Matt Jackson 610: Suggesting that MoTay for DA is ...

Forgive me, but who is Matt J?

 

I don't agree with this in the bigger picture (the total of what the player is capable of doing and his weaknessess). When Howard rests or is in foul trouble in the playoffs, there is a big difference between trouting out Padget or Spoon to play Duncan or Amare or Webber or Dirk, than MoT. MoT can at least make those guys play him semi-honestly and make them work on the defensive end. Overall all it is a much smaller drop off in playoff type situations to be able to go to a MoT off the bench than these other two.

Overall I guess I am OK with this deal, but not thrilled. I do believe it will put too much pressure on Howard--especially during playoff type basketball, for what DA buys us. DA isn't (and never has been) a great shooter, isn't as athletic as he once was, and obviously wasn't well accepted his current role with Portland. Make no mistake this is not the same DA as before the Howard shove.

The main plus I see honestly from the trade is keeping Tmac a tad little fresher, and allowing Wesley to maybe gobble up more 1 minutes and help Sura more (I think he is more suited for this than either DA or Barry). Further, while DA is not a great shooter (no Jon Barry for sure), he is more than adequate to keep opponents honest (significantly better than Sura from 3 land over his career).

If we do this trade I'd sure like to see us make another for a combo forward or strait PF who brings something to the table on both ends with Toronto being the likely target (Eric Williams, Donyell Marshall). Use the TE plus 2nd rounders or conditional 1st rounder (our choice and we can trade for it) within the next 2 years.

All in all, I don't care for the move if this is all we do before the deadline. Further, I think we should get a least an extra 2nd rounder (pass it on as part of EW deal if you want) as aging mediocre 2 guards have shorter usefull shelf lives and are cheaper on sign as FAs than aging medicore PFs.

 

I'm not worried about a logjam this year as much as next year. I'd still like us to get a PG in the summer. If we assume that T-Mac, Sura, Wesley, Barry and DA all get enough minutes, that leaves zero for a new PG (like Daniels). But it's not really a big issue since 1) Wesley and Barry have short contracts, and 2) we have an old team and already have potential injury problems in Sura.

All things being equal, I agree that a solid combo forward would be preferable to a combo guard, but beggars can't be choosers.

 

Matt Jackson....he's a sports talk show host on 610 in Houston.

 

bye bye mo!

 

Always someone around to burst your bubble.

 

It's not an argument, it's a premonition.

 

I don't know about the " Really thin at 4 thing "... I mean we havent seen Mo-T play any minutes lately and I'm glad hes not.
We have actually been a better team by him sitting on the bench.

But your right " PLease Please No first round pick in the mix"

 

I don't think we are short at the 4 either. Padgett can rebound suprisingly well and Deke could defend a monster like Duncan should we require it.

 

Dude, how would you not make this trade. You're basically getting a quality player for free. You're clearing out the glut at power forward, something that seemed literally impossible a few months ago, and adding a damn good player that can be part of the long term project. He's only 30, locked up 2 years, and is oh so smooth. While very injury prone, Anderson has always been a good ball handler, penetrator and outside shooter, athletic and fearless taking it to the rack. Check his stats with the Clippers and Spurs. It wasn't until he joined the Blazers that he started to suck with the lack of minutes. This guy is the perfect fit for this team as he'de give us a much needed shot in the arm athletically, he can spell T-Mac, and is a long term peice. He will step in as the starting 2 next season. How would you NOT make this deal? Giving up basically nothing and miraculously clearing the $20 logjam for a player at a needed position. This is a no-brainer.

 

while DA isnt what this team exactly needs he will be a more than welcomed addition if the deal falls through. Taylor hasnt been playing at all so we'll be getting a player in return for nothing in a sense. DA can play the 1,2,3 position allowing much needed extended rest for wesley,sura and tracy without a huge dropoff in talent. He may not be used to playing only 20-25 mins a game but if he is willing to accept his role like all our other players off the bench have this team can be very special come playoff time. (IF the deal goes through)

a bench of: barry,mutumbo,padgett,anderson,strickland isnt the best, but it isnt too shabby either.

