2020 Offseason Speculation, free agency, summer trades (keep draft prospect talk in draft thread)

[Frank Lee]

Bag it all. It’s been months since any play. What is anyone expecting? No way you see quality basketball. High risk of injury. Sterile no crowd environment.
No point in trying to make something out of nothing. NBA playoffs just another Covid casualty it’s a TV money grab at this point. The league ought to be focused on how to salvage Next year. This **** isn’t over.


BTW.... I think the Suns/NBA is missing the boat on replaying great games of the past. We should have a Suns game on every night, with guest commentary from participants. Give me back some of the Madhouse memories that have mysteriously gone dormant

[LV-Suns]

If we are getting dicked out of a playoff spot, they better flatten the lottery odds of the team who didn't make it.

[ATTL]

If we are getting dicked out of a playoff spot, they better flatten the lottery odds of the team who didn't make it.

Equal chance for the 10 teams that didnt make the playoffs. No set order. This needs to happen.

[Fo-Real]

Random thought and post, I really think we already have our 3rd star in Oubre! He gets criticism here because people think he takes the ball out of Book and Aaytons hands too much but that I'm my opinion is just part of his star mentality. The dude is amazing, he shoots it, he gets to the rim, he boards, and at his size he defends 2 guards to power forwards and isnt a bad defender. This dude brings it hard every night, and his teammates absolutely love him. He came here and had a breakout season without a doubt. He works hard as hell on his game and seems to be just a good dude to boot. This board undervalues this man's game, there is a reason that teams are starting all of the sudden to try to pry him away, they want to steal him before we realize what we have. Kelly is one of the strong points of our team.

[darmani]

Random thought and post, I really think we already have our 3rd star in Oubre! He gets criticism here because people think he takes the ball out of Book and Aaytons hands too much but that I'm my opinion is just part of his star mentality. The dude is amazing, he shoots it, he gets to the rim, he boards, and at his size he defends 2 guards to power forwards and isnt a bad defender. This dude brings it hard every night, and his teammates absolutely love him. He came here and had a breakout season without a doubt. He works hard as hell on his game and seems to be just a good dude to boot. This board undervalues this man's game, there is a reason that teams are starting all of the sudden to try to pry him away, they want to steal him before we realize what we have. Kelly is one of the strong points of our team.

Which isn't even true.

Touches per 36 minutes:
Oubre 47.6
Mikal 48.9
Aaron Gordon 58.0
Saric 67.2


Points per touch:
Oubre 0.411 (#15 in the NBA, min 500 minutes)
Gordon 0.270
Mikal 0.237
Saric 0.217

[starbosa10]

Bag it all. It’s been months since any play. What is anyone expecting? No way you see quality basketball. High risk of injury. Sterile no crowd environment.
No point in trying to make something out of nothing. NBA playoffs just another Covid casualty it’s a TV money grab at this point. The league ought to be focused on how to salvage Next year. This **** isn’t over.

BTW.... I think the Suns/NBA is missing the boat on replaying great games of the past. We should have a Suns game on every night, with guest commentary from participants. Give me back some of the Madhouse memories that have mysteriously gone dormant

Yup it's all about the money. Same reason every league is coming back because they dont want to lose the TV deal money.

[Ghost of Kleine]

Random thought and post, I really think we already have our 3rd star in Oubre! He gets criticism here because people think he takes the ball out of Book and Aaytons hands too much but that I'm my opinion is just part of his star mentality. The dude is amazing, he shoots it, he gets to the rim, he boards, and at his size he defends 2 guards to power forwards and isnt a bad defender. This dude brings it hard every night, and his teammates absolutely love him. He came here and had a breakout season without a doubt. He works hard as hell on his game and seems to be just a good dude to boot. This board undervalues this man's game, there is a reason that teams are starting all of the sudden to try to pry him away, they want to steal him before we realize what we have. Kelly is one of the strong points of our team.

