What a horrible trade for the Raptors...it may improve their team but not ever to contender status, plus they have no stars to sell seats at all now. This trade helps the Nets get publicity and therefore sell seats, and a chance to actually be dangerous in the playoffs if they can get a big man, such as MoT or JH (i wish)? I think Vince will be rejuvenated a bit w/this trade, especially w/Kidd dishing the ball to him, god knows Kidd MADE Jefferson who he is.
ESPN thinks the VC trade means they'll keep Kidd, and it's been going around that they weren't really getting many offers for him because of his $90 million contract. But I can't believe they'll seriously try and play the rest of the season with only Collins and Scalabrine in the front court. Those two are averaging less than 10 boards combined. If I were Toronto, I'd still be pushing New Orleans in an attempt to move Rose. Evan
lol Or Juwan Howard, also from the proud Michigan tradition, current starter of the Rockets. Howard is known for his excellent fundamentals, unselfish play, and a deadly mid-range shot. Jefferson for Mo and Howard. lol.
Maybe we can get Alonzo for some draft choices. He is old enough and over the hill enough with a good attitude to be a JVG guy.
Ron Mercer, Lucious Harris, Travis Best, Krstic, Vaughn, Buford, Smith, Dickens, and Storey for Mo Taylor. Done! (Houston waives all players but Best and Krstic) :-D Evan
toronto is now LOADED at the 4 and 5. woods-zo-aroujo-bonner bosh-marshall-williams-moiso we need to ease thier logjam a little. lets use the TE to bring in williams. who cares if we already have too many PF's. when you get a chance to grab a player you need you do it
word out of T.O is they still need to make a roster spot open....they are either gonna waive Moiso or they have another deal going.
Those NBA GMs are blatant liars! Dec. 17 The Raptors released seldom-used Roger Mason Jr (G) Tor yesterday, though GM Rob Babcock denied it was a prelude to trading Vince Carter, according to the Toronto Star.
people say that but jefferson is averaging 21/8/4 this season on a respectable 43% shooting. basically all of this without kidd.
He also gave a knowing grin and said that it was an interesting coincidence. GMs will never acknowledge a deal until it's done, 99% of the time. Weisbrod was a rare exception. Evan
You know whats gonna be sad is when Vince goes down with some kinda injury shortly after the trade happens or after the allstar game... Poor Vince, at the very least give the man his IPOD back
Toronto may well buy Alonzo Mourning's contract out, so as to have the cap room down the line to get other players. They wanted Carter out and wanted 2 firsts in return -- they got those, plus two hard-workers in the Williamses, so I imagine Mourning was a throw-in to get him to a better situation for a buy-out and to help both teams clear salary. Probably won't happen immediately, but with where Toronto is headed, I think it'll happen sooner rather than later. I imagine Jalen Rose will also get traded, sooner rather than later as well, which will leave the Raptors pretty thin overall but in better salary cap position for the future. If/when they deal him, it's not going to be for any long-term or bloated deals -- sorry Rockets fans, it's probably not going to be Mo Taylor or Juwan Howard -- and likely to get another draft pick or two plus a younger swingman. Donyell Marshall may carry more value in a deal, however, due to his smaller contract and better production. Any team with Rafer Alston and Milt Palacio at the point is hurting. Without Carter, they are left with Rose, Lamond Murray, Mo Pete and E. Williams at the swing spots. Alvin Williams is out for the year, if I recall correctly. They have a lot of post players, but only one of them are all that good (Bosh) -- and, as noted above, I think they'll eventually buy out Zo's deal. Aaron Williams will likely see a lot of time at center for them over the next season or two. They'll be a scrappy bunch, but also one challenging for the #1 overall pick this season. Who knows, maybe they can draft yet another Williams...they now have three of them. As for the Nets, it clears some room for some big men down the line, but how much do you think that they would have liked to have kept KMart now? Krstic and Collins aren't going to get it done, and that's really all the size they have on that roster. Collins is a decent backup, while Krstic is still raw. They've got good players at SG and SF now, assuming Vince stays healthy, but I don't think it's enough for more than a 1st round exit in the playoffs. I cannot make the case for them being better than Detroit, Indiana, Miami, Orlando, or Washington. Each of those teams has layers that will expose them in the post, to varying degrees of success. But oh, what could've been -- Kidd and Harris at point, Jefferson, Carter, and Mercer at the swing spots (along with Planinic, when healthy), Martin and Collins up front with others manning the backup spots -- needless to say though, this move is designed to fill seats more than anything as the Nets look to move towards a new arena (and potentially fan base) in a year. They had to keep Kidd as part of that, and getting someone like Vince should help. It makes them better -- and rids them of the uncertainty surrounding Mourning and his contract/health status -- but not *that* much better and not a contending squad.
Is it just me or is Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson the same player? Same position, very comparable built (height/weight), and most of all similar games. However, if Kidd and Carter are healthy with Jefferson playing the way he is thats a good team granted they get a real PF and decent center.
