Originally Posted by
MichaelMcNamara
How can it get better and the Pels trade him?
Lets assume he can be the guy he was the month before the bubbled but for two and a half months. Okay, that's a solid starter. When teams look into trading him, they are going to ask his agent what he expects the next contract will look like. Rich Paul will say 22-25 mil per. At which point teams won't see that as a positive asset to trade for. And if he is really, really good somehow...say 20 percent better than he has ever been, then the Pels can't justify trading him for the offers that will be out there.
When you start at the end with Lonzo, it is so clear to see that this will play out with either: him leaving and us getting little to nothing, him being traded next year after signing QO for little to nothing, or us being forced to overpay him.
I can't realistically see any other way it plays out. But because most people hate selling something at what they perceive as less than optimal value, they want to hold on for that threading the needle scenario where everything breaks right and we sell him at peak value to some desperate team.
It was the same argument people made every year with Gordon. Get him healthy, showcase him and sell him at a higher value than he has today. But it never happened and it killed team chemistry and it prevented other guys from getting opportunity.