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

[DanSchwartzgan]

We're debating philosophical directions here, and they're important, I suppose. But, at the end of the day what's really important is that whatever they do needs to work. Those who want to see them foster the youth will probably come around if they make a splash trade and the guy fits in right away, elevating the team, and then wants to stay here medium-long term. Those crying for this piece or that piece right now will eventually shut up if the team keeps getting better at this rate. Basically, they just need to start winning the transaction game. Look how much more fun this all is after ONE FREAKING SUMMER of them operating like a quality front office. ONE SUMMER. Imagine them not throwing picks out like prizes taped under Oprah's chairs for...idk...three straight years! How great might this team be then?! What kind of trade will they have the ammo to pull off at that point?

You've written two books, so a lot to respond to.  But, I think PTSD is the central issue to the above.  We (collective we) can't believe the run of good moves this summer is sustainable.  Therefore the next move will surely be another McGee level move.  The Gambler's Fallacy played out.  After landing "tails" a dozen times in a row, we finally got a "heads".  Now what?

I'll go back to the Irving trade as the beginning of good moves.  Having him is what makes the other stuff matter.  I kind of think we should be encouraged by what Nico managed to get (top-30 former all-star) for a single first round pick).  We earned a top-10 pick last summer, so there was going to be some infusion of youth.  It is just the way they did it that astounds.  I propose at least a couple of dozen things each summer and I'm always underwhelmed by what actually happens.  Last summer I was blown away by what they did with a single pick (and a willingness to divide Bertans' guaranteed money into two seasons).  I also think targeting 25/26 year olds (who now both start) in free agency was a breath of fresh air.

I tend to agree with what Omahen wrote in his most recent post.  Even a small move will make a difference if it is the right move.  I think back to the early/mid 2000's.  How many more playoff rounds might Dirk have had with one more guy.  As much as we don't want them to make the wrong move, making no move can also be a mistake.  We have a limited window of Kyrie at this level.  We are playing some historically good ball right now.  There is all sorts of disagreement about 'what' we should target right now, but to me the question of 'whether' is easy to answer.