Trade & FA 2023-24: Stein-Ingram Trade Inevitable| LAL Want Lebron Back On Any Terms

[KillerLeft]

That´s before you even get into the argument that Ayton is productive former #1 pick. They maintain re-trade value for at least one more trade. And there is a chance, with his seemingly good relationship with Luka, that he unlocks another gear and makes the Suns look dumb.

And if not you buy yourself time to develop Lively before you trade Ayton with a year left on his contract.

You might be right. That POV is certainly not a rare one.

For me, I just don’t see ANY indication that he’ll be a good defender or a good complementary offensive player (at least not a content one). He seems to want a  featured role with post touches, yet I see no evidence of those being merited by skill.

I just don’t like the player he is or even the player he’s trying to become, really. There’s a chance he gets better in a new situation, sure, and that will make the price the Mavs walked away from look silly in a certain light. But, the downside is that you’d have to PLAY him and make PLAYSTYLE concessions to get there. I get why they’re not interested in that.