You make the call. What would you do? Trade deadline approacheth.

[Canadafan]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/live-blogs/nba-trade-rumors-2025-live-updates-news/TCQ1VIMH3cPt/

[Snakebites]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/live-blogs/nba-trade-rumors-2025-live-updates-news/TCQ1VIMH3cPt/

Barnes doesn't address our need for a secondary playmaker but he is a notable upgrade over Fontecchio.

[Spider156]

If we can get Ingram without giving up a core player or a first round pick, I’d get him and pay him what he wants. We need someone his caliber playing next to Cade every night. He fits next to Ivey too. I’d get a guy like Ingram or at least Kuzma or Poole on the team for cheap if I can. McCollum is another good one. We definitely need to make the move before the trade deadline IF it’s available. If everyone is being a hard nose then wait until the offseason because we’ve already exceeded expectations!

[Spider156]

If a great deal doesn’t fall onto Trajan’s lap the best decision for the ballclub is to use the 14m cap space to take on a contract for picks and go into next offseason with full use of future first round picks as we will lose our pick if we make the playoffs

[the_l_train]

If we can get Ingram without giving up a core player or a first round pick, I’d get him and pay him what he wants. We need someone his caliber playing next to Cade every night. He fits next to Ivey too. I’d get a guy like Ingram or at least Kuzma or Poole on the team for cheap if I can. McCollum is another good one. We definitely need to make the move before the trade deadline IF it’s available. If everyone is being a hard nose then wait until the offseason because we’ve already exceeded expectations!

I am one of the few on the Brandon Ingram train as well. Look at it as a rental and gauge if he is worth the payday. Probably jumping to conclusions here, but Cade and Ingram were working out together last summer so maybe they are tight?

Watch on YouTube

I'm good on Kuzma, but I could be convinced on Poole if he is cheap.

[Kalamazoo317]

If we can get Ingram without giving up a core player or a first round pick, I’d get him and pay him what he wants. We need someone his caliber playing next to Cade every night. He fits next to Ivey too. I’d get a guy like Ingram or at least Kuzma or Poole on the team for cheap if I can. McCollum is another good one. We definitely need to make the move before the trade deadline IF it’s available. If everyone is being a hard nose then wait until the offseason because we’ve already exceeded expectations!

What do you consider "core"? Do you mean for future seasons or just this season? Would definitely have to trade at least one starter (THJ or Tobias) to make the salary work. I think THJ + Fontecchio + Wendell Moore works in terms of salary. With Ingram being an expiring, not sure why New Orleans would do that, though, unless they really like Tech and/or think it's worth whatever second rounders we'd be offering.

[bstein14]

If we can get Ingram without giving up a core player or a first round pick, I’d get him and pay him what he wants. We need someone his caliber playing next to Cade every night. He fits next to Ivey too. I’d get a guy like Ingram or at least Kuzma or Poole on the team for cheap if I can. McCollum is another good one. We definitely need to make the move before the trade deadline IF it’s available. If everyone is being a hard nose then wait until the offseason because we’ve already exceeded expectations!

I am one of the few on the Brandon Ingram train as well. Look at it as a rental and gauge if he is worth the payday. Probably jumping to conclusions here, but Cade and Ingram were working out together last summer so maybe they are tight?

Watch on YouTube

I'm good on Kuzma, but I could be convinced on Poole if he is cheap.

Cade and BI had the same agent until recently (2 months ago) when BI changed to Rich Paul & Klutch after Cade's agent couldn't secure him a max deal or get him traded to a team willing to give him a max deal.... Thus far its been the same situation with Klutch.

[Spider156]

If we can get Ingram without giving up a core player or a first round pick, I’d get him and pay him what he wants. We need someone his caliber playing next to Cade every night. He fits next to Ivey too. I’d get a guy like Ingram or at least Kuzma or Poole on the team for cheap if I can. McCollum is another good one. We definitely need to make the move before the trade deadline IF it’s available. If everyone is being a hard nose then wait until the offseason because we’ve already exceeded expectations!

What do you consider "core"? Do you mean for future seasons or just this season? Would definitely have to trade at least one starter (THJ or Tobias) to make the salary work. I think THJ + Fontecchio + Wendell Moore works in terms of salary. With Ingram being an expiring, not sure why New Orleans would do that, though, unless they really like Tech and/or think it's worth whatever second rounders we'd be offering.

Core players are Cade Ivey Ausar Stewart Duren Holland. Out of the vets that’ll be Tobias and Beasley. I like THJ but we can’t afford both Beasley and THJ this summer. Fontecchio and Sasser can go as well. If a team needs a center Paul Reed is pretty good. To me Pelicans will want Stewart for Ingram and I’d make that trade happen because we’re getting a starter. Trading Stewart is risky because you’re trading the culture away but Celtics traded Marcus Smart and they turned out fine. I do believe Ingram can be as big for us as Jrue Holiday was for the Celtics. It’s all about the right deal. If Ingram doesn’t pan out, guys like Myles Turner will be available to sign this summer for less money. In that scenario Turner could play next to Duren or replace him as a starter, in which case Duren is up for an extension and if he didn’t get better, he’ll likely get traded too. Then it’s up for Ausar extension to fill the forward spot, Holland might have outperformed him by that time to take the starting role. I’d be more disappointed to see Stewart go over Duren, I think Stewart is much more skilled.

