Hey, at least you found the one team that wouldn't blink over getting Ben Wallace's contract. I'd consider it, but I don't know if anyone else would, especially the teams involved. Do you really think Chicago and New York would trade Curry again??
Would Sterling (Clippers) take Mike James and cash (like 3 mil) for Sam Cassell? I don't have any illusions about how long Cassell has left. But, I think James is through on this team, and could be a valuable backup in Clipperland behind Livingston, providing instant offense. If he turns out to be worthless, at least Sterling would have his cash. But, Cassell could provide the leadership this team needs for this year, and knows how to win. Would he be able to hang on next year? Maybe. I don't exactly know how the add-on cash works in a trade, but I bet it would be the sweetener that Sterling would go for, and could help us turn it around this year, while Brooks gets some experience.
The Clippers aren't going anywhere this season, but I doubt anyone could sell them on James, considering how he's played this season. I'd do it in a New York minute, but don't think they would. Add a 2nd round pick, and they still wouldn't. Most likely. (Man, I wish we could get Sam!)
Well we could trade James for another sucky player with a big huge albatross contract. Know anyone like that?
I don't think the Rockets are dealing T-Mac unless things go sour after his return, and only then doing it in the offseason. However, I do wonder about the NBA Draft ... usually big trades go down around the draft, and top NBA Draft picks get ridiculous trade value (only before being used... kind of like a new car -- once you use the pick, the value goes down). Got me to thinking about teams in the lotto that could use T-Mac, and first and foremost is Miami. I could see Riley, who has that JVG "win now" vision, selling his first round pick for a big name to put alongside Shaq/Wade... even if Shaq is already done. If the Heat win the lottery and get a top 3 pick, does say the #2 along with the filler contracts of Mark Blount, Udonis Haslem and Smush Parker do anything? Only reason it would be even remotely enticing is if the Rockets thought their true PG of the future could be had there. I don't know what they (or even I yet) think of Derrick Rose, or if they feel Aaron Brooks is already that guy ... but the PG position is becoming the most critical these days, and it seems you just can't get a gem on the cheap. Tough to say though since it takes the Rockets off the contenders plate in the short-term, which can't please Yao. I could see Pat Riley being interested in this (and T-Mac too ... since, believe it or not, you'll have to sell him on any destination). The Rockets would have the #2 and the #13 or #14 (assuming that since T-Mac is being traded that they would just miss the playoffs). They'd have PGs to trade (any or all of Rafer, James, Francis) and would have tough keep/trade decisions to make on Hayes and Battier. Bonzi would likely walk. Anyway, just random doodling.
I know theres some bad history between Chicago and NY, but dealing Wallace for Curry (fillers aside) would make logical sense on paper. Its been reported that Wallace and Noah aren't getting along in Chicago, with the recent argument between the 2, and player's voting to bench Noah (led by Wallace). From a GM's standpoint you have to get rid of the guy thats overpaid, on the decline, is disrupting team chemistry, and most importantly you get to address your team's biggest weakness in the inside scoring. On the other hand, Curry was traded by Chicago for his deficiencies, so they are well aware of his problems. Given the two choices, one would take the lesser of 2 evils. In NY's case, the Curry-Randolph duo is obviously not working, so one of them must go. The easier one to trade would be Curry because of his smaller contract. Wallace would be an ideal fit next to Randolph because he wouldn't be taking any touches away from him, rather he would be able to strengthen their defense. I already mentioned that I see Rafer playing better in NY, and I also predict Bonzi to put up better numbers as well; its his contract year and probably his last chance to earn a big paycheck. I see these 2 guys offsetting the loss of Crawford. If it works out, Isiah Thomas could even prolong his stay in NY a while longer.
Personally, in that situation, I'd do that, especially if the Heat would also take a bad contract like James' off our hands. I don't know yet if Rose can be a good half-court player, but he's incredibly fast and athletic, good if not great court vision, and a fastbreak waiting to happen.
Trading before the draft selection would be a gamble since Miami's pick could be as high as #1 or as low as #5 if they finished next to last record-wise. However, Miami's trading position wouldn't be as strong so we might get a better deal. No guts, no glory. However, wouldn't there be a problem getting Miami's pick since Minnesota technically owns it (lottery protected). Even if Miami uses it, can they trade the pick without Minnesota's consent?
Ummmm... yeah. So a guy averaging 9.5 rpg is NOT a beast on the boards, especially considering he's playing next to Tyson Chandler, one of the best rebounders in the league, and CP3, one of the better rebounding PGs in the league. Ooooooookay. How's the food in the twilight zone?
