You guys, I think we need to pay Lonzo

[PolishFan]

Not many, but that's kind of my point. I don't really put much stock in players saying they want to be here in the middle of a season; what matters is whether their desire to be here outweighs their desire for more cash. The answer is very rarely yes.

Well it matters when they say they want to be here so it makes more sense to match the offer unlike with pudding where we shouldn’t have matched

[donato]

The important takeaway if you take him at his word is that he said he wants to be here. MEANING at worst he won't be upset if he ends up here / we match. Again, if you take him at his word.

That's not an insignificant point. It won't be a Gordon situation.

[donato]

Well it matters when they say they want to be here so it makes more sense to match the offer unlike with pudding where we shouldn’t have matched

Exactly. Beat me to it. This point seems lost on some.

[Pelicanidae]

The important takeaway if you take him at his word is that he said he wants to be here. MEANING at worst he won't be upset if he ends up here / we match. Again, if you take him at his word.

That's not an insignificant point. It won't be a Gordon situation.

My concern has never been it being a Gordon situation. It's that paying him what he's likely to need paying to keep him is too much. It has absolutely nothing to do with thinking he's a malcontent or would cause problems in the locker room: he has never given signs to us that this is a concern. I didn't need more reassurance that he wouldn't be like Gordon because I never assumed he would be.

Therefore him saying he wants to be here means nothing to me right now. It neither fixes or alleviates the concerns that I actually do have.

[donato]

My concern has never been it being a Gordon situation. It's that paying him what he's likely to need paying to keep him is too much. It has absolutely nothing to do with thinking he's a malcontent or would cause problems in the locker room: he has never given signs to us that this is a concern. I didn't need more reassurance that he wouldn't be like Gordon because I never assumed he would be.

Therefore him saying he wants to be here means nothing to me right now. It neither fixes or alleviates the concerns that I actually do have.

AD didn't give reasons he didn't want to be here until he did. So I do think what he said absolutely carries weight. Obviously that doesn't preclude him from signing somewhere else. I don't think anybody thought that.

[PolishFan]

My concern has never been it being a Gordon situation. It's that paying him what he's likely to need paying to keep him is too much. It has absolutely nothing to do with thinking he's a malcontent or would cause problems in the locker room: he has never given signs to us that this is a concern. I didn't need more reassurance that he wouldn't be like Gordon because I never assumed he would be.

Therefore him saying he wants to be here means nothing to me right now. It neither fixes or alleviates the concerns that I actually do have.

If he continues to improve then he should get paid more. If someone offers too much then we don’t match it. It’s important that he claims he want to stay here so that if the offer is not too big then we match it. That’s why it was a good decision not to trade him for peanuts. Even if the offer is too big then there is still a chance of sign and trade

[Pelicanidae]

If he continues to improve then he should get paid more. If someone offers too much then we don’t match it. It’s important that he claims he want to stay here so that if the offer is not too big then we match it. That’s why it was a good decision not to trade him for peanuts. Even if the offer is too big then there is still a chance of sign and trade

The thing is that trading him ''for peanuts'' (and whether you believe him or not, MM has said that Duncan Robinson was potentially on the table for Lonzo so you can think about whether that's peanuts to you or not) is the middle ground.

What you have now is an all or nothing choice.

Either you pay Lonzo whatever it costs - which is something you have zero control over.
Or you let him walk for nothing at all.

There's no middle ground anymore, there's no damage control. You mention the possibility of a sign and trade but

A) Sign and trades are rare in general, let alone for roleplayers
B) Why would a team sign and trade with us, thus costing themselves assets, when they have the cap space to just push us out anyway? Either we have to bite the bullet and pay him big time or they get what they want without costing themselves anything. Sign and trades require another team willing to help you when they usually have no real reason to do so.

So yeah, ''continues to improve'' is a big if, especially considering that his improvement actually hasn't been consistent so far anyway (he's been a Pelican for a season and a half now and has had wildly inconsistent statistical output during that time, and his defense has declined hard).

You either have to be willing to lose him for nothing at this point or take a wild leap of faith. Not an enviable position, and it's a position we put ourselves in.

[Impose]

This entire post is internally contradictory.

