Trade & FA Ideas & Discussion #5: A Serving of Irving?

[King4Day]

Saw this posted in the FB group. Thought it was pretty interesting. Basically proved Gambo to be incorrect.

https://soundcloud.com/siriusxmnba/phoenix-suns-guard-josh-jackson-on-being-involved-in-kyrie-irving-trade-rumors

[LukasBMW]

Imagine this scenario: TJ is considered a frontrunner for MIP while at the same time JJ is showing he deserves time and fits better with Booker, but they both work best at the 3 and don't seem to work very well together. What's our best play then?

We could obviously keep them both, plan to match any RFA offer for Warren, and do our best to keep them both happy and productive

We could try to trade TJ at the deadline for something centered on draft picks (Celtics don't need him but getting one of the high picks owed to them would be ideal) and/or prospects.

We could try to trade TJ for an upgrade at another position.

We could trade JJ (seems incredibly unlikely).

What else? What would you do?

I don't think it's out of the possibility that TJ wins MIP and JJ wins ROY.

Seriously.

I'd say both are top 5 candidates for each award.

And to answer your question, we keep TJ, resign him, and see how the 2018 draft shakes out. We can either keep him as a 6th man or trade him (once he has been resigned) as he will get more value once he is resigned.

[LukasBMW]

Read on Twitter

The 2018 draft has some good prospects but...

I'd argue that Chriss and Bender have ceilings that are just as high as any of those 2018 potential top 5 picks.

Chriss is more athletic then any of them.

Bender has the best stroke of any of them...and he's 7 feet tall.

Let's throw our young guys into the fire, see how they do, and add one more top pick this year.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

Read on Twitter

The 2018 draft has some good prospects but...

I'd argue that Chriss and Bender have ceilings that are just as high as any of those 2018 potential top 5 picks.

Chriss is more athletic then any of them.

Bender has the best stroke of any of them...and he's 7 feet tall.

Let's throw our young guys into the fire, see how they do, and add one more top pick this year.

I like our young guys a lot, but nuh-uh. No way, dude. Bender was never in Donkic's tier as a prospect. And Donkic isn't alone in his tier in this class. Not even close.

[LukasBMW]

Saw this posted in the FB group. Thought it was pretty interesting. Basically proved Gambo to be incorrect.

https://soundcloud.com/siriusxmnba/phoenix-suns-guard-josh-jackson-on-being-involved-in-kyrie-irving-trade-rumors

My take:

Gambo knew the Suns went through too much to land their guy in the draft. Gambo also knew that most trades don't happen. It was a safe bet for him to get on his soapbox and declare that we would never trade Jackson.

While Jackson hints that the Suns never told him that he wouldn't be traded and didn't keep him informed, he says that he talked to his agent and gathered that any deal was unlikely. The Suns probably won't promise ANY player that they won't be traded and they probably didn't address Jackson about the rumors because they were just rumors. If a front office called a player everytime their name popped up in social media rumors, the front office would never get anything done.

Jackson's agent probably reached out to the Suns who did not give him a firm answer but said a trade was unlikely.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

Saw this posted in the FB group. Thought it was pretty interesting. Basically proved Gambo to be incorrect.

https://soundcloud.com/siriusxmnba/phoenix-suns-guard-josh-jackson-on-being-involved-in-kyrie-irving-trade-rumors

My take:

Gambo knew the Suns went through too much to land their guy in the draft. Gambo also knew that most trades don't happen. It was a safe bet for him to get on his soapbox and declare that we would never trade Jackson.

While Jackson hints that the Suns never told him that he wouldn't be traded and didn't keep him informed, he says that he talked to his agent and gathered that any deal was unlikely. The Suns probably won't promise ANY player that they won't be traded and they probably didn't address Jackson about the rumors because they were just rumors. If a front office called a player everytime their name popped up in social media rumors, the front office would never get anything done.

Jackson's agent probably reached out to the Suns who did not give him a firm answer but said a trade was unlikely.

My working theory is that Gambo gets paid to say things about sports teams for a living and so sometimes he just says stuff.

[BobbieL]

Saw this posted in the FB group. Thought it was pretty interesting. Basically proved Gambo to be incorrect.

https://soundcloud.com/siriusxmnba/phoenix-suns-guard-josh-jackson-on-being-involved-in-kyrie-irving-trade-rumors

My take:

Gambo knew the Suns went through too much to land their guy in the draft. Gambo also knew that most trades don't happen. It was a safe bet for him to get on his soapbox and declare that we would never trade Jackson.

