esvl wrote:penbeast0 wrote:QMemphis wrote:I completely understand why Portland doesn’t want to trade Deni he is a great player on a great contract not to mention they gave up real assets to get him.
I have not mentioned Grant because I wouldn’t take back his bad contract preferably. But like I mentioned Portland similar to Utah has a good all star level on a great deal. Problem is similar to Utah (Lauri) if Deni is your best player you are not going far and currently he is easily their best player.
Deni has three years left on his deal and then he will hit free agency because it is unlikely he will extend given the descending salary. So my question is does Portland trust the guys on the team to be better than Deni or are they comfortable being a treadmill.
Regarding the Jazz selling parts they held on to Clarkson, Sexton, Collins and likely Lauri too long. You mentioned Sexton having to be moved with a 2nd to take on terrible Nurkic deal. But also framed the Collins trade as a win while they only recouped the 2nd they sent out.
Porland is at the point in the rebuild where they need to see results. Scoot was the centerpiece of the rebuild and they picked up Holiday to go with Grant (and Lilliard for next year) to give Scoot, Sharpe, Avdija, Camara, and Clingan a chance to show they are an NBA core. This is no longer the acquisitions phase for Portland. Unless they are blown away by the value, they shouldn't be trading the core 5 listed above.
So, blow them away if you want Avdija. But it's just the wrong point in the rebuild for trading the best performing core piece on the roster. And, if Scoot can't play at a high NBA level and no one else steps up, they still have a couple of years to listen to offers for Avdija.
Memphis in a better situation just traded Bane - their core piece. So I don’t believe Avdija is untouchable.
That's precisely why Memphis was able to make the Bane trade. Because they have Morant and JJJ, plus the promising year by Jaylen Wells who plays the same position as Bane, they are in a better position to make that move.
Portland is not in the same situation. If we move Avdija, we don't have 2 other All-Stars, yet alone a promising young rookie, to take Avdija's place. If Scoot and Shaedon were both all-stars, then this would be a different story. But as it stands, Deni's our best player. Moving him for picks would take Portland a step back, and tanking doesn't seem to be the goal right now.