Yes, I believe that is entirely possible. There have been plenty of things that went unreported and then we learned about them later. We have seen trade offers that weren't reported at the time and then were revealed later. Why should it be different for offer sheets? The only thing we can say for sure is that he didn't sign an offer sheet. That is a fact.
But let's operate on the assumption that he didn't receive an offer sheet from any team, since that is the most logical assumption based on how rare offer sheets are. You tried to use that to conclude that other teams didn't value Laf. This is what you wrote:
The facts are he wasn’t offer sheeted
It's absolutely not a fact. It's the most likely scenario, but we have no proof.
despite the fact that the Rangers were very vulnerable to it and the assets going the other direction would’ve been minimal.
These also are not facts. The Rangers weren't as vulnerable as you think, and the assets going the other way would depend on the level of the offer.
The max salary for 2nd round pick compensation is $4,290,125. If a team offered that to Laf and he signed it, we absolutely could have matched and still gotten under the cap:
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20 man roster with Goodrow sent down. It would still work with Goodrow instead of Nash, but it would be tighter. Obviously having only 20 players isn't ideal, but we could do it until we figured out a better solution.
If a team offered more than $4,290,125, then we're getting into 1st and 3rd compensation ($4,290,126 to $6,435,186). Which teams have that much cap space and are willing to give up those picks? Those teams will probably be picking high in 2024. Are they giving up a potential lottery pick for Laf?
This speaks to the fact that the teams around the league, including much of this fan base, don’t think he’s taking that next step.
This also is not a fact. You are making an even bigger assumption based on your prior assumptions.
There are many reasons why teams don't offer sheet players, as has been stated ad nauseum. If how much teams valued a player was the only consideration, there would be a hell of a lot more offer sheets.
As far as we know, K'Andre Miller didn't receive an offer sheet. Are you going to suggest that other teams don't value him? Zegras hasn't signed an offer sheet yet. I guess he has no value either.
Since 2006, out of all the hundreds of RFAs, only 10 offer sheets have been signed. Did all of those other players not have value to other teams?
If you want to argue with actual facts, I'm game, but thus far you haven't brought any to the table.