(12-01-2025, 03:25 PM)mvossman Wrote: If you mean wait until the offseason, that may be the right move, but I don't think they can afford to wait longer, if for no other reason than to clear the cap issues.
It doesn't take a trade of AD to "clear the cap issue." There are multiple other avenues. Unfortunately Nico didn't care about cap concerns (or didn't even realize there were cap issues, or was clueless about how the cap works) but the next guy won't be so stupid, hopefully. (Is it even possible for anyone else to be as stupid?) It does NOT have to happen now.
Trade Hardy for air - and it's solved. That can be done in July. It's that easy to be under A2. Just one option (of many). There are other possibilities, and more players that need to be jettisoned, so the solution will perhaps be more extensive. But it's more an issue of who to trade, and what you get back, and getting the MAX value in return, and crafting a roster to compete, rather than take a baseball bat to the roster and smash it as soon as possible.
In addition, there is nothing they can do this season that erases them paying tax, practically speaking. And they won't be over A2 this season. So the only issue is Dumont has to pay a bigger tax penalty instead of a smaller one -- and that's his own fault for Nico-ing us which enabled really bad cap consequences from the trades.
The key issue is maximizing the TALENT while shrinking the payroll. Very doable. But it takes an expert.
I still vote that the right solution will be "Hire Presti" (rather than blindly give away AD or any other talent).