The mystery man Tony Jones was talking about

[Agent#00]

Donovan Mitchell

There

 

[Darkwing Duck]

It's interesting that he said an upgraded starter, not an all-star

I could see an upgrade at PG
Sexton has been fantastic so an upgrade there would be an all-star
SF is probably the biggest area for additions so let's look for an upgrade there
PF we already have an all-star
The Center is another area we could look for an upgrade

Atlanta -

I could see Trae young but he is an all-star
De'andre hunter but he has already been rumored to the jazz
Saddiq Bey would be interesting but do not see ATL moving him because he is playing well on a smaller contract

Boston - Just do not see anything happening here

Brooklyn -

Ben Simmons would have been a huge surprise but again do not see that happening
Bridges was an all-star so doesn't fit
DFS would be a nice fit but he was already being mentioned in trade talks

Charlotte -

Miles Bridges - would have been a shocker but he was already talked about
Grant Williams - is a PF so not better then Lauri

Chicago -

Caruso would have been nice but not enough of an upgrade
DeRozen fits kind of but would not have been a huge shocker

Cleveland - Do not see anything here

Dallas - Not seeing a good fit here

Denver - same nothing to see

Detroit -

Already made a trade unless they were going to make another and send us Grimes but he doesn't really fit the description and was already said we wanted him

Golden State -

Andrew Wiggins would have been a shocker.
Biggest shocker would have been a trade for Thompson. That would have been the big shocker here

Houston -

Jalen Green would have been a shocker but not one I would have liked

Indiana - Doesnt fit

LAC - nothing to see here

LAL -

unless it was reaves nothing really fits here and Reaves doesn't really fit the description

Memphis -

Zaire Williams would have been a surprise but he is not an upgrade any where

Miami - Nothing to see here

Milwaukee - Nothing here

Minnesota -

Towns would have been a massive shocker but he was an all-star I believe

NOP

Ingram and Herb Jones both fit the bill to some degree

OKC

Giddy would be the only one

Orlando

I could see a Fultz trade but do not think it really fits

Philly - nothing to see here

Sacramento -

Barnes would have been somewhat a surprise or Kevin Huerter. I could see that especially if Sactown was going to get back something.
Mitchell would be interesting but he is buried on their depth chart now.

Pheonix - nothing to see here

Portland -

Grant is the name that pops up the most. I had posted about him being a good fit.

SAS -

I like Collins but he is not an upgrade
I do not think Johnson really fits the bill either

Toronto - Been there done that

Washington -

The biggest shocker and would have been the best move out of all of them would be Deni Avdija. He fits the bill. would have been an upgrade at the 3.

So after all of that my vote would go to Deni Avdija.

I would say with Portland, they don't want to roll with a Simons/Sharpe/Scoot lineup too much, and I believe Simons is the easiest to pry away, so that could have been a possibility.

 

[stitches]

My wild guess is Darius Garland. There was some noise a while ago about Ainge liking him and Cleveland have been weird this year with Garland having somewhat of a down year, hampered by injuries and that Cleveland team being better without him than with him. Donovan has kind of made him redundant.

 

[Jaanipoeg]

For ****'s sake, I always thought those RealGM memes about "look at the player Ainge almost got" were an overreaction...but now I'm living it.

Without actually looking it up, it still feels like Ainge makes more deals than the average GM. He just tries to get in on EVERY deal, at least at the preliminary level.

No clue on who it could be, maybe GSW trying to care about long-term cap now with a Wiggins trade (not an above average starter this season but maybe still living off old perceptions). Really hope it wasn't Jalen Green like others have mentioned, but I could see Ainge getting excited

 

[Thee Jazz Fan]

If the Jazz want Tyler Herro, it wouldn't take too much...

If he was who the Jazz was discussing it would’ve happened. I doubt it was him plus, he’s been heavily mentioned in rumors over the last year or two.

For ****'s sake, I always thought those RealGM memes about "look at the player Ainge almost got" were an overreaction...but now I'm living it.

Lol. Of course that’s your reaction to this thread. Your every meme about an old man rolled into one. Never stop being you.

Jalen Green is my guess. There were some whispers that we asked about his availability earlier in the year.

If there are whispers then it’s not him. According to JT’s criteria.

Donovan Mitchell

There

lol probably the best guess yet. No one would have guessed him, not even for this thread and you still went there.

I would say with Portland, they don't want to roll with a Simons/Sharpe/Scoot lineup too much, and I believe Simons is the easiest to pry away, so that could have been a possibility.

One. No way the jazz want him. Two, I’m not so sure he’s a win now move, more of a side ways move. Not sure he gives any more than what we get from Sexton or JC.

My wild guess is Darius Garland. There was some noise a while ago about Ainge liking him and Cleveland have been weird this year with Garland having somewhat of a down year, hampered by injuries and that Cleveland team being better without him than with him. Donovan has kind of made him redundant.

I hope not. lol but a good guess and I’m sure the Jazz are dumb enough to want another midget backcourt. Lol

 

[Peter Effin' Parker]

This. Who would turn down 7-8 FRPs?

Okay, that’s a great hypothetical: Would Mark Cuban trade Luka right now for 8 FRP’s?

I still say no. Mavs are playing well and they want a title. Not to reboot the whole thing.

 

[Park Bites]

The Darius Garland is interesting and he would fit the bill. The problem is I think cleveland has consigned themselves that Mitchell is gone and Garland will be the next building piece.

I guess if you ok at Cleveland Mobley makes the most sense. I forgot they have played better without him. The Mobley/Allen front court hasn't been great. Could you imagine if Mobley was used in the trade and they kept Markkanen?

Start Mobley at the 5 move Collins to the bench. That is interesting. Give back a couple of the first we got from Cleveland.

 

[The Jazz Wonderbra]

Cam Johnson is a player who is a versatile big SF that Ainge likes. He is not an all star but better than a starter. No one is talking about him.

If he were someone ainge could grab, I could see us getting better.

Herb Jones also fits. There were some initial herb is on the block rumors that were squashed days later. I wonder if something slipped and the Pelicans wanted to do damage control?

 

[The Jazz Wonderbra]

Someone could make a list of the top 3 - 4 players on every team and try to limit it down that way I guess. That means it's a list of 90 - 120 players. Remove all of the all stars and you are down to 50 - 70 players. Remove the rumor mill guys and you may be down to 40ish names.

If I had a podcast I might be tempted to do that. Does anyone know a guy?