nate33 wrote:WallToWall wrote:Obviously, this team will not contend for anything but ping pong balls this year. So, the question I have is, when is it the best time to trade Beal, Bertans, and Westbrook, and any other player that is not a young pup? If the intent is to get draft picks in trade, is it better to wait till we have an idea of where other teams will be picking, before we make a trade - that means, trade at the end of the season? Or, should we sell while the selling is high for the valued player(s), before we know where other teams will be picking - that means trade by the trade deadline?
IMO, Beal's trade value will remain high now and through the end of the season. I think we trade him at the end of the season.
Bertans needs to redeem his value. So, we need him to play well now and through the season. At the end of the season, we can trade him. Westbrook is back to being a triple double stat. He should be traded by the trade deadline. All other assets can and should be traded before the trade deadline.
Bryant, Hach, Avidja, and yes, TBJ, will give us an above average set of players in 2 years. Mix in some good draft picks, and we may have something.
I think Bertans' value is already restored. He started rough because of conditioning issues due to Covid and quarantines, but he has been his old self ever since coming back from Covid. No competent GM will assume he peaked last year and is now in decline. He should be shopped now, particularly if the intent is to trade Beal in the offseason.
The best time to trade Beal is the offseason. If we trade Beal, it must be for a top 4 pick, and we won't know until the lottery who has the picks.
I don't think there is a time to trade Westbrook. I don't see a scenario where we can unload him without giving up a pick.
I pretty much agree on everything except Beal, and w/Beal, it is contingent on a Godfather type offer which might happen more for 1.5 years rather than just the 1 year+potential extension. So I can roll with this.
W/regards to Bertans, he was projected to get what was it, 15-20+ per year and he went in that window. He's now doing what made him that valuation leading up to free agency, and he's a plug and play problem solver for teams that need what he brings. They may not be happy about being on the hook for 4 years years and 65 mill w/that last year being a much smaller dead cap hit apparently, but honestly, I don't think it's that hard to imagine teams just wanting what he brings and paying for it, the contract not being a value, just being kind of neutral makes an overpay unlikely unless multiple teams want him, still, we should be able to get some assets.
As for Westbrook, nobody's gonna give anything of value for him until they can forget about the cost because he's an expiring, which means we're not getting rid of the Wall/Westbrook boondoggle until the winter of '22-'23 2 years from now which is fine, it's not like we're contending this year or next anyway.
My one concern is TED is just not a forward thinking owner. He will see Bertans as a piece he just paid to be complementary to the core, and he'll question why whatever has happened this year, means that the five year deal we made with Bertans to make him a part of our future shouldn't still be in play. He won't get that the results this year tell you everything you need to know about '21-'23, and that no contention is happening and everything he will do will be empty points that harm our ability to tank without appreciable changing our ability to contend, that basically Bertans matters for teams that are in those tiers with Utah, the LA sides, Brooklyn, Miami, Philly, Denver, Boston, Milwaukee etc but not relevant to teams like ours.
I think we'll do nothing at the deadline beyond possibly stupid mini-tinker type moves, or something idiotic like throwing away Brown for a move that might actually make our win total slightly higher (since for whatever reason, Brown is not even being used at this point, a trade might actually hurt the tank). I hope I'm wrong. I hope we move Bertans if the right deal is there, and Beal if the right deal is there, but I'm convinced at this point that the F.O. is basically manned by either dullards, or essentially no better than league average, to sub league average level talent, so cleverness in deals and forward thinking is probably a pipe dream. The fact that we supposedly want a "name" rather than a fast rising talent that's less known tells me Ted has the same stupid streak as Dan in that sense, and can't even see talent that's literally on his own payroll, let alone deeper talent (think of all the coaches that have taken teams to the super bowl or the playoffs in recent years that are basically former redskins assistants that we passed over or alienated while we went after lesser talent with names (the other Gruden, Rivera etc).
Ugh. I walked my way back into a ravine with that aside.
