2024 Offseason Thread

Free agent C Mason Plumlee has agreed on a one-year deal with the Phoenix Suns, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/7Zqr8wq6Kb

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2024

Free agent F Naji Marshall has agreed on a three-year, $27 million deal with the Dallas Mavericks, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/KlICsYvVyc

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2024

Wow. That's a huge coup for Dallas, holy hell. Go get your cash Naji.

Cheaper than I expected too.

Naji gone to Mavs - 3 yrs / 27m

Dallas just added a physically defensive do-it-all wing who turned into a 40% C&S three point guy and who isn't afraid to put it on the floor himself. Huge boost for them, a team which is in dire need of precisely that kind of supporting piece.

We need Harrison Barnes bad now.

Take care Naji

Updated because I found fresher odds:

For anyone betting, these are the Draft Kings BI trade odds as of 6/29 (before this PG to Philly news really dropped):
Attachment 6670

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

Pels haven't said any such thing, as far as I've seen. Do you have a link to somewhere that Griff or Green have said otherwise?

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't be surprised, but it seems to me the height of foolishness to keep Trey glued to the bench when you've got BI on the move. Unless you don't have BI on the move, in which case lmao at Herb getting bumped to the bench too so that CJ can start. Talk about sacking off the future of the team to preserve the present.

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They haven't said it, but several of the people that cover the team have said it. Several meaning more than one.

Derrick Jones Jr. must be available, unless Dallas is getting Naji Marshall via a sign-and-trade. Otherwise, the Mavs will be using the Non-Taxpayer MLE to bring in Marshall.

— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) July 1, 2024

Can anyone mention how much we can spend in FA? Obviously it's all BI trade dependant but what is the max we can offer a player right now.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RobertM320

They haven't said it, but several of the people that cover the team have said it. Several meaning more than one.

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If we trade BI and Trey still comes off the bench, Willie Green should be fired into the sun from a cannon.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bustah

Can anyone mention how much we can spend in FA? Obviously it's all BI trade dependant but what is the max we can offer a player right now.

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The max we can offer a player right now is about $4m. That's what we have left before we're in the luxury tax, which the Pelicans organisation has never paid. That's why any move to acquire a player of note must occur through a trade, where we send salary out.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

The max we can offer a player right now is about $4m. That's what we have left before we're in the luxury tax, which the Pelicans organisation has never paid. That's why any move to acquire a player of note must occur through a trade, where we send salary out.

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Sweet and was that the max we could have offered Naji?

Brandon Ingram Update: Both New Orleans Pelicans and Ingram are willing to work together to either get Ingram to a new team or bring Ingram back on a deal that works for both parties.

More on Ingram: Sacramento Kings are the front runner but the Pelicans want to get a third team… pic.twitter.com/LelrnmNdgg

— �� Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson (@ScoopB) July 1, 2024

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RobertM320

Brandon Ingram Update: Both New Orleans Pelicans and Ingram are willing to work together to either get Ingram to a new team or bring Ingram back on a deal that works for both parties.

More on Ingram: Sacramento Kings are the front runner but the Pelicans want to get a third team… pic.twitter.com/LelrnmNdgg

— �� Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson (@ScoopB) July 1, 2024

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That's somewhat good news.. It means he won't be an impediment to getting a deal done by informing the other team he won't resign. Which means said team will be more willing to part with significant assets to acquire him. It also means he will be on a somewhat reasonable contract considering his value on court, if they decide to keep him.

Also guys please don't dump on the front office if a deal isn't made. It could simply mean they're being low balled.

I personally like Ingram and would like him to stay on a personal level, but I don’t think it’s the best option. He would have to take a significant pay cut. It’s one of those scenarios where we can’t afford him with all of these deals on the books and Trey’s deal coming up. Add in that CJ is still on the roster for two more and it’s impossible. CJ would have to be moved for expirings. We couldn’t have him on the books.

Hope Naji has a PO in there as he's going to look starter quality playing off of Luka. The pels should see if Dallas is interested i keeping their MLE by working out a sign and trade.

Would love to dump CJ.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bustah

Sweet and was that the max we could have offered Naji?