[bjones521]

Take on bad contract for picks, maybe pat connaughton. Let the young guys try to get better. Give Ausar a bigger role. Sign BI in the offseason. Wouldnt have to give up anything.

Cade, Ivey
Beasley, Ivey
Ausar, Ron
BI, Tobias
Duren, Beef Stew

[Snakebites]

Take on bad contract for picks, maybe pat connaughton. Let the young guys try to get better. Give Ausar a bigger role. Sign BI in the offseason. Wouldnt have to give up anything.

Cade, Ivey
Beasley, Ivey
Ausar, Ron
BI, Tobias
Duren, Beef Stew

We don’t have large enough offseason cap space once Cade’s extension sets in.

[NYPiston]

We don’t have large enough offseason cap space once Cade’s extension sets in.

Which is crazy when you think about it when you have teams like the Celtics with almost double the cap commitment that are able to keep their group together. The aprons make things utterly confusing when a championship team can keep their core together yet a team with one rookie max contract and a bunch of filler contracts outside of Tobias's $26m can't even keep a .500 team together.

[Canadafan]

Take on bad contract for picks, maybe pat connaughton. Let the young guys try to get better. Give Ausar a bigger role. Sign BI in the offseason. Wouldnt have to give up anything.

Cade, Ivey
Beasley, Ivey
Ausar, Ron
BI, Tobias
Duren, Beef Stew

We don’t have large enough offseason cap space once Cade’s extension sets in.

Guys on here have said we will have $25million in cap space this summer. I was always under the assumption that we wouldn't have that much.
How much do we have to spend this summer, in your opinion?
Also, trading for him now would allow us to have bird rights? Or the very least dump Fontecchios contract to add more to our 'space', whatever that number is.
Does N.O. just dump him to us for THJr Fontecchio and 2nds?

[Snakebites]

We don’t have large enough offseason cap space once Cade’s extension sets in.

Which is crazy when you think about it when you have teams like the Celtics with almost double the cap commitment that are able to keep their group together. The aprons make things utterly confusing when a championship team can keep their core together yet a team with one rookie max contract and a bunch of filler contracts outside of Tobias's $26m can't even keep a .500 team together.

Keeping a group together and adding to it are two very different propositions under this CBA. All CBAs really.

Though as we’re seeing in places like Minnesota and Denver keeping a group together isn’t as easy as it once was.

[bstein14]

We could have a ton of cap space if we moved on from Tobias($26.6 next year) we'd be at $51+ million again. Not saying we should, but if cap space was a priority something like Tobias for Bruce Brown or Malcom Brogdon would get a a massive amount of cap space once again.

We have about $25 million if we make the playoffs and don't have a first round pick... that also could jump up if we did something like trade Font ($33 million) who makes $8.3 million next year.

[Snakebites]

We could have a ton of cap space if we moved on from Tobias($26.6 next year) we'd be at $51+ million again. Not saying we should, but if cap space was a priority something like Tobias for Bruce Brown or Malcom Brogdon would get a a massive amount of cap space once again.

We have about $25 million if we make the playoffs and don't have a first round pick... that also could jump up if we did something like trade Font ($33 million) who makes $8.3 million next year.

I don't think moving Tobias Harris for expirings is a straightforward proposition. He's a negative contract.

[Snakebites]

We could have a ton of cap space if we moved on from Tobias($26.6 next year) we'd be at $51+ million again. Not saying we should, but if cap space was a priority something like Tobias for Bruce Brown or Malcom Brogdon would get a a massive amount of cap space once again.

We have about $25 million if we make the playoffs and don't have a first round pick... that also could jump up if we did something like trade Font ($33 million) who makes $8.3 million next year.

I don't think moving Tobias Harris for expirings is a straightforward proposition. He's a negative contract.

[bstein14]

We could have a ton of cap space if we moved on from Tobias($26.6 next year) we'd be at $51+ million again. Not saying we should, but if cap space was a priority something like Tobias for Bruce Brown or Malcom Brogdon would get a a massive amount of cap space once again.

We have about $25 million if we make the playoffs and don't have a first round pick... that also could jump up if we did something like trade Font ($33 million) who makes $8.3 million next year.

I don't think moving Tobias Harris for expirings is a straightforward proposition. He's a negative contract.

There's a scenario where the Spurs get Fox but need a third team to take back the salary of Harrison Barnes because he can't be traded to the Kings. Barnes makes $19 million so it could create $7 million more but not a pure salary dump for sure. I could see a three way in which we sent out Harris + Font and got back Barnes + Lyles which would open up $14 million more of additional space.

I could also see a scenario where the Heat take back Tobias in a deal where Butler goes out. They've been pretty clear they want to keep their 2026 cap space open but want to take back winning players now which lines up with what Harris provides (in theory).

There's also a scenario where we take back $40+ million of salary to get a team out of the luxury tax and we get back a larger expiring deal.... But I agree its unlikely we just get a straight up expiring for him on a one for one deal.

[MortSahlfan]

Hoping Tobias moves to the bench after the deadline. 33mpg is too much. And on the bench, his job should be easier.