Trade & FA 2024-25:

[DanSchwartzgan]

Yes, C hides Maxi's degraded game more than PF.  He's not the backup C we need, tho.  Gafford is.  I don't understand why everyone is so quick to trade away Gafford when we have a 1-2 punch at C that no one can match.  Not to mention...  Maxi is always hurt.  Trending towards 800 minutes this year.  IMO, Obi is our answer to replace Maxi.

When I saw the news about Dallas shopping aggressively and Grimes/Maxi as possibly outgoing, the names that came to mind were H. Jones, Obi and Avdija.  Grimes is the prize here and his $4mm outgoing gets you to some bigger incoming numbers than some of our other options (like Hardy).  But, man have I liked him here.  I think one issue with him may be the lack of certainty around his 25/26 salary versus the financial certainty you get with these other guys.  Moving on from Maxi a year earlier is also helpful when thinking ahead to the summer.  You might be paying $28-$30 million next season for Maxi and Grimes.  Or, you might be paying that same amount for one of the guys above and get a MLE level signing or trade who is better than Maxi.

I've gravitated toward Obi.  I've liked his athleticism since his early days in NY.  I have trouble seeing Grimes as the centerpiece of deals to New Orleans or Portland.  But, Mathurin has been a disappointment and they are headed toward extensionville this summer.  I can certainly see them wanting restricted Grimes instead of the high expectations of the former number 6 pick.  I'm not saying they would give him away (but he has been in trade rumors).  Also, which coach in the entire NBA would value Maxi more highly than Carlisle.

We don't send our 2025 first AND Grimes in such a deal (for Jones maybe, but not Obi).  Something I find interesting here related to FG pointing out the roster crunch with two picks this summer.  I wouldn't mind swapping our 2025 for Indy's 2028 (and maybe our 2028 second back as they have three that year).  That way we can send out 3 future firsts again if the need were to arise.  Obi for Grimes helps with size and hurts on D.   As good as Grimes has been this season, Obi has been just as good and he and PJ give you very switchable bigs if you decide to go small in the playoffs.  Maxi gives you that too, but Obi also has a post game, can drive against a close-out and takes and hits (this season) his 3's.  I wouldn't mind this in the grand scheme of things when the future financials and a possible swap of picks is also included.  But, I liked it much better when we were talking about Maxi/Hardy/2025 than I do including Grimes.