I think they could've been doing both exploring their trade & free agent options and waiting on Pau's final decision.
Bullet dodged as far as I'm concerned. Go big, get young, and wait out the next three years. Hell, maybe trade some guys for 2019, 2020 first round picks -- think strategically, not tactically.
Agree. There are a lot of dynamics involved and you know they were working on their contingency plans. It would be interesting to know about those plans and how they evolved with each free agent signing.
Diaw isn't a rim protector but he is the best at the league at guarding Draymond Green so he is a good get. I would take him for merely cap space and a 2nd rounder (that is all SAS wants).
Would have loved getting Diaw about 3+ years ago. But hope we stay far away from him at this point - need to force-feed those minutes to Vonleh since we're still firmly in "development mode". And don't do anything to help the Spurs!