Is that a confirmation he only wants to go to Erie? It makes sense from a logistics standpoint with his family being close and Erie being a player or two away from a deeper run consideration.
It’s true that Erie is on his list. I can’t speak to them being the only team but… even if there is only 2-3 teams in the mix, and if even 1 of those teams are a ‘no’ for their own reasons, then the price comes down… in which case, Erie definitely could make it work especially if they are willing to make a wink wink deal which yes, I know- it isn’t allowed but we all know it happens. Even without a wink and a nod, it could still be done by just looking at some recent comps, including Barlow. Erie can make it work IF they wanted him and IF they knew there were a few other teams they were bidding against
If this was a situation where there were 6-8 teams on his list and people bidding, then no they probably don’t have the assets to match what others potentially could offer. But if that were the case, just ask yourself - wouldn’t he have been moved by now???
Why hasn’t a trade happened yet? Logically, SBY is being low balled and they are digging their heels in because they want fair price. Maybe ERI knows they are SBYs only option so they aren’t willing to crack and ‘overpay’ — and hey, to be fair, they were on the reverse end themselves with the Lodnia situation when they got just a 5th and Singer in a laughable trade because Lodnia only wanted NIA. We’ve seen LDN also benefit over the years from this. But maybe SBY is annoyed with how the player reacted / how it all came to be that they are realllly digging the heels in more than most. It’s also possible ERI isn’t interested right now for whatever reason. Or it’s possible the import thing is still a hold up because Molnar was rumored strongly to be going there a few weeks ago, conveniently right before the Musty trade request was announced. So, connecting the dots and there appears to be some smoke there…
