Rockets IN: Lamarcus Aldridge Suns IN: Myers Leonard, (2) 2nd round picks from Rockets (via Blazers in T-Rob trade) Blazers IN: Omer Asik, Ryan Anderson, Terrance Jones Pelicans IN: Marcin Gortat
Appreciate it. It's hard to gauge what Gortat and Andersons trade values are. The way I see it, PHX just wants some young player(s), draft picks, and to shed salary. I know NO was reluctant to trade Asik for Anderson straight up (at least according to rumors), but the way I see it, Anderson is a 1 trick pony. I don't think his value is as high as NO thinks.
Not going to happen. You guys need to take into account the unreasonableness of proposed trade partners. Portland would need to receive an overwhelming offer for Aldridge. Meanwhile, Daryl Morey is not a guy who likes to overpay for talent, so if Aldridge gets traded this season, it probably will not be to Houston. The Aldridge-to-Houston trade proposals need to stop. Portland believes they are a good C away from making the playoffs, and would likely overpay for that starting C. So I believe they are a likely trade destination for Omer Asik. Houston would likely get back C.J. McCullom, Robin Lopez, and possibly a first round pick. Great haul for a backup C who will be paid $15 mil (!) in 2014-15.
Couple of random thoughts: IDEA 1: Houston In: Ryan Anderson, Jeff Withey New Orleans In: Omer Asik http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=kvhcnxy I only do this move if we can net Withey. He has the potential to be a really good defensive center in this league, and he could really grow into a great backup (on a small salary) behind Howard. Ryan Anderson can stretch the floor and complement Dwight. Watch the part of the video about Withey's defensive strengths. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/uM41rDsQ_7k" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> IDEA 2: Houston In: Goran Dragic, Vince Carter Phoenix In: Shawn Marion ($9 million expiring contract), DAL 2014 1st Round Pick Dallas In: Omer Asik http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=knjxgqx We only do this if we can deal Lin to upgrade at the PF spot. Something like this (along these lines): Milwaukee In: Jeremy Lin, Terrence Jones, 2015 1st Round Pick Houston In: John Henson OR Philadelphia In: Jeremy Lin Houston In: Thaddeus Young OR (too much?) Milwaukee In: Jeremy Lin, Terrence Jones, 2015 1st Round Pick Houston In: Ersan Ilyasova IDEA 3: Houston In: Tobias Harris, Glen Davis Orlando In: Shawn Marion ($9 million expiring contract), DAL 2014 1st Round Pick, Terrence Jones, 2015 HOU 1st Round Pick Dallas In: Omer Asik http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=l5xpg7u Tobias Harris is sick and would be an amazing stretch 4. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ICPo2Olh-2w" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Gortat is interesting, he was pretty bad last year though, but I think the question is if he's the kind of guy who can be good as long as your not relying on him as a 1 or 2 option. I'm guessing that the Pelicans need more spacing, not less , with the collection of guys they're probably starting, which makes Anderson for Gortat dubious though, although Gortat is an expiring, the Pelicans is already over the cap enough that even with him off the books they're not likely to sign anyone of significance. I've advocated that I'm not a huge LMA to Houston fan given the likely distribution of shots, I don't see him getting enough shots in this lineup and his ability outside of scoring is not particularly valuable.
I agree on Gortat. It's really hard to measure what his value is right now. I just think there aren't many shots to go around with Holiday, Gordon, Evans, and Davis. So, like you said, if he isn't the #1 or #2 option.
Here is my revised master plan. Trade #1: Jeremy Lin to Milwaukee; John Henson to Houston. Lin makes $15 mil in 2014-15. No matter how you slice it, that's a ton of money for a non-star. You're going to get more for him now than you will if you try to trade him next summer. Patrick Beverly and Aaron Brooks can hold down the fort until a better option emerges (Steve Nash? Kyle Lowry?). Henson receives all of the backup minutes at C behind Dwight Howard and is a nice young (and cheap!) player. Trade #2: Omer Asik to Portland; Donatas Motiejunas, a Blazers first round pick, and Robin Lopez (expiring contract) to Philadelphia; Thaddeus Young to Houston. As with Lin, you don't want to be paying a backup C $15 mil in 2014-15. Asik's trade value drops signicantly after this season. Young is a massive upgrade at PF and is one of the league's most undervalued players. You're also likely selling high on Motiejunas. Trade #3: Greg Smith for a projected high (31-40 overall) second round pick. Smith is likely not in the rotation in 2013-14 and Houston will not re-sign him to an extension when he hits free agency in July 2014. Also, Houston needs to create roster spots for Robert Covington and B.J. Young. Revised roster: Starting lineup PG Patrick Beverly SG James Harden SF Chandler Parsons PF Thaddeus Young C Dwight Howard Rotation guys Francisco Garcia Aaron Brooks John Henson Terrence Jones End of the bench Marcus Camby Reggie Williams Omri Casspi Developmental league Isaiah Canaan Robert Covington B.J. Young If/when Covington progresses nicely, it's possible that Houston looks to trade Terrence Jones for a first round pick and promotes Covington as his replacement. Another possibility is to trade Jones, possibly with Houston's 2014 first round pick (likely in the 24-30 range), for a big upgrade at PG, if/when somebody good becomes available. The Lakers are going to be godawful in 2013-14 and will be looking to clear 2014-15 cap space. Trading Nash accomplishes that. If Nash has anything left in the tank, he'd be a great guy to get, although if Houston trades for a PG, it probably won't happen until shortly before the February trade deadline. I think a lot of you guys wrongly assume that Houston doesn't expect to compete for a championship right away. I very strongly disagree.
