I’m not just talking about an All-Star or even All-NBA player, but one of the true top 5(ish) guys in the league–like if Luka or Embiid became available. Imagine the bidding war is so high that we actually cannot match the winning team and end up not getting them. What’s the line, for you, where you had to stop offering more because we just wouldn’t have enough team left around them to contend?

I’m assuming that all or at least almost all of the draft picks are on the table (or at least as many draft picks as the team is willing to value, they might stop caring at a certain point whether we’re offering 6 or 7 for example). They’re not only going to want draft picks and matching salary though, we would need to give tangible talent too.

If Lauri goes out it just doesn’t seem like there’s any point. Would I be willing to give away everything else, even Kessler? Could I give up Kessler assuming we keep everything else? What about all of the young prospects besides Kessler? Do I need us to keep at least one of Keyonte or Ochai in a trade? I’m not sure for myself, so I’m curious to get ideas on where a good red line would be. Try not to think about what you want to happen, or what seems fair to you, but the point where you would truly have to surrender in the bidding because you just couldn’t give more.