Maybe they feel like the have a really good shot at Hayward in FA.
I'd feel much more comfortable with that route if there was a potential big that we could draft this year, but we're pretty much limited to guards and swings. Still need a major upgrade in the bigs department.
I'm still hoping there's a chance that Griffin considers us in free agency. And if not, I'd be fine with signing any one of Hayward, Milsap, or Ibaka and being a borderline contender while we develop our young guys.
Going to have to trade AB this summer, though.
Thing is, once you have Hayward (or even better, Griffin), you can at that point comfortably put a godfather offer on the table for Butler or George. I suspect adding two pieces and making us a true contender this summer has been Plan B ever since we missed out on Durant.
There's no guarantee that it works out, but it's a far superior option to overpaying on Butler or George right now and capping us out as a team.
IT - Butler - Crowder - Griffin - Horford
Something like that would be a team I'd feel pretty comfortable going against Golden State with.