I really like Kaman. He could be a 15/10 center. Kaman + Brand + Wilcox will be a formidable front court.
I don't think that it's hatred against Yao Ming. I think it's frustration with a mediocre team that relies too much on somebody who clearly is not the player many make him out to be. The idea of trading Yao for Brand is ridiculous, yes...I won't argue that. But I myself am pretty frustrated that there is no way we would ever consider trading Yao, not because he's the best player we can have, but because he is a marketing machine and no GM would ever trade him, even if the trade could make our TEAM substantially better. Everybody needs to kind of get off the guy (meaning dconover and others). Bad trade proposal, maybe, but the so-called blind hatred for Yao Ming is almost as nauseating as the stench from 'I will always love Yao no matter how much he underachives' that you hear from others. This BBS has gotten MUCH more personal in terms of attacks on other posters than I think it's ever been. This is the best site in the world but sometimes it resembles ESPN boards a little too much for my taste.
Look, My point was I would be willing to take every decent player off their team for Yao, not that I want to trade Yao. Now, having said that, I doubt you would get a better offer for Yao than what I listed. I forgot to throw in a bad contract like Spoon, Howard, or MoT (which you would have to do to make salaries match). I love Yao and I believe he has tons of potential, BUT I also realize that people of his size tend to have problems - heart issues, low back, foot problems, etc... If someone made a stupid offer for Yao I would certainly listen. What I outlined from the Clips gives you an all-star caliber 4, a apable center that can get up and down the floor, a good back up at both positions in Wilcox, an upgrade at the 3 in Simmons (and for those that love JJ - I like him too but there is not another team in the league that he starts for period. I would love him in a 6th man role though). OUr line up would be: Kaman/Wilcox/Deke Brand/Wilcox/whoever we don't trade Simmons/JJ/Boki T-mac/JJ/Boki Sura/Barret And for those who said all you are doing is replacing Maggette with T-mac, WTF??? Are you insinuating that Maggette is in close to T-mac in terms of talent? If you are, you don't know what you are talking about. Maggette is several steps below T-mac in talent. Additionally, I doubt you would get an all-pro 4 and an all-pro PG for Yao. Look what LA got for freaking Shaq - a 4 that is not as talented as Brand, a good 3 in Butler, and an old Grant.