While Jackson hints that the Suns never told him that he wouldn't be traded and didn't keep him informed, he says that he talked to his agent and gathered that any deal was unlikely. The Suns probably won't promise ANY player that they won't be traded and they probably didn't address Jackson about the rumors because they were just rumors. If a front office called a player everytime their name popped up in social media rumors, the front office would never get anything done.

Jackson's agent probably reached out to the Suns who did not give him a firm answer but said a trade was unlikely.

My working theory is that Gambo gets paid to say things about sports teams for a living and so sometimes he just says stuff.

and the beautiful thing about Gambo - he will often say it three or four times in an 8 to 10 minute segment so you are crystal clear what he is saying. like I know that David Johnson last year for the Cardinals ran the ball 22 times inside the 5 yard line because the Cardinals like to use DJ near the goal line and last year, he had 22 carries.

Of course the Cavs asked for Jackson - who wouldn't and that there is ZERO chance Kyrie is on the Suns. ZERO chance.

Suns are smart to say No and offer other players. Its the Cavs options to trade or keep. Clippers, Knicks, Heat Suns.

[AtheJ415]

I am looking at his CAREER numbers. Not just last year. His offense doesn't just "need work". It is arguably the worst in all of basketball. The numbers show that.

The numbers also show that Chriss is MUCH BETTER than Winslow, as is Warren, as is Derrick freaking Jones Jr. It's funny you say Bender's rookie season was one of the worst, because his numbers from the few games he played as the youngest player in basketball on a horrid team with a poor X's and O's coach are nearly identical to Winslow's CAREER numbers with a much better team and coach around him. Meaning you are both claiming that Winslow helps you win now, while claiming Bender is not capable of it, despite their overall numbers being damn near identical.

Also, I promise you I watch more basketball than you. And I look at the numbers to back up my opinions. Yours don't have any stats to back them up because your opinion is simply wrong.

He's a good passer for a forward. The 15% AST% this year was just a taste of stuff he can do. And a lot of that was out of the PnR. The low TO rate helps too.

And he rebounds at a solid rate for a forward. Last season he had almost the same TRB% as Chriss.

The defense isn't showing up statistically yet but as someone who watches a lot of basketball, you'd know that his agility and body control mean he has a heap of potential on that end. And the 2.1 STL% is already above average.

Downplaying Winslow's potential at this stage would be naive. He has shown many smaller things which suggest there's plenty to work with. Same can be said for Chriss.

Assessing both statistically at this stage of their career is plain silly because you're picking between absolutely-god-awful and slightly-less-absolutely-god-awful.

His assist % and TRB % both come into his offensive numbers. He has a NEGATIVE 4 OBPM, and 88 ORtg on a good team, and a negative winshare on a good team. There is no way around it. His offense has been so incredibly bad that he is arguably the worst offensive player in hoops. I am not saying he doesn't have potential. What I am saying is that nobody could logically argue that he can help you win now, and 2 years in with 0 development on the offensive end, which is the primary area for his development, means that he is not a "blue chip prospect" that would be coveted in a trade for a superstar. If that was the case than Cleveland might as well trade for MKG or Avery Bradley or even Derek Jones Jr., because Winslow looks much more like Tony Allen and PJ Tucker than a budding star. He was highly though of during the draft because his 1 season in college showed a shooting potential that he has never even come close to achieving in the NBA. Basically, one hot 20 game span shooting the ball blew up his stock.

Chriss overall managed to at least post a positive winshare, which is tough given his team is not even on the same planet as Miami, and thus has drastically fewer wins to share. I think the advanced numbers are more god awful versus below average, with god awful being Winslow and Bender, and below average being Chriss, and pretty good being Warren. The difference is that Winslow was supposed to be an immediate impact player in this league. He was not supposed to be a project. Chriss is new to freaking basketball and Bender is the youngest guy in the league. They are supposed to be struggling early on. Winslow was a guy that people thought had turned around his offense in college and would be a complete player in the NBA except for shooting 3s, and he has shown to be much worse than everyone thought so far all around on offense. Dude doesn't score at the rim, can't shoot in mid range, can't shoot free throws, and also can't shoot from 3.

