06-27-2023, 01:05 AM
(06-27-2023, 12:05 AM)mvossman Wrote: There is a reason he is potentially that cheap. He will be clogging our cap for years at a time when that is particularly punishing with the new CBA. I will give you another what if. What if it becomes brutally clear that Ayton is just another center with motor problems and Lively shows he is ready for significant minutes soon. Now you are in a position where you have to dump Ayton after his value drops further. Didn't we already go down this route with KP?
He's that cheap has little to do with his production and more to do with PHX wanting/needing to fill out the rest of their roster. Would you rather have a top 4 with zero depth of merry minimums? Or sell off the worst cog in the top 4 to get 2 bench players and have a more balanced team?
That's why PHX is making him available. Of course his contract has a lot to do with why the market is so dry for Ayton, but it's also because the lack of suitors who need a win-now center and can also scrounge up the correct type of player+contract to match Ayton's.
11/15 teams (ignoring PHX here) have their playoff ready center. The other 4 are MIL, LAC, GSW, Nets. Out of these 4 the only sneaky suitors that make sense for Ayton are the Bucks.
Out of the 14 non-playoff teams, only CHA, POR, and HOU really fit. Portland is the obvious suitor here. Neither team are giving anything more than a mishmash of role players:
POR= Nurkic+Little+Knox.
MIL=Allen+Portis+Connaughton
THJ+Bullock+McGee (or THJ+Holmes+McGee) are competitive pieces to those offers, but Dallas' deal is the only one that offers the most financial flexibility in 2 years.
14x All-Star, 12x all-NBA, 1x MVP, 1x Finals MVP, 1 NBA Championship: Dirk Nowitzki, the man, the myth, the legend.