''I think NBA front offices will know Lonzo's limits are pretty evident and not overspend...

anyway we're gonna pay him $20m a year, probably''

...what? $20m a year is an overspend.

20mil is my guess based on the lack of top tier FA's, the money will find Lonzo. Whether it is an overpay is just a perspective that can't be confirmed until he's actually playing under that contract.

[AusPel]

The thing is that trading him ''for peanuts'' (and whether you believe him or not, MM has said that Duncan Robinson was potentially on the table for Lonzo so you can think about whether that's peanuts to you or not) is the middle ground.

What you have now is an all or nothing choice.

Either you pay Lonzo whatever it costs - which is something you have zero control over.
Or you let him walk for nothing at all.

There's no middle ground anymore, there's no damage control. You mention the possibility of a sign and trade but

A) Sign and trades are rare in general, let alone for roleplayers
B) Why would a team sign and trade with us, thus costing themselves assets, when they have the cap space to just push us out anyway? Either we have to bite the bullet and pay him big time or they get what they want without costing themselves anything. Sign and trades require another team willing to help you when they usually have no real reason to do so.

So yeah, ''continues to improve'' is a big if, especially considering that his improvement actually hasn't been consistent so far anyway (he's been a Pelican for a season and a half now and has had wildly inconsistent statistical output during that time, and his defense has declined hard).

You either have to be willing to lose him for nothing at this point or take a wild leap of faith. Not an enviable position, and it's a position we put ourselves in.

I think a sign and trade is possible, considering a lot of the contenders could want him

That beggars the question, what do we take back

[Pelicanidae]

I think a sign and trade is possible, considering a lot of the contenders could want him

That beggars the question, what do we take back

From contenders? Most of them have nothing to trade, or they would have gone in on him earlier; we heard that there was interest from LAC, for example. If they had anything good they could trade without losing core pieces for a playoff run, surely they would have just done it now rather than waiting until the summer?

[AusPel]

From contenders? Most of them have nothing to trade, or they would have gone in on him earlier; we heard that there was interest from LAC, for example. If they had anything good they could trade without losing core pieces for a playoff run, surely they would have just done it now rather than waiting until the summer?

Yeah I don't think it's actually that likely.

The pool of suitors who can sign him outright is pretty small, gonna be very interesting

[Pelicanidae]

Yeah I don't think it's actually that likely.

The pool of suitors who can sign him outright is pretty small, gonna be very interesting

The thing is, while it's small, we do have reason to suspect that most of the teams that can do it are at least interested in acquiring him. Chicago, for example, will be able to afford it and we know they were deep in the trade picture for him right up until the deadline. Similarly, NYK will have the money and the connections between him and NY go back to when he was still in LA. Charlotte will have the money and Lamelo is right there.

Going to be a tense FA period for us while we find out whether we're screwed or not.

[new city champ]

What were the circumstances of the sign and trade between Boston and Charlotte for Gordon Hayward?

[PolishFan]

The thing is that trading him ''for peanuts'' (and whether you believe him or not, MM has said that Duncan Robinson was potentially on the table for Lonzo so you can think about whether that's peanuts to you or not) is the middle ground.

What you have now is an all or nothing choice.

Either you pay Lonzo whatever it costs - which is something you have zero control over.
Or you let him walk for nothing at all.

There's no middle ground anymore, there's no damage control. You mention the possibility of a sign and trade but

A) Sign and trades are rare in general, let alone for roleplayers
B) Why would a team sign and trade with us, thus costing themselves assets, when they have the cap space to just push us out anyway? Either we have to bite the bullet and pay him big time or they get what they want without costing themselves anything. Sign and trades require another team willing to help you when they usually have no real reason to do so.

So yeah, ''continues to improve'' is a big if, especially considering that his improvement actually hasn't been consistent so far anyway (he's been a Pelican for a season and a half now and has had wildly inconsistent statistical output during that time, and his defense has declined hard).

You either have to be willing to lose him for nothing at this point or take a wild leap of faith. Not an enviable position, and it's a position we put ourselves in.

MM said Robinson was available? Really? Why not Durant and Lebron?

