Johnny Bball wrote:old skool wrote:Splitting the Lillard trade into two separate transactions would not have been possible under the CBA.Johnny Bball wrote:
Yep, This league has 20 Grayson Allens and Ayton is overpaid with little motor displayed. Nurkic was it. It essentially was/could have been two separate trades, but nobody is looking aat it that way.
Portland could have acquired Ayton for Nurkic with fillers, but they could not move Lillard for Holiday and picks. Allen's $9-million salary had to be conveyed in that trade to make it work under the CBA.
Cronin knew that without the involvement of a third team, the number of potential offers for Lillard would be severely limited. Cronin did what any good GM would do. He lined up a good trade with Phoenix and held off completing that trade until he knew how it had to be adjusted to also make sure he maximized the overall return from Lillard.
The overwhelming consensus among NBA reporters and pundits that I have heard in recent days is that Portland got the best deal available. They point out that Portland got an upgrade at center, draft capital from Milwaukee and an All-Star PG who, while less skilled than Lillard, might fetch a somewhat comparable return. Not because Lillard and Holiday are comparable players, but because there will be a greater number of teams making serious bids.
Teams hoping to acquire Lillard for "pennies on the dollar" were disappointed. Those teams will be disappointed when the same thing happens with Holiday.
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You aren't getting me. Any team that wanted to trade for Lilliard had a Grayson Allen level player to throw in the facilitate the Sun deal. Grayson Allen wasn't the deal breaker. The Dame trade brining Ayton as well would have happened either way woth any other team. Raptors had the best deal, then Miami iIMO but some disagree. Boston overpaying makes it a done deal though. Given that Portland had the Raptors talk to Dame beofre the Bucks indicate they agreed .
The deal that Portland took could not have been split into two trades as you incorrectly asserted. Milwaukee could not take back Lillard's contract for Holiday and picks. The trade was made possible because Cronin had a third team lined up to take the additional $9-million that satisfied the CBA trade requirements.
Your flawed premise was that Cronin combined two trades that could have made separately in order to make it look like the return for Lillard was more than it was. The flaw in your premise is that the two trades could not be made separately under the CBA.
I have no problem with a fan having an opinion that Toronto and Miami made better offers for Lillard, as opinions can vary. But of the possible trades that I heard, Holiday was the only All-Star offered for Lillard, the only top 10 player at his position offered for Lillard. The only player offered for Lillard that would generate widespread trade interest from multiple contending teams.
The fan bases of both Miami and Toronto were salivating over the possibility of obtaining Lillard on the cheap. For pennies on the dollar. Now, post trade, they are lamenting that Cronin cheated them by taking a different deal. Both Miami and Toronto still have all of the assets reported to have been offered for Lillard. If those assets are as attractive as those fan bases claim, their teams should be able to make them available in a trade and bring back an All-Star player better than Jrue Holiday. Such trades won't happen because the packages offered by Miami and Toronto are not worth an All-Star player. Not even a marginal All-star like Holiday.
