If Tatum isn't included you & I both know that the Celtics deal is alot worse & even if they include Tatum who's to say they would also include all of those picks? I wouldn't be surprised if Ingram ends up being a better player than Tatum in 2-3 years.

Also, if i'm the Knicks & i get the #1 draft pick i'd say F u to A.D & draft Zion all day everyday. A.D has done nothing with the Pelicans while Zion has potential to be the best player in the N.B.A; wing players run the NBA, not big men.

I (and several others here IIRC) trashed that Kyrie deal when it happened, and was way wrong to do so. But if he doesn’t resign, and Hayward doesn’t get right, it could get pretty dark in a hurry for the Celts. Could end up with old Al, damaged Hayward, and all the chips in on Tatum, Brown, and picks. Kinda like they reverted to where Philly was two years ago when we thought Celtics were set up perfectly both short and long term. That’s still a lot of potential, but you’re back to having a bunch of uncertainty and pressure to make the right moves.

Can they even do a sign and trade with Kyrie this summer if he wants to leave? How much more would he be able to get vs. the value of getting to pick where he wants to go all by himself?

why would anyone exclude tatum? agree the draft is thin, but see below

idk about exact offers and would need to look more closely at specific assets, but i think the best offer is centered around future lotto picks, or tatum and picks if we are talking about boston. now, boston may not actually be in the mix which increases the lakers leverage obv, but i don't think the relative asset quality is comparable there.

exo is saying the picks in this draft suck after zion, so lonzo/ingram and co are more enticing. the draft being weak is relevant and i haven't looked that closely at it. idk what the exchange rate is between undrafted players from weak drafts vs young players who look meh and that is important, but i am extremely low on ingram and not particularly high on ball. so as the pelicans gm i wouldn't care much about any of the reported players other than tatum and would generally focus on picks from whoever. like maybe you can squeeze the lakers for a truly outrageous # of picks now that a couple of other teams are in the mix

I don’t think the draft is weak, it’s just Zion and everyone else. He’s like a Duncan level prospect where everyone else’s potential is singificantly lower. Reddish, little and Barrett haven’t been as good as advertised. Some kid from Murray state, Morant is flying up the board.

Tobias is lit

What gives anyone the impression that Ainge will include Tatum for a 1-year rental for a guy who says he won't re-sign in Boston? No sources are saying that Ainge has said he would include Tatum, and no sources have contradicted this:

"The Celtics have refused to directly dangle Jayson Tatum, two sources familiar with the situation told SI.com."

No great picks are out there either, no expected top-5 or so picks at least. Most of them are mid-1st rounders, slightly higher or lower. The Lakers' 2019 pick is also a mid-1st rounder.

I'm not saying the Lakers are actually gonna get AD tomorrow, because NO looks pretty stubborn. I'm asking TZ - what is a realistic actual better offer than the Lakers', that you expect to come by tomorrow or during this summer?

TRADES

Doesn't seem off-limits to me.

I have a sneaky suspicion that if Lakers-Pels trade happens, Solomon Hill will be flipped to the Hawks for Baze or TP or both if some package forms.

It's the Rising Stars game, not the old ass rookies game

This would also continue the Hawks trend of doing a solid for the players they are sending out by sending them to "contenders", trying to curry favor with agents (Schroder to OKC; Muscala to 76ers).

not a rookie tho

If Brow isn't traded by the deadline and becomes a healthy scratch the rest of the year, the Pelicans should lose their 1st round pick as punishment for making a worse mockery of competition in the league than THE PROCESS ever did.

It’s the Rising Stars game, not the eat a sandwich second year game

Uh what? Tyler Johnson sucks right? I guess we can pay him to be a backup guard next season instead of Ryan Anderson to ride the bench or get stretch waived. Whatever.

seems like a fine bench guard, one of those more athletic than skilled types

he does have a really stupid beard in some of these pics, i dont mind if you hold that against him.

Isnt that Rich Paul's fault tho? By demanding a trade publicly so early he basically makes the Pels wrap him in bubble wrap.

Ainge is fooling the Pelicans. No way will they trade Taytum and picks for 1 year of AD.

Or maybe he's fooling the Lakers. Think of it this way, Toronto now has an open roster spot, Denver hasn't played the three pieces linked to an AD trade in a week, now we're getting leaks of "it might include Tatum".

If you're the Lakers, do you budge from your 2 firsts and no Hart stance?

And no I don't think Denver wants to trade for him, nor would I like it.

I thought they were going to re-route Ellington for a second, but I guess he isn't worth it, or was hard to get salary back.

I think James Jones did his old team a solid. Can easily argue the trade for Phx since TJ is a better player than RA, but Heat win more because they're going to duck tax now & their logjam at guard (once Goran comes back) was going to create a lot of headaches.

I found out how the sixers are gonna pay for these new free agents. My neighbor got a 30% bump in his prices. From Twitter, some are getting 60%. I think it’s similar to what happened in golden state. My friend who runs renewals for the sixers said demand is so high and season ticket holder turnover was too low last season but 30-60% is a decent bump.

I don't mind the Tobias deal but Sixers can't possibly keep him, right?

Simmons extension is coming. I guess if Butler leaves they could keep him, but paying him with actual cap space doesn't seem like a great use of resources.

How about the Clippers significantly decreasing their chances to make the playoffs tho?