[ESPN] Raptors, Trail Blazers discussing a blockbuster trade

He was the go-to guy, but just for the sake of "go-to", you can't really expect anything from a 30ish percent jump shooter, can you?

 

Here's the cap-space formula: Get rid of all your big salary guys and continue to win at around .500 with a cast of nobodies (playoffs not necessary). Then, the big free agents will come the next year. It worked for Orlando getting Hill and McGrady. It worked for Utah getting Boozer-the-traitor and Okur. The Bulls tried to same formula, but neglected to win sufficiently. You could even kinda paint Denver into this picture.

OK, maybe easier said than done.

 

Toronto has an extremely hard time getting free agents. Canadian taxes are very big reason, and relatively small exposure is also part of it. They have to overpay to get players (Raefer) to compensate.

Evan

 

nah....half man----half a season

 

Which is exactly why I am not so sure Toronto can use that business model. They are a struggling franchise. They cant afford not having a STAR there to put butts in seats. I am not so sure they can do the "start over" method which is what this trade would be.

 

Orlando's cap space plans failed. They wanted to get McGrady and Duncan, but they got McGrady and a broken down Grant Hill instead. Hill was a drain on their franchise for years and McGrady forced his way out. Utah couldn't sign anyone last year, and got Boozer this year with tons of cap space. The draft and trades are the proven methods for building a team, not free agency.

 

They didn't roll the dice on Hill. Everybody thought he'd be fine. I agree though, expecting to build a team through FA in basketball is a mistake in a league with a salary cap.

 

That's not exactly how it went down. They wanted to sign at least two of Duncan, Hill, and McGrady, Duncan and Hill being their top two choices.

 

i forget if it was kenny or chuck on tnt that first said this, but i laughed my ass off so much when they pulled that nickname out. perfection.

 

[SI-rumour]carter to blazers for reef

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/writers/marty_burns/11/19/carter.trade/index.html

not sure, but it sounds like it's pretty likely.

would be a good deal for portland IMO.

Raptors guard Vince Carter asked out of Toronto before training camp, and it now appears the disgruntled five-time All-Star might get his wish. A blockbuster trade sending Carter, 27, to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim has been discussed at length and could be completed at any time, according to team sources. The deal might also include Toronto's Jalen Rose and Portland's Derek Anderson.

Blazers GM John Nash denied Thursday that a trade was imminent, but Friday's Oregonian quoted a Blazers basketball operations staff member as saying a Carter deal is "more than a rumor" and that the decision was up to Toronto. The newspaper reported the completed deal would send Carter, Rose, guard Milt Palacio and 6-foot-10 forward Jerome Moiso to the Blazers for Abdur-Rahim, Anderson and reserve center Vladimir Stepania.

A trade involving Carter and Abdur-Rahim, both 27 years of age, would make sense for both teams. They're both All-Star caliber players who are unhappy with their present situations and have asked to be traded. Both would also fill needs for their new teams. Carter is a scorer who can provide an outside shooting threat for a Portland team that has struggled from the perimeter. Abdur-Rahim, averaging 15.1 points and 7.1 rebounds this season, is a low-post presence who could help shore-up Toronto's thin frontcourt, although he does play the same position as young Raptors star Chris Bosh.

The Raptors also have financial incentives to make this move. By shedding the large contracts of Carter, and perhaps Rose, they could save money down the road and possibly clear enough cap space to go after a big-name free agent this summer. And if Abdur-Rahim doesn't work out for the Raptors, the fact that his $14.7 million contract expires after the season could offer Toronto even more flexibility.

Carter, averaging 15 points, 3.98 rebounds and 3.6 assists a game this year, presents a bigger financial risk for Portland. He's due to make about $12.5 million this season, and has two years left plus a third at his option. By adding him, and perhaps Rose (two more years and $30 million), the Blazers would be giving up all of the salary-cap space they had for this summer. But Carter, when healthy and motivated, is a franchise-type player and it's possible Portland has decided it wouldn't find anybody better in the free-agent market next summer.

 

In the past few years, I would agree. However, owners are getting scared of salaries with the upcoming labor uncertainty. The luxury tax might end up becoming even stiffer. Most cost-conscious teams are shedding salaries. Even Les is scared, and that's why Boki didn't get an extension. CD admitted that they didn't give Boki the extension because they needed salary flexibility. And that's not flexibility to get under the cap, which will not happen with the Rockets - its the luxury tax.

 

it was chuck and it was freaking hilarious.