AaronB wrote:DiegoChara wrote:AaronB wrote:Here is a follow-up to my previous post.
The obvious question and possible drawback to my proposition is: "wouldn't it be better to get something for any one of the top 4 contracts than get nothing at all?"
The answer is probably not. The reason is one of timing. In order to get a good return on those top 4 contracts, it will most likely take patience and the teams that are going to deal for those contracts may in fact be looking at the same players that the Blazers want to bring in to play for them.
Keep Ayton too long and Goga signs with another team. So incentivize the transactions, make them relatively free and then aggressively recruit players who will better contribute to winning.
I’ve gotta tell ya, “I’d rather not acquire assets, because if I take the time to do so I might miss out on Goga Bitadze” is an all timer of a take.
Just for clarity, Ayton has an EPM of -0.3 and Goga's is 1.4
Goga is just an example. Bid up the Knick Center and you still get him cheaper than Ayton.
The point is that Ayton is a starting C on a 21 win team. How good is he? EPM doesn't like him.
Why wait for a return?
Blazer fans think the team can take its time and wait out any move for the best value. This is wrong thinking. What Ayton does is take up 32 minutes per game (not to mention salary cap) that could be used as a selling point to a useful free agent.
Looks to me, like the other 4 at the top of the list, is that he (they) have more fame than game.
And just for understanding, I would not want Ayton on the Magic. He makes more than he is worth by a wide margin.
The only thing that will get the Blazers out of NBA hell is difference making players. Goga Bitadze is not that and never will be.
Ayton probably isn’t either for the record. But the Blazers only realistic path to acquiring those players at this juncture is through the draft. They need to acquire draft capital and hope they hit on those picks.
When you are a bad team in a less than desirable (by NBA player standards) location, you are EXTREMELY unlikely to sign a different making free agent.