[AtheJ415]

Chriss wouldn't had seen 10 minutes a game had he been on a team playing meaningful games that had a real PF. The guy can dunk yay....but he doest know how to play basketball.... yet. The league has seen many of him.... some make it some dont... but quit trying claim he is anything more than a kid with potential. A starting PF he is not, a sixth man he is not.... except here where he had to beat out a chubby SF and an injured 19 yr old.

I'd take miami's deal over ours. Winslow and Bam look to be far better defenders than Chris and a pick. And Bled and Dragic are pretty much =... but I think Dragic is a better fit. Had Bled been the Defensive-Baller he was sold as, then may be not... but he isn't. And does age really trump Injury when you are dealing with a two year window?

BTW, this team has sucked since handing the helm over to Bledsoe. IMO, his value (to us) has been reduced to Boogie Bait.

The irony. Bam has played absolutely 0 minutes with an NBA team, and Winslow is THE WORST OFFENSIVE PLAYER IN BASKETBALL. It's not about minutes. The advanced numbers bear that out. Chriss is much better than Winslow on offense. Bender isn't, but Bender was the youngest player in the NBA last year on a horrible team. Winslow has had a premiere coach and is playing off of better players overall than Phoenix has, while putting up worse numbers. I'm not ignoring his defense. His defense is factored into his overall numbers, and those overall numbers say he helps the opponents win games.

[matt131]

Saw this posted in the FB group. Thought it was pretty interesting. Basically proved Gambo to be incorrect.

https://soundcloud.com/siriusxmnba/phoenix-suns-guard-josh-jackson-on-being-involved-in-kyrie-irving-trade-rumors

"Those words were never said to me." JJ really knows how to answer these questions tactfully. I think he knows more than he's letting on.

[bwgood77]

Chriss wouldn't had seen 10 minutes a game had he been on a team playing meaningful games that had a real PF. The guy can dunk yay....but he doest know how to play basketball.... yet. The league has seen many of him.... some make it some dont... but quit trying claim he is anything more than a kid with potential. A starting PF he is not, a sixth man he is not.... except here where he had to beat out a chubby SF and an injured 19 yr old.

I'd take miami's deal over ours. Winslow and Bam look to be far better defenders than Chris and a pick. And Bled and Dragic are pretty much =... but I think Dragic is a better fit. Had Bled been the Defensive-Baller he was sold as, then may be not... but he isn't. And does age really trump Injury when you are dealing with a two year window?

BTW, this team has sucked since handing the helm over to Bledsoe. IMO, his value (to us) has been reduced to Boogie Bait.

The irony. Bam has played absolutely 0 minutes with an NBA team, and Winslow is THE WORST OFFENSIVE PLAYER IN BASKETBALL. It's not about minutes. The advanced numbers bear that out. Chriss is much better than Winslow on offense. Bender isn't, but Bender was the youngest player in the NBA last year on a horrible team. Winslow has had a premiere coach and is playing off of better players overall than Phoenix has, while putting up worse numbers. I'm not ignoring his defense. His defense is factored into his overall numbers, and those overall numbers say he helps the opponents win games.

He only played in 18 games. Miami wasn't a good team to start the season. They were 11-30 in the first half. He played in two stretches of 9 games and was battling injuries. It's WAY too early to definitely judge him, just like it's WAY too early to definitely judge Bender, who also had a negative 4 OBPM. But battling injuries and playing 18 games is hardly a good reflection of what type of impact he will provide going forward.

As a rookie he had a BPM of -.6 and Chriss had a BPM of -1.6. Chriss was slightly better on the offensive side and far worse on the defensive side as a rookie. Bam hasn't played but the Miami pick is more than a year away from playing.

[BobbieL]

Chriss wouldn't had seen 10 minutes a game had he been on a team playing meaningful games that had a real PF. The guy can dunk yay....but he doest know how to play basketball.... yet. The league has seen many of him.... some make it some dont... but quit trying claim he is anything more than a kid with potential. A starting PF he is not, a sixth man he is not.... except here where he had to beat out a chubby SF and an injured 19 yr old.

I'd take miami's deal over ours. Winslow and Bam look to be far better defenders than Chris and a pick. And Bled and Dragic are pretty much =... but I think Dragic is a better fit. Had Bled been the Defensive-Baller he was sold as, then may be not... but he isn't. And does age really trump Injury when you are dealing with a two year window?

BTW, this team has sucked since handing the helm over to Bledsoe. IMO, his value (to us) has been reduced to Boogie Bait.

