07-26-2021, 11:59 PM
(07-26-2021, 11:15 PM)DanSchwartzgan Wrote: And the Oscar goes to...Jason Kidd. Sorry, I just don't see KP to, well, really anywhere. I agree the report from Shams lends credence to a return of THJ. From there, he has us as one of a kagillion suitors for Lowry and one of two for Holmes. There is also reporting that Dallas is looking to offload some salary.
I think many presume Powell would be the outgoing...probably around the draft. No one has cap room for that before August. OKC is close, but they don't have a logical returning player to pair with the space they have to match Powell. OKC does have a TPE to absorb Powell, as does Boston and Orlando. I don't see the Powell fit in Orlando. It is a stretch in Boston, but they could take Powell into their TPE and send out Thompson as a way of getting rid of a guy who doesn't want to be there. They could also "preserve" their TPE by creating a new one if they send Thompson somewhere for space. OKC isn't exactly loaded with centers after dealing for Kemba. It isn't hard to see Powell valued as a good locker room guy there as well.
BTW, at that point you can sign Holmes and Hardaway at $18mm each and have very close to the exact amount of the full MLE left in space. So, you'd be in good position to add a third good player. Or, you could send $25mm Lowry's way and pay THJ $20mm. In either case, you are adding either Holmes or Lowry to your existing Luka/KP/DFS/THJ core. That seems more likely to me than KP to Toronto.
If we pay 18-20 mil for THJ while operating under the cap, it will be a complete failure. Honestly its hard to see any under the cap scenario where I would not be disappointed with THJ. It's also hard to see any good over the cap scenario where we keep both KP and THJ.