I also wonder if the Capela rumor has anything to do with this. I could see NOLA being interested in Capela as both a longer term prospect that can fit with their group long-term, while also helping them stay competitive right now.
That's interesting -- I hadn't thought of the possibility that Boston could try to trade for Capela and reroute him to New Orleans as part of a deal for Davis.
How could that work though? They can't trade Horford before the opt-in date. I doubt Houston would be interested in receiving Hayward for Capela. Not sure how else the Celts could make the money work.
Smart and Brown for Capela works.
But then you'd be giving up Tatum, Smart AND Brown just to get Davis. Plus a couple of 1st round picks.
That's an enormous price to pay.
If Griffin were able to get Capela, Tatum, and two 1st round picks for Davis .... that would be an absolutely monumental haul for a star with one year left on his deal who has actively demanded a trade.
So, been thinking a lot about how this might work. There's several different options that could work from a money perspective, though all of them require losing Horford and Tatum to get AD. These would all likely require an agreement with Klutch that we would give Morris a sizable contract, something like 4 years/$50M, which would help with facilitating AD here and could help convince him to stay here long-term (given the shared agent relationship). Reloading in this fashion could also help convince Kyrie to re-sign, as it would surround him with competent vets that would allow him to compete for a title right now, in addition to keeping significant long-term talent.
Option 1 (ideal):
Boston: Davis, Gordon
NOLA: Capela, Tatum, Yabusele, Hartenstein, draft compensation (probably one of our picks from this draft)
Houston: Horford, Moore
Convince Kyrie to resign on a max contract
Resign Morris to something like a 4 year/$50 Million contract
That leaves you with a really good veteran team right now that also keeps your young talent of Brown, Smart, Williams, the Memphis pick, and two of our picks in this draft, along with all of our own. You get left with a lineup of:
PG: Kyrie, Smart, Wanamaker
SG: Brown, Gordon
SF: Hayward, Semi
PF: Morris, Theis
C: Davis, Baynes, Williams
If you can sign like an Ariza/Temple/Dudley type for the three spot off the bench and get a couple of ready-now contributors in the draft (hopefully a big three/stretch four type), that's a really nice lineup that can both win now and still have a bright future with young talent and draft picks. This grouping also seemingly fits quite a bit better than last year's team and has more of an inside/out offensive ability, while still having quite a bit of shooting and being super switchable defensively.
Option 2 (less ideal):
For option 2 you would just substitute Gordon for Tucker and remove Yabusele, Moore, and Hartenstein from the equation. This is less ideal, but still a workable option.
Now the question is this - would it be worth it to lose Al along with Tatum to get AD and Gordon, in addition to keeping Brown, Smart, and the Memphis pick? If you could convince Kyrie to stay with that lineup, I think it could be worth it. But that's ultimately the question - would it convince Kyrie?
EDIT: Also, it should be remembered that if we don't trade for AD and/or re-sign Kyrie, we likely lose Horford anyways for greener pastures with a better chance at a title. The likely best-case scenario would be a sign-and-trade for something like Capela anyways, as I doubt that Horford resigns here long-term if we don't nab AD or re-sign Kyrie.