OK, I'll play -
what were we eventually going to have to pay KP?
A lot. The junior max.
did we foresee KP's brother suddenly becoming a non-nuisance?How did the relationship go wrong? We couldn't give KZ's bro some title -- Player Development Specialist or whatever -- and buy him off. And then KZ would hire a real agent.
KZ was our ticket, all we had to do is keep him happy. It was His Team. The injury year allowed us to tank and add a Top 3 pick. A This should have been fine. How did the Knix blow the deal with KZ? Why was he so disaffected? How come no one has been held accountable or fired for this fiasco?
where were we getting young cheap talent that would allow us to pay top guys to play with KP?RJ Barrett our #3 pick. Knox, Mitch, Franc, Trier, Dotson, (Mud).
Gee that's nearly half a roster of young cheap talent.
Let's say that with KZ - Mitch - Barrett you have 3 starting positions locked up long term. So bring in some vets. Big need at PG. Also SF.
Give me an example of a team - an eight player rotation - down the line if we had kept him - and tell me why you feel that would have been good enough.Bring in a vet PG. Maybe throw a ton of cash at RFA Brogdon (say $18M). Pa Bev gives a jolt for cheap. Rubio can be had for not a huge amount ($15M?). With KZ, Kyrie likely considers NYC -- though I'm not a fan, as he would be expensive and injury-prone and flaky.
Another option is wait for a PG, but my feeling is having a genuine starting quality PG will jump start the rebuild and speed up development of players/coach/team.
We'd need a 3&D vet SF. One idea I've floated is tossing a big one year deal at an aging vet. An Ariza, Rude Gay, DeMarre, Wil.
We'd get a solid SF presence, buy time to develop Knox, and preserve cap space for next year. Maybe Ariza and Gay can find better teams willing to pay them fairly well. Then DeMarre (though a big enough payday in NYC, and Ariza/Gay could agree).
Two possible next year scenarios:
A B
Rubio - Mud/Franc Brogdon - Mud/Franc
Barrett - Trier/Dotson Barrett - Trier/Dotson
DeMarre - Knox Ariza - Knox
KZ - Vonleh KZ - Vonleh
Mitch - Kornet Mitch - Kornet
I'd prefer B, but that would be harder to achieve.
We'd still have a fair amount of cap space the following year (though KZ will be at $25M or whatever).
Can evaluate and see what else we need and who works together.
Note I'm preaching a rather patient approach.
Developing a team around KZ, Barrett and Mitch. Pups. And hopefully Knox. Which will take some years. The hell with shortcuts.
Make smart moves. Add another late lottery or mid-1st draft pick the next year. Manage the cap well and be opportunistic. Good players always become available. For example, last year Porter Jr could be had for just his high salary. Kyrie and Horford are out there in FA, etc.