The alternative IMO would be to accept that our roster isn’t anywhere close to being championship caliber and just having a true rebuild from the ground up is the best way to put together a championship roster. Dak is good enough that no matter what, we’ll always hover around 7-9 to 10-6. Maybe 11-5 if we get a last place or schedule and the ball bounces our way, but never truly championship caliber. There’s a case to be made that maybe you don’t pay him, and you let the chips fall (which would ultimately mean bottoming out probably). I don’t think that’s the right decision, but a case can be made that it’s the right decision if we took a look in the mirror.
I think you just pay him and hope like hell we can hit the lottery on two drafts in a row. This roster can be rebuilt with cheap defensive talent. I just don’t trust that we’ll be able to do that because we’ve never been able to do that. At the end of the day, I think Pam hit the nail on the head. No matter what we decide, we’re absolutely making the wrong decision. If our roster was better, I think we’d be insane to even consider not paying Dak. He’s worth that contract for someone, if not us. To say he isn’t worth the contract that he wants just isn’t true. But the roster isn’t good...