Deandre Ayton Discussion: This Is A Platform I Can't Run From

If we’re going to act like a premier organisation, it starts at the trade deadline. We have the expiring contracts of Gabe, Kleber & Rui as well as Knecht. Either we renew them or we trade them to keep the salary slot.

I’ve spoken numerous times over the offseason but we have combinations of salary where we can trade for a contract in the: 10-12 range, 15-17, 18-20 range, 21-23 range, 25-27 range, 29-31 range, 34-36 range. So I fully expect us to do this.

If we can find an asset with bird rights that is inline for a bigger pay day and we can use those birds rights to go into the luxury tax. I expect us to also do that. And then we can resign Lebron, Reaves, Rui (if he stays) and the new asset using bird rights.

 

Nobody will ever convince me that the Brick trade didn’t set us back five seasons.
We totally lucked out on Luka, but we are still a couple of pieces away from contending. We are very unathletic and it shows with our inability to cover a fast break- even after a made basket.
That team last season would have been absolutely embarrassed by OKC, Indy or NY in a series.
LeGM ruined any chances of winning another Ring by forcing Rob’s hand.
I’m hoping next season, with the right moves, it will be our first real shot at surrounding Luka with a proper team.
Maybe we get lucky at the deadline this year and can make a little run. Stranger things have happened.

 

I also think a decent amount of penny pinching set us back.

Caruso should still be with us, we didn’t keep him because of luxury tax.

We let Brook Lopez leave and he had a further 7 productive seasons.

We let Malik Beasley, Lonnie Walker and Prince expire.

We lost DFS because we were too cheap. Imagine right now:

Luka / Caruso / Gabe
Reaves / Beasley / Bronny
Smart / DFS / Vando
Lebron / Rui / LaRavia
Ayton / Lopez / Hayes

 

Bunch of nonsense. We should have won a chip after trading Westbrook. If was all good, until Tinkerbell went MIA in the Conference Finals. We should have kept those contracts, we picked up from that trade too. Anyway we already have, a proper team right now.