 

i'm not so sure its a no-brainer. teams like miami and san antonio are trying to add more big men to their roster even though they already have two of the best big men in the game. theyre even putting aside concerns about adding players that are over the hill and/or havent even played any organized basketball in months. theres obviously some value to having a roster loaded with big men that can play basketball. and mo taylor, despite his faults, is still a quality big man.

 

I think a change of scenery would be good for both players, like it was for Barry and Wesley earlier this year. We need to bring McGrady's minutes down around 5 per game, and we need to conserve Sura's knee for the playoffs. I don't think we have to worry about having another 4 because I'm sure Mutumbo's minutes will/can go up in the playoffs if necessary.

 

New Jersey is looking for a power forward. Mo Taylor could do some good things in the Eastern Conference.

Here is an ESPN NBA Insider article from today about trade scoop:
"New Jersey Nets: With the way Jason Kidd and Vince Carter are playing right now, the Nets are starting to get serious about the playoffs again. The team has a $10 million trade exception that makes it a serious player at the deadline as long as new owner Bruce Ratner is willing to write the checks."

ESPN Insider
http://proxy.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&id=1991169

The Good, the Bad, the Upside
Insider's Chad Ford rounds up the state of the NBA every Monday, looking at The Good and The Bad and offering a little dose of optimism in The Upside.

The Bad

Bucks' hands are tied.

Will Nuggets give up Nene?

The Upside
Bulls face tough decisions.
Jazz consider Boozer deal.
The NBA trade deadline is 10 days away, and after last season's unprecedented high-profile wheeling and dealing, the expectations have been high for much more player movement.

With so much parity in the league, high-profile teams struggling and a high number of teams stocked with perhaps the most important commodity you can have at a time like this – expiring contracts – the trade deadline should be red hot.

So why is almost every team in the league reporting that phones have been unusually quiet?

"I've never seen a trade deadline this quiet," one GM told Insider. "Usually by now I'm getting 10 to 15 interesting calls a day. This year, there's really been nothing but small stuff. I think teams may be a little paralyzed by the thought of the new collective bargaining agreement. They're thinking twice about letting expiring contracts go when they know that free agency could become a lot more friendly next year."

Insider talked with a number of league executives who were reporting the same thing – the sound of silence. Some believe the coming CBA and the parity in the league right now is putting a kibosh on things.

Others think we're just in the calm before the storm. When GMs get together in Denver this weekend for the All-Star Game, things will begin heating up again.

"I don't know how to read things right now, but I believe that there will be some deals," another GM told Insider. "There are too many teams out there like the Timberwolves, Blazers and Raptors who desperately need to make something happen. Their demands will come down over the next week, and someone will find a way to get something done."

The big question is, who? In the Good, the Bad and the Upside this week, Insider breaks down six teams that are ready to deal, six teams that can't deal, eight teams that might deal and 10 teams that likely will sit this one out.

Since everyone wants to see trades happen, the Good is filled with a number of teams that are actually quite bad ...

The Good (teams ready to deal)

Minnesota Timberwolves: Kevin McHale's stunning decision not only to fire Flip Saunders but also to take over as coach won't save the Timberwolves' season.

McHale simply had run out of options. After failing to make a trade that could turn around the season, and after watching the team slowly descend into hell on the basketball court, what else was he going to do? Throw his hands up and tell owner Glen Taylor he had no answers?

Taylor is not happy to be paying more than $70 million this year for a team that can't even play .500 ball. He's not happy McHale couldn't make the necessary changes to turn it back into a winner. He wasn't happy the team was quitting on Saunders. The "there's nothing I can do" response likely would've cost McHale his job.

Firing Saunders won't fix the problem because he wasn't the problem. Saunders will have a job this summer the second Phil Jackson and Larry Brown make up their minds – if not before. The question is whether McHale will have one.

McHale made a huge gamble two summers ago when he brought Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell on board. The gamble worked for one year, then exploded.

McHale has tried desperately for more than two months to trade Sprewell, and even Cassell, in an attempt to get the team back on track. That he has been totally unsuccessful shows just how screwed up the Wolves are.

With Taylor now telling McHale he doesn't want to take on a lengthy contract in return for Spree, McHale has run out of options.

