Trade & FA 2024-25:

[DanSchwartzgan]

Is there any combo of players short of Luka/Kyrie/Lively/PJ which could entice the Nuggets to SnT us KCP? Would it be worth it if such a move hard caps us and does not allow to re-sign DJJ? KCP seems like a superior version of Jones.

With the THJ trade still open, you can pair a salary going to Denver with the THJ outgoing.  So, Green to Denver (or anywhere really), THJ to Detroit and Grimes/KCP to Dallas.  Right now the presumption is Grimes goes into an old TPE (which hard-caps us at the first apron).  But, we don't have to do it that way.   If we aren't worried about keeping DJJ (because he's being steered by his new agent to LAL to take the money Lebron is 'sacrificing'), then we can offer KCP (or Thompson or Tobias or any S&T) about $21.5mm with Green outgoing in the same deal as THJ.  The $21mm limit is because of the hard cap because those guys are S&T's 

BTW, if the incoming isn't a S&T and you didn't put Grimes into an old TPE and you didn't use the NT MLE on anyone and you've not taken back more than you've sent out, you've not hard-capped yourself.  In that case the spending limit math is THJ/Green minus Grimes...about $24.5mm.  You also get to spend the $5.2mm since you haven't broken any of the first apron hard cap rules.   You are "spending all of the money" as Nico says.  It doesn't have to be Green.  You can get to Bogdan Bogdanovic money simply by sending Hardy and Powell to Atlanta.  Then, not only have you "spent all the money", but you've kept #7 (Green) and #8 (Maxi).  

All of this is predicated on the idea that LAL gets DJJ.  That changes a bunch of what we've presumed the last few days.