Warriors Notes: Green, Kerr, Curry, Butler
Draymond Green wasn’t sure if Tuesday marked his final game with the Warriors, so he delivered comments worthy of a farewell address (Twitter video link), writes Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. Green made an unexpected appearance at the podium after the game ended to talk to reporters about what his time in Golden State has meant to him, just in case he gets moved by Thursday’s deadline.
“I think a lot of people want to know how I feel about it, like am I upset about it? I’m not at all,” Green said. “If that’s what’s best for this organization, that’s what’s best for the organization. I’m not like, ‘Oh man, they f–ked me over or something like that. I don’t really feel that way. If you would have told me 13 and a half years ago, like, ‘Yo, I’m going to hand you this sheet of paper and you can sign it to be in a place for 13 and a half years, would you sign it?’ And I would have signed it faster than you can blink.
“So what do I have to sit and worry about? What do I have to be upset about? I’ve been here for 13 and a half years. That’s longer than probably 98 percent of NBA players have been in one place, this guy from Saginaw has been in a place for 13 and a half years.”
Green’s name has popped up recently in trade rumors, particularly in the Warriors’ negotiations with the Bucks for Giannis Antetokounmpo. There’s an assumption that Milwaukee wouldn’t keep him, so it will likely be a three-team deal or he’ll be moved elsewhere in a separate trade. Green holds a $27.7MM player option for next season, so he’ll have a say in determining his future regardless of whether he’s traded or not.
On Tuesday, he was focused on the incredible career he’s had with the Warriors and the legacy of being a four-time NBA champion.
“I don’t know that it ends at 13 and a half, but if it does, what a f–king run it has been,” Green continued. “I’ll take the fine for it. What a f–king run it has been. So that’s just how I feel. I don’t sleep well after games. So if I lose sleep tonight, I promise y’all it’s not because I think I’m betrayed. I just don’t really sleep well after the game.
“But I’m blessed, I’m lucky, I’m grateful. … I don’t know that it ends or whatnot. I don’t. We’ll all see. But if it does, it does. All good things must come to an end at some point. That’s kind of my sentiment and how I feel.”
There’s more on the Warriors:
- Meeting with reporters before Tuesday’s game, Steve Kerr said this is the first time since he took over as head coach that Green’s name has “really been mentioned” in trade discussions, per Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle (subscription required). “This has definitely been more difficult than most,” Kerr added. “Last year’s (trade deadline) was very difficult as well. We’ve had a lot of years where nobody was really overly concerned about anything, but these last two years, there’s been a lot of chatter and it puts guys on edge for sure.” Green said the idea of leaving Golden State “got real” for him when Kerr asked how his wife is handling the trade speculation.
- Stephen Curry, who’s considered to be the Warriors’ lone untouchable player in Antetokounmpo trade talks, told Howard Beck of The Ringer that he wants to finish his career as a one-team player. “I never would see myself be in a situation where I’m chasing another championship anywhere else but here,” Curry said. “There’s a certain mentality that we’re all trying to figure this out together. But it doesn’t pacify the desire to win.”
- Curry was profoundly affected by the torn ACL that knocked Jimmy Butler out for the rest of the season, Beck adds. “I don’t think I’ve stopped thinking about it since he got hurt, to be honest,” Curry said. “Just the human nature part of it comes in, where you feel like things change drastically. … Me and Coach and Draymond talk about it a good amount, the way our contracts are aligned, the fact that last year, we had such a clear identity and we were so close to getting over the hump.”
Spurs Lose Two-Way Player David Jones Garcia For Season
Spurs two-way player David Jones Garcia will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his right ankle, according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). The 24-year-old small forward was injured in a G League game last month, and the team hasn’t set a recovery timetable.
Orsborn states that Jones Garcia hurt his ankle while playing for the Austin Spurs in a January contest against the South Bay Lakers. He continued to appear in games after the injury until he hurt his leg on a drive to the basket last Thursday.
After the operation was completed, Jones Garcia posted a photo to Instagram of him in a hospital bed accompanied by the statement “All Glory To The Man Above.”