Taking over as coach was the only way he could continue to justify his salary. But if McHale thought it was difficult to move Spree or Cassell – try motivating them to play hard if they don't want to.

Spree now understands that he totally blew his contract negotiations and will be gone this summer. Cassell knows he's not getting a penny more, either.

We first wrote about this problem in training camp, and nothing has changed since. Both players have made it clear throughout their careers that they play for the money more than for the game. Though you'd think they would play hard with an eye toward getting a decent contract elsewhere this summer, the fact is their legs probably wouldn't cooperate even if their hearts wanted to.

McHale believed Saunders wasn't hard enough on the players. We'll see whether McHale, known as a pretty nice guy himself, can do any better given the age and disposition of both players.

Chances are McHale will realize in the next week or so (if he hasn't already) that Saunders had an impossible job.

That leaves the Wolves with some tough choices.

If the Wolves still want to make the playoffs, moving Spree is the answer, and they are still trying hard to do so. But they're going to have to accept a player with a year or two left on his contract to get rid of him.

The choices aren't great. They could get a player such as Jalen Rose, Eddie Jones, Glenn Robinson, Keith Van Horn or possibly even Michael Finley in return. But does anyone really think one of those players would put the Wolves over the top? Finley has the most potential to do something like that, but he also has $50 million left on his contract and has been in a major slump the last few months.

The other route is to go with a major overhaul. This fall, the Wolves had a deal on the table that would've swapped Wally Szczerbiak and Ervin Johnson to Portland for Shareef Abdur-Rahim.

Given the Blazers' problems, if the Wolves expanded the deal to include Spree, Wally and Johnson for Abdur-Rahim, Darius Miles and Ruben Patterson, would the Blazers bite? Portland wants to move all three, and getting the contracts of Miles and Patterson off the books would be big. The Blazers could waive Spree and Johnson immediately to avoid any personality problems and go a long way toward cleaning up their bad-boy image.

The Wolves would be taking on only about $10 million more in long-term contracts by making the trade. Wally has another $44 million left on his contract. Miles and Patterson make a combined $54 million over the next five years. Of course, the financial obligation becomes much greater if the Wolves decide to re-sign Abdur-Rahim, who is in the last year of his contract. However, with Miles and Patterson on board, they probably wouldn't need him.

Though the move could be risky (Miles and Patterson have their own issues), it's better than the alternative.

If McHale doesn't get anything done, chances are the first move made this summer will be at the top. Spree and Johnson come off the books, but the Wolves will still be $10 million over the cap. They'll have just a mid-level exception to use in free agency. If Kevin Garnett asks to be moved, it will all be over.

Portland Trail Blazers: The most dysfunctional franchise in sports had another tough week. The Oregonian got a copy of a proposed settlement that would've repaid Darius Miles for the two-game suspension he got for hurling racial epithets at coach Maurice Cheeks.

For a team trying hard to clean up its image, Portland sure gets in more than its fair share of mud-wrestling matches.

Under heavy criticism that the team hasn't done enough to right the ship, will GM John Nash and team president Steve Patterson finally make a trade? Abdur-Rahim, Nick Van Exel and Damon Stoudamire are all in the last years of their contracts. If Portland packaged a couple of them, it might even be able to move Miles (a base-year player, meaning he can't really be traded straight up) or Patterson.

If the Blazers do nothing now, they could be in a world of hurt after the season. They'll still be over the cap this summer and will have only a mid-level exception to replace the starting backcourt and Abdur-Rahim. If the goal is to keep winning, do they have any choice but to make a deal now?

Sources claim the team has several offers on the table for Abdur-Rahim, but the deals aren't as good as they were two months ago. Abdur-Rahim is coming off elbow surgery and isn't expected to come back until after the All-Star Game. The Blazers also have been reluctant to trade away one of the few players who has been on his best behavior; however, a source close to Abdur-Rahim claims the chances he'll re-sign with the Blazers are slim – so why are they hanging on?

Toronto Raptors: There's too much turmoil in Toronto right now not to do something. GM Rob Babcock looks as though he has the makings of a mutiny on his hands. While not everyone in the locker room has given up on head coach Sam Mitchell, there are enough problems that Babcock is going to have to make some tough decisions over the next week.

