re: Steven Adams to Pelicans in Serious Talks

Yeah I'm not really liking this deal for the Pels. I just hope Griff saying like he hopes Adams is here for the longhaul is GM leverage speak because that dramatically reduces this team's ceiling.

Look, Adams is going to bring a lot to the table. Yes, he's a great locker room guy, great in PNR, setting screens, improving interior D, and OREBs, but that's not a $20M player in this league. It's ok as an expiring, but he's not going to be much cheaper if we resign him this summer.

There's no team remotely close to winning a title with a center of Adams brand getting paid in his projected range. The closest is Jokic but he's the literal engine of that team and not really comparable.

A lot of these bonuses that Adams brings to the team is more efficiently achieved by bargain vet centers on a fraction of the cost. Adams makes this team better, but he greatly lowers this team's ceiling if he's here for several years.

With all that being said, him staying here could be Griffin speak and the next play is to ship his expiring off to match salaries with several picks for Bradley Beal when he remembers how annoying it is to play with John Wall.