Aloha,
Like Marvin Gaye, I think we all want to know What’s Going On. It appears on the surface like there isn’t any talks happening at this time. All the “Insiders” have different intel to offer. Some say it’s the Lakers fault, some say it’s the Nets fault for the stalled negotiations.
I can see both sides. I can hardly blame the Lakers for their negotiation stance. After all they are bidding against themselves. And I can’t blame the Nets for taking their time and re-evaluating the situation.
The Nets have added a couple of nice pieces to their roster. They maybe looking at their team and think they would have a real chance of competing for a title. A chance to compete for a championship is worth giving up the Lakers distant picks even if Kyrie walks this summer.
And there is the issue of the Nets not wanting Russ. That is where it really gets complicated. In no universe would the Spurs take on Russ for a draft pick. They only have one contract that they would want to move that’s not an expiring deal. Add them all up and the Spurs save nothing. All to help the Lakers? Right. 😂
The Pacers are also a complicated situation. They can save some money but where all the players go would be complicated. Buddy and McConnell would be redundant for the Nets considering they have shooters. Plus the Nets insist that Harris was part of a deal. Where does he go? The Lakers would need to send out THT and Nunn to take back Kyrie, Buddy and McConnell and where would they go. Send them to the Pacers and they are no longer saving as much money. And the Nets? Why would they want them?
It’s all too complicated. At this point I would not not be surprised either way. My biggest fear is that the Lakers pass on other opportunities that may arise and then the trade doesn’t happen. We did that in the past and got burned when it didn’t work out.
There’s always a danger in slow playing trades. Somebody can suddenly be willing to trade a player not expected to be on the market. Or teams can change their minds and get stubborn rather than get fleeced. Lakers may have waited too long.
There is no evidence that there was a deal that the Nets were ready to pull the trigger on. You have been following the NBA long enough to know that misinformation is floated out there from both sides. In this case there were many “insiders” reporting different narratives from each side. In business negotiations unexpected obstacles can pop up and stall a deal. In this case it was KD. And beyond KD the Nets never said they wanted Russ. That’s were all the 3rd team narratives began, and that was before KD. If bringing back Kyrie will appease KD the Nets will probably do it. From their perspective it’s probably better to roll the dice at one more shot at a title.
There’s also no evidence that the Lakers ever made anything close to their best offer to the Nets, Pacers, or anybody else. Just been nibbling around the corners and may have missed an opportunity to close a deal trying to be too cute and win the negotiations when the goal should be to win the trade.
That’s amusing, you have been praising Rob. You even said he was delivering a master class a few days ago. Your narrative went from praise to being too cute. Personally I am not a big Robb fan so I never believed he would deliver a great deal. I do hope I have to eat a lot of crow here but I’m not looking for crow recipes quite yet.
Glad you’re amused.
I don’t see any conflict between criticizing Rob for not closing a Kyrie trade and what I’ve judged to be an excellent summer from Rob with several franchise changing decisions positioning the Lakers well for the future, including great decision on new coach, copying Bucks offense, going with young roster that matches the player development skills in the staff, and adding young centers.
It’s not like what the Lakers have available to offer is a secret. It’s Russ, THT, Nunn, and 2 first round picks worth their most if unprotected. Now is that point in time IMO when the Lakers need to aggressively try to close the deal with the Nets or move on. Waiting is probably the worst thing they can do right now. It carries the risk of ending up with nothing but an unwelcome Westbrook sitting out.
“My biggest fear is that the Lakers pass on other opportunities that may arise and then the trade doesn’t happen. We did that in the past and got burned when it didn’t work out.”
Yup, getting stuck in no man’s land is the worst situation one can find himself in. That’s one territory to avoid.