[PolishFan]

If Lonzo gets better and at the end stays with us it will be really good for us. There is much more to gain by keeping this a possibility rather than just getting rid of him for something small. Also what was really offered that Griffin rejected? I don’t believe it was Robinson at all

[Pelicanidae]

MM said Robinson was available? Really? Why not Durant and Lebron?

Robinson isn't even nearly in the same conversation as those two and you know it, that's just being disingenuous really. Trading Robinson, who is like a top 80 player, is not at all an unreasonable thing for a team to do.

You can disbelieve that he was offered, which is totally fine and I can understand why you'd be sceptical, but to pretend that him being moved is just out of the question and on the same scale as trading Durant is just absurd.

[MichaelMcNamara]

The Heat dont want to pay Robinson. I would be surprised if he was on the team next year. He got offered to a few teams and no bites.

People were saying Joe Harris money earlier in the year, but judging on how lukewarm some teams were, I am not so sure

[PolishFan]

Robinson isn't even nearly in the same conversation as those two and you know it, that's just being disingenuous really. Trading Robinson, who is like a top 80 player, is not at all an unreasonable thing for a team to do.

You can disbelieve that he was offered, which is totally fine and I can understand why you'd be sceptical, but to pretend that him being moved is just out of the question and on the same scale as trading Durant is just absurd.

All I meant by that was that I don’t believe MM has any sources.

[Pelicanidae]

All I meant by that was that I don’t believe MM has any sources.

Nor do I, really

[OnesieBells]

Was this one posted already?

Timing seems sub-optimal.

Spoke to an agent on Lonzo Ball and his future with #Pelicans.

?Lonzo enjoys playing for the Pelicans but isn?t a fan of New Orleans. However, he really wants to end up with the #Knicks or #Bulls. That has been a dream of his. It?s likely he will try to leave this offseason.?

https://twitter.com/massey_evan/stat...411400197?s=19

[Eman5805]

Sometimes I hear mention about setting ourselves up to trade for the next big name to demand a trade.

If I had to pick one player to do so...I’m picking Damian Lillard. Someone tell me how you guard a pick and roll with Lillard as the ball handler off a Zion screen?

[Pelicanidae]

Sometimes I hear mention about setting ourselves up to trade for the next big name to demand a trade.

If I had to pick one player to do so...I’m picking Damian Lillard. Someone tell me how you guard a pick and roll with Lillard as the ball handler off a Zion screen?

You don't, but unlike KAT (for example), I find it almost impossible to imagine Lillard demanding a trade. It's like imagining the sky being made of soup or something.

[Eman5805]

You don't, but unlike KAT (for example), I find it almost impossible to imagine Lillard demanding a trade. It's like imagining the sky being made of soup or something.

True. That’s why I’m even saying it. Because you can’t even fathom it.

[Brian]

I don't see Lonzo really getting worse even if he doesn't continue to take large leaps in getting better as he has with his shooting I think he'll be a very good team guy, good defense and good enough shooting threat. If he could just stay aggressive going to the basket that would be another step he could take but he just seems he has to remind himself to get aggressive at times. So I think if you pay him and keep him 20 million a year or so he'll always be an attractive and easy piece to trade in the future. Guys with those skillsets are easy to fit into your team and always help. That salary seems easy enough to match and move, no?

[hornetzplaya]

Was this one posted already?

Timing seems sub-optimal.

Spoke to an agent on Lonzo Ball and his future with #Pelicans.

?Lonzo enjoys playing for the Pelicans but isn?t a fan of New Orleans. However, he really wants to end up with the #Knicks or #Bulls. That has been a dream of his. It?s likely he will try to leave this offseason.?

https://twitter.com/massey_evan/stat...411400197?s=19

Spoke to an agent on Lonzo Ball and his future with #Pelicans.

“Lonzo enjoys playing for the Pelicans but isn’t a fan of New Orleans. However, he really wants to end up with the #Knicks or #Bulls. That has been a dream of his. It’s likely he will try to leave this offseason.”

— Evan Massey (@massey_evan) March 28, 2021

I just embed the tweet for you

If this is true, a sign and trade isn't too likely but could happen. It's a big chance he leaves for a crazy amount, but I'm not too sad about that.