The problem isn't really in that we undervalue him I think. And clearly, He is/ has been great to our team and to our overall culture too. However, With his emergence to potential greatness fueled by his breakout season, Other teams have now taken notice! As with any team, it becomes a double edged sword, Wherein we benefit from his increased production. But then the overall cost to retain him now increases too. So the point is that whilst he may be great for our team, We very possibly may not even be able to afford him in 2021 anyways as he's an unrestricted free agent after all. And thusly he'll be looking for his first big contract like most young players just fresh off of a breakout campaign. It's also important to remember that he'll be coming off a recent serious injury and that will also be in the back of his mind in terms of getting the most money he can secure to afford him a modicum of financial security early on, As insurance towards any unforeseen future calamities. So IF any of the other 30+ teams out there ( who have been hoarding cap space for 2021) miss out on their primary star targets, They'll of course find Oubre in the next lowest tier. And as a result, he'll likely get overpaid by a good margin more than we could afford to match or beat. Lastly, The team's long term outlook has to be taken into consideration too. I mean, Exactly how much of our limited cap space is really reasonable to tie up in a recently injured Oubre, Knowing that we have immenent core extensions for both of Bridges and Ayton that must be addressed around 2021-2022 as well. Are we really willing to potentially lose or let walk one of Bridges or Ayton at that point just to gold onto Oubre???

All of these questions must be answered, But then again, We night already have been given a glimpse into the Suns front offices' plans for Oubre, In the fact that they already tried to move him for Gordon a few months back! I personally believe that they prefer Gordon due to his descending contract, Since that would provide much needed cap relief for us around the time that we have to extend Bridges and Ayton.


So again, it's not really about people undervaluing him, So much as it's the real possibility of us losing him for nothing, The longer that we just sit on his contract. Kind of similar to not utilizing Tyler Johnson's expiring contract when we had the chance, Or Greg Monroe, Emeka Okafor, etc. Along with quite a few other past players that we simply sat on, And eventually got nothing of value, other than some cap space back for. Our front "Orifice " has really done a pretty poor job of utilizing assets in the past unfortunately. So that's where the exploratory trade interest stems from primarily I'd have to believe.

[Barkley6]

Random thought and post, I really think we already have our 3rd star in Oubre! He gets criticism here because people think he takes the ball out of Book and Aaytons hands too much but that I'm my opinion is just part of his star mentality. The dude is amazing, he shoots it, he gets to the rim, he boards, and at his size he defends 2 guards to power forwards and isnt a bad defender. This dude brings it hard every night, and his teammates absolutely love him. He came here and had a breakout season without a doubt. He works hard as hell on his game and seems to be just a good dude to boot. This board undervalues this man's game, there is a reason that teams are starting all of the sudden to try to pry him away, they want to steal him before we realize what we have. Kelly is one of the strong points of our team.

The problem isn't really in that we undervalue him I think. And clearly, He is/ has been great to our team and to our overall culture too. However, With his emergence to potential greatness fueled by his breakout season, Other teams have now taken notice! As with any team, it becomes a double edged sword, Wherein we benefit from his increased production. But then the overall cost to retain him now increases too. So the point is that whilst he may be great for our team, We very possibly may not even be able to afford him in 2021 anyways as he's an unrestricted free agent after all. And thusly he'll be looking for his first big contract like most young players just fresh off of a breakout campaign. It's also important to remember that he'll be coming off a recent serious injury and that will also be in the back of his mind in terms of getting the most money he can secure to afford him a modicum of financial security early on, As insurance towards any unforeseen future calamities. So IF any of the other 30+ teams out there ( who have been hoarding cap space for 2021) miss out on their primary star targets, They'll of course find Oubre in the next lowest tier. And as a result, he'll likely get overpaid by a good margin more than we could afford to match or beat. Lastly, The team's long term outlook has to be taken into consideration too. I mean, Exactly how much of our limited cap space is really reasonable to tie up in a recently injured Oubre, Knowing that we have immenent core extensions for both of Bridges and Ayton that must be addressed around 2021-2022 as well. Are we really willing to potentially lose or let walk one of Bridges or Ayton at that point just to gold onto Oubre???

All of these questions must be answered, But then again, We night already have been given a glimpse into the Suns front offices' plans for Oubre, In the fact that they already tried to move him for Gordon a few months back! I personally believe that they prefer Gordon due to his descending contract, Since that would provide much needed cap relief for us around the time that we have to extend Bridges and Ayton.


So again, it's not really about people undervaluing him, So much as it's the real possibility of us losing him for nothing, The longer that we just sit on his contract. Kind of similar to not utilizing Tyler Johnson's expiring contract when we had the chance, Or Greg Monroe, Emeka Okafor, etc. Along with quite a few other past players that we simply sat on, And eventually got nothing of value, other than some cap space back for. Our front "Orifice " has really done a pretty poor job of utilizing assets in the past unfortunately. So that's where the exploratory trade interest stems from primarily I'd have to believe.

