Ainge just got promoted from bad GM to horrible ..

[Lo Wang]

The rumor in the Thunder camp is he wanted 4 first rounders 2 second rounders and either Chet or Jdub or 2 role players like Wiggins, Joe, Nikola Topic or Dort. Negotiations went nowhere and he was forced to sign an extension.

Funny thing is, the Utah fans are celebrating this as a win when he has absolutely no intention of keeping Markannen. He's only extending him to give himself more time until a team dumb enough to bite, which probably will not happen because everyone knows his shenanigans.

Note* Why would Markannen stay with a team desperately trying to get rid of him? As a Thunder fan, I don't want him anymore. Way too soft.

[Dominator83]

You can ask for the moon. Doesn't mean you'll get it

[JonFromVA]

Utah has to spend their cap space on something, and if Lauri wanted out, he would have taken the extension earlier.

[the sea duck]

don't see a big problem. biggest risk is injury. otherwise he's got a ton of time to make a deal. if he ends up taking a more fair deal, he gets what everyone said he would've gotten anyway.

[CS707]

One ring as a GM and basically built another championship team. People hate him because he always wins deals.

I think he's probably ok.

[Lalouie]

Wouldn't it be better to wait and see

[Lo Wang]

don't see a big problem. biggest risk is injury. otherwise he's got a ton of time to make a deal. if he ends up taking a more fair deal, he gets what everyone said he would've gotten anyway.

His deals are ridiculous. He's bad for the NBA because he's setting a bad precedent. If it is going to take 4 first rounders, 2 seconds, and a potential all star young player for an average player (Markannen is soft and overrated), then what is it going to take for a legit all star? The owner will probably have to sign over the team or marry his daughter just to appease such ridiculous trade demands.

He over played his hand; noone is going to bite.

[brackdan70]

Because he didn’t trade Lauri for low value package? No. Thats a good GM. Now he has locked him up through his prime on a fair contract giving him a top notch trade asset/ or decent player to build around for years to come.

[brackdan70]

Because he didn’t trade Lauri for low value package? No. Thats a good GM. Now he has locked him up through his prime on a fair contract giving him a top notch trade asset/ or decent player to build around for years to come.

[bfchs123]

Utah will gladly keep him lol

[Lo Wang]

Because he didn’t trade Lauri for low value package? No. Thats a good GM. Now he has locked him up through his prime on a fair contract giving him a top notch trade asset/ or decent player to build around for years to come.

He's not going to build around Markannen. To build around, you will have to attract solid stars or role players to the team, and he is a failure at that, plus nobody wants to play in Utah.

Trading Markannen to play the draft and possibly get Cooper was the best option. Resigning him meant Ainge failed at his job embarrassingly.

Keep wishing for the trade that will never happen Utah fans.

4 first + 2 seconds + young star = COMPLETELY DELUSIONAL

[Qwigglez]

The rumor in the Thunder camp is he wanted 4 first rounders 2 second rounders and either Chet, Jdub, or Shai or 2 role players like Wiggins, Joe, Nikola Topic or Dort. Negotiations went nowhere and he was forced to sign an extension.

Funny thing is, the Utah fans are celebrating this as a win when he has absolutely no intention of keeping Markannen. He's only extending him to give himself more time until a team dumb enough to bite, which probably will not happen because everyone knows his shenanigans.

Note* Why would Markannen stay with a team desperately trying to get rid of him? As a Thunder fan, I don't want him anymore. Way too soft.

If I worked for a company, even though I know they want to get rid of me, but they instead offered me a $238 million contract, I think I'd take the money too.

[Lo Wang]

The rumor in the Thunder camp is he wanted 4 first rounders 2 second rounders and either Chet, Jdub, or Shai or 2 role players like Wiggins, Joe, Nikola Topic or Dort. Negotiations went nowhere and he was forced to sign an extension.

Funny thing is, the Utah fans are celebrating this as a win when he has absolutely no intention of keeping Markannen. He's only extending him to give himself more time until a team dumb enough to bite, which probably will not happen because everyone knows his shenanigans.

