epheisey wrote:A late first round pick isn't going to help this team. Sending out a player who's been in the league and understands the grind and what's expected isn't worth it to bring in an unproven, likely d-league caliber player.
It's a low-risk, high-but-unlikely-reward gamble. Trade someone who's useful but probably won't move the needle for a chance at getting a better and cheaper player. Guys picked in the 20s have a better track record than you might think--it's similar to players picked 10-15. Picks between 25-30 yielded guys like Batum, Splitter, Afflalo, George Hill, Taj Gibson, and Jimmy Butler. All draft picks are gambles, and players in the 20s aren't much worse than those in the teens.
For a player at Bynum's or JJ's current level (and contract) I think you take the gamble, but I could easily seeing Bynum being twice the player a late 20s pick ever became.