The irony. Bam has played absolutely 0 minutes with an NBA team, and Winslow is THE WORST OFFENSIVE PLAYER IN BASKETBALL. It's not about minutes. The advanced numbers bear that out. Chriss is much better than Winslow on offense. Bender isn't, but Bender was the youngest player in the NBA last year on a horrible team. Winslow has had a premiere coach and is playing off of better players overall than Phoenix has, while putting up worse numbers. I'm not ignoring his defense. His defense is factored into his overall numbers, and those overall numbers say he helps the opponents win games.

He only played in 18 games. Miami wasn't a good team to start the season. They were 11-30 in the first half. He played in two stretches of 9 games and was battling injuries. It's WAY too early to definitely judge him, just like it's WAY too early to definitely judge Bender, who also had a negative 4 OBPM. But battling injuries and playing 18 games is hardly a good reflection of what type of impact he will provide going forward.

As a rookie he had a BPM of -.6 and Chriss had a BPM of -1.6. Chriss was slightly better on the offensive side and far worse on the defensive side as a rookie. Bam hasn't played but the Miami pick is more than a year away from playing.

Its a pretty good trade for the Cavs for the long term perspective with Winslow and Bam; Dragic instead of Bledsoe (just comping the Suns trade pieces) - though older wouldn't hurt in 2017/18 season. I can see them doing it - unless they want to ship Irving out West for the sake of getting him out of conference. I think the value of Bam today is more than a Tbd draft pick and the comparison of Winslow v Chriss or Warren, that could go either way. What does LeBron want? End of the day, if Dragic helps his team more, he would pick Dragic I think.

[AtheJ415]

Chriss wouldn't had seen 10 minutes a game had he been on a team playing meaningful games that had a real PF. The guy can dunk yay....but he doest know how to play basketball.... yet. The league has seen many of him.... some make it some dont... but quit trying claim he is anything more than a kid with potential. A starting PF he is not, a sixth man he is not.... except here where he had to beat out a chubby SF and an injured 19 yr old.

I'd take miami's deal over ours. Winslow and Bam look to be far better defenders than Chris and a pick. And Bled and Dragic are pretty much =... but I think Dragic is a better fit. Had Bled been the Defensive-Baller he was sold as, then may be not... but he isn't. And does age really trump Injury when you are dealing with a two year window?

BTW, this team has sucked since handing the helm over to Bledsoe. IMO, his value (to us) has been reduced to Boogie Bait.

The irony. Bam has played absolutely 0 minutes with an NBA team, and Winslow is THE WORST OFFENSIVE PLAYER IN BASKETBALL. It's not about minutes. The advanced numbers bear that out. Chriss is much better than Winslow on offense. Bender isn't, but Bender was the youngest player in the NBA last year on a horrible team. Winslow has had a premiere coach and is playing off of better players overall than Phoenix has, while putting up worse numbers. I'm not ignoring his defense. His defense is factored into his overall numbers, and those overall numbers say he helps the opponents win games.

He only played in 18 games. Miami wasn't a good team to start the season. They were 11-30 in the first half. He played in two stretches of 9 games and was battling injuries. It's WAY too early to definitely judge him, just like it's WAY too early to definitely judge Bender, who also had a negative 4 OBPM. But battling injuries and playing 18 games is hardly a good reflection of what type of impact he will provide going forward.

As a rookie he had a BPM of -.6 and Chriss had a BPM of -1.6. Chriss was slightly better on the offensive side and far worse on the defensive side as a rookie. Bam hasn't played but the Miami pick is more than a year away from playing.

I'm not really judging him as an ultimate player. I'm judging the supposed statement that Winslow helps you win NOW, and thus the Cavs would prefer the Miami trade, and also that he is still a blue chip prospect.

He has never shown any ability to help you win now at the NBA level. He didn't as a rookie. He didn't as a sophomore. His shooting has been awful across the board--not just from 3. That is not what was expected from him coming in. People thought his 3 point shot would struggle but that he would be good in transition, getting to the rim, and be improving at the free throw line and mid range. None of that has happened. He's been abysmal at all across the board. I don't believe that a player like Winslow is still a blue chip prospect after 2 years where his performance at his given weakness has gotten worse since college. He is near RFA, which will make him costly, and he does not look like a franchise player at all. There is still a long ways for him to go, so obviously he can develop into the player people thought, but I don't see any reason why that alone makes him a blue chip prospect when his performances are what they have been. It's like watching Archie Goodwin 2 years in and seeing 0 improvement and some additional holes on top of that and still considering him a blue chip high upside prospect. I don't believe his stock is that high anymore.

