trading Artest: what is the best the Pacers can hope for?

Why would you be happy with Harrington? He's been exposed as an injury-prone tweener with an ugly shot and one tenth the defensive prowess of Artest. On the worst team in the league that he couldn't be an effective starter. I mean he's playing better this year, but it's his contract year.

The other deals are unlikely, except the one with Peja, but because he can walk at the end of the summer the Pacers would run the risk of trading their best player for nothing.

I just hope to god the Celtics don't trade Ricky Davis, or anyone else, for Artest. He's a rare commodity, but he's poison, plain and simple.

 

IMO, the best the Pacers can hope for is dumping Croshere and Bender along with Artest.

BTW, I find it funny that O'Neal (who clearly despises Artest at this point) keeps referring to the "business relationship" they had and in the same breath openly calls for his old buddies to come to town (Harrington, Bonzi).

I still think Lamar Odom or Paul Pierce (recently admitted he asked for a trade this summer) are possibilities. I also wonder if the Mavs might start talking - they've got numerous pieces. Howard for Artest straight up would have to be something to think about.

We won't really know until the bidding war between the serious 3-4 teams begins.

Evan

 

Artest for Yao Ming.

Artest for Peja Stojakovic would probably be your best deal. The Kings would get somebody that can actually play some defense, and Jermaine+Peja would be one of the best inside/outside combos in the league. Walsh can worry about the contract later...

Stay away from Carter. His athleticism, which is his main weapon, is quickly declining. Plus, he'll probably make more than Peja will.

I don't think you'll get Magette. If the Clippers offer anything, it will probably be Mobley, who's pretty similar to Magette, but older.

You don't have to worry about Head. For some reason, Rockets fans are infatuated with a point guard that barely shoots 40% from the field and has a 1.5 assist/turover ratio

Don't laugh, but what about Artest for Steve Francis? Francis playing off guard with Tinsley would certainly be interesting.

Finally, stay away from skinny white guys...Rockets fans call this the "Dan Langhi Rule"...

 

Troy Murphy?

No way would I be okay with that.

Most likely you're giving away the best player in the deal. You can't really get salary relief, 'cause he's not overly paid. So you should be angling for draft picks plus a starter. Unless, as someone else mentioned, you can dump a bad contract like Croshere.

 

why would you be happy with Al Harrington and not too happy having Ricky Davis and a 1st rounder? It doesn't make any sense...

 

the best the pacers can hope for is to be able to trade him to the lousiest team out there. ideally, they get him out of the conference, but if it must be to an eastern conference team the only ones i would deal with would be atlanta, toronto, charlotte or new york.

from a pacer perspective, id be pretty happy with getting peja, even if for just 1 year. he would be great to sign long term, but for 12 million?

 

Pacers fans.... for some reason the South Park episode where Cartman is licking the tears off Scott Tenorman's face comes to mind when I think of Pacers fans' pipedreams & the reality of what's on the table for Ron.

1)Maggette hasn't been offered
2)Baby Al hasn't been offered
3)Odom hasn't been offered
4)Rashard hasn't been offered
5)[insert above average nba player] hasn't been offered
6)Half the teams in the league haven't even bothered to call
7)Ricky Davis was offered straight up, not with a pick
8)Mike Dunleavy...Adonal Foyle...MoPete...Matt Bonner...Devean George...Slava Medvedenko....Antoine Walker. These are the sorts of vets who are on the table. Roll those names around the mouth, get used to the taste of them, and save yourself some heartbreak in a few days.

DW is most likely going to get either a pick or a promising youngster + cap relief, and Indy fans ought to be pleased with him. If he manages to get anything more than that - and he might, he's very, very good (and the Denver 3-way to get Al is at least plausible) - he deserves consideration for exec of the year along with Mr Colangelo.

The good news is that you don't need any of those vets you probably aren't going to get. Granger & Saras are going to be nice players, and if you can somehow dump your other headcase (Jackson), you'll be in very good shape.

 

That's what I thought too, so I was kind of confused by where pacertom was getting these scenarios. Everything I've read or seen on tv points to the Pacers being VERY lucky to even land a starter. IE: a deal of Swift+Head would be TOO much to offer.

 

I'd be surprised if that turned out to be the case. Someone is dumb enough to think Artest's talent is worth all the headache. And, I'd expect Indy to simply not trade if the best they could do was Antoine Walker, say. See if trade offers get better at the deadline, or even summer.

 

Anyway, I sincerely hope the best for your favorite team. It was horrible to see Artest derail them two years in a row.

 

20 teams have expressed interest, 12 have made initial offers (according to Donnie Walsh). Sounds like half the league to me. I'd suspect 4 will become serious within the next week.

Denver, Clips, and the Hawks (as a third party) are all talking with Indiana for certain.

New York, Boston, New Jersey, Minnesota, Golden State, and the Lakers are believed to be talking but there's not a lot of hard evidence.

Dallas, Milwaukee, Sacramento, Portland (likely as a third party) are very likely talking with Walsh, but there's no word or evidence that they are.

Sonics have eased off and are no longer in talks.

Miami, Detroit, and Cleveland are not teams Indiana would deal with.

TV/ESPN is not the best place to get information on this stuff. The websites that post from local newspaper columns are much better.

Evan

 

Yeah, Portland w/ Ruben Patterson would definitely be a good 3rd team to throw in the mix.

But damn, could you imagine being the team who landed both Patterson & Artest in a deal?

 

So uh, this means your have the following rating on these players:

Maggette, Lewis > Harrington > Vince Carter

I mean, I know you probably think Vince is soft and all, but come on.