bucknersrevenge wrote:I think Pritchard for Tari Eason works. Sure Eason adds to our glut of wings but he'd be good here. And FWIW, I add an unpopular opinion:
Love Payton Pritchard but I think his days are numbered. Brad just doesn't like small guards. He has NEVER liked them. He likes his ballhandlers bigger. 6'3 with long wingspan or taller. Take a look at the guys Brad has gone after:
I agree that Brad doesn't like small guards. I wonder if he always felt that way or trying to win postseason games with IT (and Kemba Walker) triggered the frustration, but he clearly doesn't like them...
But Payton's playoff performance was strong last year, we had a better net rating when he was on the floor. So maybe Pritchard's play has earned an exemption from Brad on the sm guard issue?
The real issue is financial. Payton is signed for $8 million this yr and then $8/per for the two years after this... that's hard to beat, especially bc Tari Eason hasn't signed an extension, but once he does, next season is the start of his pay raise.
Eason probably extends for $15 - $25/per which is a problem for our budget with two Jays salaries. An even bigger problem, is if Eason gets JT's minutes and blows up his market could be even bigger and a capspace team could offer $30 million starting salary, Brad can't match and we lose him