Mr Loggins wrote:Andrew McCeltic wrote:Btw, if Rich Paul wants AD in Boston he’s played it perfectly - increased our trade leverage and baited the Lakers into overplaying their hand before the deadline. It’s not in Davis’ interest to join a gutted team.
Because last time having a disgruntled player on the roster worked out well....
I mean, if Davis likes Boston and his agent thinks it would be a good fit, with AD as the next great Celtic Hall of Famer on a deep team with front office stability, a good GM and a good coach..
The mid season trade demand is a calculated risk, but you know it’s a way higher than fifty percent chance New Orleans gets pissed at the power play, and the pressure to go to LA, and that nothing happens before the deadline. That the Lakers threw everything onto the table and the Pelicans leaked every detail to make the Lakers look bad is gravy on the cake- and Demps waiting sets up the implication that Boston is the team worth waiting for - which they are - everyone in the league knows we can offer the best package.
Rich Paul talking about New York or LA and Davis going into free agency gives us leverage to hold back value in a trade..
The heavy-handed public commentary from RP could work - maybe New Orleans believes Boston won’t budge on Tatum and the Lakers find a buyer for the fourth pick .. more likely Griffin is willing to wait until Kyrie makes a decision to see if it brings Boston off the fence.. the Lakers can’t do a deal until July 1 either, and they’re not likely to abandon Davis - they have a max slot and change, so they can sign someone (Vucevic?) and still, I think, match salary if they throw Lonzo, Ingram, Kuzma, the fourth pick (5.8 million) and Hart and Wagner (everyone but Lebron, essentially).. The risk for them is in passing up other trades..
Reflecting on all the nuances of this stuff though I’m amazed at how well-positioned we are..