John Hollinger

Chicago pivoting too late to the tank.

Uh, just in time for an awful 2027 draft that, that, that one stood out to me, not, not the deals they made today, but the strategic choices over the last two years that led them to this point.

Uh, I, I just think the, the overarching vision was kind of, kind of a fail there.

Well, there were only, I think, two trades before this week, right?

The Trey Young trade was the only trade the first four months of the season.

So we're basically down to this week.

Chicago taking on the $6 million of Gershon Yabasele for next year without even getting a pick or anything.

I'm flabbergasted by that because the Knicks were jonesing to move off that money.

And so I just don't understand that deal at all, especially in light of all the other moves Chicago was making to get second round picks left and right.

And now it's like, oh, I guess we need a big for our play-in run, right?

Was that why they did it?

I'm trying to find some kind of logic here.

Let's just eat his $6 million for next year and not ask for anything in return.

I don't know.

OK, well, if they I mean, if they are buying him out and getting that money removed next year, that obviously is a different situation.

That's the thing that everyone speculated on when the deal was made, because they were like, how are there no draft picks in this?

So we'll see how that turns out.

It's been a force behind some of the moves we haven't seen, certainly.

I also think the Harden for Garland deal, I think that came about in part because literally the only two guys they could be traded for was each other, based on the salary constraints that each side was operating within.

So they I mean, James Harden just had to take a very small amount of his trade kicker to make his salary the exact same amount, but no more than Darius Garland's.