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No, because Naji had been signed to the Pelicans for at least 3 years, we had his Bird Rights, so we could technically go over the cap to sign him but doing so would have incurred luxury tax penalties, which is the problem. This team is cheap.

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Originally Posted by donato

Would love to dump CJ.

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It’s not CJ’s fault Willie is a bad coach. CJ has been great for our community. Raised lots of money. Is a great ESPN guest host. I think the Front Office likes him.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nichols

That's somewhat good news.. It means he won't be an impediment to getting a deal done by informing the other team he won't resign. Which means said team will be more willing to part with significant assets to acquire him. It also means he will be on a somewhat reasonable contract considering his value on court, if they decide to keep him.

Also guys please don't dump on the front office if a deal isn't made. It could simply mean they're being low balled.

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I will absolutely dump on the front office if a deal isn't made because all that does is confirm what myself and others have been saying: the best time to move Ingram was a year ago. Of course you're getting shortchanged now, you're a year late and you wasted a bunch of value on your asset. That was the FO's choice, so they get the blame.

In any case, nothing ScoopB is saying here is new at all. Griff said as much in the post-draft presser, and multiple other reporters were saying the same thing: even if Griff wanted BI gone (and I don't believe that, but just for the sake of hypotheticals) this would be the information they would want to leak. You can't just straight up say ''we are kicking this guy to the curb, good riddance!'' even if you believe it, because all that does is harm your negotiating stance.

Salary cap question.. So even if Ingram takes a slight pay cut, we can't keep Trey unless CJ is offloaded?

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

I will absolutely dump on the front office if a deal isn't made because all that does is confirm what myself and others have been saying: the best time to move Ingram was a year ago. Of course you're getting shortchanged now, you're a year late and you wasted a bunch of value on your asset. That was the FO's choice, so they get the blame.

In any case, nothing ScoopB is saying here is new at all. Griff said as much in the post-draft presser, and multiple other reporters were saying the same thing: even if Griff wanted BI gone (and I don't believe that, but just for the sake of hypotheticals) this would be the information they would want to leak. You can't just straight up say ''we are kicking this guy to the curb, good riddance!'' even if you believe it, because all that does is harm your negotiating stance.

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Within that context sure, if you thought it was best at that time and they missed the opportunity. I can see why you'd have an issue with the front office. I'm just saying as of right now, I wouldn't blame them if a deal doesn't get done. Ingram could possibly up his value next season and a better deal is made. Or he could actually play the way he should actually be playing and things work out.

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Originally Posted by 13 - 3

CJ has been great for our community.

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Would rather he be terrible for the community and just a little bad on defense than what he actually is.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

No, because Naji had been signed to the Pelicans for at least 3 years, we had his Bird Rights, so we could technically go over the cap to sign him but doing so would have incurred luxury tax penalties, which is the problem. This team is cheap.

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This is another reason I don't like the murray move first. They've committed additional salary with the Murray deal.

It's likely whatever happens with Ingram or CJ opens up room under the tax, but with uncertainty that it will, the Pelicans have to resolve the Ingram/McCollum situation before they even can start thinking about free agency.

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Originally Posted by Pelifan

This is another reason I don't like the murray move first. They've committed additional salary with the Murray deal.

It's likely whatever happens with Ingram or CJ opens up room under the tax, but with uncertainty that it will, the Pelicans have to resolve the Ingram/McCollum situation before they even can start thinking about free agency.

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NOLA isn't a free agent destination anyway. We were never going to be big players in free agency. It's fine the way it's playing out IMO.

Isn?t it concerning to anyone that we have no starting 5?

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Originally Posted by WhyHornetsWhy

Isn?t it concerning to anyone that we have no starting 5?

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Patience? The Pels are about to get one. Probably Isaiah Stewart?

Pistons get:
2026 Kings 1st rounder

Kings get:
Brandon Ingram

Pels get:
Harrison Barnes
Isaiah Stewart
Devon Carter
2025 2nd round pick from Trailblazers via Kings
2028 1st round pick from Kings

thoughts?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by donato

NOLA isn't a free agent destination anyway. We were never going to be big players in free agency. It's fine the way it's playing out IMO.