“You never want to see anyone go down,” Austin head coach Jacob Chance said. “I thought he was kind of finding a little bit of a rhythm. He came back in the last game from his concussion and took some possessions to get going.”
Jones Garcia was averaging 25.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 11 regular season games with Austin. He was one of seven G League players selected last week to participate in the Rising Stars event at All-Star Weekend.
Jones Garcia has also appeared in 11 games with San Antonio this season, averaging 2.9 PPG in limited playing time. He spent time on two-way contracts with Philadelphia and Utah last season. He signed his two-way deal with the Spurs in July after an impressive Summer League performance.
March 4 is the final day that players can be signed to two-way contracts, so the Spurs have an opportunity to replace Jones Garcia on their roster.
Sixers’ Walker First Two-Way Player To Reach Active Game Limit
The Sixers played their 50th game of the season on Tuesday in Golden State and forward Jabari Walker has been active for all 50 of them, making him the first player on a two-way contract to reach his active game limit this season.
A player on a two-way deal is ineligible to be active for more than 50 regular season games (or a prorated portion of that 50-game limit, if he signs after the season has begun). That means Walker will have to be promoted to a standard contract if Philadelphia wants to continue playing him.
The 76ers may have cleared a path for Walker to get a spot on the 15-man roster when they agreed to trade Jared McCain to Oklahoma City earlier today. That move moved Philadelphia below the luxury tax line by about $3MM, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks, which gives the team more than enough flexibility to sign Walker to a standard deal without going back into the tax.
The Sixers will probably wait until after the trade deadline to officially promote Walker to ensure they don’t need that open roster spot for a separate deal, but it seems likely it will just be a matter of time before he gets his promotion. Philadelphia also seems likely to convert another two-way standout, Dominick Barlow, to a standard contract in the coming weeks, but that’s not as pressing a concern, since Barlow still has 10 games before he reaches his own limit.
Still, the 76ers would have to maintain a full 15-man roster in order to continue using Barlow, since they’ve hit their “under-15” limit for two-way players — teams can only use their two-way players for a combined total of 90 games while they’re carrying fewer than 15 players on standard contracts. Philadelphia, which has been carrying just 14 players for most of the season, recently reached that 90-game limit.
Even if they promote Walker, the Sixers could dip back below 15 players on Friday when Charles Bassey‘s 10-day contract expires, so it may make sense for the club to just promote both its two-way standouts sooner rather than later.
While we wait to see what the Sixers’ plan is, it’s worth noting that several other two-way players are just one game away from reaching the limit of 50 active games and will need to be converted to standard deals soon if their teams want to keep using them.
Spencer Jones of the Nuggets, Daniss Jenkins of the Pistons, Pat Spencer of the Warriors, and Chris Youngblood of the Thunder are each at 49 active games entering Wednesday’s action, tweets Marks.
Trade Rumors: Morant, Thomas, Gafford, Hawks, Raptors
While Sacramento has been one of the teams linked to Ja Morant, the Grizzlies guard and his camp don’t have interest in a trade to the Kings, according to Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports, who reports (via Twitter) that Morant’s other rumored suitors – the Heat and Timberwolves – would rank much higher on his wish list.
The Kings essentially reciprocate Morant’s tepid interest, says Sam Amick of The Athletic. As Amick explains, Sacramento hasn’t ruled out the possibility of acquiring Morant, but would want Memphis to add draft capital as an incentive to take on his maximum-salary contract, which runs through 2027/28. The Grizzlies, on the other hand, are looking to acquire a draft pick or two in a Morant deal, even if it means taking on some unwanted salary.
The Kings also have potential fit and chemistry concerns about Morant, Amick adds, noting that a deal between the two teams appears unlikely.
While that could just leave Miami and Minnesota in the running for Morant, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link) says he’s been advised not to rule out the Bucks. All three of those teams may need resolution on the Giannis Antetokounmpo situation before they can realistically make a play for the Grizzlies guard.