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/featur...2&teams=10~10~14~10~14~10~4~4~4~4~4&te=&cash= This is how you do it. The trade favors all the teams. Bulls: Lose a lot of salary from expiring contracts and pick up TMAC Rockets: Get some much needed talent Heat: Pick up two compliments to Shaq and Wade
Just some doodling on the ESPN trade machine.. Houston trades: Shane Battier, Rafer Alston, Bonzi Wells, Steve Novak, Kirk Snyder, Mike James, Luther Head. Houston recieves: Marco Belinelli, Mike Bibby, Kenny Thomas, Mickael Pietrus, Kosta Perovic. 1st round draft pick from SAC (Lottery protection) Golden State trades: Patrick O Bryant, Marco Belineli, Mickael Pietrus, Kosta Perovic. Golden State recieves: Steve Novak, Luther Head, Mike James, Kurt Thomas. Sacramento trades: Kenny Thomas, Francisco Garcia, Mike Bibby, 1st round draft pick (Lottery protected) Sacramento recieves: Shane Battier, Rafer Alston, Chris Wilcox, Kirk Snyder, Mouhamed Sene Seatle trades: Kurt Thomas (w TE), Chris Wilcox, Mouhamed Sene. Seatle recieves: Patrick O Bryant, Bonzi Wells, Francisco Garcia. Houston Lineup: PG: Mike Bibby/Aaron Brooks SG: Mickael Pietrus/Marco Belinelli SF: Tracy McGrady/Carl Landry PF: Chuck Hayes/Luis Scola C: Yao Ming/Kosta Perovic Why for Houston?: They get a 3rd scorer and a reliable PG, a first round draft pick, and gain back the defense lost in Battier with Pietrus. Houston also gets a backup center with size in Perovic. Golden State Lineup: PG: Baron Davis/Mike James SG: Monta Ellis/Luther Head SF: Stephen Jackson/Matt Barnes PF: Al Harrington/Austin Croshere C: Andris Biedrins/Kurt Thomas Why for Golden State?: They get a backup PG in James, who also provides 3 point shooting. Also they add Luther Head who should fit well in GS's 3 pt gunning offense. They get Kurt Thomas, who not only gives them more cap space but can defend the paint well. Sacramento Lineup: PG: Beno Udrih/Rafer Alston SG: Kevin Martin/John Salmons SF: Ron Artest/Shane Battier PF: Chris Wilcox/Mikki Moore C: Brad Miller/Spencer Hawes Why for Sacramento? They let Beno run the offense, get Battier as a backup if Artest decides to pack his bags to NY. Also they upgrade at the PF spot with Wilcox, and also get rid of Kenny Thomas' contract. Seattle Lineup: PG: Earl Watson/Delonte West SG: Bonzi Wells/Wally Sczerbiak SF: Kevin Durant/Fransisco Garcia PF: Jeff Green/Damien Wilkins C: Nick Collison/Patrick O Bryant Why for Seattle? They move Durant and Green to their natural position, and get another slasher in Bonzi. They also get Garcia who will come off the bench as an offensive spark, and get Patrick O Bryant who is a good prospect. Flame away.
That scenario I posted was for the offseason, post-lottery. Lots of "ifs" in there -- if the Rockets fall short of the playoffs, if the Rockets shop T-Mac, if the Heat get a top 3 pick -- but if that all happened, it could make some sense. Miami is tied to the Shaq ship ... might as well make a 1 or 2-year hoorah run. Wade, T-Mac and Shaq would be nice. T-Mac, before he was traded to the Rockets, said he wanted to play with Shaq.
Sorry, I can't see us going the youth rebuilding route now. Yao is 28, and in his prime. We can't wait another 3 years for kids to develop. In hindsight, we should've went the youth route 4 years ago and built up the team. But Van Gundy screwed that over with his "win at all costs then" mentality, when both our Superstars were 4 years younger. Now we've had 4 years of trading away picks and bringing in Van Gundy type guys. Morey is gonna have to figure out how to get the right guys around 111 or the right guys around Yao NOW.
the rockets BEST chance at rebulding comes in the summer of '09. they need max cap space then. moving tmac for ending contracts (or at least ending on summer '09) is the way to go. same can be said for james and rafer. a lotto pick this year is a very possible outcome for the rockets. moving tmac and possibly james/rafer for endings this summer might leave us wasting another year, but gaining another lottery pick in '09. THEN: guys like kobe, arenas, wade, iverson, hamilton, among others will either be FA's or have the ability to opt out. some front court players include sheed, odom, and jamison. with two young athletes out of the lottery and a new all star guard (wit possible room left over for a decent foward) should put us at the top of the league with a bright future (2 lotto picks, brooks, head, hayes, landry, novak)
Heard Clutch say on the radio that he thought Mike James would be the PG to be dealt. Here's a low profile trade proposal - the Knicks need a PG with Marbury going under the knife (even though Isiah said all of his players are "untouchable" - quote of the year - tell that to Jerome James, et al). Trade MJ and Hayes or Snyder for Malik Rose. Doesn't help us much, but Rose has one year less on his contract. Kind of like a flip flop of the Juwan trade, which I bet we would want to take back now.
Houston - Phoenix - Milwaukee Trade Trade ID 4422304 Chris Webber signs with Suns PG: Rafer Alston | Aaron Brooks SG: Raja Bell | Steve Francis | Luther Head SF: Shane Battier | Bonzi Wells | Steve Novak PF: Amare Stoudamire | Louis Scola | Chuck Hayes CN: Yao Ming | Boris Diaw | Dikembe Mutombo PG: Steve Nash | Leandro Barbosa | Marcus Banks SG: Tracy McGrady | DJ Stawberry SF: Shawn Marion | Grant Hill | Alondo Tucker PF: Charlie Villanueva | Brian Skinner CN: Chris Webber * | Dan Gadzuric PG: Maurice Williams | Mike James SG: Michael Redd | Kirk Snyder | Charlie Bell SF: Desmond Mason | Bobby Simmons PF: Yi-Jian Lian | Carl Landry | Michael Ruffin CN: Andrew Bogut | Jake Voskuhl
If it was Snyder, sure, but Hayes? I wouldn't do it. Rose is pretty much an end of the bench/inactive guy, and would be next year. Hayes is an incredible deal for his contract and not someone, IMO, you toss in to get rid of a bad contract (well, it would have to be a worse contract than James has!). James has some game left (somewhere... don't ask me where he's hidden it), and maybe Thomas, before he's fired, has another deal left in him. Like you said, with Marbury gone, they could use another point and some more scoring. James might be relieved to get moved to New York, where he would get some playing time. Brooks has pushed him out of the rotation here and deserves to play. That, and how James has played when given the chance, calls for a move, if you can find someone to take him. I keep expecting him to break out of his funk, but it hasn't happened. He's one of the biggest surprises this season and not doing at all what most of us expected.
