Woj:"Davis expected to tell teams he only wants LA. Ainge will still make offer"

[Fafnir]

I love how Boston can never add max players but lebron can team up with whomever he wants whenever.  The league is a joke.

We have three max players. One acquired by trade, two more in free agency. The free agents were playing on smaller market teams whose fans were furious that a big-city team like Boston was able to get them.

Fair description of Hayward leaving Utah, not really of the Horford/Atlanta situation.

Atlanta wouldn't offer the full 5th year for Horford, so *shrug*. Then they had that whole Dwight mess and didn't trade Milsap after determining they wouldn't resiqn him as well. Just a really weird slow tear down of a team without much direction.

[gift]

I remember when KG said he had no interest in joining the Celtics and wanted to go to L.A. It was cute, really.

[tstorey_97]

Ainge has known every detail here for "years".

"Boston has been calling New Orleans for the past year-plus on Davis, and has gathered multiple first-round picks and young players to include in a package for him."

As we all know NO has the leverage for the moment. They will trade him for everything they can get which might not be that "much". In the long run, they are screwed.

The agent can send out press releases all he wants, he does not "own" Davis' rights, the Pelicans do.

Ainge rolls the dice and trades for Davis for one year. Is this an attempt to keep Irving?

Is the trade Ainge will make a "trade" for Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving?

Ainge isn't stupid, the current team without Irving is not in the first tier.

How many chances does any GM get to build around Davis/Irving?

We have watched Ainge maneuver for this moment for a decade.

Pull the trigger.;

[Fafnir]

I remember when KG said he had no interest in joining the Celtics and wanted to go to L.A. It was cute, really.

I don't think KG was in the frame of mind to say yes to anywhere at the point he said no to LA. He said no to both LA AND BOS after all. He really didn't want to leave the Wolves.

Finally when it was the Celtics or starting another season in Minnesota his friends (Billups and some others I think) finally talked him into moving on.

[Sophomore]

I love how Boston can never add max players but lebron can team up with whomever he wants whenever.  The league is a joke.

We have three max players. One acquired by trade, two more in free agency. The free agents were playing on smaller market teams whose fans were furious that a big-city team like Boston was able to get them.

Fair description of Hayward leaving Utah, not really of the Horford/Atlanta situation.

Atlanta wouldn't offer the full 5th year for Horford, so *shrug*. Then they had that whole Dwight mess and didn't trade Milsap after determining they wouldn't resiqn him as well. Just a really weird slow tear down of a team without much direction.

I agree the team didn't do all it could to keep Horford. I might be misremembering the fan reaction, but I think it was some version of feeling they were downtrodden and teams like Boston had all the luck.

[mef730]

I understand Davis probably wants to go there, but guys always want to go there until they don't. My worry isn't where Davis' mind is should we trade for him, my worry is the stupidity of the Pelicans accepting a trash offer i.e. the Lakers collection of future role players, before the trade deadline.

This is my concern.  No doubt the best decision is to wait for the summer (regardless of whether the Celtics' offer is the best) and I'm so nervous they're going to panic.  I don't know if it's the ownership, the management or a combination of both but part of me wonders if it would be best to fire the GM and let a new group work on the future of the team.  Get them in, establish goals and then worry about trading Davis over the summer.

Danny's on the phone now, reassuring them that he's still going to have the Godfather offer ready, regardless of what AD's agent says. Combine that with the fact that whatever Lakers offer is on the table now will also be on the table six months from now, and I'm thinking that they'll wait.

Having said that...

The televator says that it's going to be 7 degrees today in Boston. It's 75 in LA. All of a sudden, things are making sense...

Mike

[Fafnir]

I think that Ainge is going to make a big offer no matter what Davis says, counting on Kyrie and winning to retain Davis.

Now he's Ainge so he's going to haggle like crazy, but that's just how he runs the team.

[fairweatherfan]

The NBA has a player movement problem, and I don't really see a likely way for the league to fix it.

It's all agent driven, they hold all the power...soccer has the same issue except it's multiplied by transfer fees that the agent takes a cut of. Everyone knew as soon as Davis signed with Klutch that Rich Paul was going to push the Laker agenda, I still believe that LeBron James going to LA had nothing to do with Magic or anyone in their organisation, it was James and Rich Paul knowing that in LA, Klutch could have full control over the free agency market after all these years of being shot down in Cleveland.

