Are you guys kidding me?! This is a ridiculously good trade for them!! Not only do they get Arenas, who was better than Nelson in his prime (and it looks like Arenas is returning to form), but they get JRich, a fantastic shooter and a good defender (watch him in the playoffs last year), AND Hedo, the magic playmaker, back? THATS RIDIUCLOUS!! they are going to be incredible now. before Howard was surrounded by good role players (Gortat, Pietrus, and Old Carter). Now he's surrounded by bonafide offensive machines only a couple years off their prime. And that's what the Magic needed, off the dribble offense (Arenas), a clutch play maker who brings offensive chemistry (Hedo), and bonafide scorer (JRich).
Playing alongside Nash boosted J-Rich's stock and Lewis has been struggling the past couple of years... Orlando is done with him and replaced him with a shinier version. Arenas is having another season of <40% shooting, it was just a case of trading one poison pill contract for another. I think the Magic will try to sell him as an x-factor, but without his explosive speed it's just not happening. Arenas should be used off the bench to craft his way to the basket and FT line during the playoffs. Orlando's success still depends entirely on Jameer Nelson. When he was hot a couple years ago, Orlando was the team to beat. Having Hedo back as Point Forward should improve the chemistry a bit, but I still think Dwight is going to leave for a team with a Chris Paul or Carmelo or Blake Griffin in the future.
We couldn't of made this trade. While we like to say we're acquiring assets, the teams with the most assets are the ones at the top of the heap.
Seeing as how the Suns are pretty much blowing up, now would have been a good time to trade Nash to a contender. If it was possible, instead of trading Lewis to Washington, trade him to the Suns. Lewis a huge expiring contract in a few years which is perfect for the Suns. Nash who already plays great with J-Rich now would have Dwight.
Not saying I thought we should be in the mix for these guys, just making the observation that the moves we make are horizontal at best. Still waiting for us to make a splash that's all.
People don't want to see it that way. I say its a decent deal. The Suns get much needed interior muscle. Channing Frye is their leading rebounder, that's SAD. They can slide other players into their natural positions - No Hedo at PF/Hakeem Warrick at center business. Vince Carter can do a decent J-Rich impersonation. Pietrus is a black hole but he can play the uptempo style like he did in Golden State. Plus they are the Rockets direct competition in front of them for a playoff spot. We HOPE the trade is a dud. I can see the positive benefits for the Suns though
Seems like they made a move for the sake of making one, they won't win the championship with that lineup.
I would have to agree with this. They only really come ahead here if Earl Clark is developed enough to play big minutes at the 4 spot. Losing Gortat was inevitable but I believe they could have done more with him on the market if they would have waited it out for better offers that benefited them alot more.
Now, what position does pheonix need to fill? What can we ship for gortat? Maybe give them chuck and bud for gotata and something else??
This trade gives Orlando potential, but lets compare Turkoglu with a recent Rocket famous, Mike James. Both James and Hedo had amazing contract years. They scored tons of points and made game winning jumpers. Both were traded to their former teams within one season after signing their large contracts. If history is any indicator, Hedo will continue to suck and will soon be traded.
How does this impact the playoff race? Phoenix was our biggest competition for that 8th seed. Are they better or worse, record-wise, after this deal?