Sacramento In: Omer Asik Houston In: Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Patrick Patterson, Jimmer Fredette This gives us an elite perimeter defender in LRMAM, which we could really use. Francisco is good, but not near Mbah a Moute defensively. There are infinity articles on his impact defensively, but here are just a couple pretty good ones: http://www.brewhoop.com/2012/10/1/3426602/kevin-durant--oklahoma-city-thunder-luc-mbah-a-moute http://www.brewhoop.com/2012/10/10/3482284/kobe-bryant-lakers-luc-mbah-a-moute/in/3174115 Or one he wrote himself! http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/29207/luc-richard-mbah-a-moutes-scouting-report We get P-Patt, which I don't need to elaborate on further. We know his strengths and weaknesses. Stretch 4. Jimmer is probably the least important part of this deal, but he represents a classic Morey move of low-risk/high-reward. Jimmer is a knock-down 3 point shooter, which this team can always use. He hasn't gotten much of a chance in Sacramento, but honestly he's played pretty well in limited time and then not really received more. Sacramento fans seem to be complaining about it a lot. The bench could definitely use some scoring pop. A sixth man type, and Jimmer could possibly provide that. On top of that, Sacramento is loaded at guard (Vasquez, Isaiah Thomas, and now Ray McCallum), and they've said they are looking to trade him so he could be had for pretty cheap. If we're worried about the hole at backup C and don't trust Camby for the bulk of those minutes, we could deal Jones or D-mo to get one with P-Patt taking a spot up at PF. This one is probably a dumb idea (let me know), but it could really fill some holes as far as depth and PF are concerned. Also gives us that lock-down defender that we lack to cover the Lebron's and Durant's of the world.
Here's an idea: Spoiler Replace Jones with D-Mo if you prefer. Also, throw in some 2nd rounders and/or maybe our 2015 1st to the Bucks or Pacers (if absolutely necessary). Why the Rocket do it: They get a young stretch-4 who perfectly fits into our offensive scheme. In addition you get a reasonably young backup center (at a reasonable price) to replace Asik, as Mahinmi can provide some rim protection and up until last year showed some real promise as a pick and roll finisher. Why the Pacers do it: They came within a game of the NBA finals without Granger and a TERRIBLE bench. Since then they've added Watson and Scola. Adding Asik would complete their bench makeover with one of the best defensive and rebounding centers in basketball backing up Hibbert (and perhaps mitigating the drop-off in defense from Hansbrough to Scola), and a young PF who could one day replace West (or more likely Luis). Why the Bucks do it: For some reason the Bucks aren't looking to tank, and the bottom line is a healthy Danny Granger represents a huge upgrade over Ilyasova. Should the season go south, he'd also be a huge expiring contract who could be moved at the deadline to a team looking to clear space for the 2014 offseason. Plus they pick of some potentially intriguing Euros. Rockets roster after the trade: G: Lin / Beverley / Brooks / Canaan G: Harden / Garcia / Williams F: Parsons / Casspi F: Ilyasova / Motiejunas or Jones / Smith C: Howard / Mahinmi / Camby Thoughts?
The problem is Asik wants to start (plus he has earned it). He will clearly be playing behind Roy Hibbert (Hoya Saxa!), who was an All-Star last season.
For the Bucks, this feels like JJ Redick 2.0. A loss in assets, a huge risk, with maybe a chance to win a few more games this year. So I guess they'd do it. :grin: The Pacers won't, though. Simply can't afford it. If they have Asik on the books in 2014-15, add George's max salary, and that alone puts them at the tax. They don't even have money left for Lance Stephenson. In 2015, they'd have a nice backup center but their starting wings would be Paul George / Chris Copeland. Add the fact that Asik's real pay is 15 mil next year, which is something that Prokhorov might pay for a backup center but too extravagant for the Pacers. And in the end, what's the value in Asik for the Pacers? In the playoffs, he'd get some 10-12 minutes a game. He's better than Mahinmi but Granger if healthy will have a much bigger role and impact.
Greg Smith for Reggie Bullock straight. No brainer. LAC needs frontcourt depth, Greg is a banger who can score even better than Jordan. HOU gets another shooter, 42% on 3s in his final year at UNC. Bullock would not have played for L.A. With Dudley, J.J.Redick, Jamal, etc in front of him. Greg, likewise is our 4th string center, would likely not play either. Gets Greg back to Cali, gives us a look at a first rounder. Everyone wins.
