We lose Paschall not because 3/10 is a bad deal or that we don't have match rights. We lose Paschall because we're paying Rudy Gay and Ryan Smith's wallet is the number one priority of this team. I was called a crazy person for saying that Niang at barely above the minimum was a missed opportunity for us, but turns out that a guy who you are 100% sure can play well in your rotation is pretty good when your owner sends every piece of draft capital away to save money. I don't think Gay will be dumped this season, but that's only because we already used all the picks to dump salary. Instead, I expect us to dump salary other ways. But make no mistake... if we had the draft capital to dump Rudy Gay, we would dump him this summer. We just don't have the picks to dump him so money has to come off another way. I hope it's in a productive manner by trading some of the surplus (JC/Bogey) for any draft capital we can get.
I was probably lower on the Gay move than anyone, but I can't really fault them for making the deal. It just turned out really bad and we will pay for it dearly one way or another. I think we're in agreement that it won't be in Ryan's wallet. He could turn it around at some point, hopefully when it matters most, but Paschall is much more likely to do that at this point IMO. I agree that Paschall is the better option and I'm fairly confident in it at this point. Gay vs Whiteside is the bigger discussion for me personally. I think Pachall has played well enough that he's a "must play" type of guy.
Really, I think it's a shame what's happening to Paschall. I was also somewhat skeptical of the Paschall move, but now I'm wishing we had him on a long term deal and he could be a good player for us for many years to come. We found a good one. Now we're almost certainly going to lose him.