We have more trade rumors from around the NBA:
- Nets guard Cam Thomas wasn’t with the team for its flight to Orlando today and is listed as out for Thursday’s game due to personal reasons, tweets Fischer. Thomas holds a de facto no-trade clause after signing his qualifying offer as a restricted free agent in 2025, but has long been considered a trade candidate and is drawing interest from the Cavaliers and Bucks, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
- The Hawks have maintained interest in Mavericks center Daniel Gafford, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter links), who reports that Dallas has been seeking a first-round pick for Gafford and Atlanta has only been willing to give up second-round capital. Stein’s report came in just before word broke that the Hawks had agreed to acquire Jock Landale from Utah — adding a minimum-salary big man on an expiring deal wouldn’t preclude a trade for Gafford, who is under contract for three more seasons after this one, but it may reduce Atlanta’s need for immediate help in its frontcourt.
- The Raptors were engaged in trade talks with the Mavericks about Anthony Davis before Dallas agreed to send him to Washington, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN, who says Toronto also spoke to the Grizzlies about Jaren Jackson Jr. prior to the trade that sent the big man to Utah. The Raptors, who are on the lookout for a frontcourt upgrade, have also discussed Domantas Sabonis but reportedly reached an impasse in their negotiations with Sacramento.
Clippers, Cavs Swap James Harden, Darius Garland
February 4: The Cavaliers have officially traded Garland and their 2026 second-round pick to the Clippers in exchange for Harden, the two teams confirmed today in press releases just hours before they face one another in L.A.
As Law Murray of The Athletic relays (via Twitter), Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman and Clippers president of basketball ops Lawrence Frank both put out statements thanking the guards exiting their respective franchises and expressing excitement about the newcomers.
According to NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link), the plan is for Harden to make his Cavaliers debut this Saturday against Sacramento.
February 3: The Clippers and Cavaliers have reached an agreement on a much-rumored James Harden trade. Harden is headed to Cleveland in exchange for Darius Garland and a second-round pick, Shams Charania of ESPN reports (via Twitter). The pick is Cleveland’s own second-rounder this June, tweets Jake Fischer of The Stein Line.
Word broke within the past 24 hours that Harden and the Clippers were working together to find him a new home, with Cleveland considered to be the leading suitor. NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link) reported this morning that the two teams ramped up their trade discussions in an effort to reach an agreement prior to Thursday’s deadline — now they have.
Harden, a Los Angeles native will join his fifth different team in the last six seasons. As part of the deal, he’ll have to waive his one-year Bird restriction (a de facto no-trade clause) and all but eliminate his $2.3MM trade bonus, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets.
The Cavaliers cannot make Harden’s salary exceed Garland’s due to apron restrictions, cap expert Yossi Gozlan tweets. That bonus is capped at $263,397, which is the difference between the two players’ salaries. Harden could waive the entire amount to help the Cavs move slightly closer to the second tax apron.
In the short run, Harden should increase the Cavs’ chances of competing for a title in the wide-open East as he teams up with All-Star Donovan Mitchell in a dynamic backcourt. Despite his advanced age, Harden is still a prolific scorer — he’s averaging 24.7 points and 8.1 assists along with 4.8 rebounds per game this season.
Garland — a two-time All-Star — is averaging 18.0 PPG (down from 20.6 last season) and 6.9 APG in 26 games. He has been sidelined for 10 consecutive games due to a right toe sprain after missing time earlier in the season due to left toe issues. Sources tell ESPN’s Brian Windhorst that Garland has made progress in his recovery and could return soon, though there’s some concern about whether his toe problems could turn into a longer-term issue.
Garland, 26, gives the Clippers a younger starter who could fill a guard role for seasons to come, assuming his toe injuries don’t linger. He’s in the third season of a five-year, $197.3MM contract that runs through 2027/28. According to Gozlan (Twitter link), he’ll become eligible this offseason for an extension of three years and up to $178MM.
Harden’s contract situation is more much complicated. He’s making $39.2M this season and has a $42.3MM player option for next season. However, the option would only be partially guaranteed for $13.3MM if it’s picked up. In that scenario, Harden’s salary wouldn’t become fully guaranteed until July 11.
It remains to be seen whether Cleveland gave Harden any assurances about guaranteeing his entire 2026/27 salary or re-signing him to a new contract if he opts out — the veteran guard’s desire to sign a new guaranteed two-year deal that L.A. wasn’t prepared to give him after this season was rumored to be one key factor why he sought a change of scenery.
