Trade & Free Agency 2026/2027

[Chicagojk]

I really don't see a Dallas connection with Philly in terms of a trade.  They have to shave a non-guaranteed contract just to get Lebron in under their first apron hard-cap.  So, the first rule of Philly trades is they can't take back more salary than they send out.  Even if they wanted someone like Gafford from Dallas, they don't have the contracts - that they would be willing to part with - to make the numbers work.  

It might be fruitful to look for trades with teams that missed out on Lebron, but it is hard to find obvious deals with Miami, Cleveland or GSW.  Part of the problem is team's don't want $17mm-$19mm backups and that is what Dallas has to offer in most of these situations.  Would Miami do Jovic for PJ?  Probably.  Would Dallas?  Would GSW do Moody for Gafford?  The years are probably a problem.  In fact, it will be more interesting to me to see the years than the dollars on a Draymond deal.  Maybe Cleveland would do expiring Strus for PJ, but $20mm is a lot to back up the very expensive players they have at the top of their roster.

I've never been a believer in the Portland ideas around PJ.  They have their starters in PF and SF.  I get the idea of reducing some of the roster clog at guard.  I just think PJ is too expensive to be a backup in Portland.  I'll be happy to be wrong there.

That leaves something that is potentially being held up by Kawhi.  Maybe Mathurin.  Maybe Watson.  Maybe nothing.  I've been pushing the idea it would be Gafford to LAC as part of the bigger LAC/TOR deal and would loop in Watson to LAC as well.  The AC Hoops post that Smitty put on page 244 brings up the possibility of it being Naji instead of Gafford going to LAC.  That is a deal that is easy to do right now as it uses the Collins TPE.  Watson goes to LAC, Mathurin goes to Dallas, DJJ goes to Denver (with picks) and Naji goes into the Collins TPE as it would otherwise be too much salary going to LAC.  From the Dallas side of things, we'd be a taxpayer (another reason I like to put Gafford in the deal) and would be limited to something in the $18.5mm range for Mathurin - more if we agreed to a buyout with Klay.  Much depends on how close they want to sit to the first apron (we've seen that movie before when you don't leave yourself enough room).  There are ways to do this with Gafford now, but unlike the Naji deal that limits what Mathurin can make, the Gafford based deals have a floor on what Mathurin can make and it starts higher than most here think is reasonable for Mathurin.

I thought it interesting that the board (and the NBA) was relatively quiet after the Lebron news yesterday.  I would have guessed some things would start to happen once the announcement came down.  Instead, crickets.

I am having trouble finding the move  that helps the team fit better next year while also helping the push for the next several years.  I have no idea how they make things work if they do not make a move.   Maybe I am thinking about too big of a move and need to think lesser.  I think we are a far way away from being a contender, but I think things could move faster if a lot of "ifs' turn into "yes'.   Such as Cooper following the super star track where things tend to happen faster, Kyrie returning to a top 50 player, Lively and Morez being elite level role players, Some of their wings find a home here, etc.

I have been thinking lately that Masai's timeline may be faster than we think.   With the moves they made this summer, I think PJ/Gaff/Marshall, etc may be the trade pieces they use to get a running mate for Cooper and not used to just balance out the roster.  I just am not sure who that player is.   If feels like they would be light for Trey Murphy trade discussions.  Probably the same for Cason Wallace.    As we have seen this summer, a lot of all stars are being moved.    Maybe if "if' moves turn into "yes" than a more aggressive move could happen sooner than later.   I just don't know how it can work to start the season wtih the roster as is.  Not enough minutes in the front court.