[ESPN / Stein] Sources: Chandler-Okafor deal in works

The whole reason I put the word "stuck" in quotations was because of the fact that I think Okafor is a good player. But why trade for him when you have someone who produces similar stats in Chandler while losing financial leverage in the future.

 

I disagree. It could open the door towards trading him a year or so down the line, but unless they are underachieving badly and completely out of the playoff race, which they won't ever be with CP3 on that team, I can't see them giving up on it at midseason. Any time period past that is irrelevant as far as the Houston Rockets are concerned.

 

This got me thinking....Okafor in Rocket Red would look very good.

If Morey could some how offer them TMAC for Okafor + G. Wallace Charlotte would get some major financial relief that they seek and would get a serviceable TMAC to bring in fans.

2010 lineup could then look something like this:

Yao
Okafor
Ariza
G. Wallace
Brooks

We could then trade scola/landry for an additional scorer.

A frontline of Yao and Okafor would be devastating to any team.

 

The new is mostly bulls. Don't know why the Honey Bee is willing to take Okafor's long term contract. Okafor sucks. Weird.

 

Look at it this way, they are adding more financial burdens which will need to be dumped if the business doesn't get better soon.

We are talking MORE need to trade Paul if things go awry, and probably need to send Okafor with him, too.

 

Am I the only one who still gets confused when Charlotte and the Hornets are discussed.

 

I see your point. I guess if things get bad enough financially, their on-court results to that point would be irrelevant.

 

If Okafor can be had for Chandler, then Morey needs to pick up the phone and see whats what.

The Bobcats have some really nice pieces in Wallace, Bell, Diaw, etc. We need to see what a package of Tmac and some of our smaller assets can net.

 

Hard to predict how things will turn out, of course... on one hand, it shows that Shinn is feeling a bit more comfortable about his finances than he did when he was trying to dump Chandler's salary for expirong contracts. He may also be gambling that the Okafor is a big enough upgrade to improve their on court performance and will draw in more fans to justify the cost. Just gotta see how it plays out-- whether it works beautifully or blow up in his face.

One thing is for sure, though... that Charlotte team is in sell mode. This one I can see how they can say that Chandler is at least somewhat comparable talent with more height. But I can totally see a pure salary dump move coming up soon. There are a few guys on that roster I like, too. Diaw, for example, is a very good player despite his flaws.

 

that sucks for the rox, hornets are lookin nice for next year, its a big upgrade for them

 

The thing that strikes me about a bunch of the comments here is that Okafur will actually SAVE New Orleans $2.5million over the next 2 seasons.

Sure he'd still have 3 years to run after that - but he's a moveable commodity - so that shouldn't be that big a deal.

Strikes me as a "win/win" move on NOs part - they shed $1.3m in salary this season, and $1.2m next season - and at the same time they manage to upgrade their C position to a legit half-court option.

I'd argue that it makes NO a much better team while saving them a small amount of salary. And when you're over the lux tax level, every dollar counts as double savings - so effectively they're saving $2.6m this season to upgrade the team.

One would also imagine Okafur would sell more tickets than Chandler, and if they really want to 'ditch salary' next season, West, Okafur and Paul are all VERY moveable players.

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/20....hornets.bobcats.trade.1st.ld.writethru.0508/

Sounds like a done deal.

 

yeah, its taken me forever to get used to

 

His passing ability/shooting is something we could definately use.

 

This is a joke. I have been behind Jordan from the start, but I do NOT understand this move...

 

Maybe Okafor will finally get some recognition. He's a solid 15/10 guy but doesn't get any love.

Have no idea what the Bobcats were thinking though.

Chandler is a product of Paul.

 

That's fine. I respect your point of view. However, given that the team had a hard time getting any shots created by a player not name Chris Paul, this move could end up being very lateral for the Hornets who were mediocre to bad last year.

Moreover, not many teams, if any, will be will to take on Okafor's contract (or Posey's or Stinkavich for that matter) if the team is bad, attendance is poor and there are more financial losses for Shinn. This situation would leave one tradeable commodity.

I wouldn't bank on it if I'm another GM, but I hardly think its out of the realm of possibility. It's a balsy move that could pan or backfire.

I think the real caveat to this working is West having a bounce back year. He didn't like playing the center position last year and really had a down campaign.

 

Seems like NO gets the better end of the deal. I don't understand this one.

 

can't we managed a better offer than Chandler? Okafor'd be the perfect compliment to Yao/Scola. something start w/ Landry+expiring contracts should get it done!

 

Double double machine? Maybe, but I don't think he's any better than Chandler. Okafor is undersized, at 6'10 he's way too small to guard the premier C's IMHO. He's a lot like Chuck, he can take care of the small fry really well but I doubt Gasol, Shaq, Duncan and co. would break a sweatbeing guarded by him.

More importantly I look at his stats from his freshman year and its practically the same despite spending 5 years in the league. Wth is up with that? He didn't improve one single bit during his entire career?

I think the Bobcats are getting the better end of the deal. Chandler may be injury prone, but Okafor is Mr. Glass as well. More importantly when Chandler is healthy he is an elite defender in the league, while due to his physical limitations Okafor can only be in the "good" category. Okafor may have some post moves but at the same time I don't think he's as athletic as Chandler-I just don't see him cutting to the basket, catching an alley oop and dunking it the way Chandler did.

And for those of you who think other players are involved, Chandler and Okafor make roughly the same amount, its just that Okafor's contract is longer so this will probably be a straight up swap. NO's probably going all in, they'd take Okafor because he's relatively healthy, while Chandler's status is still uncertain and no one knows how he'll perform this year. If NO's gamble fails and Cp3 quits midway, I definitely see a team (maybe us?) getting him at the trading deadline.