Trade & FA 2023-24: Sexton On the Market? | ORL Likes Hartenstein?

[KillerLeft]

I certainly don’t think it will be multiple FRP’s. I was just listing them all. The bottom 3 would be hard to stomach for me. But the point I was ultimately making is that IF Tim is gone, like we all assume, THEN it will cost one of those listed prices.

I’m not sure I totally agree with that. It’s possible that you are right on the money with the range of possibilities, but, call me crazy, I still think Hardaway has something to offer to right team, and I think he demonstrated that for more than half of this season. Mix in the fact that his contract is expiring at a very useful number, and I actually hold out some hope that someone will just want him.

Now, the really tricky thing is obviously that the Mavericks are in a position where they can’t take back salary in exchange, at least if they want to keep all of the other players we have talked about today. So, that does probably swing the likelihood back to your premise that they will have to pay someone to take him, because that’s a service someone is providing the Mavericks. But again, for me, that brings the question of “who else can be moved” into play. 

I’m going to think it is very bad business if the Mavericks pay more than a second round pick or two, maximum, for someone to absorb Hardaway into space. Since I have no idea what the new reality of the punitive Penalties is going to do to the marketplace, I don’t feel confident that I know what it will cost, but I know that I wouldn’t be in favor of paying a first round pick. Call me a hater if you guys want, but if that is the reality the team faces this summer, I am kicking the tires on moving multiple players instead.That’s kind of where my “easy to see coming” line of thought came from earlier.

I think it is factual and a given that Hardaway is far and away the preferred method of obtaining salary for Jones, for both the team and the fan base. I am reasonably confident that this endeavor will be successful, but I don’t think we have enough information to assume that it will. I’m just saying that I feel like it’s very possible that some of these decisions might be harder than we think sitting here today. If they are, I know where DJJ sits on my priority list, because I’ve FORCED myself to consider all avenues.

For example, if it’s too expensive to dump Hardaway for nothing, but relatively cheap to dump green for nothing, Jones is a sufficient carrot to convince me to go that way. Then, maybe you can use Hardaway plus a small sweetener to get a useful player who fits here better, but is owed long term salary. That’s a scenario I can actually see playing out.