If Harden declines his option, the Cavs would hold only his Non-Bird rights. However, those would be more than enough to sign him to a market-value contract, since they allow for a deal covering up to four seasons and a raise of up to 20% on the player’s previous salary.
Jazz Acquiring Lonzo Ball, Second-Rounders From Cavs; Trading Landale To Hawks
The Jazz have agreed to a pair of trades, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter links), who reports that Utah will be acquiring point guard Lonzo Ball and two second-round picks from the Cavaliers and is also sending center Jock Landale to the Hawks in exchange for cash considerations.
The two moves are expected to be officially completed as a single three-team transaction, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The Jazz are making their deal with Cleveland solely for the draft capital and are expected to waive Ball after the trade is complete, Charania adds (via Twitter). Once he clears waivers, he’d be eligible to sign with any team except the Cavs.
The Cavaliers acquired Ball from Chicago last summer in a swap for Isaac Okoro in the hopes that he could provide the team with a reliable replacement for Sixth Man of the Year finalist Ty Jerome, who departed in free agency. However, Ball had a disappointing season in Cleveland, averaging career lows in several categories, including points (4.6) and minutes (20.8) per game, as well as field goal percentage (30.1%) and three-point percentage (27.2%).
With the Cavs making an effort to reduce payroll and perhaps duck below the second tax apron, moving Ball and his $10MM salary made sense, especially after the team acquired guards Dennis Schröder and Keon Ellis from Sacramento over the weekend.
The Cavs will save approximately $65MM as a result of the Ball trade and are now just $3.9MM over the second apron, tweets Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron. Cleveland may very well keep looking for ways to get out of second-apron territory in order to avoid having its 2033 first-round pick becoming “frozen” for trade purposes this offseason, but the club has already generated massive savings as a result of its recent moves — approximately $115MM in total, per Gozlan (Twitter link).
Utah, meanwhile, still had a significant amount of breathing room below the luxury tax threshold after adding to their payroll in Tuesday’s Jaren Jackson Jr. blockbuster and will take advantage of that flexibility to take on some unwanted salary and acquire the Cavs’ 2028 and 2032 second-round picks in the process, tweets Jake Fischer of The Stein Line. Those were the only second-rounders Cleveland had available to trade.
The Jazz still have a trade exception worth more than $12MM from last summer’s John Collins deal that they’ll use to absorb Ball’s pseudo-expiring contract (he has a $10MM team option for next season that will be automatically declined when he’s waived). That Collins exception was initially worth over $26MM and has since been used to acquire Georges Niang and John Konchar as well.
Landale was one of three role players the Jazz acquired alongside Jackson in Tuesday’s blockbuster with Memphis, but he wasn’t part of Utah’s future frontcourt plans and will now head to Atlanta.
The 30-year-old Australian center was having a career year for the Grizzlies prior to the trade, averaging 11.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 23.6 minutes per game across 45 outings (25 starts). He was also knocking down 38.0% of a career-high 2.9 three-point tries per game. He’ll provide frontcourt depth for a Hawks team that has been hit hard by injuries up front this season.
The Hawks will have to waive a player in order to make room for Landale, but that shouldn’t be a problem — both Duop Reath and N’Faly Dante are out with season-ending injuries and are candidates to be cut. They’ll be able to take on Landale without sending out any salary of their own since he’s on a minimum-salary contract.
Lakers’ Jaxson Hayes Suspended For One Game
Lakers center Jaxson Hayes has been suspended for one game for pushing the Wizards‘ mascot during pregame introductions ahead of the team’s January 30 win in Washington, the NBA announced today (via Twitter).
A video of the incident can be viewed here, via Bleacher Report (Twitter link).
Hayes will serve his suspension on Thursday when the Lakers host the Sixers in Los Angeles. It will cost him $19,824, which is 1/174th of his $3,449,323 salary for this season.
The Wizards’ mascot, G-Wiz, wasn’t injured as a result of the shove, sources tell The Athletic.
