Listened to it. The biggest thing he said was a confirmation that the team (likely after the players had left and it was just management and Durant's people) went over possible trades that were on the table. Guys the team thought they could get. Guys that were available.
That confirms what I have been expecting for months - that it made jack squat to overpay for an available player until you first talked to Durant. Don't give up a boatload of assets for a specific player unless KD signs off on it. Glad that's the approach we took.
It also kind of confirms for me why Avery Bradley wasn't part of the recruiting party. I know he had a basketball game he was participating in, but beyond that - you can't pitch to Durant the idea of making "tweaks" when any necessary tweak would have required moving Bradley.
If the players werent in the room when these things were discussed, why would it matter who was at the meeting. The players didnt hear it. For all you know a trade was discussed where Olynyk, Smart or Crowder would need to be moved in order for a particular trade to happen. Smart and Crowder have been linked to rumors for Butler and Okafor
Because it's incredibly disrespectful to the guys who showed up to immediately say "hey by the way, we're willing to trade one of those guys if you want".
Trades likely centered on draft picks, young prospects - and unfortunately, the one guy who wasn't there - Avery Bradley's 8.3 mil.
Neither here nor there though. At this point, our roster is what it is. We should have a nice 50-55 win also-ran. Far better off just hanging onto the young guys and hoping they develop in a winning system so that a decade from now when Golden State is done collecting jewelry, we can try to compete with the Towns, Simmons and Embiids of the world.
Meh, I dont think Bradley not showing up correlates definitively that thats why he wasnt there. Avery had a previous comittment. That is known. Thats most likely the reason he wasnt at the meeting, though you coukd be right. But so could I.
Cool... maybe after Thomas and Crowder left the room, we pitched the idea of trading them away.
I'm sure that would have reflected really well on us. We spend a bunch of effort to bring those guys along, give them time to talk to Durant privately, pitch the way Durant would fit with these guys... then dismiss them and say, "Ok, here's who we can get if we trade those dudes away".
Heh.
If such talk took place, perhaps the focus was on whom would be acquired and NOT on whom would be on an outgoing flight. It would have been unwise and disrespectful to mention any current Celtics player by name, and I am sure Ainge said as much.
Nope. You can't discuss who we can acquire without discussing who would be required to trade. It would be in-genuine otherwise. You can't say "Hey we can add Cousins! - and then in hushed whispers say "at the cost of every player and pick on our team". That's why both Ainge and Wyc have made a point to say that Durant was interesting in playing with these guys. Part of the appeal for Boston was joining with Thomas, Crowder, Olynyk and Smart. They couldn't say "Oh hey we can acquire Jimmy Butler if you want" and not mention that it was going to take Bradley + Crowder + Smart + the #3 pick.
Wyc's comments suggest Durant was aware of what the cost would be. Wyc confirms that they did indeed talk to him about trade possibilities. You can't discuss that without discussing cost.
Luckily, Boston was in position to add Durant + Horford and still have a compelling offer to make for an available impact player should one become available - thought it goes without saying it would cost multiple draft picks and prospects - and unfortunately in that scenario at least one of Thomas, Bradley or Crowder. Not at all possible to do it financially otherwise. My guess is any such hypothetical would have involved Bradley's 8.3 million dollar contract. My guess is such a reality was communicated to Durant and his people. My guess is Bradley himself was aware of that - which is why he just stuck around at his basketball camp and made zero public comments about wanting Durant here.
Good god. Classic LarBrd33.
TP mmmmm. I regret even starting the conversation.
*shrug*. Is what it is. If they pitched trades = goodbye Avery in such a scenario. Simple math.
Wyc confirms they discussed trades with Durant. I can essentially guarantee that if any of those trades involved a player like Jimmy Butler - they involved Avery Bradley being shipped out. Basic math.
The same way it could've involved Marcus Smart. Hey, you're correct... it's basic math!
Had we maxed out our cap space for Durant and Horford (requiring us to renounce the rights to Amir, Jerebko, Sully and Zeller) we would have had to come up with 14 million dollars in outgoing salary to take on a contract like Butler or Cousins.
Here's your options:
Bradley - 8.3 mil
Thomas 6.5 mil
Crowder 6.3 mil
Brown 3.8 mil
Smart - 3.5 mil
Olynyk 3.0 mil
Rozier, 1.9 mil
Young 1.8 mil
Mickey 1.2 mil
Hunter 1.2 mil
There's combos you can come up with to reach that 14 mil. But if we were pitching the idea of joining with Thomas, Crowder, Smart and Olynyk (the guys in the room and the guys Wyc explicitly called out in his interview), tell me how you come up with 14 mil with the remaining salaries:
Bradley - 8.3 mil
Brown 3.8 mil
Rozier, 1.9 mil
Young 1.8 mil
Mickey 1.2 mil
Hunter 1.2 mil
We could have pitched the idea of using our bounty of future picks + lesser assets like Mickey, Hunter and Young to acquire an impact player - all while keeping our "core" talent together. But any such scenario would have required including Bradley's 8.3 million dollar contract as filler... And Bradley is a better player than just a contract filler. So It's an easy assumption that we told Durant our trade options and he came to the same conclusion we came to - better off not making a trade.
And all of this is irrelevant now, because we did NOT max out our cap space. With Amir and Jerbko back in the picture, they become default contract filler in any potential major trade.
First, you're talking about TWO specific scenarios as if those were the ONLY ones on the table. Secondly, they also discussed trades they passed on to see what Durant's take was on those.
I'm not saying that Bradley wasn't one of the options discussed, but the idea that he was the ONLY option discussed is ludicrous.
And honestly I roll my eyes at the idea that Crowder would be untouchable in a Cousins trade particularly once you have Horford + Durant on hand for example. Also consider that the rumor was that Crowder was of interest to the Bulls and that's where Ainge drew the line (allegedly), so given that it might also make sense to imagine that that offer might still be in the table, so maybe THAT was also discussed to acquire Butler...
No one is objecting to the idea of Bradley being traded was discussed, but that Ainge's trade scenarios basically defaulted into "this is all our options for trading Avery Bradley" which is what you're suggesting.
There's no evidence either that Bradley wasn't asked to participate. He had a previous engagement, but no, Occam's razor need not apply unless convenient to one's argument.
Topic: Wyc Grousbeck: No trade coming soon but asking prices have come down since draft (Read 24994 times)