Just because Dwight opted in doesn't mean he won't be traded

Look, if you're gonna wait until 2014 to contend, you might as well go young, lose a lot, go to the lottery, get a good pick, and shed salary and set yourself up as an attractive destination for free agents. You are making my case about 2014.

Bynum doesn't make them a contender. He simply makes them a little bit worse than last season. He isn't as good as Dwight. Never will be. And there is a high probability that he gets worse from here. He's not going to help them do anything. Not going to help them with PR. Not going to help them recruit players. (Can't even recruit players when you're over the cap.)


Read your own post.

"Right now, Miami seems like juggernaut, but Orlando can be a contender in the East with Bynum. After Miami, Chicago, and Indiana, there's a huge drop-off in the East. "

So, if they get Bynum they will be able to complete for 4th??? And that's what contending is to you?? C'mon man.

It's not about acquiring our "mediocre" players. It's about acquiring our young talent, our picks, and what they can turn our "mediocre" players into. First of all, we are discussing the possibility of acquiring Gasol. If we can get Gasol for Lowry and Scola (which undoubtedly we can), then what else can Orlando get for them? That's right. There's value there. There's value in Martin's expiring contract. First of all, Martin, when healthy is a top 15 shooting guard in the NBA (in my opinion, top 10). No, they won't make Orlando winners. But Orlando can flip or package and flip to move up in the draft and create even more cap space, use some of those mediocre players and picks to attach to a bad contract and move out another bad contract. We have all the parts to help Orlando rebuild and that is what Orlando should do if they are going to lose Dwight.

There is no trade Orlando can make for Dwight that will make them a better team immediately. No trade that will make them better! But they can use Dwight to set themself up to possibly draft another superstar and extract themselves from the salary cap hell they are stuck in. They are going to go down when the trade Dwight. It's a foregone conclusion. So, the best thing is to expedite (that means speed up) a rebuild. We have the pieces to make that happen.

 

Keep tying your wagon to Bynum and going nowhere plutoblue. Check back with me on Bynum in 5 years. You'll see I was right.

 

This confirms my suspicion that if the Nets lose their lottery pick, it's over as far as Deron and Dwight. They won't be able to trade for Dwight. Deron will leave them high and dry in free agency or they will be forced to trade Deron to the team of his choosing to get any value back for him.

 

Oh, come now, Deron. You selling some beach front property in Arizona too, aren't you?

 

Tim Duncan
Pau Gasol
Kevin Garnett
Andrew Bogut
Tyson Chandler

There's 5, not just 1. And who cares about age. If you are crap at 24, you can still be crap at 31. But if you're great at 31, you can age like Timmy and Garnett and still be good at 38. I would give my money to any of those 4 and take my chances with their health before I gave it to Bynum for another 4 years and took my chances he turns into the next Eddy Curry.

 

Well the draft lottery is history. The Nets lost. They lost out on Dwight and they lost DWIll. Just a matter of time.

During the next 30 days, expect to hear all sorts of rumors about the double D's heading to the Lakers, the Lakers trading Pau for Dwill straight up, and I expect DWill to give the Nets the option to trade him to the Lakers if he opts in for the final year of his contract. All sorts of shenanigans as both guys try to make the Lakers deal happen.

One thing that worries me is Orlando hasn't hired a GM yet. If DWill does tell the Nets he is leaving and gives them the option to trade him to the Lakers for Pau or Bynum before he walks away for nothing, then Orlando could lose significant trade leverage with Dwight. They may be forced then to accept Bynum for Dwight as most teams that would be willing to rent Dwight will probably back off when Dwight doesn't commit to an extension and they can't acquire DWill. It's a significant risk that Orlando is taking here by not having a GM in place.

So, I can see this power play unfolding just like that, DWill telling NJ he is gone and giving them the option to trade him to LA for Pau so they can get some value for him. And if the Nets fall for it, well, that would hurt our chances significantly. But if the Nets stick by their guns that they really prefer cap space (I doubt it) to getting a guy like Pau, then we still have a chance.

The other power play DWIll could make would be to get the Nets to trade him to Portland for Aldridge and Matthews/Crawford or Aldridge, Williams, Babbitt, and Nolan Smith by making the same threat that he is going to walk for nothing. That would leave Portland approximately $30 million in cap space plus the #6 and #11 picks to send to Orlando for Dwight and Hedo.

DWill/Matthews/Batum/Dwight/Hedo and a bunch of minimum salary guys. I doubt New Jersey being willing to accept that. But if they are put under the gun, they might.

The other possibility of Portland going to Orlando with LA, #6, #11, and Crawford for Dwight/Hedo. Orlando may go for that. Then Portland could sign DWill outright.

So, I suppose Portland is a threat to get involved in the Dwight/Dwill sweepstakes.

Don't know what Orlando is thinking. That organization is really screwed up. Surely they will get a GM hired pronto because the longer they drag it out, the less value they are going to be able to trade Dwight for.

There is no way Dwight re-ups there. No way. He'll walk if they force him to play out the season.

So, actually if Orlando gets wind of DWill's power play regarding the Lakers then they may pull the trigger on Dwight sooner rather than later to keep from being trapped into the Bynum for Dwight deal straight up. That is, unless they actually value Bynum that highly.

TWill be interesting to see what power move DWill tries to make in the next 30 days.

 

LOLOLOL

If he really loves them, he'll sign an extension.

 

Thought this was an interesting tidbit on Jameer. He "asked" for an extension to his decision to opt out and the Magic obliged.

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com..._1_jameer-nelson-steve-mountain-orlando-magic


This carries him to June 29, the day after the draft and 2 days before free agency. Which means the Magic have more trade flexibility. I suspect Jameer probably isn't going to opt out. I suspect he gets bought out. He's not leaving $8 million on the table. But he might leave $4 million on the table if he can secure a long-term deal elsewhere and make up the difference. And he's sending the signal by threatening to opt out that he is willing to do just that. Magic can now include him in a trade with him opting in and they can include the buyout negotiation in the trade package.