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It's not about being big players, it's about the fact Nola can't even consider working out sign and trades, matching Jonas or naji offers, or using their MLE until they free up more money, because it they commit any more money now they put restraints on what kind of Ingram trades they can make.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pelifan

This is another reason I don't like the murray move first. They've committed additional salary with the Murray deal.

It's likely whatever happens with Ingram or CJ opens up room under the tax, but with uncertainty that it will, the Pelicans have to resolve the Ingram/McCollum situation before they even can start thinking about free agency.

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The Murray move has not been made yet and does not impact free agency.

CP on the Spurs would be scary even at cp age. That'll be a good move on they're behalf. A year 2 Wemby is already scary to think about.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nichols

Salary cap question.. So even if Ingram takes a slight pay cut, we can't keep Trey unless CJ is offloaded?

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Pretty much. Assuming an extension for Trey around $30m (which wouldn't be unusual, rookie scale extensions can be considerably more expensive than that) and a 'slight' pay cut for Ingram coming out at about $42m per year (in line with OG's extension) then we'd be pretty much in the luxury tax just rostering CJ, Dejounte, Trey, Herb, Zion, and BI with nobody else on the team.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Darkhorse985

Patience? The Pels are about to get one. Probably Isaiah Stewart?

Pistons get:
2026 Kings 1st rounder

Kings get:
Brandon Ingram

Pels get:
Harrison Barnes
Isaiah Stewart
Devon Carter
2025 2nd round pick from Trailblazers via Kings
2028 1st round pick from Kings

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That would be a good trade.

I like Stewart.

Not so sure how he’ll work with Z on court

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

Pretty much. Assuming an extension for Trey around $30m (which wouldn't be unusual, rookie scale extensions can be considerably more expensive than that) and a 'slight' pay cut for Ingram coming out at about $42m per year (in line with OG's extension) then we'd be pretty much in the luxury tax just rostering CJ, Dejounte, Trey, Herb, Zion, and BI with nobody else on the team.

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I see.. thanks.

Who was that poster on here that wanted Barnes years ago? His dream might come true

So from what I gather.. Even if Ingram played in a more efficient manner, his contract would still present problems for filling out a competitive complete roster, considering ownership will not pay a luxury tax.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

The Murray move has not been made yet and does not impact free agency.

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but it's still committed money. The pelicans CAN DO whatever they want as long as they don't trigger the hard cap, but they won't because they don't want to be threatened with the possibility of paying the tax. They'll want to free up money before they commit anything more.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nichols

So from what I gather.. Even if Ingram played in a more efficient manner, his contract would still present problems for filling out a competitive complete roster, considering ownership will not pay a luxury tax.

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Pretty much, it would make things difficult. You'd have to get rid of CJ next season - you could keep him into next year but the year after when Trey's contract extension kicks in, he'd have to be out the door and you couldn't take back any long-term salary for it.

And the rest of the team would have to be made of minimum contracts and MLE stuff.

Unless CJ takes a pay cut?

I would hate to lose him

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

Pretty much, it would make things difficult. You'd have to get rid of CJ next season - you could keep him into next year but the year after when Trey's contract extension kicks in, he'd have to be out the door and you couldn't take back any long-term salary for it.

And the rest of the team would have to be made of minimum contracts and MLE stuff.

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Depressing..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Darkhorse985

Patience? The Pels are about to get one. Probably Isaiah Stewart?

Pistons get:
2026 Kings 1st rounder

Kings get:
Brandon Ingram

Pels get:
Harrison Barnes
Isaiah Stewart
Devon Carter
2025 2nd round pick from Trailblazers via Kings
2028 1st round pick from Kings

thoughts?

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I'd be more than fine with it. Puts us in good cap $ situation and CJ is coming off the books in 2 years (at the latest) anyway. Carter could turn into something special. Stewart doesn't scream high end big, but he's better than what we got and can shoot some. Barnes is solid.

If I could edit it, I'd rather trade the first going to Detroit and the first coming to us for Kessler.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nichols

Depressing..

