NO definitely does have the flexibility. I think he cuts $1.5M more salary rather than use the TPE. A good GM is driven by how the CBA works, he doesn't ignore it (luxury tax be damned). Otherwise he might have dealt Crabbe for more salary in return, for players who would help more than cap space helps.
Yeah, my reaction was more, "holy shit, MM said something (somewhat) positive !" Then I started thinking about what I would do if the world ended today
He enounced the possibility that we finished 1st in the division, which is astonishingly positive for MM's standards
In the post of his that you responded to, though the first time I read it, I also missed it since I read it too quickly: "If the entire league is healthy....which it won't be. It's just as likely Portland finishes 1st in the division as 4th."
OIC. I saw that. Yeah.. I only took negative energy away from that. Had to deflect it so I wasn't messin' with my shakras.