same with Terrence Davis, domestic violence accusations/acquittal has Toronto not thrilled with him.
Monte Morris has been my wish list for years. I wonder what it would take to score him.
Any guesses on how much Portland will spend on Trent Jr?
Morris signed a 3/28 mil extension so he's not going anywhere. He's the perfect back up PG locked up at less than $10 mil a year. He's not really a good fit on the team anyway, even without Kemba. I'd take PP going forward. Part of the reason I like Monte is because he has an elite TO%. He never turns the ball over.
I'm not sure what he'd really bring to the team in it's current state though.
Trent Jr is going to be a hard sign for Portland. I'd guess they'd go as high as $15-20 million, but after that it would be hard for them to stay under the luxury cap.
Otto Porter might be young enough to fit too. I'd also be in on Aaron Gordon who is currently injured. With as bad as Orlando is, they'd might blow it up and Gordon isn't good enough or young enough to build around. I'd also love to try and get Jonathan Isaac or Mo Bamba though the former isn't happening and would be a risk. The latter has one more year after this and is probably worth more to Orlando than anything they'd get in return.
Nesmith is also a wild card in all of this. If he continues to play 20 minutes a night the rest of the way and the offense starts to click, he's going to have some serious trade value. PP will have some value too, though considerably less. That could open the door for much bigger names. So in a way, we've been advocating for the same thing. The best thing to do this season is to go cheap (Ellington) and wait for this summer to target the players you want and hope some of the young players develop enough to be part of the team's future or to trade away for a John Collins.
If those players are available, you lock them up and then you see what it takes to move Kemba and if the cost is prohibitive, you keep him for 21/22 and hope he is good enough to opt out. If he is, chances are the Celtics are having a very good season. If he's not, you can trade him after 21/22 where he only has 1 year left for far less assets. There's also the possibility you could trade him during the 21/22 season for an actual asset if he's playing well and the team somehow isn't, or he just isn't needed.
Hell, if he finishes the year averaging 20 points, 5 assists and shooting 42/40/90, you'd might even be able to get a 2nd round pick for him from the right team. As long as he stays relatively healthy, the contract becomes better value by the day. If he can get 3/70+, he'll opt out imo.
There's also the insane idea of stretching Kemba Walker if they can't trade him and he opts in. That would put them at $84 million with 7 players signed, but only 2 guaranteed. Drop Grant and Carsen and your at $78/5. It would allow them to pursue a max guy in 22/23 even if Kemba opted in. That would also mean they didn't add additional payroll beyond 21/22 from now until then tho.
Carrying 3 max contracts seems like a bad idea and something you only do if you have a bunch of rookies performing on rookie deals. Still, if they added a Ball this year and had to stretch Kemba, they should still be able to add a decent player in 22/23, though not a max. Stretching would suck but it would let the C's add a player now and then again after the 21/22 season. It would save Wyc some money in 21/22 as well.