Something has to give. We can't pay Jaren $50 million to play less than 30 minutes, we can't realistically pay Santi $18 million to play less than 18 minutes either.
Realistically, they need to learn to play together better or it is unworkable.
They are both positive players in the right line-up. In particular Jaren on defence and Santi on offense. It is really in our best interest that they improve as a pairing.
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In fairness, when they play together this year it usually requires one to be out of position because of our shallow depth at the 5. Edey, Jaren, and Santi would probably eat because everyone is playing in their ideal role.
The only time they come close to earning that much together is the 2027-28 season. This season they’re making closer to $54M. Santi’s contract has always been a trade chip as much as roster support.
Draft. Develop. Trade. His contact is the perfect trade amount for many veterans in the league. Players can be multiple things at once- depth, and a trade asset. We won’t be in a financial pinch between those two for another 2.5 seasons anyway, and with a team option on Santi his final year.
we need to ban y’all from these databallr lineups shit these numbers are so fucking noisy it’s crazy
The real problem is what happens to GG because while GG is more talented than Santi, he needs Santi’s reps even though Santi is better now because he’s older and more polished.
I don’t think they need to play together- they just are right now out of necessity. Neither aldama nor Jaren are centers so when they do share minutes, santi is usually playing the 3. I will say this- when edey is healthy, I genuinely believe that santi is more important to a lineup than jaren. Edey’s paint presence is already elite and aldama isn’t a bad help defender at the four. His offensive ceiling outpaces Jaren’s (numbers and eye test prove this) and doesn’t kill what Iisalo likes to run. JJJ really feels like a luxury that we don’t really need at this point, especially not at a 50m price point. If ZK commits to TI long term, then JJJ should be phased out for players that provide more synergy. Look out for a solid rebounding and defensive big that can operate the pnr in the upcoming draft. Having good bigs might honestly be the foundation to TI’s offensive philosophy and you probably will need additional backup in case edey somehow becomes injury prone with us.