Obviously Lauri needs to have good health (and he might already have some issues), but it’s just a tough situation for him to perform in. I’d probably pair him a Collier together as much as possible. I’m still not sure Collier is an NBA caliber player, but he is the type of player that should be able to help Lauri. I think we have decent shooting/spacing, so maybe it’s not too bad on offense.
Training Camp 2025
- Thread starter nateboz
- Start date
I mean, one post-Steph pick has an uncommonly likely chance to be a premium asset. But
I have it in my head that the only firsts they could have traded was 25 and 27 or 26 and 28. I think maybe they could have traded more if they removed protections, but it was never clear what they were actually offering.
If an unprotected post Steph pick was really on the table then yeah, we probably should have done it. It's just hard for me to be too sad when it was never clear what we turned down and I like Lauri.
26/28/30 could have been unprotected except for 30. If their 30 pick landed between 21-30 it goes to Wizards, otherwise it would (in this scenario) go to the Jazz. Curry would be 39 so he may not be retired, but would likely be retired for 30 and they also could swap every other year through 31. IMO, control of the Warriors draft for Curry ages 39-42 is super valuable. You also could have potentially bought that portion of the 30 pick from the Warriors and opened up other possibilities, but I can't remember if that was best or not.
It is true that we will never know what was actually offered. Shams said what he said but that's not 100% reliable. Whatever the truth is, I find it hard to believe that we're in a stronger position because we kept Lauri. I think we made a big mistake, but going forward it's probably best to keep him because I can't imagine there are good offers on the table. There might not be any offers of any value until he plays well again.
FYI: This is what I'm referencing from Shams:
View: https://x.com/SiriusXMNBA/status/1813038343518912918
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You know what else is likely? Lauri is a 7-footer getting close to being 30. His playing style is athletic and taxing on the body and he has been having persistent health issues for the last several years. Actually, Lauri said that he was dealing with an injury during this Eurobasket- after the summer of rest!
There is probably about the 15%-20% chance that the 2025/26 season will be an injury-plagued one for him. And, probably, a bit smaller, but not an insignificant chance (10%? 15%?) that he will be dealing with persistent injuries for the rest of his career and his contract becomes a heavy anchor limiting the Jazz in many ways.
It's understandable hoping for a great year from Markkanen but we should be aware of all realistic possibilities.
cctrackstar
Well-Known Member
hey guys, you know how nobody wants to play here? how stars would go to literally at least 3/4ths of the league than come here? how we are never the preferred destination for the vast majority of players in the league and it hurts our feelings and we hate it? here's an idea, let's trade for a guy and he becomes a star and does everything in his power to stay here because he likes it here for his family and the coaching staff. let's trade him. let's tell the league that we don't like anybody either and even if a player likes it here, we would rather trade them away for a dice roll than keep them here. that'll show them.
side note. every single player on this team will leave us as soon as any other team offers the same money as we do. except lauri. how do i know? i've seen it. for a couple of decades. player gets good here, gets money offers, leaves. even though we can match dollar for dollar. almost every time.
side note. every single player on this team will leave us as soon as any other team offers the same money as we do. except lauri. how do i know? i've seen it. for a couple of decades. player gets good here, gets money offers, leaves. even though we can match dollar for dollar. almost every time.