The word out of Toronto is that Babcock's not quite ready to give up on Mitchell and that he doesn't want to trade Rafer Alston. Somehow, I don't see that working.

Donyell Marshall (and his expiring contract) is the team's most movable piece. The Heat, Rockets and Knicks, among others, have been trying to get him. But so far, management has been insisting on a young, blue-chip type prospect in return. If Toronto would lower its demands to a player such as rookie Dorell Wright in Miami, it might have a deal.

The team also has tried to trade Jalen Rose to no avail. The Raptors would be more willing to give up Marshall in a package with Rose if a team gave them an expiring contract in return. Don't expect that to happen. No one wants Marshall badly enough to swallow Rose's contract.

Eric Williams, on the other hand, has a lot of trade value. Teams such as the Sixers, Pacers, Nuggets, Rockets and Heat have interest. Babcock says he doesn't want to trade him, but why not? Mitchell isn't playing him, Williams is unhappy, and a contender might be willing to give up a young prospect or a draft pick to get him.

At this point, the Raptors have to forget about the playoffs and start thinking about rebuilding around Chris Bosh. Any young piece Babcock can add will enhance his job security in the long run.

New Jersey Nets: With the way Jason Kidd and Vince Carter are playing right now, the Nets are starting to get serious about the playoffs again. The team has a $10 million trade exception that makes it a serious player at the deadline as long as new owner Bruce Ratner is willing to write the checks.

The team needs a power forward badly. Who's out there?

The Nets' pursuit of Cliff Robinson and Donyell Marshall has been well-documented. Other possibilities include P.J. Brown, Brian Cardinal, Joe Smith, Brian Skinner, Malik Rose, Maurice Taylor and Juwan Howard if the Nets are willing to take on someone with more than one year left on his contract.

Golden State Warriors: The Warriors are a mess again this year. They've received a ton of interest in Dale Davis and Cliff Robinson, because their contracts expire this year, but they aren't the problem in Golden State and won't fetch much in return.

That's why the Warriors have been exploring ways to package them with younger talent such as Mike Dunleavy, Eduardo Najera and possibly even Mickael Pietrus in an attempt to add another big piece.

The only two positions they're really set at are shooting guard (Jason Richardson) and power forward (Troy Murphy). If they could get a major upgrade at the point, center or small forward, they'd be willing to make a deal.

They got close earlier in the year with Eddy Curry, but since then, things have been pretty quiet.

Philadelphia 76ers: Jim O'Brien has been thinking big all year, but he has struggled to get GM Billy King to pull the trigger. You can't blame King. If O'Brien had his way, Samuel Dalembert would be gone by now. King has held firm, and O'Brien has slowly warmed to Dalembert.

Glenn Robinson has been available since day one, but the Sixers have been unwilling to take back a bad contract in return or package him with a younger player. The team has passed on opportunities to swap Robinson for Keith Van Horn and Latrell Sprewell.

On the latter trade, the team would've had to give up prospect Willie Green in addition to Robinson. That ought to tell you how low Sprewell's stock has sunk.

O'Brien also has been after King to get Mark Blount, Antoine Walker, Eric Williams or anyone else from his old Celtics team. So far, King has balked at that too.

While the general feeling is the Sixers will close a deal before the deadline, you wonder whether King and O'Brien will ever see eye-to-eye enough on a player for a deal to make sense.

Chad Ford covers the NBA for ESPN Insider.

 

Rich on 610 is saying that trade is "cold" right now and doesn't see it happening - but anything possible.

So the question is, does 610 hosts talk and share information between each other - how can one say that it will happen and another says it is pretty much dead. Quite a difference in opinion. I digress, just something I was pondering...........

 

They trade howard they will destroy this chemistry, and almost makes it look like we betrayed him too ex:jim jackson.

Rockets need to say MO T and some cash not Howard!

 

I believe Barry is a FA this summer.

 

Rich got that from Jonathan Feigen who was on his show and said that the deal was discussed a while back.

 

With respect for the sports talkers, I am regrettably confident none share a worthwhile inside source with Rox. Rich or MJ (sic) can say whatever because it isn't sourced.

 

This comes to mind.....

"We are MO BETTER without MO TAYLOR..."