All good points, but I think we need to see what our core (Booker, Rubio, Ayton, Oubre and Bridges) can do with a full season of health (and obviously the right supporting pieces). In the small sample size we got, there was definitely promise. I don't want to give up on Oubre or rule out paying him money that he may very well prove he's worth. I haven't forgotten the Joe Johnson situation, and while it was a little different, it severely altered our future trajectory over what amounted to a few million dollars. I really would hate to see us trade Oubre or let him walk and then not adequately replace him.

[WeekapaugGroove]

If we are getting dicked out of a playoff spot, they better flatten the lottery odds of the team who didn't make it.

They are 13th in the West and 13 games under .500 that's not exactly being 'dicked out' of anything.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using RealGM mobile app

[cberry78]

If we are getting dicked out of a playoff spot, they better flatten the lottery odds of the team who didn't make it.

Equal chance for the 10 teams that didnt make the playoffs. No set order. This needs to happen.

If they're going to do that then they should just randomly pick all 10 of the spots.

[Jdiddy701]

If we are getting dicked out of a playoff spot, they better flatten the lottery odds of the team who didn't make it.

They are 13th in the West and 13 games under .500 that's not exactly being 'dicked out' of anything.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using RealGM mobile app

While the Spurs are 9 games under .500 and they are being rewarded. I just don’t agree with rewarding any teams outside the playoffs. If they’re going to make an exception for some, they need to do all that are not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ghost of Kleine]

Random thought and post, I really think we already have our 3rd star in Oubre! He gets criticism here because people think he takes the ball out of Book and Aaytons hands too much but that I'm my opinion is just part of his star mentality. The dude is amazing, he shoots it, he gets to the rim, he boards, and at his size he defends 2 guards to power forwards and isnt a bad defender. This dude brings it hard every night, and his teammates absolutely love him. He came here and had a breakout season without a doubt. He works hard as hell on his game and seems to be just a good dude to boot. This board undervalues this man's game, there is a reason that teams are starting all of the sudden to try to pry him away, they want to steal him before we realize what we have. Kelly is one of the strong points of our team.

The problem isn't really in that we undervalue him I think. And clearly, He is/ has been great to our team and to our overall culture too. However, With his emergence to potential greatness fueled by his breakout season, Other teams have now taken notice! As with any team, it becomes a double edged sword, Wherein we benefit from his increased production. But then the overall cost to retain him now increases too. So the point is that whilst he may be great for our team, We very possibly may not even be able to afford him in 2021 anyways as he's an unrestricted free agent after all. And thusly he'll be looking for his first big contract like most young players just fresh off of a breakout campaign. It's also important to remember that he'll be coming off a recent serious injury and that will also be in the back of his mind in terms of getting the most money he can secure to afford him a modicum of financial security early on, As insurance towards any unforeseen future calamities. So IF any of the other 30+ teams out there ( who have been hoarding cap space for 2021) miss out on their primary star targets, They'll of course find Oubre in the next lowest tier. And as a result, he'll likely get overpaid by a good margin more than we could afford to match or beat. Lastly, The team's long term outlook has to be taken into consideration too. I mean, Exactly how much of our limited cap space is really reasonable to tie up in a recently injured Oubre, Knowing that we have immenent core extensions for both of Bridges and Ayton that must be addressed around 2021-2022 as well. Are we really willing to potentially lose or let walk one of Bridges or Ayton at that point just to gold onto Oubre???

All of these questions must be answered, But then again, We night already have been given a glimpse into the Suns front offices' plans for Oubre, In the fact that they already tried to move him for Gordon a few months back! I personally believe that they prefer Gordon due to his descending contract, Since that would provide much needed cap relief for us around the time that we have to extend Bridges and Ayton.


So again, it's not really about people undervaluing him, So much as it's the real possibility of us losing him for nothing, The longer that we just sit on his contract. Kind of similar to not utilizing Tyler Johnson's expiring contract when we had the chance, Or Greg Monroe, Emeka Okafor, etc. Along with quite a few other past players that we simply sat on, And eventually got nothing of value, other than some cap space back for. Our front "Orifice " has really done a pretty poor job of utilizing assets in the past unfortunately. So that's where the exploratory trade interest stems from primarily I'd have to believe.

