Post#1663 » by Ring7Banner18 » Fri Jun 14, 2019 2:44 pm
Haven't seen it noted that the Wizards push to hire Masi Ujiri from Raptors has to have at least a temporary effect of any potential Bradley Beal trade involving AD. No way Wizards move their best asset before getting clarity on their ability to get Masi. I think the Celtics see the situation as it stands for what it is, which is that the Pelicans are in a much tougher position than we are. There's a variety of alternative "exotic scenarios" we can pull the trigger on, and we can go in any direction we want, and let the market dictate the best path. And because Danny has punted on opportunities like this many times before, teams and people like Griffin know it's not just posturing, it's the truth. Conversely, the Pelicans have to trade AD, and with the draft looming, they may have to do it soon. They also have limited options. Do they take the low ball/best standing offer, which is from the Lakers, knowing it's not only not an ideal return, but that they might also have to keep the 4th pick and take a player there which they're not keen to do?
Or, like they've been very transparently trying to do, can they get BOS to up the ante, at least enough to bypass the need to do a trade w/ the Lakers before the draft. That's the dance I see going on. I think Brian Windhorst and others have made it clear that it's that simple. We the fans are just creating this artificial roller coaster of "developments" when in fact we're witnessing the slowest hand of poker ever played, with Ainge the only one who hasn't really shown all of his cards and feels no pressure to. What we don't know, and can only have fun guessing, is what card(s) Ainge needs to put on the table in order to keep the convo going past the draft, if not get a deal done before the draft. Great educated guesses going around here, but no one knows what those card(s) are, including if a "Tatum and not much else" package would even get it done. For all we know Tatum could be on the table and the issue is Griffin is demanding we insert Smart.
Lastly, I think there is a ton of truth to the speculation that Ainge is shopping around for this year's version of a Ray Allen trade. This year and next the league can be as wide open as it's been in some time. One of few realistic exceptions to the forthcoming parity is if AD and Lebron team up and take at least the next two. Only way Ainge punts is if: 1) he can't make the necessary collateral moves to build a contender around AD; or 2) Griffin's demands for AD make a trade untenable.
