Orlando Magic was insane enough to do it and got both T-Mac and Grant Hill. Walsh is not the first and he won't be the last.
Has anybody watched the Knicks lately? They have a huge whole in the C position. Even if they did get Lebron, that team will get abused inside. They have nobody over 6'9" on that team, after the trade. They were using 6'9" Lee at C and Gallinari at PF. Last night, they made Bogut look like Wilt Chamberlain. Bogut got 24 pts on 11-15 FGs, 20 rebs, and 5 blocks. Those are insane numbers for Bogut. He dominated the Knicks frontline, because he was just bigger than everybody.
Maybe professional GM's dont think this way, but at a certain point wouldnt you avoid making deals with Morey just to avoid the chance that youre going to get taken by a genious? Unless, it was something obvious that would help my team, I would never make a trade with the rockets if it were dealing with "potential" talent.
If they stop trading with anybody, it would be with the Celtics for getting Garnett, the Lakers for getting Gasol. Morey's genius isn't worth anything if it doesn't ever get you to the NBA Finals or a ring.
obviously, im not a genius since i cant even spell it correctly...but anyway, those teams acquired high paid superstars who were changing directions by cutting costs and going with young talent. We are making deals with other young teams who are trying to develop into a championship contender. Granted, ours is different circumstance because we already have/had superstars as our foundation.
It just goes to show you that T-Mac's expiring for Jared Jeffries, Hill, draft pick swap, and 1st draft pick is not nearly as lopsided as Kwame's expiring for Gasol. When Morey turns an expiring injured Yao into Gasol or Bosh, we can it lopsided.
If that ever happens, it will end all arguments once and for all about just how valuable of a cash cow Yao and his overseas connections actually is.
Why? The Kings liked the Artest deal and still do. Memphis cleared their 3-PG logjam and are happy. Orlando was happy Alston ran their team into the finals. And the Spurs have no one to blame but themselves for not willing to bring Scola for 4 years. If NY could've unloaded Jeffries for less than what they gave up, they would've. Morey got so much because NY HAD NO OTHER TRADING PARTNER. If NY could've gotten another team to get involved, the asking price might have came down.
If Donnie Walsh signs 2 star players, then those draft picks are worthless as soon as the ink dries .
I never understood NY's plan. Even if they sign two big names they will basically be left with their two new superstars and a bunch of trash around them. Even a Lebron/Wade combo isn't going to win it all against the big boys if the third best player for the Knicks is Wilson Chandler.
I think they are banking on the fact that they can use those 2 as a marketing tool to get the other players, Like a veteran that wants to win before he retires... Similar to what LA did with Kobe and Shaq... My only guess. Good Luck with that....
more importanly capspace is capspace. Next season isn't just deep because LBJ/Bosh. A lot of good players are FAs next year as well. You can easily build a competitive team in the east with capspace and Galli+ a resigned Lee and Tmac.
I'm not sure if the Knicks can be more than a roughly .500 without a Lebron or Wade + at least another max FA. Think about it: Miami has Wade, a very talented Beasley, O'Neal and Haslem who are still serviceable, and they are .500. Lets say they re-sign Lee, it would mean probably $9 million so off their cap space. If they don't get Lebron James, what's the best they can get? Wade at max + someone else at maybe $7-8 mil? Can Wade + $7 mil player make Lee, Chandler, Douglas and Gallinari (who, by the way, are the remnants of a way under .500 team) into a contender? Will McGrady sign back for minimum wage to join that team (remember, McGrady said, he might take a pay cut IF NY signs 2 superstars, not just one superstar)? It seems there are many ways NY's plan can fail, but there are ways they can succeed, too, of course. Overall, I think the bet makes sense for both NY and Houston.
I just think it would be classic if none of the big free agents go to New York, and Morey pulled a SnT for one. Can you say T-Mac being the big free agent signing this summer.
But they won't have to. A few things to note about NY if they get two top FA. 1. They can trade Eddie Curry(large expiring contract) for more pieces without having to worry about cap implications. They can even take on horrible contracts because it really won't matter to their cap. And they don't care about the Luxury tax. 2. They can buy 2nd round picks just like the Rockets have done. 3. Even though they won't be too competitive next year, they're going to have a LLE and a MLE in 2011. That means at least two more rotation players. And more potential ability to buy picks(perhaps even the 1st round). IMO, it takes exactly one year to get the new group working. Of course this places a huge emphasis on their ability to judge talent. Something that Walsh hasn't really demonstrated. But if Morey was their GM and they managed to get Lebron/Bosh, I see 2-3 Finals/Championships as soon as the 2011-2012 season.