All good points, but I think we need to see what our core (Booker, Rubio, Ayton, Oubre and Bridges) can do with a full season of health (and obviously the right supporting pieces). In the small sample size we got, there was definitely promise. I don't want to give up on Oubre or rule out paying him money that he may very well prove he's worth. I haven't forgotten the Joe Johnson situation, and while it was a little different, it severely altered our future trajectory over what amounted to a few million dollars. I really would hate to see us trade Oubre or let him walk and then not adequately replace him.

Definitely man! I'd love to see what our team IF HEALTHY can do. But irregardless of the outcome, We'll still need to plan ahead for Oubre. Because IF we hold onto him for a full season, Then our only remaining options become outbid any/ all other teams, In order to keep him. Or simply let him walk for cap space. Which would honestly be "another kick to the old nuts"! As we could've likely got some pretty decent assets/ cap space or equal value player back for him. But since we held onto him pretty much up until his UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENCY, No team will be willing to give back assets or value, When they can just outright sign him in free agency.

Also though, Oubre will be looking for his first BIG PAYDAY in 2021, And there'll be no shortage of teams that will be willing to overpay him, Should they miss out on their primary star caliber all star level targets. And this will only be further complicated by Oubres' profound interest in securing the biggest payday he possibly can get as an insurance policy against any future injuries. Especially with his recent knee injury still fresh in his mind. He'll be looking for the most security he can get. So then, at what point and amount does he then become an unacceptable risk for us???

Again, bearing in mind that we will absolutely need to address both Bridges and Aytons' extensions shortly after Oubres' free agency. So IF we then have to overpay for him to keep him, And as a result then can't afford both extensions and one of Ayton or Bridges ends up walking for nothing, Would it have still been worth it? And IF we were forced to choose between one of the 3 core players to be forced to let go, Which one would you really prefer?

Now again, IF anyone knows of a solid plan for us to keep Oubre(* And I'dlove to keep him, Just not for anything over 18 million tops) Then absolutely we should do it! But to quite possibly hold onto him, just to lose him anyways in one season, AND for no return/ assets whatsoever ( other than cap space from losing him is very poor asset management. I also think that the suns front office share that belief too, As evidenced by their openly sharing their exploratory trade talks for Gordon. As usually, They're very secretive and cryptic about any/ all personnel moves.

But in the end, I actually do hope they'll be able to resign him. But still add a positive low cost asset or two in this draft to address our most critical needs, And hopefully using some combination of the players that we plan to otherwise renounce or decline anyways. With the exception of Baynes. I really hope that they resign him to an affordable 1-2 yr deal.

Lastly, With respect to properly replacing him, I still really think that our best/ smartest option would be to trade back in the draft in a trade back scenario using some combination of our pick/ Saric/ Diallo/ and Okobo. My top 3 trade back scenarios would be:

1-To Boston-
The 10th pick/ Saric* ( resigned at around 6-8 million)/ Diallo for Marcus Smart/ the 26th and the 30th picks.

26- Draft Jalen Smith. Covers defensive issues/ floor spacing.
30- Draft Elijah Hughes. Covers scoring issues/ Oubre insurance. Both on 1 million or less rookie scale contracts.

2- To Dallas-
The 10th pick/ Saric *( resigned at around 8 million) / Diallo for Delon Wright ( or Seth Curry)/ 18th pick/ 31st pick.
18- Draft Jalen Smith.
31- Draft Tyler Bey.

*** trade Kaminsky/ Okobo to Sacramento for the 35th pick.
35- Draft Elijah Hughes. Now, All roster issues that Jones mentioned are covered.


3-To Toronto-
The 10th pick/ Frank Kaminsky (* Team Option) and Okobo for OG Anunoby/ 28th pick. OG Anunoby can become Oubres' replacement.

Then we'd trade Saric *( resigned 6-8 million) Diallo/ and a future conditional 2nd to Philly for the 22nd pick.
22- Draft Kira Lewis or Tre Jones.
28- Draft Paul Reed or Killian Tillie ( Sarics' replacement). And in all honesty, EVEN IF we happen to lose him in free agency, The 2021 draft is loaded with ELITE small forwards, So we could still easily draft Oubres' replacement.