When NYK drafted Porzingis with him on the board, the knock was that Winslow helps the Knicks win today. He didn't help Miami win at all according to the numbers. His offense has shown more holes than people thought in college. His D has been great but it was supposed to be.

I wouldn't trade any of Chriss, Bender, Warren, our pick next year, Miami's unprotected pick for him. The big difference I see is that Warren actually helps you win today (as does Chriss despite not being great). With Chriss and Bender, they were supposed to be raw projects with high athletic upside. Chriss did better than expected as a rookie given his profile, and I'm not just considering BPM here--Chriss has better numbers than Winslow overall. He wasn't just a little better overall on offense relative to Winslow. The numbers actually show the gap in offense between Winslow and Chriss is bigger than the gap on defense, and thus Chriss is the better player TODAY. His ORtg-DRtg differential is better, his win share/48 is better, his career steal % is better, his turnover % is better, his PER is better. Bender might have been worse as a rookie than expected, but not by much. He was also a big time project who is too young and weak to be effective in the league as a rookie. Winslow did worse than expected as a rookie and the few games he played as a sophomore. He then got hurt, which also doesn't help his stock. Why on earth would somebody consider his stock "blue chip" as a prospect given all of that, or have faith that he will be more likely to reach his upside than any of those guys?

[Gorilla Warfare]

Read on Twitter

Here is your daily cryptic Bledsoe tweet. Onward.

[Qwigglez]

Read on Twitter

Here is your daily cryptic Bledsoe tweet. Onward.

He's likely jamming out right now.

Spoiler:

Watch on YouTube

[LukasBMW]

Read on Twitter

Here is your daily cryptic Bledsoe tweet. Onward.

He tweeted that with the PED's needle going into his butt cheek.

[JJ13]

Read on Twitter

Here is your daily cryptic Bledsoe tweet. Onward.

He's likely jamming out right now.

Spoiler:

Watch on YouTube

uhhhh...or Kanye??

Watch on YouTube

[bwgood77]

The irony. Bam has played absolutely 0 minutes with an NBA team, and Winslow is THE WORST OFFENSIVE PLAYER IN BASKETBALL. It's not about minutes. The advanced numbers bear that out. Chriss is much better than Winslow on offense. Bender isn't, but Bender was the youngest player in the NBA last year on a horrible team. Winslow has had a premiere coach and is playing off of better players overall than Phoenix has, while putting up worse numbers. I'm not ignoring his defense. His defense is factored into his overall numbers, and those overall numbers say he helps the opponents win games.

He only played in 18 games. Miami wasn't a good team to start the season. They were 11-30 in the first half. He played in two stretches of 9 games and was battling injuries. It's WAY too early to definitely judge him, just like it's WAY too early to definitely judge Bender, who also had a negative 4 OBPM. But battling injuries and playing 18 games is hardly a good reflection of what type of impact he will provide going forward.

As a rookie he had a BPM of -.6 and Chriss had a BPM of -1.6. Chriss was slightly better on the offensive side and far worse on the defensive side as a rookie. Bam hasn't played but the Miami pick is more than a year away from playing.

I'm not really judging him as an ultimate player. I'm judging the supposed statement that Winslow helps you win NOW, and thus the Cavs would prefer the Miami trade, and also that he is still a blue chip prospect.

He has never shown any ability to help you win now at the NBA level. He didn't as a rookie. He didn't as a sophomore. His shooting has been awful across the board--not just from 3. That is not what was expected from him coming in. People thought his 3 point shot would struggle but that he would be good in transition, getting to the rim, and be improving at the free throw line and mid range. None of that has happened. He's been abysmal at all across the board. I don't believe that a player like Winslow is still a blue chip prospect after 2 years where his performance at his given weakness has gotten worse since college. He is near RFA, which will make him costly, and he does not look like a franchise player at all. There is still a long ways for him to go, so obviously he can develop into the player people thought, but I don't see any reason why that alone makes him a blue chip prospect when his performances are what they have been. It's like watching Archie Goodwin 2 years in and seeing 0 improvement and some additional holes on top of that and still considering him a blue chip high upside prospect. I don't believe his stock is that high anymore.

