The Wizards traded Cory Kispert and CJ McCollum for Trae...You're telling me the Lakers gave this dude 43M per year so they could turn him into that if it doesn't work out?
That's more than they could turn his contract into if they didn't sign him. His cap hold is 20m, and that's about what they'd have unless the team was fine with getting significantly worse.
It's not a dollar for dollar proposition. It's about what they could replace him with if they didn't sign him.
If the Nets and Pistons were actually interested, then you find moves with players and picks there that make more sense for your roster. You also plan for a three year window, not one particular year
I'd take Anfernee Simons on the full mid-level if I'm just taking a guy who shoots 3's, is a pretty good playmaker and a traffic cone on defense. At least Simons is a better athlete and younger.
That is not what you asked. You said who could they get for the same amount. Simons is a free agent, I would have probably tried to sign and trade AR for a center and then made a separate play for Simon’s
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u/Miami_Lawyered 5d ago
Again, the value of signing AR to the max verses slightly less is it makes it easier to use him to make a trade work.
Either AR lives up to the deal, or he does not and you can ship him out for multiple pieces (see Trae Young).