So why wouldn't MIL just overpay Middleton? Monroe, I get; his team & situation sucks, so he might want out; but MIL has a nicer core/rebuild than us, so why would Middleton leave that situation?
This post also makes it sound like the trade market will just shrivel up and die. Hoping that's not the case, as we have put all of our eggs into that pool of talent, and we have less valuable assets than other teams in the bottom to get players via a now dead trade market.
So, by your logic, the tankers like NYK and PHI have a better chance to land talent than us, because they have gathered more valuable assets than us, and have the cap-space that everyone will have to play with.
For example:NYK outbids us on Cousins, pairs him with Melo, then signs another one or TWO max contracts on top of that.
So the rich will get richer, the trade market will dissapear, and the tankers can outbid us. Quite a Rosie picture you paint of our future. If this is really the way things are going moving forward, then the playoff run/national exposure/BS are the only assets we have to lure mal-content/potential stars.
Sorry if I'm ranting/being negative, but I feel like everyone in the league is aware of the salary cap evolution going on right now. So, essentially, under these circumstances, we need to find a mal-content free agent, then overpay for them, and hope to lure more mal-contents through free agency.
I guess what I'm saying is: wouldn't any team overpay this year, even if they take a cap hit for one year?
And the idea of CLE getting a fourth max contract guy is not only unfair, it's frightening how unbalanced the league could become with talent.