06-28-2023, 08:21 AM
(06-28-2023, 07:50 AM)DanSchwartzgan Wrote: Back to the discussion about PJ Washington (or Bridges or another 4/5 type from Charlotte for that matter). If Ayton doesn't happen, I think we can apply the same formula to Hayward. He is a $31.5mm expiring that clears THJ's money next season). We have a trade spread credit still available from Bertans, so we don't have to actually match Hayward's salary with new outgoing money. And, if we add a player to Hardaway/Holmes, we have room to bring back PJ or Bridges and Kai Jones or something like that.
Charlotte has Bridges, PJ and newly drafted Brandon Miller to add to their big wing rotation. Hayward is also part of that grouping. Mark Williams is the C and they have Nick Richards, Kai Jones and JT Thor under contract as other bigs. That is a bunch of front court players and they need to create some PT for Miller. Meanwhile, they are thin at guard.
I won't go through all of the iterations, but an example of what could be done is Charlotte receives Holmes/Hardaway (outgoing for us is actually Bertans/THJ or $34.9mm which can bring back $43.9mm). Dallas receives Hayward at $31.5mm and we still have $12mm of trade spread left. If we add McGee or Reggie to the deal (they don't have to go to Charlotte, they just need to go), then you can get to all sorts of additional incoming money. If Charlotte gets Reggie, for instance, there is room to start PJ at $20mm. We could actually trade match more than that, but $20mm keeps us under the first apron. We won't have the MLE any more, but we'll be adding Hayward and PJ for THJ/Reggie.
I like that as a philosophy. I suspect it will be adopted frequently going forward.
In the case of Kyrie, declining may be difficult depending on the number you have to hit to retain the MLE. Flat may be the best you can hope for. Of course, Kyrie is known for flat, so there is that.
Hayward is tough to swallow but it makes sense for CHA to clear some PT for others. Does he have a 15% trade kicker?
If you told me we could get PJ for THJ/Reggie I’d be ecstatic, so I like it. Anything you get from Hayward this year would just be a bonus.