Trade & Free Agency 2026/2027

[mvossman]

I think you go one of two ways with Kyrie.  If the plan is to move him, the TDL is the better timing than this summer to maximize value.  Let the world see how good he is and wait for a contender to get desperate.  The issue there is dealing Kyrie almost certainly brings back multiple players.  But, we aren’t constructed to where it makes sense to bring back a 3-for-1 with some of those being young potential stars.  

OTOH, if the plan is to keep Kyrie, it wouldn’t be to be a middling playoff team.  We would be looking for a consolidation trade that brought in another high-level vet to pair with Kyrie and Flagg.  To me, all of the additions feel more like this approach.  We have enough depth - on good short contracts - that we could easily do a 3-for-1 and still have very good depth.  

I have no idea who that player might be at this point, but I think your mention of the Kawhi interest lines up with this thinking.  Some might call this accelerating the timeline and some might call it rushing the timeline.  I think we’ll know it when we see it and it will depend on what goes out and what is retained.  Right now it feels like we are filling up the depth to a point of overflowing at very little cost than a bunch of seconds.  If that depth is eventually used to bring in a high level veteran, then we will have turned very little value into something of significant value - which is the name of the game.

Not sure the additions seem like that approach to me.  Every player they have added since arriving is 25 or under and most of them need some development.  Those are not the kind of moves you make if you plan on trading for a big fish and try to win now.  My guess is we will see more of this at the TDL with some combination of Gafford/PJ/Kyrie outgoing for more youth/assets.