Trade & FA 2024-25:

[KillerLeft]

Danny Ainge is amazing. If the Mavs had him as GM for the last decade, instead of Cuban, the Nelson's, vulgar Bob, Nico, etc.... oh boy, I can't even imagine how much better run and higher their profile would have been. He might even have built a genuine contender around Luka by Luka's year 2 or 3. The NBA media does not seem to like giving the top white POBOs, GMs and coaches their just due these days though, so as not to make their counterparts look as bad as they are in comparison (the only exception being Spoelstra). Optical games. There seems to be some very disturbed/perturbed people pulling the strings at BSPN. As a result, people are now belittling Danny Ainge for doing good GM things, instead of singing his praises. Anyway, I think Trader Danny is awesome.

He is awesome. 

I suspect the asking price is a way of saying "Markkannen isn't actually available, but we'd let him go for a ridiculous haul if you want him that badly." And who knows, maybe a contender might even talk themselves into making an offer like that. It's a little similar to the Jerami Grant situation in Portland, only on a bigger scale with bigger stakes. We tend to think any player could be "gotten," but in reality, the guys actually being sold, as in their teams are motivated to move them, are the ones who end up changing teams. The Ainge strategy re Markkannen is a good one, as long as he doesn't wait too long like Chicago seems to have done with Zach LaVine, for example. 

Side note: this is why it's mind-numbingly boring to fixate on players not rumored to be available, trying to figure out how your team can trade for them. That's just not how the NBA business works. Sometimes a player is moved with little to no public warning, but even then there are almost always signs that can be easily spotted, at least in hindsight. 

For Markkannen, specifically, I think this was Ainge weighing his options, trying to decide how to move forward. 

The problem in Utah is that it's Utah. Almost nobody seems to want to play there, and a lot of ex-NBA types habitually mention that it's a toxic, racist part of the country (right or wrong, that's what they think). Markannenn is not good enough to be the centerpiece of a winning NBA team, and he's already 27. So, we're getting close to the time when he should be moved, and Ainge would do well to get himself some high-percentage swings at the Cooper Flagg types, because he'll never, ever, ever be able to jumpstart a contender through free agency. Complete one, maybe, but he won't be able to get one of the top two guys that way. It's highly unlikely they'll reach a status of contention with Markkannen on the roster. 

Still, I'm sure Ainge has a plan. He was great for Boston. This Markkanen situation will be fun to watch.