TDL Archived: The 2nd Rnd Pick Yankee Swap

[F Gump]

I think Kyrie wants a 4 year max, and Brooklyn won't give it to him. I doubt many teams would be eager to do so. 

I think Brooklyn will set a price for trade that improves their team this season and makes it worth their while to move him, OR they'll call his bluff.

Kyrie wants out. He wants a 4-year deal (that only BKN can give him right now). I get that.

My point is that I would NOT trade for him and take BKN's place, to be held hostage. I have no interest in that.

I also recognize that while BKN might want a lot of value for him, they are only trading 2 months of his services. That's all they have to offer right now, even though they want more than that.

That's why my offer would be conditioned on an extend-and-trade being part of the deal. Otherwise, I can't afford to give BKN what they might want -- I can't afford to strip any assets from this team for a player who is going to make financial demands I might not want to meet, to layer on top of a payroll my owner can't stomach. And frankly, I can barely justify the risk on Kyrie making 39M, but 50M is just too much in light of all the history, and that's part of my extension equation too.

I don't know that Kyrie would be open to an extend-and-trade, but to me it's a non-starter if he has no interest. Even with that, I'm still sensitive to what BKN will accept in trade, because balancing the payroll pressure and minutes are as much of the package as the talent and risk he brings.