03-17-2021, 07:40 AM
(This post was last modified: 03-17-2021, 07:42 AM by DanSchwartzgan.)
(03-17-2021, 04:31 AM)omahen Wrote: I don't think this is the case. They have actually clearly said they will not let him walk for nothing in free agency.
Imho, the path to Collins is a SnT in the summer. Atlanta will demand a kings ransom at TDL because they want to make the playoffs. But as you said, they are not really willing to pay him max contract (but still they don't want to let him walk for nothing). So perhaps their asking price in the summer will be lower. Good thing is Collins needs to play along in the SnT - so his agent could make a difference here. Everything could actually be agreed at this point. Dallas saying we will offer Collins near max, Collins saying he likes Dallas only which decreases Atlanta negotiating power and Atlanta saying "ok we will let him walk for XXX price" - their only alternative is to match the offer.
I agree that Atlanta wants to be paid for Collins. No way he walks for nothing even if they have to match a big offer and trade him later.
I agree that Atlanta wants to make the playoffs and needs to replace Collins if traded at the TDL without hurting their chances. But, there are big advantages to Dallas getting Collins now and using his relatively small cap hold to do other things this summer. Dallas has a history of this (trading for Noel before he became RFA and trying to do it with Kemba in order to have his Bird rights). They have Schwartz as the agent here to help smooth the way. He or his firm were involved in both the Noel and Walker deals.
Atlanta doesn't have to have a PF back. Lineups with Hunter at PF have been quite good and you still have Gallo and Solomon Hill who can take minutes. Moving Hunter to PF frees up more time at the 2/3 for Bogdanovic, Huerter and Reddish backed by Snell. They are a little weak at backup PG and C right now. Point is, if the other compensation is satisfactory, I think you can make a deal for Collins now and Atlanta can still contend for the playoffs. The benefit would be certainty for both teams. As we saw with Parsons, there are ways to design RFA offers that make it unappealing for the current team to match...especially if their intent is to match and later trade.
(03-17-2021, 07:32 AM)StepBackJay Wrote: NYK has their sights set much higher. They want Dipo or some other bigger name. They are finally a decent basketball team. They aren't going to settle for Dwight Powell.
Take it up with Bobby Marks. There is still plenty of room for Dipo this summer after a Powell trade. They are getting an improved asset(s) for their trouble, so it isn't just settling for Powell.