03-26-2021, 05:23 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-26-2021, 05:46 PM by Time Machine Dirk.)
(03-26-2021, 12:08 PM)jesusshuttlesworth82 Wrote: Based on everything I've heard/read...it's all been a version of: "There's no way the Mavs could trade KP right now even if they arent convinced in him. His value is as low as it has ever been. Definitely lower than when the Mavs traded for him."
and I'm not even on the trade KP bus or I dislike KP train but obviously my outlook on him today is not the same as the day we made that trade with NY. It's definitely lower. Not sure how much lower.
The Mavs got him for two low first round picks and DSJ. Now he's had one more significant injury and is on a max contract. There's no chance in hell you're getting essentially two top 5 picks for him.
You would certainly get something better for KP now than what we paid for him. Why?
1) He won't be a free agent this summer, so there is no danger he is just a "loan".
2) KP is actually healthy right now and only had one major knee injury in the last two seasons if I remember correctly. Other injuries were just minor ones like back tightness or whatever. Nothing serious. Remember: He wasn't healthy when we traded for him. He came of an ACL injury and nobody knew if he still was as athletic and mobile as before - turns out, he still has his athleticism and his mobility looked also totally fine in the last few games.
3) We saw KP's real value when Luka was hurt last season, in the bubble and in the first two games against the Clippers in the playoffs. He can be a game changer! Remember: It was obvious that the Clippers didn't know how to stop him and we would have won the series if he had stayed healthy.
4) Name 3 big men/center who are as talented as KP, who have as much upside as him and who are/have been clearly more healthy. Towns? Davis? Embiid? All always injured - even more often than KP (don't want to jinx him - fingers crossed). Wiseman? Markanen? Too raw - not the same potential as KP, also often injured. Vucevic? Much older, so much less upside. He will start declining soon. But him and Adebayo are the only cases one could make as centers who are better AND healthier than KP right now.
I am sure we could get a clear star in a KP trade if he stays mostly healthy for the rest of the season. That's why I wouldn't even trade KP for John Collins straight up. The Hawks would have to add a first rounder or a talented young player like Huerter for example, maybe even both.