the Spurs had the same kind of return for Kawhi Leonard. a player who ruined his value by having a list of teams and refused to play games. That’s the only one I can think of
You just made my point for me. The player of value isn't coming within a half season. Stone is playing the long game and stacking up draft capital to eventually go after or draft our cornerstone. How is that getting fleeced? No GM can rebuild a roster in a little over a half season. It takes time
Imagine you offer someone a 2 year $40m extension, they turn it down, then you trade that player (and his rights) for like $2.7m in salary savings and a pick swap with the team that made the finals without Oladipo, Bjelica and possibly Aldridge. Oladipo is going to be good btw, just watch. They will get him in shape, make him play within the system and he won't be shooting nearly as much as he did with the rockets. The only thing that would explain this is if we have Oladipo permission to discuss an extension with the heat, Riley told Oladipo to go back and tell Stone that they can't agree an extension but will sign with them in the summer. At this point Stone panics and accepts whatever is on the table with no other good options. It's clear now that the rockets were leaking those fake offers. We acquired an all Star just because he was an all Star and that guy had decided to go to Miami before we jumped in. The Harden trade could have been so much better, I was expecting a lottery pick, a decent young player and expiring contracts for their all Star. Was at least hoping we could dump major salary. An organization will always suffer from the most senior incompetent person downwards. Ours is the owner and his son.
There is not a single person outside of this forum that does not think we got absolutely finessed in this deal. Look at any Miami post, or any NBA fan post, not one thinks we got decent return. We got absolutely robbed. Literally the entire NBA community is laughing at this team. It does not matter if there are some picks way down the road, the fact is that there should have been a lot more received in return.
I've been telling you that the majority of the GARM are hot take addicts. Now you believe me? See, 99ers are always right
So? It was a small return but Oladipo has been injured and the team as a whole has been collectively injured. He didn't really have many games to fully showcase himself. His value wasn't that high. It was a L we took, but not the huge L yall are making it out to be. The focus now should be to continue tanking and get that top 4 pick
too easy to just blame tilman cheapass only Blame morey for star chasing too much, not surrounding harden with enough shooters and playmakers, wasted drafts. Blame cp3 for coming in out of shape. Blame him for being a dick to harden. Blame dantoni for getting out coached when it mattered, not making adjustments. Blame harden for not getting along with cp3 and wanting westbrook instead. Unless there was a way to build a super team in Houston, Harden was going to leave eventually.
For those defending this deal, think of it this way: You, as a fan, have been given Jarrett Allen and Caris Levert. Allen is 22 and averaging a double-double in 20 minutes a game. Levert is 26 yo, signed for three seasons on a very team-friendly contracting averaging nearly 20 a game. Your task is to trade them for value. At the end of the trades you make, as a fan, you get back: a bottom-5 FRP, Kelly Olynyk, Avery Bradley, and a possible moving up on a FRP which, at best, will move you up a few spots from an existing pick but might end up being a late second depending on how things pan out. Meanwhile, Levert and Allen end up starting on the teams they're traded to. That, is not a valuable return. Even among fans, it would be a joke to ONLY get that back. And that's what this FO did with two incredibly attractive young players. I don't think I've ever been as down on this team and its front office than I am right now.
We got clowned when we were good, get clowned when we are bad. Who cares. As for the direction of the team and doubt for Stone, let’s give him more than this **** season. PJ trade, Westbrook trade are solid, RoCo trade was an absolute steal. Harden trade is TBD but the incumbent rarely wins that type of deal.
I am not happy with the return either but mainly bc I felt they should have held out to lavert. They are valuing dipo like a Allstar but we all know he was not that for us. He was also someone who is on an expiring contract who also said he wanted to be in Miami. The big mistake was getting dipo in the first place not what we got for him. As far as harden trade goes, it has to be played out with the draft picks. Big trade that comes to mind is the Pau gasol trade that everyone laughed at but ended up being good for both teams.
He could have gotten more draft capital by keeping Allen and Levert and he could have used Levert going forward. having Levert for another year is also having time to make better deals.
Just for grins... Career Per 36: Points: Levert: 18.2 Oladipo: 19.2 Rebounds: Levert: 4.1 Oladipo: 4.4 Assists: Levert: 5.1 Oladipo: 4.3 Steals: Levert: 1.5 Oladipo: 1.8 Blocks: Levert: 0.4 Oladipo: 0.5 2pt FG%: Levert: 48.1% Oladipo: 48.0% 3pt FG%: Levert: 34.0% Oladipo: 34.8% Turnovers: Levert: 2.6 Oladipo: 2.8 Looks pretty darn close to me. Sure, Levert is younger. Oladipo is a much better defender though and doesn't come with 52 million over 3 years tied to him... I can see pros/cons for each... I prefer Oladipo because he is a better defender and hasn't been on a bunch of terrible teams. It's a minor factor...
And that's the key. Levert is younger, has no injury history, and is (was) willing to get traded anywhere. He had a better contract and would not have been a "rental" in the trade market. He has more lateral mobility and quickness. He plays back to backs and doesnt turn the ball over nearly as much.
You're pretending Levert is 22 or something. He's already at an age where he's likely what he is. Levert is the 4-5th best player on a good team. I disagree on "better contract". Teams don't like to commit large contracts to average starters. The defense does separate him and Oladipo the same way as health and age do. I understand the argument; I just don't see the point in Levert on the Rockets or him having more trade value because of the long term commitment to a contender. Levert is an inferior player to Eric Gordon; he's just younger. If that's what we're going by then Kevin Porter is better for us then Levert because he's younger. Not saying you're crazy, just saying I'm not a Levert guy unless he's a role player on a contending team for me... not worth tying up cap space to me...
The bolded is simply not true. LeVert suffered a horrific leg injury in the 2018-2019 season that cost him 42 games (played in only 40 games). In the 2019-2020 season, he played in only 45 games (missed 7 weeks with ligament damage in his thumb that required surgery). This season, he missed two months after having surgery for kidney cancer.