Blah Blah Blah like it will destroy the Knicks for backing out on their promise to Melo? I agree though, if the Cavs promise to trade him I'm sure they would, I just doubt they'd promise to do that unconditionally if he tells them at the last minute. They might say "sure, we'll trade you but only if we aren't being asked to take back salary and we get something we want." No way they would give an unconditional trade promise to him without knowing what the deals would have to look like.
Something tells me Morey has done his due diligence on this on the assumption its going to happen although Lebron delaying the "opt in" decision certainly isn't the optimum scenario.
Right, that's certainly possible just saying if Cat is right and they haven't worked out those details and that's why there's no leak then it's hard to see how it could come together in time.
Whoever is in ESPN's vault of stuff, knows where PG is going... I know they are keeping it under wraps but someone needs to leak it
Right. There's no way they'd give Daryl Morey (or whoever the GM is of the team LeBron wants to go to) a blank check to accept any combination of players/contracts that would make the math work. If there are reasons the deal can't be "official" tomorrow, I think both sides would be fine waiting until after the moratorium — but there would need to be some sort of agreement in principle. Otherwise, it'd be back to everything we went through last summer in terms of the Knicks saying they'd send Melo to Houston before they had come to terms.
No it wouldn't, unless you actually believe Gilbert has zero interest in trading Lebron under any circumstances. Maybe that's true. If that's not true, an Opt-in, with no trade yet in place, is just a matter of selling Gilbert on the idea enough for him to promise to trade Lebron if certain conditions are met that benefit everyone, or Lebron agrees to stay. Morey would obviously help make that pitch to give all teams/options more time...including giving Gilbert himself more time. If Gilbert renegs on that promise, well, good luck with a disgruntled Lebron and a pissed off GM of the Year slamming your franchise for broken promises.
Bingo. If there is a framework that would be one thing, but the Cavs aren't going to promise anything without SOME idea what a deal would look like and Lebron would never risk it by opting-in without that iron clad promise. The Cavs would have too much power. "Look, we told you we'd try to trade you but we aren't willing to be a luxury tax team and the Rockets couldn't find a taker for all of the contracts they needed to send out. ATL would take Anderson but we would have to absorb X. It wasn't workable. Sorry, you're stuck here."
Good grief ESPN is in desperate need of content. Paul George is one of the least compelling sports figures I've ever seen. Even his name is as dull as can be. When I was a kid I'd come home from school and watch professional wrestling (AWA I think) on ESPN. They need to consider picking up tv rights to Japanese pro-wrestling. I've watched some matches on AXS and it's entertaining.
except the big issue is we would be over the luxury tax threshold, If I recall correctly the math becomes increasingly difficult if it's not done before free agency starts and the new salary hits go into affect is this correct @BimaThug ?
I think that if we don't hear about it in the next few hours we can safely assume that Lebron to Houston won't be happening.
I don't believe Gilbert would have any interest in trading LeBron to Houston under any circumstances (considering what HOU can offer) unless the threat is there that LeBron can imminently leave for zero compensation. Beyond that, I'd be surprised if they want to trade him anywhere. He's the best player in the league.
Right after the Space Jam trailer. Side note - I don't get why it's so inconceivable that LeBron could sign here after opting out, on a much smaller contract.
You might need to stagger it to where the LeBron trade becomes "official" before the other signings... but the main issue with waiting until July was that a sign and trade would subject the Rockets to a hard cap. If it's just a regular trade, which this would be, it wouldn't hard-cap the Rockets -- even if it hypothetically were completed in July or August.
Right. It's different if they have the framework of a deal already, but if there are literally no details ironed out, Gilbert isn't going to make that promise. Like you said, that's a blank check. Without framework worked out Gilbert would have a way to plausibly nix the deal. Or hell, he could screw over the Rockets. Sure, I'll trade him to you but I want every possible first round pick you are allowed to trade!
And that's the pitch. The pitch is that you could lose Lebron for zero compensation, so give Morey more time, and an Opt-In would FORCE Lakers to give you something, as well, should Morey fail.
