I mean the dude was willing to forgo an extension if we traded him.
That tells you all you need to know about his priorities
Not really since we never negotiated with him. It tells me what would have happened once the situation became untenable to both sides. An earlier negotiation might have yielded different terms.
I also think it’s unrealistic to assume that Douglas would have shown up offering anything but settled for “my derriere is hanging out and I’m completely restrained, do whatever you want!” as a tactic.
We’ve seen multiple players deemed “the highest paid [position] over the years and watched them never collect the full value of the contract. We’ve also known multiple players agree to a yearly split they know they will never actually achieve, but pick because it makes them they highest paid [position] for that season.
It was a bad look that he trash talked both his coach and his GM to the media, I’m not denying that. But to assume he would have only agreed to a prohibitive contract despite us never actually offering him a contract to begin with is just asinine.