To get out of his last contract he would have had to make himself look absolutely horrible, take a qualifying offer vs his first giant $160 million payday. Getting out before your restricted free agency is unheard of. The supermax, there is plenty of precedent for turning it down, and he can opt out a year later, and has the leverage to demand a trade at that point, and he knows he'll be traded if he turns it down. If he actually signed it (he won't) it would show a willingness to stay, when he didn't have to.But that's the exact same argument you could and would use if he signs another deal - "he had no choice but sign it because it was more money than anybody else could offer. But the 5th year is a player option so he really hates Utah...."
Let me again point you to the 3:38-4:06 mark in this live from the other day in regards to "you gotta get out of Utah". "Bro I don't wanna turn into some like" is the most "I want to leave but won't because I don't want to look bad" vibe you could have.
A positive to Dame to NY would be this. It takes up their cap space for the foreseeable future and they'll have to give up all those assets they have. If Dame ends up in NY, it hurts their chance of getting Donovan.
