Totally valid point of view. Personally, I think I'd rather develop Reed Sheppard and Cam and see where that gets us, instead of having Mitchell as our highest-paid player.
...we can't get around the fact that our ultimately responsibility right now is to make the players we drafted the best players possible to give us flexibility to either retain them or trade them for value that fits our roster needs. The problem with Mitchell @DaDakota (besides he doesn't contribute to winning basketball in the playoffs) is that acquiring him would have real negative impacts in terms of playing time and available shots to several players we drafted and frankly he's not good enough that it's worth the risk...and before you say it - no we shouldn't be trading any of our ex-lotto players for a one year expiring deal and the hope that he will accept a long term deal(certainly a max deal) later on. Your idea is fraught with risk for a guy who's age 21 season doesn't really look all that different from Jalen's age 21 season. Honestly, I'm not convinced in 6 years Jalen won't have similar stats to Mitchell now which begs the question of why would you want the older version of Mitchell when potentially the younger version of him is still on a rookie deal and our other players are still developing as well. But hey man - if you would rather prioritize the Rockets getting into the playoffs now and worry about them actually being built to contend at a later date, then let's just say that our priorities for the team are not in alignment. In my mind we didn't suffer through the Silas/KPJ years just for the honor of being a first round punching bag until we hit the reset button (again).
Donovan Mitchell(28) •Under contract for 2024-25 at $35.4M; $37M player option for 2025-26 •Games Played last 5 years (most recent season[2023-24] first): 55-68-67-53-69 Paul George(34) •$48M player option for 2024-25 or can become free agent this offseason; can also become free agent in 2025-26 •GP: 74-56-31-54-48 Trae Young(26) •Under contract for 2024-25 at $43M; under contract for 2025-26 at $45.9M; has early termination option for 2026-27($48.9M) •GP: 54-73-76-63-60 Brandon Ingram(27) •Under contract for 2024-25 at $36M; free agent in 2025 •GP: 64-45-55-61-62 *Age at start of next season https://sports.yahoo.com/lakers-coaching-search-could-be-a-lengthy-process-202122918.html Now with the No. 1 pick in hand, there remains a healthy expectation the Hawks will consider dealing Trae Young as well. There have been several potential destinations for Young swirling around the NBA rumor mill for months. San Antonio has no clear lead guard of the future, despite the strong table-setting of Tre Jones, and league personnel believe the Spurs will explore their options to find a long-term pick-and-roll partner for 7-foot-4 phenom Victor Wembanyama this summer. … However, according to multiple league figures with knowledge of the situation, any Spurs plans of maneuvering to bring Young to San Antonio have been vastly overstated. The Spurs, sources said, have expressed little interest in obtaining Young to date. Where Young will fall among the pecking order of available talent this offseason has been a predominant question league personnel are discussing throughout this combine week. The Lakers, for example, are one team that holds interest in Young after Los Angeles held trade discussions with Atlanta about Dejounte Murray back in February, sources said. The Lakers are now armed with three first-round picks to pursue a premier talent to team with James and Davis, but Los Angeles will have to consider other options before committing any type of capital for Young. Donovan Mitchell, for starters, would rate far above Young on the league’s open market if Mitchell’s extension conversations don’t lead to a guaranteed future for the All-Star guard in Cleveland. Any team and any front office, armed with draft capital and looking to improve, from Los Angeles to Brooklyn, or New Orleans and Philadelphia, or the always star-hunting Miami Heat, will be patient with any possible approach for Young, until there’s greater clarity on someone of Mitchell’s pedigree. The same goes for Paul George, the Clippers’ All-Star wing, who has yet to sign an extension with Los Angeles, and rival teams are still preparing for the chance that George will decline his 2024-25 player option in order to become an unrestricted free agent. An unofficial poll of executives in Chicago also suggests Pelicans wing Brandon Ingram will have a wider range of teams interested in acquiring the one-time All-Star, as compared to Young, should New Orleans truly explore a roster shake-up of that magnitude.
If Mitchell will sign an extension….#3/Jalen Green/2025 Nets pick (top 4 protected)/2027 Rockets FRP. Nets 2025 pick turns into their unprotected 2027 swap if it doesnt convey. Melton with MLE. Trade Brooks for a future first. Sengun/Adams/Jock Smith/Eason Amen/Cam Mitchell/Melton FVV/Amen
That's doing a lot and not ending with a lineup that is necessarily better than just using the pick to draft Sheppard then trading Green for whatever we can get.
Wouldn’t be mad at this if Mitchell signs an extension. As far as younger guards in the west it’s a bloodbath. Ja, Shai, Luka, Ant, Booker, Fox. The question becomes.. do you want the sure thing in Mitchell or do you want to gamble on Green’s potential? Green is a wild card.. he could definitely figure it out and end up like Ant or he could flop and just be Jordan Clarkson. He’s extremely streaky and I don’t trust him enough to not at least entertain a trade. Another factor to consider is that we’d still have Amen and Cam developing behind Mitchell during his assumed extension.
It's very tempting because next season Sengun could be the best scorer Mitchell has ever played with. You surround that with FVV/Brooks/Jabari and you have a potential top 6 team in the West. However I don't think that team is good enough to warrant cashing in our highest ceiling asset on the eve of him likely to break out into a star scorer himself.
I know DMitch is a ball hog and he doesn't play defense but it's wild to say he doesn't contribute to winning in the playoffs. He carried the Cavs past the Magic and CLE still lost in the games he didn't play. He's basically the modern day Iverson. I'd trade for him if he agrees on an extension and he doesn't cost a lot to get. We have pieces to support his style of play in Amen, Tari and Jabari.
Depends on the price tag. I’d do #3, 2026 BLK #1, Green and Cam. Rox keeps the BKL swap next year and 2027. Mitchell is 27 and in his prime. Top25ish player. I think you have to consider it even if it’s just to keep him away from the Nets so those picks stay valuable.
I do not have much faith in Stone when it comes to trades, so rather stay out of this sweepstakes, it feels like we would overpay. He just missed game 4 and 5 of the East semi finals and they were eliminated, not really leaving much to desire there.
Objectively I think there is close to zero chance Mitchell is willing to sign an extension here, even if you're in the camp that likes him (I'm not, I don't think he's quite good enough to get away with playing the way he does). He already has his ticket booked for one of the coasts that's not the Gulf Coast
Nets can beat that offer. Rox have to at-least come on top of their offer to make sure he doesn’t go there and screwup the draft capital they owe. If the Nets can get Mitchell with all those PHX picks and a few players other then Bridges the value of those draft picks takes a nosedive! I’d prefer to wait 1 more year to make that ”big trade” but those picks losing most of their value might expedite that timeline. We could do alot worse then Mitchell as our “big trade”.
For the "if he agrees to an extension" crowd, realize that Mitchell is eligible for a 5 year $269.9m extension, which he will get. Give up a ton for the right to pay Mitchell $54m a year? No thanks.
I’d do if he resigns. Green + 3 + filler. Lock up Alpi with max extension and we could have two superstars for years to come. With VanVleet orchestrating the offense with top level role players like Jabari, Amen, and Cam.