Post#65 » by Ranma » Thu Jan 17, 2019 11:49 pm
Going into this season, I was trying to lead the charge to trade Gallo because of concerns about his injury history and with the intent to clear enough cap space to sign 2 max-level free agents and retain Tobias. However, as you guys may have already read from my fairly recent postings, I've since changed my stance on trading Gallo.
He's far from untouchable and his susceptibility to injury will always be a lingering concern, but given the anticipated options available for this summer in free agency, I find the appeal of signing Kawhi and adding him to the Tobias-Gallo pairing to be more attractive or--to be more apt--realistic than signing Kawhi and Durant.
Obviously, the Clippers organization will not hesitate to sign both Kawhi and Durant if given the opportunity. Plus, signing those two would still allow for retaining either Gallo or Tobias to go along with that dynamic duo. So why would I be angling for the former scenario instead of the latter?
Personally, I buy into the buzz that Kawhi and Durant have some animosity between them. Kawhi likely feels disrespected by Durant and Durant probably doesn't see Kawhi at his level. This is based on reporting from interviews with Windhorst and others. Now things could smooth over once Jerry West gets in a room with the both of them since the Logo impressively managed the Kobe-Shaq feud, but I'm not counting on that.
Futhermore, I have higher aims in hoping to acquire Anthony Davis. That's probably unrealistic but once Durant and/or Kawhi is acquired, it's unlikely that either would be dealt for the Brow, especially given how Griffin was shipped out after signing his extension. Another factor is that I just don't want to deal with Durant's ego and constant need to be recognized. Yeah, he deserves it and there are worse prima donnas out there, but KD's histrionics have left me rooting against him rather than for him. And this is coming from a guy who was championing him as the best player in the league over LeBron a few years ago.
Of course, it's not a deal-breaker if we somehow remarkably signed both Durant and Kawhi, but I'd really like to see what Kawhi can do with Tobias and Gallo flanking him. All three players are really easy to root for and would form quite a winning trio with each complimenting each other well. The problem is Gallo's advancing age and history of injuries have him close to producing diminishing returns, so his long-term value is not as stable.
At this point, I'm more interested in retaining Gallo with another season left on his contract rather than dumping it for a marginal return. Gallo could conceivably be a part of something special albeit in the short term, but unless we need to trade one or the other or both in order to acquire Anthony Davis, I'd like to hold onto both Gallo and Tobias for right now. I feel that we have more likely paths to success by holding onto them for now.
Such plans could certainly derail easily given that Tobias could leave free and clear as an unrestricted free agent, Gallo could get hurt again, and we could totally strike out in not signing Kawhi, Durant or even Jimmy Butler in free agency. Still, there are inherent risks in every plan and I find that staying on the current course that West, Frank & the rest of the front office has us on is the best approach to take for now.
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