We could draft any of :

Jalen Johnson.
http://www.nbadraftroom.com/p/jalen-johnson.html?m=1

Jonathan Kuminga-
http://www.nbadraftroom.com/p/jonathan-kuminga.html?m=1

Zhaire Williams-
http://www.nbadraftroom.com/p/zhaire-williams.html?m=1

Terrence Clark-
http://www.nbadraftroom.com/p/terrance-clark.html?m=1

Scotty Barnes-
http://www.nbadraftroom.com/p/scottie-barnes.html?m=1

Terrence Shannon Jr-
http://www.nbadraftroom.com/p/terrance-shannon-jr.html?m=1
But again, hopefully we can resign him at a reasonable price and fill our positional needs with prospects from this coming draft.

[darmani]

Here's a nice stat for the idiots who want to trade Oubre for picks and pieces:

Booker, Ayton, Bridges on court

with Oubre on court: 119.2 OffRtg, 104.4 DefRtg, +14.7 NetRtg
with Oubre off court: 112.7 OffRtg, 118.8 DefRtg, -6.2 NetRtg

[darmani]

Watch on YouTube

[alamin330]

I don’t think Booker will be asking for a trade from Minnesota during his career now. I’m pretty sure of it. If anything KAT and DLo get out of that god forsaken state ASAP

[King4Day]

“I think at the end of the day, we’ll be in Orlando at Disney. The question is going to be will we have all 30 teams there or will we have 24; whatever the number will end up being. But hopefully, by the middle of July, we start playing again.”

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/28/milwaukee-bucks-marc-lasry-nba-could-decide-reopening-by-next-week.html

This is the second time the idea of more than 20 teams came up.
I wonder if there is a real chance or not of our return. I really want to see Suns ball. Even if just 5-8 games.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

I don’t think Booker will be asking for a trade from Minnesota during his career now. I’m pretty sure of it. If anything KAT and DLo get out of that god forsaken state ASAP

What happened in Minny could happen on any day just about anywhere in America, and Phoenix doesn't exactly have the best track record when it comes to race issues. As segregated as most any city, its most prominent suburb (Scottsdale) was founded as a "sundown town," and they voted Joe Arpaio and his expressly anti-Mexican agenda into power 6 times.

At least there were no protests when they unveiled the "Los Suns" jerseys.

[Ghost of Kleine]

Here's a nice stat for the idiots who want to trade Oubre for picks and pieces:

Booker, Ayton, Bridges on court

with Oubre on court: 119.2 OffRtg, 104.4 DefRtg, +14.7 NetRtg
with Oubre off court: 112.7 OffRtg, 118.8 DefRtg, -6.2 NetRtg

Lol! Sticks and stones man. I do love your passion for Oubre though. He is absolutely great. And he's had an amazing effect on our team's culture as well, There's really no disputing that. So I genuinely do hope that we can resign him, As he's a key part of our core/ potential future success ( **IF WE CAN AFFORD TO RESIGN HIM). Also, it's really not reasonable to so Quickly discount potential "picks and pieces" without first knowing what those returning assets/ players may be!

Also, Those stats sure are definitely nice and impressive man, But in all honesty, They don't at all change the reality of their only being two available choices for our team ( aside from trade) during 2021 free agency, IF we should choose to hold onto him for this season, Those choices then again unfortunately become :

1- Resign Oubre by paying him more than the best/ largest offer he'll get from all of the other interested teams with large chunks of cap space specifically for that summer. So we'd Basically have to outbid every other interested team with significant cap space that summer.


And of course there will be a number of teams out there that will have been pooling large chunks of cap space for a big name star, But will whiff on those plans! And then they'll be scrambling to find the next best option to likely overpay, So that they can sell their fans on that player, As a splashy signing! Oubre will easily be in that 2nd tier. So, IF we don't intend to potentially overpay for Oubre ourselves, Then obviously, we'll very likely lose him for nothing other than mere cap space. And obviously that'll create yet another roster hole needing to be filled. So then we'll still have to replace him anyways, But now also be bidding against every other team with cap space that summer looking to fill similar positions.

