And Sarver is historically cheap - there's no way he signs Ayton to a 5 year max deal. Would he even match a 4 year one?

For the Suns, this is taking lemons and making lemonade. Grant is an upgrade over Crowder everywhere on the floor. He's capable of being a #2 option on a good team and his shooting stats would bounce back to Denver days if he didn't have to take 5 bad shots a game. Turner is a DPOY candidate with the added bonus that he doesn't get played off the court like Gobert does. He shoots well "for a big man..." but would definitely open driving lanes for Booker Paul and Bridges. I think he's also springier than Ayton, so maybe Paul would be able to throw more lobs on PnR's. Ayton definitely had a run-in with the head coach at halftime too... 17 minutes??? ugh... would they be willing to repair that bridge? well this is the back up scenario if they can't. They get their 2nd rounder returned for this year's draft and a future top 8 protected pick. Then they can pick to resign 2 of Grant/Turner/Johnson in next year's offseason.

For the Pistons, this move helps ensure another season in the tank to get a top 4 pick. If by some small miracle Brogdon is healthy, then this will shore up a mediocre backcourt into something league average or better and they might play themselves into a top 6 pick instead. If he's hurt again (as always) he will be a better veteran presence than CoJo or any other veteran they've had on the roster the last 3 years. He's still an excellent shooter and rebounds well out of the guard slot. Really hope they're able to land the Smith or Banchero. Ivey seems like a slightly more athletic Oladipo, but he has no idea how to defend.

The Clippers shed a bit of salary, contract length, and luxury tax by trading for THT and moving on from Powell. if Shamet were to be traded here, he'd likely still be playing behind Terence Mann. The Clips get a 2nd rounder (will Lebron still be there?) for taking THT off the Lakers hands. Or maybe they just take Shamet bc they don't value 2nd round picks (and a lot of the Clippers miss extensive time)... and the Lakers aren't even in this trade?

The Lakers get a bit more shooting around Lebron's potential walk year. I didn't realize Shamet was a career .390 shooter from 3. Doesn't that seem high? But he has over 1300 attempts - so it's no joke.

The Pacers get a go-to scorer in Ayton. Lord he was amazing against the Bucks last year... I will never understand how he only had 5 attempts in his last game (were 2 of those rebound/tip in attempts?). I love his inbetween game with his floaters. Such a deft touch. Crowder becomes the starting 4 until February when he gets traded to a contender (felt like he was somehow the offensive focal point in game 7 at least in the first quarter... wtf). Powell is overpaid, sure. But he had a nice run with the Raptors and would benefit from playing the 2 guard again. he's a competent defender. Would you like him better if he was making $12/yr instead of $16? Probably. I think he'd slot in nicely with Haliburton and it would help keep Buddy/the blackhole on the bench.

blah blah.. too much typing. hope you like it. know you'll hate it.