Not sure why there is an assumption that I would vote yes on this hypothetical question.
It's not your vote. It's that you posted such a dumb question in the first place.
This isn't a video game like NBA2K17. There are real-world negative consequences to trading a prime FA that you lured to the city under false representations. Your post doesn't even offer the possibility of those consequences which leads any reader to believe that you don't know the difference between being a video game GM and the constraints placed on a real one.
Granath, it is your opinion it's a dumb question.
Most savvy general managers are thinking 2 to 3 steps ahead of the curve and one could argue that projecting Al's decline with age, the infusion of youth at the center position with next year's deep draft, and Gordon Hayward's injury delaying our true ability to compete a year make for a perfect storm to sell high on Horford. I'm not one of those people. I think Al has 3 to 4 more years at a very high, fundamentally sound level of competition playing on both sides of the basketball.
It's pretty much general consensus that it's a dumb question.
Again, you've given no consideration to real-world factors and implications of making such a trade. You can list meta data like age and salary but those things aren't the only considerations. Agents, reputation, locker room ramifications and sales/marketing all play a role in any determination. Feel free to enjoy FantasyLand in NBA2K18 but most of us understand that's not the way the real game is played.
Is really not a dumb question.
Kyrie is 25. Tatum and Brown are showing real signs of breaking out at 19 and 20. Hayward is 27. Smart and Rozier are around 24 or so. Horford is 32. Which of those numbers stands out?
You all talk about "Armchair GMs" and yet what are you all? Exactly that.
You all talk about trades that would never happen...but if somebody made a thread like this 8 months ago suggesting we trade Isaiah for Kyrie the general response would be petty much the same. I can just set the responses now:
- "Danny wouldn't do that, that's not how NBA GMs work in the real world. He's a 29 PPG scorer. He's the heart of the team. He just played a day after his sister died. There's no way Danny would trade him. Besides why would Cleveland trade Kyrie when they are almost guaranteed to make the finals again? That's a stupid idea. "
But wait...
Fact is you don't know what deals could potentially present themselves, what if Anthony Davis suddenly becomes available? The you can probably kiss Al goodnight.
The other fact is you don't know what Danny's master plan is. Does he want to win now? If so then it's unlikely a better player then horford becomes available, so the chance of a trade happening is unlikely. But if his aim is to develop a you team with the aim of contending 2-3 years from now (which is exactly what Wyc is on record saying) then you don't look at the trade in terms of who is better now - you look at it in terms of who is going to be better 2-4 years into the future. And there are plenty of guys out there who are not as good as horford right now, but will almost certainly be better then him 3 years from now.
Horford so far this year is playing some of the best basketball I've seen him play in the last 3-4 years, but ultimately that probably will average out and his numbers likely will not be sustained at 15/9/5 and will likely settle back down to 14/7/5 with a FG% in the mid 40s - so if Danny WERE to trade him, then (as the OP suggested), now would be the time. Now when he's putting up peak numbers, looking fresh and nimble, and hasn't just gone through that half of that 82 game grind.
That's not saying that we SHOULD trade him - I'm not saying that at all. I'm just saying that the OP's question is by no means insane or silly, and I have no doubts in my mind Danny would consider doing so if the right offer came along.
Righr now I would say that Kyrie, Tatum, Hayward and even Brown are all more "untouchable" then Horford is. This is a team looking firmly towards the future, and Horfords value right now is much stronger then it will be 3-4 years from now.