Thunder Trade Ousmane Dieng, Second-Round Pick To Hornets
The Thunder and Hornets have officially finalized a trade sending forward Ousmane Dieng and a 2029 second-round pick to Charlotte in exchange for center Mason Plumlee, the two teams announced in press releases.
The terms of the deal were reported in bits and pieces as news broke that the Thunder were acquiring Jared McCain from Philadelphia and the Hornets were using Dieng as part of their package for Bulls guard Coby White.
Dieng, 22, was the 11th overall pick in the 2022 draft, selected by the Thunder one spot before they nabbed Jalen Williams. However, the Frenchman never evolved into a reliable rotation player in Oklahoma City, appearing in 136 regular season games across three-and-a-half seasons and averaging 4.2 points and 2.1 rebounds in 12.0 minutes per night.
The move is financially motivated for the Thunder. Dieng is on an expiring $6.7MM contract this season, while Plumlee is on a one-year, minimum-salary contract with a cap hit of $2.3MM. By saving $4.4MM in this move, Oklahoma City will be able to remain below the tax when it finalizes its acquisition of McCain, who is earning $4.2MM this season. The expectation is that Plumlee will be waived to make room for McCain on OKC’s 15-man roster.
As for the Hornets, they’ll take advantage of their financial flexibility below the luxury tax line to accommodate a salary dump and acquire an extra second-round selection in the process. The Thunder, who have no shortage of future second-round picks, will send them the most favorable of Atlanta’s and Miami’s 2029 second-rounders.
Charlotte will subsequently flip Dieng to Chicago along with Collin Sexton in a trade that will send White and Mike Conley to the Hornets. It’s unclear whether or not the Bulls will hang onto Dieng once that deal is completed.
Chris Paul To Raptors, Ochai Agbaji To Nets In Three-Team Deal
The Clippers, Raptors, and Nets are in agreement on a three-team trade that will send guard Chris Paul from Los Angeles to Toronto, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter links).
Fourth-year forward Ochai Agbaji is headed from Toronto to Brooklyn in the deal, along with the Raptors’ 2032 second-round pick, says Charania. The Clippers will receive the draft rights to 2019 second-rounder Vanja Marinkovic from the Nets, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link), and will send $3.5MM in cash to Brooklyn, per NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link).
The Raptors won’t require Paul to report to the team, according to Charania, who suggests the veteran point guard may be flipped to another club before Thursday’s deadline. If not, he’ll likely be waived.
It’s a cost-cutting move for both the Clippers and Raptors. The Clippers will open up an extra roster spot and create breathing room below their hard cap, which they’ll likely use to promote two-way players Jordan Miller and Kobe Sanders to standard contracts. Toronto, meanwhile, will duck below the tax line by swapping out Agbaji’s expiring $6.4MM contract for Paul and his $2.3MM cap hit, creating a $6.4MM trade exception in the process.
The Nets will take advantage of being the NBA’s only team with cap room by taking on a half-season of Agbaji, receiving more than enough cash to cover his remaining salary, and adding another second-round pick to their sizable collection of draft assets in the process. Acquiring Agbaji will bring Brooklyn’s cap room below $9MM, though the team would also have the option of using its $15MM+ in room in a separate deal, then absorbing the Raptors forward using its room exception.
The Nets have a full 15-man roster, so they’ll need to trade or waive a player to create room for Agbaji.
The Clippers announced over two months ago that they were “parting ways” with Paul, who wasn’t a good cultural fit, but that just meant he’d no longer be around the team, not that he was off the roster. L.A. didn’t want to waive him since it would mean eating his guaranteed salary and leaving his $2.3MM cap hit on the team’s books, compromising the front office’s ability to make additional moves around the edges of the roster.
L.A. will now have about $3.4MM below its first-apron hard cap along with a pair of open roster spots, notes cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter links). Toronto will be roughly $3.1MM below the tax line and will also have two openings on its standard 15-man roster.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Sweepstakes A ‘Three-Team Race’?
The Timberwolves and Heat both appear far more motivated than the Knicks to make a trade for Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo before Thursday’s deadline, Brian Windhorst said today during appearances on ESPN’s Get Up (YouTube link) and First Take (Twitter video link).
