05-14-2023, 08:33 AM
(05-13-2023, 05:29 PM)Ghost of Podkolzin Wrote:
Could you scheme enough defense to make a Luka, Kyrie, Green, Wood, Ayton lineup work?
I don't think so. I think the role on a team with Luka and Kyrie would have to be the bench big who comes in during the Kyrie-sit and Luka-sit minutes. Some of those minutes would be next to Ayton and those minutes would be fine. With Maxi gone in the Ayton trade (presumably), it will be hard to put enough D around Wood as the solo big playing with Hardy and one of the stars. I'm not in love with that part of it unless you show me another bigger defender on the roster.
I'm not sure this line of thinking is as much an endorsement of Wood as much as it is an acknowledgement of how weak we'd be following a THJ/Maxi/Pick trade. It is bleak once you get past Luka/Kyrie/Ayton/Green/Reggie plus Hardy and presumably Powell. That is probably why FG has taken the position of Maxi or THJ, but not both. Ideally, it would be THJ/McGee/Pick. Then, I'd feel better about all of this (speaking hypothetically, because I still think Wood is gone).
This is why I'd prefer the trade-down route to a S/W of Bertans (and I was probably the first here to talk about a Bertans S/W long long ago). The purpose of the trade down is to give one of the picks to SA for taking on Bertans. Not only does it wipe the slate clean on Bertans (instead of years of cap hits), but it creates a TPE of $16mm. That could prove valuable as teams look to rearrange their salary commitments. Depending on what it takes to sign Kyrie, you could have both the TPE and the TP MLE and stay under $180mm.
If Maxi is outgoing with THJ as in the Stein hypo, then you probably need two players to add the remaining seven. So, I like the trade down and pay someone to take Bertans. If you could somehow make this THJ/McGee/Pick, then I'd be happy to move #10 and S/W Bertans and go MLE shopping.