Can somebody post the ESPN Insider Article that talks about these 5 trades? NJRocket? This may be the wrong forum but then again it may not.. these trades could affect the Rockets and dangit.. I just want to know!
There are no free agents. The draft is over. The luxury tax is looming. If you're a season ticket holder who doesn't live in Los Angeles, Sacramento or Dallas, things aren't looking too pretty. Sure, some mid-level free agents like Jeff McInnis or Chauncey Billups will help. A little bit. But will they put you over the top? Unlikely. Those lottery picks like Jared Jeffries, Amare Stoudemire and Dajuan Wagner may very well turn out to be stars, but this year? Forget about it. That means middling teams that are hovering somewhere between the lottery and first-round playoff exit are struggling to find enough ammunition to make a major push this season. Orlando might be better if Grant Hill is healthy and Stephen Hunter and Rashard Griffith turn out to be decent. The Heat will be better if Alonzo Mourning stays healthy, Rod Strickland stays off the corn dogs and Caron Butler lives up to the hype. New York will be better if Antonio McDyess returns to form and no one notices that Charlie Ward is running the show and Travis Knight is its tallest player. That's a lot of ifs and we haven't even talked about the problems Minnesota, Indiana, Milwaukee, Philly and Portland will have just making baby steps toward the second round of the playoffs. Meanwhile, teams like the Warriors, Cavs, Bulls and Sonics are looking for that missing piece in their rebuilding effort. One of the most intriguing trades out there had the Cavs and Warriors talking about a deal that would've sent Andre Miller, Lamond Murray and Jumaine Jones to Golden State in return for Mike Dunleavy Jr., Jiri Welsch and Danny Fortson. However, a league source told Insider that those talks died early this week. Now that the Warriors have officially signed Dunleavy, he can't be traded until December 15. With that said, here are five trades that we'd like to see happen sometime after July 17th, the first day teams can sign free agents and make trades. All of the trades have at least been discussed by the teams, but none of them are imminent. 1. Baron Davis, Jerome Moiso and Stacey Augmon to the Clippers for Jeff McInnis (via sign-and-trade), Keyon Dooling and Chris Wilcox. Analysis: The Hornets have made it clear that they have no intention to trade Davis, but his refusal to sign an extension is the type of negative publicity the Hornets don't need as they descend upon New Orleans. He may be the team's best player, but with the addition of Courtney Alexander, it isn't imperative that the Hornets' point guard be a top scorer anymore. McInnis is a steady point guard who likes to push the ball and can be had for much cheaper. In 2000 his assist to turnover ratio was one of the best in the league. Dooling is still raw, but has great size and athleticism for a point guard. P.J. Brown has only one year remaining on his contract and Wilcox is the the type of dynamic, athletic power forward the team has always pined for. The Hornets may slip a notch this year if they make this trade, but in the long run, they'll have replenished their young talent base. For the Clippers, they add a dynamic All-Star point guard who desperately wants to play for them without having to give up any core players in return. It will be up to Donald Sterling to figure out how to pay for all of these guys, but the addition of Davis would absolutely push the Clippers into the playoffs. Clipps projected starting lineup: Davis, Quentin Richardson, Lamar Odom, Elton Brand, Michael Olowokandi Hornets projected starting lineup: McInnis, Alexander, Jamal Mashburn, Brown, Campbell 2. Wally Szczerbiak, Rasho Nesterovic (via sign-and-trade), Terrell Brandon and Anthony Peeler to the Blazers for Damon Stoudamire, Bonzi Wells (via sign-and-trade) and Dale Davis. Analysis: This is a huge deal, but the Wolves have to do something desperate if they're ever going to get out of their first-round rut. Wally's max contract demands won't fly in Minnesota. His contract would throw them into luxury-tax land without improving the club. Nesterovic's demands are also spiraling out of control now that the Knicks are bidding for his services, and with Billups heading to Detroit, the Wolves are in desperate need of a reliable point guard. In return they'd get Stoudamire, who's overpaid, but is capable of running the team; Wells, a tough, athletic, high-octane two guard and Davis, who can swing between power forward and center. The key to the deal for the Blazers is actually Nesterovic. Since Arvydas Sabonis's retirement, they have been in desperate need of big man to block shots and rebound. Wally would give them a solid scorer who isn't afraid to take the last shot, or any other shot for that matter. Brandon is basically a throw in for cap purposes. If the Blazers pulled a trigger on the deal, they'd offer the full mid-level exception to Jeff McInnis to take over the day-to-day point guard duties. Both teams will take big cap hits to make this deal go down. The Blazers have never cared about that. The T-Wolves do, but they really don't have any other options. This deal is a beast cap wise. The T-Wolves would have to sign Szczerbiak to an extension now (his salary would them be averaged over the life of the extension for purposes of the trade), and the Wolves and Blazers can't give Nesterovic and Wells outrageous deals or both players will become base year compensation players, making them almost impossible to