jimmie wrote:
I'll be surprised if Chandler isn't looking for more than $8M per.
I'm not at all worried about making the playoffs. Losing more games this season isn't the issue (although it also shouldn't be the rationale behind any roster move; tanking is hardly a proven team-building method). The issue is how they will lose those games, and what they will be giving up, in terms of player development, in the process.
What does Chandler do for this team this season that he wouldn't do for the team if signed this off-season instead? On the one hand, you say he won't command that much cash, but on the other, Toronto has to rush to make a play for him now, in order to beat out all the other teams that will be vying for his services if they wait? Does not compute.
Either the guy is some kind of heavily-sought-after superstar wing who must be signed NOW or risk losing him forever (at the expense of giving up the one player on the team who can actually help to facilitate the development of the young players), or he is not.
If he is not a guy who is going to be a core part of getting this team into playoff contention, then crafting some trade just to get the cap space to sign him is not a great idea at the moment, in my opinion.