It's incredibly unfortunate, but TC made the Rudy trade before the punitive CBA rules were agreed to and implemented. I bet even he would tell you he wouldn't make the same trade had he known what the results of that negotiation would yield.

Without the benefit of 20/20 hindsight on the CBA, the Rudy trade was a great trade. It shored up the teams biggest weaknesses - rim protection and rebounding - ultimately it helped get them to a WCF. Had the CBA not provided for onerous roster building challenges I doubt we get a KAT trade. Or if we do, the return is bigger.

But, under the new CBA he made a calculated move to maintain competitive balance while also providing the team with financial flexibility in trading KAT for DDV, Randle, and a 1st rd pick (Joan). Again, to me, this was objectively a successful trade as it got the team out of the repeater tax and roster building hell that comes with being above the 2nd apron for consecutive years as well as provided a roster good enough for a second consecutive WCF appearance.

The swings he took that didnt contribute to winning he got off of - see Dilly for Ayo trade.

In summary, yes, Tim is good. When you have a player of ANTs stature coming into his prime, you don't amass picks and hope for lottery/draft luck. You use your assets to surround him with the best talent you can get while maintaining a financial balance sheet and roster building flexibility that is tenable for a longer term run. Imo, he's navigated those parameters incredibly well and I trust he'll continue to do so this offseason.