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

[omahen]

Hardaway hasn't come close to sniffing the closing lineups either of the last two nights.  He did another 'Hardaway waive' from near the paint midway through the 4th not making any real effort to anticipate a pass or close out.  A minute later he missed a 3 and was done with six minutes left.  The night before Kidd sat him the final 9 minutes.  When Kyrie and Luka are healthy, he's not critical to anything we do.  Yes, he can provide some offense when one of them is sitting, but he's certainly not irreplaceable in terms of what he brings to the table.  

I suspect Charlotte knows the request to include Green (who would need to be paired with Holmes or Williams) is not realistic.  It may just be a negotiating tactic because Dallas isn't budging on what it will offer in terms of the pick.  I don't think THJ for PJ is worth an unprotected pick.  But Dallas is the one asking and THJ doesn't exactly solve any of Charlotte's problems.  So, I suspect it takes some version of the 2027 pick...just not the version Dallas is offering.  So, Dallas tells the world it has other PF options and Charlotte tells the world it takes Green.

Part of the issue with Dallas is the beauty of 2027 is the chance Luka and Kyrie are gone by then.  Dallas can't roll the pick over to a 2028 first and only has a 2028 2nd to convey if a protected 2027 isn't traded.  I see a couple of options:

1.  Make this a swap where Dallas gets the worst of Charlotte's 2027, the 2027 owed by Miami or the Dallas pick.  

2.  Swap a lightly protected Dallas 2027 but get back the second rounder Charlotte is owed by either Portland or NO.  That way if the Dallas pick doesn't convey, it can be backed up by 2 seconds, one in 2027 and one in 2028.

I was thinking a lot about getting Charlotte FRP back or swaps. Problem I see is, they are likely facing a very long rebuild. LaMelo is decent, but not a top end star and injured a lot. Miller is a nice complementaty piece, but probably not a star. This year draft is supposed to be very weak, so they don't find a solution here either. They are not a FA destination. This means their picks will likely be bad for at least a couple of years more if not longer. I think second rounders are most we could hope for. Their second rounders will likely be quite valuable next couple of years