Well, Sashi was fired and part of the reason was that they didn’t get the deal done and SF did. Kind of strange that he hasn’t come out and said they offered NE the Houston pick if they really did. Not like he would be throwing anyone under the bus if it’s true.
Sure, it might have been “discussed” and Hue might have pounded the table and said “do it” but was the offer of Houston’s pick ever made? I don’t think so or they would have taken it as that was a big difference in value. Belichick is so successful because every detail is important and prepared for. The he was doing Jimmy a solid spin is BS IMO with that much difference in draft value on the table as is he was screwing over Kraft and himself by getting way less value than he could. Now if Cleveland was offering their 2nd and a mid round kicker, then I could see where Belichick might consider both the best situation for Jimmy as well as the angle of moving him to the NFC with less value on the table.
As stated earlier, a lot of critics of SF when they made the deal, citing giving a high 2nd for a guy with a lack of track record who is going into free agency meaning you either give an unproven guy a big contract or franchise him. This whole deal was not a slam dunk when it was made, but only after he performed like he did. Hindsight is the greatest thing ever invented.