The biggest source of the "problem" is that contract lengths are much shorter now, and that's something the owners pushed for to reduce the length of commitment a player could extract from them and increase cap flexibility. Greater player mobility is the flipside of that, and agents are seizing on it because it increases their leverage for their clients. Go back to 7 year deals and see how routinely top players change teams.

[Fafnir]

The NBA has a player movement problem, and I don't really see a likely way for the league to fix it.

It's all agent driven, they hold all the power...soccer has the same issue except it's multiplied by transfer fees that the agent takes a cut of. Everyone knew as soon as Davis signed with Klutch that Rich Paul was going to push the Laker agenda, I still believe that LeBron James going to LA had nothing to do with Magic or anyone in their organisation, it was James and Rich Paul knowing that in LA, Klutch could have full control over the free agency market after all these years of being shot down in Cleveland.

The biggest source of the "problem" is that contract lengths are much shorter now, and that's something the owners pushed for to reduce the length of commitment a player could extract from them and increase cap flexibility. Greater player mobility is the flipside of that, and agents are seizing on it because it increases their leverage for their clients. Go back to 7 year deals and see how routinely top players change teams.

I prefer this to having a league where expiring contracts are as valuable as some low level all-stars because teams get locked up on contracts for 7 years.

[gpap]

I remember when KG said he had no interest in joining the Celtics and wanted to go to L.A. It was cute, really.

KG also agreed to an extension upon the trade being consummated. Davis says he will not do so.

[Fafnir]

I remember when KG said he had no interest in joining the Celtics and wanted to go to L.A. It was cute, really.

KG also agreed to an extension upon the trade being consummated. Davis says he will not do so.

KG was operating under a CBA where it was legal to give market rate extensions as part of trades.

That is no longer the case. Owners have gutted extensions and sign and trades in an attempt to keep their players. It hasn't worked at all.

[Atzar]

The more I think about this, the more I wonder if it's actually a good thing for us.  It probably scares Philly off of any possibility of including Simmons, and the lottery winner probably won't want to include Zion in a trade either.  With those two out of the picture, Tatum is clearly the top asset on the table. 

Meanwhile, I think it's a lot of talk.  If we trade for AD, I'm not convinced that he would leave us to sign in LA in 2020.  Lebron will be 36 in the playoffs during that first year.  How many more years will that championship window stay open?  But if he re-signs here with Kyrie, they play for titles together until they get old. 

[Fafnir]

The more I think about this, the more I wonder if it's actually a good thing for us.  It probably scares Philly off of any possibility of including Simmons, and the lottery winner probably won't want to include Zion in a trade either.  With those two out of the picture, Tatum is clearly the top asset on the table. 

I think a lot of teams would trade Zion for Davis if they think he'd stay. Now would any of the bad teams feel that way?

[MaxAMillion]

The NBA has a player movement problem, and I don't really see a likely way for the league to fix it.

Oh please...they have a problem when players go where you don’t want them. Is it a problem when Hartford or Hayward come to Boston? Is it a problem when Russell Westbrook signs a 200 million dollar extension with OKC or when Paul George stays instead of going to LA? It is only a problem when Lebron or Durant decide to leave. Free agents get to pick where they want to play in every sport. It just so happens in basketball that one star player makes a huge difference.

Teams like New Orleans need to figure out how to put high level players around their stars. Otherwise they risk seeing their star or stars leave. Such is life...you better make good decisions or else.

[10610786d]

The NBA has a player movement problem, and I don't really see a likely way for the league to fix it.

Oh please...they have a problem when players go where you don’t want them. Is it a problem when Hartford or Hayward come to Boston? Is it a problem when Russell Westbrook signs a 200 million dollar extension with OKC or when Paul George stays instead of going to LA? It is only a problem when Lebron or Durant decide to leave. Free agents get to pick where they want to play in every sport. It just so happens in basketball that one star player makes a huge difference.

Teams like New Orleans need to figure out how to put high level players around their stars. Otherwise they risk seeing their star or stars leave. Such is life...you better make good decisions or else.

The Thunder did that. Durant still up and joined the Dubs.