06-06-2025, 08:30 PM
(06-06-2025, 07:25 PM)Chicagojk Wrote: You have heard some reports that this offseason may be the craziest yet with trades. It is funny though, I have listened to some national podcasts discussing offseason trades and it is very tricky to find matches in trades. It seems a lot hard than previous years.
I wonder if this will limit trades in total due to these limitations? Or due to these limitations does this create some off the wall type of trades just to get them to work?
Great point.
There are some pressure points on teams/GMs in play, that leads to those predictions that some big things SURELY must happen. Some obvious ones are Giannis in MIL (with a decaying roster, no picks, and Lillard sidelined for a year or longer), KD in PHX (with a decaying roster, no picks, and Apron 2 handcuffs), and who knows what in BOS (decaying roster, an Apron 2 noose, and Tatum sidelined forever). Of course nothing truly MUST happen if the team is willing to just ride it out, so there's that.
It's not just issues with star players altering the landscape. The Apron 2 hard cap has become a real thing to deal with and some teams are right there, with real roster needs, but being strangled, and looking for whatever solution it takes. CLE may be in this box along with BOS and PHX, wanting to shed salary to get below A2, and there may be another 6-8 teams (incl DAL) who will have needs they can't fill because they are in danger of, and will make sure not to go over, A2.
At the same time, all teams feel the pressure of the clock ticking on whatever roster they have. Contracts are only commitments for a few years, then expire. If your weakness doesn't get fixed fast, can you retain key players until you can reload assets to fix it later? FWIW - every team gets a full draft set reload every 7 years, no matter how bad it is at the moment. But can we wait, or will we deplete our coming assets before we get there?
Cap room spending may be very limited. Will there be bargains to be had on players better than MLE, but no one can offer it? Spotrac projects only 1 team with max cap room (BKN) and 3 others (CHI, DET, MEM) with the ability to do a deal just over MLE (in the 15-20M range). Then what? And which of these teams with cap room (if any) will "sell it" (so to speak) by agreeing to take a good player from a team with big payroll problems?
I wonder if a better description of the upcoming summer could be "unpredictable."
One example - the talk is Giannis to NY or some other places that look like looming contenders right now. But won't MIL want to reload in a major way -- and could they get a better haul from a team that is NOT yet a contender but has a load of picks and is tired of losing? NY can offer some so-so talent to keep MIL mediocre, but who has better picks for MIL? Unpredictable.
It could be very busy. And some teams might even hunker down and ride it out, with far less activity than we expect. It should be interesting.