06-13-2022, 01:42 PM
(06-13-2022, 01:20 PM)KillerLeft Wrote: 1) I don't think they'll even try to do this. I think they might want to include Hardaway in a trade they think makes them better, but I don't agree that they'll just want to be rid of him enough to pay an asset to accomplish it.
2) If they do want this, #26 is literally the only "asset" they could possibly attach to accomplish such a goal. You're talking about 3 years of guaranteed money leaving your books with nothing coming back. I'm honestly not sure #26 is enough to get that done.
I think that would be awful, personally. That's literally the kind of thing I'd be trying to avoid. I assume your thinking here starts with skepticism that Cuban will even pay the tax for this one season?
I think my skepticism comes from the idea that Cuban wants to at least pay as little tax as possible and he just watched a team without Hardaway get to the conference finals. I agree that it may take the #26 pick to pull that off and if it comes to that I doubt (hope) they do it unless we're getting back a different pick in this first round, but I definitely think they may try to get it done with multiple second round picks or cash. It may not be moving Hardaway for nothing but I definitely think that a move centered around Hardaway that allows us to retain the core that got us to the WCF and then add a player on a rookie contract (and potentially another one at the TPE pay level) is probably a better scenario in Cuban's mind then cutting Frank or Burke. I understand that you can argue that adding Hardaway to that core is viewed as a positive but based on the rumors at the deadline and the success without him, I just assume he's as good as gone. Not necessarily advocating for it...