Do you think the Gerald Wallace to Portland trade was lopsided?

Uh-oh, mincing on comparisons again! I don't think having a world-class player is necessary, it just happened to be the case in the Rockets example I chose. We can disagree on whether Gasol-Randolph-Gay is a good enough base for a championship team, but if it is, a couple of tweaks can send you up from mediocrity to contention very quickly. That's all I'm trying to say.

I'm not trying to imply that Gasol is the second coming of Hakeem Olajuwon. I don't think the Rockets' experience of going from also-ran to contender is very unusual. How about the Reggie Miller Pacers? Miller was drafted in '87, and Rik Smits in '88. They finally achieved mediocrity in '89-'90, and stayed there for 4 seasons. Then in '93-'94 they went to the EC Finals 4 straight years, and then the Finals in 2000. Their improvement was organic development, good drafts (the Davises), plus trades/additions of guys like Mark Jackson, Derick McKey and an old Chris Mullin.

 

I think this is fair

2 first round picks + 3 expiring contracts. Rebuilding move by Bobcats, they are better off with that than aging G. Wallace taking up cap space any time

 

Nope...Jordan wanted to get out from under that contract and he did.

No need to pay that much for a player if he isn't a No.1 option and you are barely in the playoffs if at all.

 

2 mid to late first round picks and getting out of a big contract -- it's not a bad deal for a team that's not going anywhere. It is also the type of deals that the Rockets should be pursuing.

MJ has not done much right as a GM/owner, but I can't fault him on this trade.

 

I actually liked Jordan's reasoning.

Essentially, Wallace kept them 7-9th in the East, and no one should want to be 7-9th