Trade & FA 2025-26: Free Agency Starts 5pm CST/6pm EST

[KillerLeft]

I suppose it does not require an AD trade, but it is important to note that it will put us into A2 without other moves.  My guess is moving Hardy will cost an asset, especially if they know we need the room.  There are also huge tax implications as well as the ability to sign an MLE or tax MLE player in the offseason.

It's certainly true that the high price tag for this team is a factor. We don't know yet how the team's new overlords view the business of the NBA, really. They were willing to pay for THIS YEAR'S team, so we can rule out the idea that the Luka trade was caused by "cheapness," since the player they received in return was just as expensive as that max extension would've been, but then again, the former GM seems to have convinced them this year's team was to be a championship contender. How will their attitude and appetite for spending evolve in the wake of this awful last calendar year? Unknown. Will their willingness to spend extend to "maybe we'll be good" scenarios, or will it deteriorate as time passes since that finals run of their first year as owners? Unknown. 

It's certainly possible that a mandate of "start steering this thing out of the tax range" will be delivered soon, and it's possible this has already occurred. There's just so much we don't know yet, which is why I wish we'd get some GM news, already. I don't even know what I'm rooting for yet, and I think that's the next domino that has to fall for me to buy in. I will take it as an extremely bad sign if Ricardi or Finley gets this gig, personally. I think it would inject credibility into all sorts of unsavory fears I have been trying to subdue.