There have been a lot of trade proposals flying around involving the Clippers and Elton Brand, but I haven't seen this one yet (though it probably has been posted) Mobley and the TE for Brand, straight up. Why would the Clippers do this? A few reasons. 1. This move (partially) clears up the logjam at PF for them. Either Wilcox could step in, or they could use the #2 pick on Dwight Howard. Both are sexier options to Brand, who's never led a team to more than 37 wins (and in 02-03 his team was stacked) 2. Opens up the paint for Kaman and Maggette. I still think Chris is going to be a pretty decent low post scorer, and there are few in the league better at getting to the rim or the line than Maggette. But with all the attention teams pay to Brand to keep in out of the post and offensive rebounding position, the lane closes up real quick. 3. Cuts Costs. This is the wildcard that makes almost any such trade with the Clips possible. Obviously, we're talking about the stingiest team in the NBA, and they got no return on their large investment in Brand last year. Not to mention the fact that LA is saving up to bring in Kobe. They'll be freeing up an addition $6-7 million to do that by going through with this trade. And let's not forget that Cat's a pretty decent player. He could come off the bench and be effective if Kobe comes to Clipperland, or he could start at the 2 if he doesn't and put up 18-20ppg. He's not to shabby a defender either. Now why would we want Brand? Well, this has been discussed almost ad nausuem, but here are my two cents: Even though Brand's never been on a winning team, he was always the best player on those teams. If he came to Houston, he'd be the second or third best player, especially if McGrady came to town. I don't think there would be issues with him and Yao sharing space in the post, because I'd bet Brand, one of the most agreeable personalities in the NBA, would be perfectly happy to defer to Yao down low. He wouldn't put up 20 and 10, but I'd be fine with a robust 14 and 9. Remember, Otis Thorpe was a big time, 20 and 10 scorer on those awful Sacramento teams before he came to the Rockets. Brand could be the second coming of OT, I think.
I like it a lot...plus more importantly I think that the clips would like it a lot too, good trade post.
I wo0uld, but they wouldn't. They're WAY mroe likely to just trade their #2 to Atlanta for Jason terr, and end up with a great team for next year: Kaman/Wilcox Brand/Wilcox/Ely Maggette/Fowlkes Richardson/Terry Terry/Jaric/Dooling Kaman showed some real promise last season, and showed great dedication last offseason. If he continues to work on his body and game this offseason, he'll be a solid starter next year. The rest are all good players, and Dunleavy is a great coach. However, it remains to be seen if they will actually pay for this team. One thing they might consider: Mobley for a re-signed Richardson. Why? Because Richardson needs to be re-sign, and they may not be willing to pay him. Mobley has a good contract that runs for 2 more years, with the final one being a player option. He would also bring some veteran help that they would need, and some defense. Why would we want Richardson? Although he didn't shoot betetr than Mobley last season, Richardson is known to be a shooter. Therefore, teams might pay him more attention when he's spotting up than they would for Mobley, who's known to penetrate. This would space the floor, and open things up for Yao. Aside from this, Francis would have a lot more penetraton opportunities and teams won't collapse on him when he drives. Still, when weighing everything, I don't know if I'd do it. I'd say I'm 50-50 on it.
Of couse Houston would do it, but LAC could get a lot more for Brand. Plus, LAC doesn't need Mobley. With Maggette, Q, Dooling, House, and Jaric, they really don't need any more guards.
Let's take this lunacy to the next level. We don't the Clippers just trade Brand to the Hawks (who have $27m in cap space) for Chris Crawford and their # 1 pick (#6 overall). C'mon...Cuttino Mobley for Elton Brand on the hopes of signing Kobe?
How about we trade all our future non-guaranteed second round picks for all their future guaranteed first round picks. They could really save a boat load!
