Trade & FA 2023-24: Stein-Ingram Trade Inevitable| LAL Want Lebron Back On Any Terms

[SleepingHero]

https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/16824...50816?s=46&t=4w35gotNXtBJnqxbaL7e9w

Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn)
Restricted free agent G Ayo Dosunmu has agreed on a three-year, $21 million deal to stay with the Chicago Bulls, agent Mike Lindeman of @excelbasketball tells ESPN.

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The bulk of the issue is about about player commitment, which is why you are willing to trade them in the first place (because he might walk in a year or less), and also why the other team can be hesitant to trade for him at a high price (because he might walk in a year or less).

To the Mavs' credit, they had the cojones to trade for both KP and Kyrie while staring down the barrel of the gun called free agency, without any certainty.

It would be helpful if the rules offered better avenues to extend-and-trade, but alas they do not. If a player wants a healthy raise in that looming free agency, with a reasonable certainty of getting one, they can only do that in an extend-and-stay (for at least 6 months) but no way to replicate that in the extend-and-trade option. 

So if TOR wants to do a trade yielding full market value, it probably requires 1 of 2 possibilities to happen before Aug 8:
(1) TOR steps up to the plate with their own player and does an extension (which increases their own commitment) before trading that player later at the trade deadline (there's a 6 month waiting period if the extension adds more than 2 years and more than 5% raises), or
(2) TOR allows the player to speak with and negotiate a "to be done later" extension "understanding" with the trade partner (not enforceable, but agreed), and then trades the player by Aug 8 so the bigger extension can be done by the trade deadline (6 months later) and avoid free agency.

It must be noted that Harden is not eligible for an extension of any kind. And Siakam can only get the 35% contract if he both qualifies, and waits until the summer, and once he signs he would be no-trade for any reason for a year.

I didn't know Harden wasn't eligible for an extension. That certainly changes leverage here. Thanks for the breakdown.