02-02-2024, 03:09 PM
(02-02-2024, 02:42 PM)DanSchwartzgan Wrote: If 11 teams have 75% of the available picks, doesn't that mean those 11 teams are well positioned to outbid us for anything worth having?
Chicago is right. When is the last time a deal was announced and we all sat around and said...'man, that was cheap'. 'I can't believe it only cost....'. That never happens. We can be staunchly opposed to this or that, but we need to be somewhat realistic. We overvalue our stuff compared to reality.
We can talk about two seconds and this/that if we want. To me, it feels so unrealistic that I don't see the point. We know the price tag is higher than that and if that is the stand we take then what we are staunchly opposed to is completing a deal.
Kuzma with Lively, Luka, Green and Kyrie solves our starting five for years to come. Gafford with GWill, DJJ, Hardy and Exum is a very solid bench for years to come. OMax is a bet. None of us know if that bet will pay off (Free Roddy B). 2027 is painful. I get it. I'd love an unprotected swap so at least we'd have a pick. Maybe that can happen. But we can fill two holes at once if we do something like this. I guess I like the outcome. I've never been a huge Kuzma fan myself. But, the end result makes sense to me.
I have seen trades that I would more than happy to have done if we had the assets including OG and Siakam.
I think our biggest disagreement is that I don't see Lively/Kuz/Luka/Green/Kyrie as a contender starting lineup. That group will have a hard time being even average on defense. I think we are going to find ourselves needing to upgrade that lineup to seriously contend, and I think a first will be more useful to acquire that upgrade than Kuz contract will be.