05-22-2023, 11:03 AM
(05-22-2023, 08:42 AM)omahen Wrote: He was SnT to Miami half a year later for JRich.
There's a big piece of info missing in that recap.
Butler did not force his way to MIA. PHI had decided they did NOT want Butler (they didn't want any part of the max $33M salary he was going to command from someone), so he was going to walk anyway. PHI's stance was "We will cooperate if we only have to take a player(s) we can use and like." They decided they liked JRich who looked like he was turning into a good 2-way combo guard or small wing (and whose existing $10M salary looked like it might be a bargain).
In contrast, the Mavs want to keep Kyrie. And it's questionable whether there's anyone LA could send that the Mavs would really want (we can't lose sight of the fact that players like Russell, Bamba and Hachimura aren't under contract and might be looking for far more than they would be worth to the Mavs).