When NYK drafted Porzingis with him on the board, the knock was that Winslow helps the Knicks win today. He didn't help Miami win at all according to the numbers. His offense has shown more holes than people thought in college. His D has been great but it was supposed to be.

I wouldn't trade any of Chriss, Bender, Warren, our pick next year, Miami's unprotected pick for him. The big difference I see is that Warren actually helps you win today (as does Chriss despite not being great). With Chriss and Bender, they were supposed to be raw projects with high athletic upside. Chriss did better than expected as a rookie given his profile, and I'm not just considering BPM here--Chriss has better numbers than Winslow overall. He wasn't just a little better overall on offense relative to Winslow. The numbers actually show the gap in offense between Winslow and Chriss is bigger than the gap on defense, and thus Chriss is the better player TODAY. His ORtg-DRtg differential is better, his win share/48 is better, his career steal % is better, his turnover % is better, his PER is better. Bender might have been worse as a rookie than expected, but not by much. He was also a big time project who is too young and weak to be effective in the league as a rookie. Winslow did worse than expected as a rookie and the few games he played as a sophomore. He then got hurt, which also doesn't help his stock. Why on earth would somebody consider his stock "blue chip" as a prospect given all of that, or have faith that he will be more likely to reach his upside than any of those guys?

Using Winslow's rookie year for comparison, since he was injured 80% of this past year, he had a higher WS and WS/48 than Chriss. They had the same differential in ORtg-DRtg. I wouldn't call him a blue chip prospect, and I wouldn't trade either Bender or Chriss for him, but that's likely due in large part to being somewhat attached to them. I think Winslow had about the same impact as Chriss as a rookie, and more impact than Bender, but then got injured in his second year. I won't penalize him for that.

[thamadkant]

Read on Twitter

The 2018 draft has some good prospects but...

I'd argue that Chriss and Bender have ceilings that are just as high as any of those 2018 potential top 5 picks.

Chriss is more athletic then any of them.

Bender has the best stroke of any of them...and he's 7 feet tall.

Let's throw our young guys into the fire, see how they do, and add one more top pick this year.

I like our young guys a lot, but nuh-uh. No way, dude. Bender was never in Donkic's tier as a prospect. And Donkic isn't alone in his tier in this class. Not even close.

Lol yea oh


Some fans over rate their team and it's understandable.

Just like when some thought Markieff Morris was a top upcoming PF. Just like some thought Dragic was an elite PG. It's normal when he is more of a Tony Parker level PG at his best (Dragic)


But Bender is all potential at this point and does not have a better shooting stroke than some of the elite 2018 prospects. Chriss is super athletic but as of now is lacking IQ. Many super athletes have failed because they didn't learn how to play the game.

[Walt_Uoob]

The irony. Bam has played absolutely 0 minutes with an NBA team, and Winslow is THE WORST OFFENSIVE PLAYER IN BASKETBALL. It's not about minutes. The advanced numbers bear that out. Chriss is much better than Winslow on offense. Bender isn't, but Bender was the youngest player in the NBA last year on a horrible team. Winslow has had a premiere coach and is playing off of better players overall than Phoenix has, while putting up worse numbers. I'm not ignoring his defense. His defense is factored into his overall numbers, and those overall numbers say he helps the opponents win games.

He only played in 18 games. Miami wasn't a good team to start the season. They were 11-30 in the first half. He played in two stretches of 9 games and was battling injuries. It's WAY too early to definitely judge him, just like it's WAY too early to definitely judge Bender, who also had a negative 4 OBPM. But battling injuries and playing 18 games is hardly a good reflection of what type of impact he will provide going forward.

As a rookie he had a BPM of -.6 and Chriss had a BPM of -1.6. Chriss was slightly better on the offensive side and far worse on the defensive side as a rookie. Bam hasn't played but the Miami pick is more than a year away from playing.

Its a pretty good trade for the Cavs for the long term perspective with Winslow and Bam; Dragic instead of Bledsoe (just comping the Suns trade pieces) - though older wouldn't hurt in 2017/18 season. I can see them doing it - unless they want to ship Irving out West for the sake of getting him out of conference. I think the value of Bam today is more than a Tbd draft pick and the comparison of Winslow v Chriss or Warren, that could go either way. What does LeBron want? End of the day, if Dragic helps his team more, he would pick Dragic I think.

Also if LeBron definitely plans to leave after next season, he might rather leave Dragic stranded in Cleveland than do it to his friend Bledsoe. That's total conjecture but could be a factor.