re: Official Free Agency and Trade Thread: Latest Pels sign Charles Cooke to 2 way

Gotcha ya. He already lost, what, $30m losing the DPE. Doubt he gives up another ~$20m or whatever it is so long as the Pelicans are competent this season.

And I get why people would prefer to let Jrue walk to maintain flexibility, but let's say AD/DC + the likes of Solo, Moore, Diallo, and a few cheap FA guards win 42 games next season. How much financial flexibility do we really have after maxing Boogie? Does AD/DC carrying this team with adequate play from Moore/Diallo/Solo really tempt any big FAs? Look at next offseason's big FA names. None of them (Durant, Lebron, PG, Westbrook) are coming here. What's the point? Are Benson and, more importantly, Boogie and AD willing to play the long game and wait 2 full seasons before going after a semi-realistic big fish like Wall?