trade. Blazers projected starting lineup: Brandon or McInnis, Derek Anderson, Szczerbiak, Rasheed Wallace, Nesterovic Wolves projected starting lineup: Stoudemire, Wells, Garnett, Smith, Davis 3. Rashard Lewis (sign-and-trade) to the Bulls for Jamal Crawford and Marcus Fizer Analysis: The Bulls desperately need a polished small forward to bind their high-octane backcourt to the big, athletic frontcourt. Lewis is a perfect fit. He's young, athletic, but also has a few years of experience under his belt. His outside shooting is something they've desperately searched for and he'll be great on the break. What would Lewis cost the Bulls? At a minimum, Fizer and Crawford. Fizer and Crawford are solid players in their own right, but they'll be terrible fits on the new look Bulls. Fizer still has upside, but has no future on the Bulls now that Chandler and Curry are running the show. The Bulls' attempt to turn him into a small forward was a joke. He could, however, give the Sonics that inside muscle they had hoped Vin Baker would bring. Crawford is always intriguing because of his height and ability to play the point. However, with Jay Williams, Jalen Rose and Trenton Hassell taking the majority of the backcourt minutes, Crawford won't get the time needs to develop. The Seattle native would be a great fit on the Sonics, however. With Gary Payton in the last year of his contract, Crawford could join a young nucleus of Fizer, Desmond Mason, Vladimir Radmanovic and Calvin Booth that would give the Sonics great cap flexibility and a solid base to build on for the future. The Bulls would have to renounce Charles Oakley and Travis Best to clear the cap room necessary to make this trade happen. Sonics projected starting lineup: Payton, Brent Barry, Mason, Baker, Booth Bulls projected starting lineup: Williams, Rose, Lewis, Chandler, Curry 4. Nick Van Exel to the Knicks for Kurt Thomas and Charlie Ward Analysis: This trade has been discussed since before the draft. It looks like the Knicks will take care of their big man needs via free agency. They'd prefer to land Andre Miller and dump either Latrell Sprewell or Allan Houston, but they just don't have the juice to get it done. Van Exel was on his best behavior in Dallas last season, but he'll begin to rot if he doesn't get a bigger role with the team. The Mavs, on the other hand, are dying to get their hands back on Thomas. He's the type of no-nonsense dirty work player the team has been searching for. Knicks projected starting lineup: Van Exel, Houston,Sprewell, Antonio McDyess, ??? Mavs projected starting lineup: Steve Nash, Michael Finley, Dirk Nowitzki, Thomas, Raef LaFrentz 5. Kenny Anderson to the Pacers for Austin Croshere and Jamaal Tinsley Analysis: This isn't a blockbuster trade for either team, but they've talked about it and it does make some sense. The Pacers like Tinsley, but are concerned about his outside shooting and immaturity. Anderson gives them a veteran backcourt leader and allows them to get Croshere off the books. With only one year remaining on his contract, he isn't a big risk. In the long run, the Pacers think they may have a keeper at point guard in last year's second-round pick, Jamison Brewer. For the Celtics, they knew that they were going to have to start their point guard search sooner or later and Tinsley has tremendous upside. Adding Croshere would allow them to let Rodney Rogers slip away and keep them out of the luxury tax. To make this deal work financially, the trade couldn't happen until August 1st, when Croshere loses his base-year status. Pacers projected starting lineup: Anderson, Reggie Miller, Al Harrington, Jermaine O'neal, Brad Miller Celtics projected starting lineup: Tinsley, Paul Pierce, Antoine Walker, Croshere, Tony Battie
"The Pacers like Tinsley, but are concerned about his outside shooting and immaturity. Anderson" I have never seen any body have immaturity held against them when being compared to Anderson.
I'd like to see #4 happen. Thomas is wasted in NY and needs to get back to the metroplex where he's comfortable. I'd love to see him shine in the league. When I was at TCU with him he was unstoppable. I'm glad to see Lee Nailon doing well in Charlotte, but out of that TCU class, Mike Jones would have been a better NBA player. There's a 2-guard who could play defense and shoot lights out. Sorry, I got side-tracked.
how can you say that? he started practically every game at center last year and played pretty well....he had a ton of double doubles...and he also played surprisingly well against the WC teams
Is it just me or would the Bulls become real good real fast? To bring it back to the ROX.. the Baron Davis rumor to the Clips makes me a little nervous.. I mean don't get me wrong I think Houston still makes it in but damn if that is TOO many strong teams in the West.. we should just treat the East like the N.I.T. tournament!
Croshere is a Horry type player. Plays poor during the season, and performs well in the playoffs. I personally think Rogers talents were wasted on the Celtics anyway. Tinsley for Anderson? C'mon, Celtics should jump all over that.
Yeah Rogers would give the Pacers some different looks O'neal - C Rogers - PF Sf ??? Miller- SG Anderson - pg? Not bad... I dunno about austin . . .last year was so disappointing Rocket River
I'm not sure if all of those trades are one sided but that Davis to the Clippers sure is. Someone is giving Sterling way to much credit to pull that one off. Dooling has done nothing so far, why wouldn't the Hornets demand Miles or Odom like everyone else seems to be doing??????
