(07-17-2026, 05:04 PM)hakeemfaan Wrote: It's not a dangerous mindset at all.
Of course in a 1 para conversation a lot of nuances are lost, which is why I said there is no easy solution.
You can try to be like the Cavs were with LeBron where they went all in during his first rodeo, didn't win a title, jeopardized future assets, and Bron left anyway.
However, who is to say that if they didn't go all in and played the long game, they would have done any better and Bron would have stayed? At least with the previous approach, they went far in the playoffs than Bron watching from his home every year as the playoffs started.
Coop is watching Dylan and VJ on strong teams. While we say we have 7 more years, the reality is also that each year the team doesn't contend, it is wasting a year of a generational talent. All you can do is hope Coop stays content even as he enviously watches his contemporaries be in situations that he wishes he were in.
Again there are no easy answers. All I'm saying is there is no long term timeline wrt a generational player who already has shown that he is one of the top players in the league. The timeline to contend runs through every year that he is here.
Its way too early to talk about wasting Flagg years or worrying about him being content. Wemby and Lebron didn't make the playoffs in their first two seasons. I think you are underestimating how much better he will be in a couple of years, and how much more talent this team needs to acquire/develop to have any thoughts on contending.
I mean if you really don't want to waste Flagg's early years (or you think his first contract is your best window) then do you trade for Brown? PJ + Gafford + Klay would have salary matched and I think a better package than the rotting corpse of Paul George. Add most of their remaining draft capital and you have the big three of Flagg/Brown/Kyrie. That would probably give you your best chance to win now (probably not enough), but it would have left the team completely screwed in three years when you have to pay both Flagg and Brown and have no assets. Its this kind of thinking that I am referring to as dangerous.