Note* Why would Markannen stay with a team desperately trying to get rid of him? As a Thunder fan, I don't want him anymore. Way too soft.

If I worked for a company, even though I know they want to get rid of me, but they instead offered me a $238 million contract, I think I'd take the money too.

Other teams can offer him a bit less but he can still keep his dignity.

Markannen has no fight in him.

[kenwood3333]

Ainge treating players like commodities is terrible for team culture. Everyone will try to maximize their own value by playing selfishly instead of as a team.

[brackdan70]

Because he didn’t trade Lauri for low value package? No. Thats a good GM. Now he has locked him up through his prime on a fair contract giving him a top notch trade asset/ or decent player to build around for years to come.

He's not going to build around Markannen. To build around, you will have to attract solid stars or role players to the team, and he is a failure at that, plus nobody wants to play in Utah.

Trading Markannen to play the draft and possibly get Cooper was the best option. Resigning him meant Ainge failed at his job embarrassingly.

Keep wishing for the trade that will never happen Utah fans.

4 first + 2 seconds + young star = COMPLETELY DELUSIONAL

That’s a stupid take. Best case is you get a 12.5% chance at Flagg and a 25% chance at him or Bailey.
Even without Lauri they can’t out tank Brooklyn, Washington, and Detroit, and maybe not Charlotte or Portland.
With Lauri they still are in that 5% range for number 1 and 10% at 1 or 2. The difference isn’t worth trading a high quality asset for minor pieces or middling picks.

[Lo Wang]

Because he didn’t trade Lauri for low value package? No. Thats a good GM. Now he has locked him up through his prime on a fair contract giving him a top notch trade asset/ or decent player to build around for years to come.

He's not going to build around Markannen. To build around, you will have to attract solid stars or role players to the team, and he is a failure at that, plus nobody wants to play in Utah.

Trading Markannen to play the draft and possibly get Cooper was the best option. Resigning him meant Ainge failed at his job embarrassingly.

Keep wishing for the trade that will never happen Utah fans.

4 first + 2 seconds + young star = COMPLETELY DELUSIONAL

That’s a stupid take. Best case is you get a 12.5% chance at Flagg and a 25% chance at him or Bailey.
Even without Lauri they can’t out tank Brooklyn, Washington, and Detroit, and maybe not Charlotte or Portland.
With Lauri they still are in that 5% range for number 1 and 10% at 1 or 2. The difference isn’t worth trading a high quality asset for minor pieces or middling picks.

Where are you getting your numbers from? With Lauri, they are a play in contender: good enough to be completely inconsequential and bad enough to not make a dent in the lottery.

Utah has no choice but to tank. We're not talking about the Lakers here; the Lakers can be a mid team and trade away all their assets because they can attract any star to LA. Utah can't. They have no choice but to play the lottery.

Resigning Markannen is a huge blunder.

[Billl]

He's not terrible, but I think he's overplayed his hand and overvalued what a 2nd or 3rd option on a near max deal is worth. There is this rapidly developing no-mans-land in the NBA under the new cap structure. A guy like that can still get a huge deal on the open free agent market, but the trade market is a whole different animal.

[tcheco]

Salty fan of a team that couldn't trade for a good player for garbage.

RealGM should have a 18 year old minimum for posting

[dhsilv2]

The rumor in the Thunder camp is he wanted 4 first rounders 2 second rounders and either Chet or Jdub or 2 role players like Wiggins, Joe, Nikola Topic or Dort. Negotiations went nowhere and he was forced to sign an extension.

Funny thing is, the Utah fans are celebrating this as a win when he has absolutely no intention of keeping Markannen. He's only extending him to give himself more time until a team dumb enough to bite, which probably will not happen because everyone knows his shenanigans.

Note* Why would Markannen stay with a team desperately trying to get rid of him? As a Thunder fan, I don't want him anymore. Way too soft.

This is what social media does to people's brains. There's no rush to make these moves. Patience is important.

[Karate Diop]

When they inevitably have to move on from Lauri it's going to be interesting to see what they have to settle for...

I know know this is he way contracts are going, but that's still a hefty price tag for a complementary piece.