The Crunch is Coming -Shamit Dua

One of CJ, BI or Zion will have to go after this season.

Putting cap smoothing in the CBA does change the math and makes it harder to avoid the more punitive tax rules while keeping this team together. I just can’t see the team changing course with a preemptive trade 2 years in advance. But in 2 more years when their hand is forced, they probably won’t have a better option on the table than a trade for #2/#3 this offseason.

We won't be able to extend BI AND keep Herb and Murphy. It's best for us to sale BI at his peak value which is right now.

Why would you want to get rid one of the best wings in the league when it’s hard to find good wings in the first place?

Shamit is the biggest BI hater, so I’m not surprised he wants to trade him so much. His twitter is unbearable.

Your thinking with your emotions and not business wise. Emotions aside BI is not worth extending for multiple reasons.

Because BI has the most value on the team right now. It's that simple from a business perspective. Of course it would suck losing a wing but Trey is getting the bag and will likely occupy the wing position moving forward.

CJ wont bring back much value and is a better culture guy, and Zion value is so low right now. BI is the best choice.

Where is he getting the numbers that show the Pelicans as being a tax team in 2024-2025?

I just don’t see the math on it if the tax line is at 170. We’re at 130 with the following guys on the books:

Zion, BI, CJ, Larry, Dyson, Jose, and Trey. The only additional money we’ll spend is on Herb and a center. Herb isn’t going to take up more than half the 40 million at most and of those guys listed, Larry’s 11 million will likely not even be on the books.

There should be enough room to move around in those waters for it to work. Which then leads to the following year where he mentions BI and Trey being extension candidates. Again, CJ is a $30 million dollar expiring that year. I’d rather burn a pick to move CJ in 3 years than trade BI for spare parts and Scoot Henderson this year.

That’s just goofy to me. Shamit’s been on this weird kick to trade BI the last few weeks and I think he’s trying to use this to justify his reasoning. The guy is clearly knowledgeable about the cap but I do not think he is practical or pragmatic at all.

You’re trying to solve a problem in the future that might not even exist. Another thing to remember is that the Pelicans can waive Zion and not have any money on the books. That should be the ace in the hole if you come into money troubles and the guy remains totally undependable.

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Another thing to consider, your two best players can't suffer from injury proneness and character issues. Both players suffer from both, and will continue to hold this franchise hostage as long as they BOTH are here.

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Character issues? What on earth are you referring to with that?

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when we’re healthy but without Zion, we’re still about a .500 team.

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It's really hard to say from last season. When BI wasn't taking 2 weeks longer than he should have needed to, Willie had his head up his arse about rotations or playing through JV with no Zion. Even with the injuries they had last season, it feels like the Pels left about 5-10 wins on the table by not coming back from injury on time, and not making maximum use of the players they had.

It's rare when what you have aligns with what the other teams want and vice versa. That's when you get a good deal, like getting CJ for a 1st because we had expirings and the other teams interested in him didn't. So you probably could get a Scoot and Sharpe package for a BI and Herb or Dyson package if Scoot fell to 3.

The problem with that is you're making the present worse for a "possibly" brighter future, and your main motivation is tax avoidance in 2 years time. That's just something that's hard to sell. I see the fascination with the idea, but I don't see them pulling the trigger on a deal like that unless they know something we don't that has them less sold on BI.

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Your thinking with your emotions and not business wise. Emotions aside BI is not worth extending for multiple reasons.

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Why are we talking BI?? This should be Zion.

BI wants to be in NOLA - something that can't be said for 80-90% of the league. BI is a B tier star, who's still young, and continues to show development in different parts of his game.

Additionally, the guy actually has a work ethic unlike someone else on this team.

Is Zion more impactful? Without a doubt. He's also way more uncertain with respect to injuries and desire to be here.