The thing that sucks is that I can see the Suns stealing our buyout candidates now.
that's a possibility but the C's have an even better chance than Phx of getting to the finals and they have the ability to offer more money. I'd be more concerned with the buyout options being low quality such that there's no one worth signing
Well, that too.
I'd be curious to see what the various players are thinking. I've seen some in the media instantly label the Suns the favorites for the title, while others are simply calling them "one of the favorites".
It'll be interesting to speculate after all the dominoes fall. I feel like often the top buyout candidates flock to veteran teams and certain cities anyway. Wasn't Dragic one of the more sought after buyout guys last year and he chose the Nets (who were in 8th at the time). Similar with Andre Drummond in '21 when he chose the Lakers (who were in 4th, but starting to freefall with James/Davis both out and finished 8th). Or Oladipo also in '21 chose the 6th place Heat. And we'll have to see how this one plays out, but some reports are saying Russell Westbrook is going to join the 6th place Clippers.
Not that teams like Boston (or say Milwaukee) are never able to sign buyout guys, they do land their fair share. But I think there's certain buyout guys that if they do choose Durant and Phoenix, would have chosen Durant and Brooklyn, or they would have gone to LAC with Kawhi/George, or LeBron and the Lakers (if they had a pulse), or Miami. Marquee cities and/or top American stars from the previous generation that are still on top have a certain appeal.
Which will lead me to speculate if a top buyout guy signs wit Phoenix, did the Celtics (or Bucks or Nuggets or Grizzlies) ever have a chance?