By the way, Just out of curiosity, What cap limit would you give Oubre with respect to the max amount of our limited cap space that you'd be willing to commit to him? Again, Also having to take into consideration, Both of Bridges and Aytons' contractual extension increases (*options) having to be factored in as well for that same summer. Those cap holds will play a significant role in our ability to improve/ adjust or address our roster and positional needs. But let's take a look at our immenent contractual obligations:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/hoopshype.com/2019/06/17/phoenix-suns-contracts-key-dates-deadlines-options-trade-eligibility/amp/

For Ayton-
https://hoopshype.com/player/deandre-ayton/salary/

PROJECTED SALARY

SEASONPHOENIX SUNS2019/20$9,562,920
2020/21- $10,018,200
2021/22- $12,632,950* Summer of 2021.
2022/23- $16,422,835
2023/24- $0
2024/25- $0

And for Bridges:
https://hoopshype.com/player/mikal-bridges/salary/

PROJECTED SALARY

For Bridges-
SEASON -PHOENIX SUNS
2019/20- $4,161,000
2020/21- $4,359,000
2021/22- $5,557,725*Summer of 2021.
2022/23- $7,569,621
2023/24- $0
2024/25- $0

Then you also have to still consider Bookers' contractual scale increases as well.
https://hoopshype.com/player/devin-booker/salary/

PROJECTED SALARY

SEASON- PHOENIX SUNS
2019/20$27,285,000
2020/21- $29,430,000
2021/22- $31,610,000* (Only about 2.2 million) for the Summer of 2021.
2022/23- $33,790,000
2023/24- $36,493,200
2024/25- $0

But all of these cap holds do of course add up, And equate to around 20+ million on the books for that Summer. So, Please feel free to correct me If I'm wrong, But wouldn't that then reduce our available cap space by at least 20 million or more during that very summer??? And IF SO, Then how much could we realistically be able to match for Oubre then? This is my concern over our realistic ability to either offer or potentially outbid another team for Oubre.

Then you again have the extension scale increases( contract options) for these dates to consider:

July 8, 2021
Ricky Rubio becomes eligible for an extension.
July 10, 2021

Not too much, Just an increase of around 1.6 million.

October 18, 2021

Deadline for Deandre Ayton‘s rookie scale extension on his contract. Only around 2.6 million.

Deadline for Mikal Bridges‘s rookie scale extension on his contract. Only around1.5 million

**But then, the very next season in 2022, You have these considerations: Restricted free agency for Both Ayton and Oubre.

June 30, 2022

Deandre Ayton becomes a restricted free agent.

Elie Okobo becomes an unrestricted free agent.

Jalen Lecque becomes a restricted free agent.

Mikal Bridges becomes a restricted free agent.

Ricky Rubio becomes an unrestricted free agent. So We'll either have to pay him too, Or have to find another starting levelpoint guard yet again!

Finally, That very same next summer, We'll also have to consider the extensions/ options of both Cam Johnson and Ty Jerome. What happens if they also have a breakout season and we decide that we want to keep them. At what point/ salary amount in all this does Oubre become an unacceptable risk?

So IF we choose to tie up a large chunk of our cap space in Oubre?( excess of 20+ million) or more, Then we become severely limited in our potential ability to match large offers for either Bridges or Ayton. Does it still become worth it at that point, IF it may result in us possibly losing one of Bridges or Ayton! Look, IF we can get him for nothing over 18 million, Then hell yes! Sign me up! But at potentially over 20 million or more, I'll pass because he's already at a position of depth for us with both Bridges and Cam, Who happen to be of much lower cost to us contractually. But I'd also wager that the suns front office is aware of this potential complication, Otherwise why would they so easily broadcast or share their repeated interest in gauging his trade value as evidenced by the repeated Gordon trade interest ( * On a descending contract). Or perhaps it's all just coincidence huh?...lol

Anyways, I absolutely DO hope that we can REASONABLY resign him man. I really do, But I'm not overtly confident in our luck. Especially not with him being unrestricted free agent in the 2021 summer of all summers, Whenst most every team is pooling large chunks of cap space with which to make a splash. It's just really poor timing! All things being considered. Snd I just don't want to see us lose him and then get nothing of tangible value in return. But I still respect your opinion nevertheless, Respect man!

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

Kelly's a starter in this league, and starters don't come cheap. If we want to compete, we have to pay our players. I hope we can re-sign Kelly, but if we trade him, I hope we're willing to pay his replacement.

[bigfoot]

Kelly's a starter in this league, and starters don't come cheap. If we want to compete, we have to pay our players. I hope we can re-sign Kelly, but if we trade him, I hope we're willing to pay his replacement.

Yeah ... we've had thirteen first-round picks since 2010. How many of them have panned out to become long-term starters? Maybe a 30% chance of getting something decent in return. Trading Kelly for more picks that might turn into an NBA starter seems counterintuitive. Just pay the guy.