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It's a rough situation. Honestly, the second apron stuff is almost a hard cap as well, so even if the Pels ever decided to go into the tax the flexibility when working with salary that high has been cratered. It's worse than it's ever been.

Free agent forward Derrick Jones Jr. plans to sign a three-year, $30 million deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Major pickup for the Clippers. pic.twitter.com/ANwrqHAczJ

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2024

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

It's a rough situation. Honestly, the second apron stuff is almost a hard cap as well, so even if the Pels ever decided to go into the tax the flexibility when working with salary that high has been cratered. It's worse than it's ever been.

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That's two major handicaps for this team. It's not a free agent destination, and the ownership won't pay a luxury tax. You have no choice but to push all your chips in on Zion and hope he wills this team over the edge with those limitations. That also has its limitations, he's a generational talent. If ownership doesn't create an environment personnel wise that at least gives him a chance to make a title push I don't think he's going to stick around. I could be wrong but he just didn't seem enthused to me until the Pel's made noise in the playoffs last season. I'll remain optimistic in spite of all that.. beating the odds and pushing teams we aren't supposed to is what makes this team fun to watch.

I know he was shooting lights out last year, but I do not think we should start CJ. In all sincerity i dont want him in there at the end either. Perhaps im crazy but there were so many games where he would try and do too much resulting in a turnover and then get hunted down and scored on at the other end. Trey Murphy and undoubtedly Herb Jones must be starters. Id like to think Hawkins could provide a lot of CJ does as well.

he's way overpaid , trade em,


what would it take to get walker kessler considering he only makes 5m?

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Originally Posted by fullcourtpress

what would it take to get walker kessler considering he only makes 5m?

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Fairly little. He seems to be on the outs with Utah, given how they treated him last year and some reporting, so I honestly don't think they want to hold on to him that much. I'm pretty sure you could pull it into the Dejounte trade as long as you sent salary to Utah (hard to come by unless you want to send Jose or similar).

I'm a fan of the idea of trading BI to Utah for Kessler and John Collins as the primary return, which would work in terms of salary (and save us a bit of money in the short term, about $6m worth) but Collins' contract continues a few years on so it presents the need for moving CJ again, or moving Collins for additional assets in a year or so.

So there's options but it's a bit tricky.

These reports of the Pels POSSIBLY wanting Wendell Carter made me go down a mini-rabbit hole to see what Carter's game is about. I didn't watch many Bulls games when he was in the Chi, and same for Orlando... I know who he is but my only recollection of WCJ is how he looked when he played against the Pels.

I know highlight videos are just those... the HIGHLIGHTS, but I watch how Carter moves and the decisions he makes in the offensive sets that he's in. WCJ is a decent screener and I like Orlando's sets he's put in positions to screen and roll/pop. He often finds soft spots in the defense because Orlando does a ton of screen roll/pop, and he's always ready to shoot when he gets a look as he's not shy about letting that 3 fly. He's also a solid lob threat and a good finisher.

From these HIGHLIGHTS he seems to be a solid offensive player, and these are only highlights from January of this season.



These defensive highlights are impressive, and again I know these are HIGHLIGHTS, and don't really show his shortcomings on the defensive end, but I'm looking at him get switched into iso situations on the perimeter, and he seems to be able to hold his own out there. he doesn't look like a fish out of water when he's outside guarding a smaller ballhandler. He's at least TRYING to block shots, which I like as well.



Just thought I'd share. I know I could have looked at his stats to get an idea, but I prefer to watch him play and see how he moves out there and the decisions that he makes on and off the ball. Looks like he's often-injured though, so if the Pels decide to make a move for him (and other pieces from Orlando) that's something I hope we put into consideration.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nichols

That's two major handicaps for this team. It's not a free agent destination, and the ownership won't pay a luxury tax. You have no choice but to push all your chips in on Zion and hope he wills this team over the edge with those limitations. That also has its limitations, he's a generational talent. If ownership doesn't create an environment personnel wise that at least gives him a chance to make a title push I don't think he's going to stick around. I could be wrong but he just didn't seem enthused to me until the Pel's made noise in the playoffs last season. I'll remain optimistic in spite of all that.. beating the odds and pushing teams we aren't supposed to is what makes this team fun to watch.

