The whole... "they have to pay them" argument is kinda silly. Yeah... you can only take on so much bad money for picks... we will have infinity cap space next couple years. Lock one of these dudes up. I don't think it takes a full max which would be 5/188. I think you can do it at 5/150-160M. It will look like a damn steal when the cap goes up by 50%... which is when guys like Grimes, Toppin, and IQ will hit FA and get properly paid.
We could also wait him out this year and match an offer later. I'd want to know what his demands were... I don't think full max is necessary.
Meh...I think it's a real argument. I think he has a season similar to how his second half was last year. I don't want to be on the bill for it when that happens. He put up crazy counting stats but wasn't a good player. It may be impossible to give out a bad contract at this time with the cap rising (similar to the Hayward situation), so that's a good point.
This is especially the case if we're getting Barrett instead of other picks/prospects. If Barrett was coming over as neutral-ish value that would be one thing, but if NYK is putting him on the table they're going to do so thinking he's a premium prospect. I'd rather just stay away from Barrett and get the other stuff instead. My feeling is that the opportunity cost is too high to get him back in a trade.