Elfrid Payton

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Originally Posted by zephyr

It will be after the 2019-20 season. It is fairly well known at this point that AD will not sign that deal. He is expected to leave no matter what. The closer we get to that point, the more teams will be willing to just wait until he hits the market so as to not have to give up pieces for him when they know he's leaving anyhow. Our trade value will go down drastically the more we wait.

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He can sign the max deal this summer. He does not have to wait until after 2019-20. His current contract does extend until then however. My take that he will be traded to the highest bidder this summer if he does not sign the new deal comes from Scott Prather. Scott stated that is the case recently on his show and he still has sources within the Pelicans organization as he worked for them prior to starting in radio here. Understand the opinion a trade should be considered at deadline in February but that is not in the cards.

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Originally Posted by Cajunsmike

He can sign the max deal this summer. He does not have to wait until after 2019-20. His current contract does extend until then however. My take that he will be traded to the highest bidder this summer if he does not sign the new deal comes from Scott Prather. Scott stated that is the case recently on his show and he still has sources within the Pelicans organization as he worked for them prior to starting in radio here. Understand the opinion a trade should be considered at deadline in February but that is not in the cards.

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Mike, by all accounts he is not signing the deal. His current contract runs through next season. If he doesn't sign the deal at the end of this season, it is an acknowledgement that he is not planning on coming back at all. At that point, do you really think there will be a glut of teams offering anything for him when they know they can get him in free agency the following season? Also, if the Lakers are truly a possible destination, they have a win now mentality with Lebron's age and window of opportunity being relatively small. They would likely be wanting to make a move sooner rather than later.

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Originally Posted by zephyr

Mike, by all accounts he is not signing the deal. His current contract runs through next season. If he doesn't sign the deal at the end of this season, it is an acknowledgement that he is not planning on coming back at all. At that point, do you really think there will be a glut of teams offering anything for him when they know they can get him in free agency the following season? Also, if the Lakers are truly a possible destination, they have a win now mentality with Lebron's age and window of opportunity being relatively small. They would likely be wanting to make a move sooner rather than later.

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You make some valid points. I was only passing on what Scott said and I trust him when it comes to the Pelicans. I also know the Pelicans would prefer to trade him to an Eastern Conference team so I doubt he ends up with the Lakers next season no matter what you hear from national media. No idea what teams are willing to offer but by selling to the highest bidder they may get more than many believe. It won't be worth what is deserved but it never is in this situation. The Spurs were able to get a good deal for Leonard and he had only one year remaining.

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Originally Posted by Cajunsmike

You make some valid points. I was only passing on what Scott said and I trust him when it comes to the Pelicans. I also know the Pelicans would prefer to trade him to an Eastern Conference team so I doubt he ends up with the Lakers next season no matter what you hear from national media. No idea what teams are willing to offer but by selling to the highest bidder they may get more than many believe. It won't be worth what is deserved but it never is in this situation. The Spurs were able to get a good deal for Leonard and he had only one year remaining.

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I agree that they will likely wait but I feel that is the wrong decision. You say that the Spurs got a good deal with Leonard but I disagree. Leonard is/was considered a top 3-5 player in the entire league and is young. They felt his trade value would be greater but waited to get rid of him and their leverage was much less. In other words, they possibly could have gotten more for him had they traded him sooner but his leg was a concern. I think the Spurs got what they could for him but the overall deal was not really a great one.

As I mentioned before, I don't mind sending him to a West team if the return is greater. I would hope that we really don't care as long as we are getting the best assets for him and putting us in the best spot to succeed. I would love to get Thompson and Green from Golden State for him and would definitely be on board with him staying in the West if that happened.

I’d take Klay Thompson and dreymond green for AD all day long.

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Originally Posted by Cajunsmike

You make some valid points. I was only passing on what Scott said and I trust him when it comes to the Pelicans. I also know the Pelicans would prefer to trade him to an Eastern Conference team so I doubt he ends up with the Lakers next season no matter what you hear from national media. No idea what teams are willing to offer but by selling to the highest bidder they may get more than many believe. It won't be worth what is deserved but it never is in this situation. The Spurs were able to get a good deal for Leonard and he had only one year remaining.

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The Brow holds all the cards. He’s going to pick the team he wants to play for period. He’s been very loyal to a team unabled, or unwilling to give him the pieces he needs to play for a ring. Actually I think because he’s been so loyal he’d be open to lots of good opportunities now, less so after February.

We still talking about Elfrid?

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Originally Posted by DieHard1280

We still talking about Elfrid?

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Yes we have let the thread drift. EP played well last night despite still being hobbled by the injury and not in basketball shape. Helped Pels win without AD who was out with an illness.

Pels 6/1 with EP.

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Originally Posted by CajunEXPRESS

The Brow holds all the cards. He’s going to pick the team he wants to play for period. He’s been very loyal to a team unabled, or unwilling to give him the pieces he needs to play for a ring. Actually I think because he’s been so loyal he’d be open to lots of good opportunities now, less so after February.

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Not necessarily. He doesn't have a no trade clause and the pelicans have all rights to trade him. Sort of like Leonard this year. He had no intention of going to Toronto. He didn't get much say so although I think he's a FA after this season.

I like AD and he's been nothing but a model player/citizen here but I'm not going to make the guy look like a Saint because he's been "loyal". He's made a ton of money here after getting a max contract a couple years ago. The Pelicans have committed to him but because they are not willing to go into the luxury tax, his salary hurts their ability to go after other high level targets. We'll see if he's truly loyal when the time comes to make his decision on the supermax deal on the table.

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Originally Posted by DieHard1280

We still talking about Elfrid?

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What is left to say? First game back after a long absence. The Pelicans are better with him. What is it you wanted to add?

With a healthy EP the Pels will make the playoffs.