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There's a lot of hyperbole that gets thrown around and there's a lot of opinions that get said as facts so it's best to take everything with a grain of salt because the Pels have proven time and time again to not leak information and they play close to the vest.

There has never been a time in this franchises history where it was wise to go into the luxury tax. Every time we made any headway with BD, CP3, or AD the superstar would demand a trade before it got to the "push the chips all in" point.

Gayle Benson owns an NFL team. The Lakers are the only NBA team worth more than the Saints. When the team shows that it is time to go into the luxury tax, she's more than capable of doing it.

Zion is 23 years old. Pretty much the whole team other than CJ is 26 or under. That "all in" time hassn't come because it puts an expiration date on the team.

Some other areas we need to temper the hyperbole on:

Trey is a good player but do you guys see him making all-stars? He's two years younger than BI. It's not like he's 21 and has five years to eclipse Brandon's level. Brandon Ingram made an all-star at a younger age than TMIII currently is. BI's floor, is above Trey's ceiling. BI had a bad run for Team USA....Trey ain't sniffing Team USA. A team not wanting to resign an all-star player because a good starting quality player will be up for an extension soon is.....we gotta reign it in some.

The latest from Woj is the Pels want to keep BI and BI wants to stay plus Vegas has the betting lines set for him most likely to be extending with us. The current most likely outcome is that we will extend BI. Now there is a decent chance (however less likely) that negotiations breakdown and we trade him.

Now we probably need to make a trade for a Big because it won't happen in FA. Remember when we all thought the only way we could get Murray was by trading BI? What did we learn from that? Apparently nothing. It is just as likely we land a big by trading players/assets not named BI than by trading BI. The irony is that Trey is probably more tradable than BI and could very well be in packages to get us that Center.

Last hyperbole that continues to need to be tackled: BI and Zion fit very well together and the team was pretty excellent when they were healthy.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by msusousaphone

There's a lot of hyperbole that gets thrown around and there's a lot of opinions that get said as facts so it's best to take everything with a grain of salt because the Pels have proven time and time again to not leak information and they play close to the vest.

There has never been a time in this franchises history where it was wise to go into the luxury tax. Every time we made any headway with BD, CP3, or AD the superstar would demand a trade before it got to the "push the chips all in" point.

Gayle Benson owns an NFL team. The Lakers are the only NBA team worth more than the Saints. When the team shows that it is time to go into the luxury tax, she's more than capable of doing it.

Zion is 23 years old. Pretty much the whole team other than CJ is 26 or under. That "all in" time hassn't come because it puts an expiration date on the team.

Some other areas we need to temper the hyperbole on:

Trey is a good player but do you guys see him making all-stars? He's two years younger than BI. It's not like he's 21 and has five years to eclipse Brandon's level. Brandon Ingram made an all-star at a younger age than TMIII currently is. BI's floor, is above Trey's ceiling. BI had a bad run for Team USA....Trey ain't sniffing Team USA. A team not wanting to resign an all-star player because a good starting quality player will be up for an extension soon is.....we gotta reign it in some.

The latest from Woj is the Pels want to keep BI and BI wants to stay plus Vegas has the betting lines set for him most likely to be extending with us. The current most likely outcome is that we will extend BI. Now there is a decent chance (however less likely) that negotiations breakdown and we trade him.

Now we probably need to make a trade for a Big because it won't happen in FA. Remember when we all thought the only way we could get Murray was by trading BI? What did we learn from that? Apparently nothing. It is just as likely we land a big by trading players/assets not named BI than by trading BI. The irony is that Trey is probably more tradable than BI and could very well be in packages to get us that Center.

Last hyperbole that continues to need to be tackled: BI and Zion fit very well together and the team was pretty excellent when they were healthy.

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All for keeping BI, but Trey never had a chance to start to prove his ceiling

ESPN Sources: Free agent G Kelly Oubre Jr., has agreed on a two-year, $16.3 million deal to stay with the Philadelphia 76ers. Deal includes a player option on the 2025-2026 season for Sixers’ starting two-guard. pic.twitter.com/UE9Mc6PEsD

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2024