is the same as Beverly asking for a trade and getting traded: https://www.google.com.ph/amp/s/www...ing-traded-boston-celtics-cleveland-cavaliers None of us were there and know the inside scoop but using logic IT wouldn't be so upset that he got traded unless Ainge gave him the impression he wouldn't be. To further put this in perspective Rockets didn't have to pay Cp3 max for 4 years, they could have asked him to check the market and then matched his best offer which I highly doubt would be 4 years 40M per. But most likely there was an implicit agreement between him and Morey when he ok'd a trade last year thats why Morey kept his word.
Bill Simmons will Bill Simmons OR Phoenix can just give Rozier a huge offer sheet next summer, forcing Boston to match it.
I think he can be a star, he's still real young, skilled and athletic. Some team is going to give him the reigns of their offense
I'm still not sure about him as a quality starter for the spot, at least in a good team, but i can be very well wrong. Regardless, i have a feeling he's not going to get paid much, probably between the full MLE and what Smart got last summer at best, which would be good for Ainge if he plans to keep him in case Irving bolts. I just wonder if he would sign the qo regardless of the Irving situation at this point, especially if Ainge tries to lowball him.
I'm not sure he's a everyday starting pg either but I do think he's a pretty good player. One that can be a a pretty valuable piece on a winning team. Especially being only 25, I think he's a quality addition for someone still hungry to find a true home in this league
