I don’t think we have to trade all our picks at once. If a player that is a perfect fit and below 30 it is worth expending picks that may not be as valuable a year from now. I personally think Phoenix is going to be competitive for the play-in at minimum next year. If they are the 27 pick becomes way less valuable. I think Boston might consider a Derrick White right now if we included the 27 Phoenix Pick and the Nets 27 Pick, plus Reed and filler. Amen, White, KD, Jabari, Sengun with a bench of FVV, Cam, Tari, Adams and an MLE signing would make us a contender for as long as KD stays healthy. After 2 years hopefully Tari could move into the small forward spot and we could keep rocking. Better if we could get them to take a resigned FVV instead of Reed which they might do just to get rid of his salary in two years. Boston has little chance of winning a title next year with Tatum out the whole year, Holiday gone Brown coming off a significant knee injury and unloading Porzingis. It would put them in a soft re-build with the possibility of 2 great picks in 27 and at least a better cap situation.
Also when the youngest team in the nba has a 26 yr old mvp and won the title, the waiting game excuse was gone
You are right. Indiana and Denver almost beat them. I think we could beat OKC now, but if SGA were to get hurt, we becomes the favorites.
When people argue against win now moves they're talking about the wrong ones. They're either overpaid veterans in decline, were never franchise players to begin with, or both. For example, Phoenix trading for Bradley Beal or 76ers signing Paul George. Those were albatross contracts from the jump. If a true star player becomes available we should go for it. And depending on the move it doesn't even hurt our flexibility. I'm talking Giannis or Jokic level. Push the chips in. It doesn't matter that they're 30 years old and "shorten the window", they're MVP caliber players and Jokic almost beat OKC by himself. And if it doesn't work out I bet they still have tremendous trade value at age 33 or 34. Where's the risk? Are our draft picks from 2027-2031 going to win us a ring? The Lakers went all in for AD and got a championship out of it. They got Luka for AD in the end, a generational haul. Boston went all in on KG and Ray Allen and also won a championship. At the end of it they flipped KG and Pierce to Brooklyn for picks, which became Tatum and Brown. If they overvalued flexibility and their young cores they probably don't win those titles. This doesn't mean we need to swing for the fences every time. But like with the KD situation, if the right player becomes available for the right price keep an open mind.
I actually like the fact that KD is probably a 3 year window... that still leaves time for life after KD for most of our roster... If we were giving a younger guy a huge 6 year contract, that would feel alot more limiting to me... Worst case scenario of the deal is that we get an injury plagued 3 years out of KD as our youngsters continue to mature - and then 60M comes off of the books, while Sengun and Amen are still in their prime... i think its all a good gamble.... or at least the best option forward that is presently available to us imo.
To me it is case by case. I think it would be difficult to trade Amen as he just has a ton of value on such a small contract. I think it would be much easier to match salaries with Sengun without tearing team apart trying to get enough salary together.
Going for lesser stars that we can attract with mostly draft picks is better than going for Giannis. Jokic is a whole different ballgame. Giannis just does not fit with Amen. I’d much rather trade vets and draft picks for younger stars that better match up with our timeline or if you really think Edgecomb is going to be a star like I do, you could consolidate draft picks to get Maury to bite on a trade for #3. There are a lot of different ways to go than go all in on Giannis. I’d rather not get anyone and wait for the right trade to come along in the future. Teams can always get desperate at the deadline or if they are going to kick into the 2nd apron.
Let's remove Anthony Davis from this comparison, he was acquired in his age-26 season, entering his prime, far from an "all-in move," he was expected to be a building block for the franchise for years to come. If anything, he fits much more into the latter category, of former MVP-level players that were acquired after 30 and became substantially less tradeable due to contractual situation or accumulated injuries. The Rockets have already tried this, trading for a 31-year old former MVP, slammed their window shut less than a year later, and weren't able to recoup much value at all when trading him away. The Nets traded for a 31-year old former MVP, got 80 games out of him, and got significantly less back when they had to trade him. The Suns traded for a 34-year old former MVP who ended up giving them All-NBA quality play for two seasons, and got a fraction of the assets back when they traded him. It's pretty dang hard to tell when a player is an "MVP-caliber player" versus a veteran in decline/albatross. You often won't know until its far too late, and everyone else can see the same thing. I think that Boston is a great example of the strategy working, but they're the exception, rather than the rule. There is definitely a risk to giving up flexibility and concentrating all your assets into one irreplaceable player, and you are going to take a massive loss in value, even if you choose to sell that player again quickly.
Giannis and Amen fit better than Sengun and Amen. Giannis and Amen would be a force defensively, even with Giannis' defense declining slightly. The Amen timeline has already begun. Draft picks in 2029 and later don't fit the Amen timeline from now until like 2030 assuming it takes a year for them to be NBA ready. Guys like Giannis don't fit from 2030 and later. I think trades need to be made on a case by case basis.
Point taken. I think Russ was very clearly in decline by the time the Rockets traded for him. There were a significant number of people on this board who knew that was a bad trade from the start. I don't care about former MVP awards. I didn't say to go after Embiid, who is another 31 year old former MVP. I'd avoid him like the plague. I advocate for Giannis and Jokic because they are currently playing MVP caliber basketball and I expect them to for the next few years. Jokic didn't even win the award this year but he probably played his best season ever. Anyone who values flexibility over a few seasons of him on the roster might be straight up insane IMO. Of course, I don't have a crystal ball and they could drop off tremendously or get injured. Just saying I would take that chance. Boston isn't the only example, by the way. Dallas acquired 34 year old Jason Kidd to win a title. Miami traded for 33 year old Shaq, who was nine years older than Wade. Some teams have had to take chances to maximize their window and I bet it's only going to become a more valid strategy with the current CBA.
There is literally nothing about the way Stone (and Patrick) have operated that should have any of you afraid of them dealing away our youth. This FO puts a massive value on the youth and versatility of this roster, and the KD negotiations should highlight that fact. They were willing to walk away from a deal if it meant including ANYONE outside of Jalen Green, who is by far the most expendable "core" piece we had. Financial and roster flexibility are things Stone and Co hold very dear, so unless a deal for a literal Top 3 player shakes loose, I wouldn't lose sleep over this FO mortgaging away our future.