Unlike the Warriors, who have up to four tradable first-round picks, Miami can only offer two first-round picks in its package, while Minnesota and New York are unable to trade any of their own first-rounders due to the Stepien rule.
Milwaukee is said to be seeking a combination of blue-chip talent and future draft picks for its two-time MVP, so in order to make the kind of offer the Bucks are seeking, some of those teams would likely need to turn one or more of their veteran players into draft assets. The Knicks don’t appear to be doing that, Windhorst explains.
“I don’t think the Knicks have what’s required on their roster to acquire Giannis,” Windhorst said on Get Up. “So if they wanted to (acquire him), they would be out there trying to trade their current players for draft picks and young pieces that the Bucks would want, and they’re not. So I’m taking the Knicks off the list until I have further information.
“I am seeing that action from teams like the Miami Heat and Minnesota Timberwolves. They are out there trying to find ways to improve their offer. The best standing offer that I’m aware of belongs to the Golden State Warriors, but I’m not seeing a lot of momentum towards Milwaukee making a Giannis move. It is only Wednesday. We have another day-and-a-half. But I think Milwaukee is seriously considering staying put and pushing this off until summer.”
Windhorst reiterated that point during his appearance on First Take, referring to the Giannis sweepstakes as a “three-team race” involving the Timberwolves, Heat, and Warriors, unless a mystery suitor emerges.
I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of a mystery team surfacing, given how many surprises we’ve already had ahead of this week’s trade deadline. However, as Windhorst said again on First Take, the most likely outcome might be Antetokounmpo remaining in Milwaukee.
“The choice is down to Bucks ownership,” Windhorst said. “Because I know that Giannis is ready to move. Giannis is ready to move, these other teams are ready to move, there’s ancillary pieces that teams are ready to move. Is Bucks ownership – in the next 24 hours – going to say, ‘OK let’s move on from him now’? If that answer ends up being yes, you see this (trade happen).”
Windhorst added during a subsequent appearance on ESPN 710 Los Angeles (Twitter video link) that he’s not feeling “deal heat” (ie. momentum toward a trade) on the Giannis front at this time.
Here are more of the latest rumblings related to Antetokounmpo:
- While the Bucks would covet forward Jaden McDaniels in a Giannis deal with the Timberwolves, they’d also want first-round picks that Minnesota can’t currently offer, which is why the Wolves are canvassing the league in search of them, writes Chris Mannix of SI.com. One source tells Mannix that practically everyone on the roster besides Anthony Edwards is believed to be up for discussion, with as many as four teams potentially needed for a trade that would get Antetokounmpo to Minnesota.
- As the Timberwolves and Heat survey the market in an effort to maximize the value of their packages, the Warriors’ offer – which is believed to include Draymond Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski, and first-round picks – remains on the table and has yet to be formally declined, writes Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints.
- However, the sense is that Green would need to be rerouted if Milwaukee made a deal with Golden State, with Windhorst suggesting on First Take (YouTube link) that the Lakers are one team that would share mutual interest with the longtime Warrior. “If he were traded, his plan would not be to remain in Milwaukee,” Windhorst said of Green. “He would want to be moved on. A team that would be possible if he were traded – and I can’t emphasize the number of ‘ifs’ I’ve said enough before I say this – but the Los Angeles Lakers would be a team he would have interest in and they would have interest in him. But that would require the Bucks to take action on Giannis.” Even if Green isn’t on the move today or tomorrow, Windhorst wonders if including him in these talks might be the first step toward the veteran forward and the Warriors eventually parting ways.
- According to Siegel, many rival front office executives believe the Bucks are gathering as much information as they can from Antetokounmpo suitors right now and then will take that intel into the summer, reopening Giannis trade talks at that time. Mannix also suggests that while a club like the Wolves may be pushing to get a deal done now, there are other teams around the NBA encouraging the Bucks to wait until the offseason, when they’ll be able to enter the bidding or improve their current offer. “Minnesota badly wants to get it done now,” a rival executive told Mannix. “They don’t want to get into a bidding war before the draft.”