Would you trade Francis/Cato for Grant Hill/Howard/Lue....

rahim was traded for the 3rd pick so I think francis would get you a top 3 pick

 

Totally forgot that one.

So once, in the last 20 years, a team has traded their top 3 pick for an established veteran.

 

The reason you could trade top picks now is due to the very different nature of the draft in recent years. Aside from Okafor all top picks in the draft are viewed as "potential" type players. This coupled with the fact that the teams that will be drafting very high are looking for immediate success and have drafted high recently and therefore already have "potential" players.
Check it out......

Chicago- already have a list of young players and high draft picks. They need an impact player straight away. Due to Okafor's offensive limitations he would add little immediate value on a Bulls team.

Toronto- McGrady is their franchise. They need to win now. Hill's contract has prevented them from adding talent for the last three years. A dominant defencive centre is not as great a need in the east as an all star point guard.

Washington- already have a 1st pick power forward to go along with impatient fans. Tey need an impact player now.

Okafor is not yet a player you can build a franchise around. He is a high level role player that would suit a team like the rockets perfectly because we have some of the pieces.

Also we need depth badly.

 

Then why is that we see teams like the Clippers, have top 3 picks over the course of several years, yet never trade them away before the draft???

He wouldn't???? Even if he say, put up 12 pts, 10 rebs and 2-3 blocks his rookie year?? (which is very realistic)

IMO, if Chicago has a shot at drafting Okafor, then build around him instead of Curry or Chandler.

I would disagree. Have you seen Orlando play???? They are one of the worst defensive teams in the league. They have nothing in the middle. They are quit often beaten badly on the boards and have no legit shot blocker. They need Okafor alot worse than they another scorer.

Washington just signed Arenas to a long term deal, so unless they deal him away, they have zero need for Steve.

All the teams that you mentioned have some of the pieces also. Yet, none of them are set at the 4 and/or 5.

IMO, Okafor probably won't be a Tim Duncan, but he shoud be just as good as Elton Brand.

 

Clipper traded #2 for Brand in 2001.

 

So, it happened twice (#2 for Brand and #3 for SAR) in 2001, which was a weak draft year just like this year's draft.

 

Lue is, at best, a backup point guard. For me, any trade of Francis must bring (among other things) a top 20 point guard in return. Lue is not one of the 20 best PGs in the league.

 

No way. Hill can't play, he always hurts himself. Lue is a back up PG at best. I say....NO.

 

Yes.

 

I wouldn't do any deal that puts Grant Hill on our roster. He WAS the man once upon a time, but he's too injury prone to pay, much less to count on playing.

 

No.

I don't want Hill's contract.

I don't want Tyrone "mangirl" lue

And I think Okafor is vastly overrated. He is apparently supposed to be the prize of this trade, and imo, he just isn't worth it.

I do like Howard though, I think he would be an improvement over our current pfs. I wouldn't mind getting Howard or Gooden if they came relatively cheap.

 

You think Okafor is over rated, but you like Howard?
Good sixth man, yes.
Championship PF, no.

 

I see your point, but don't you think effects on fans factor into trade calculus? I mean, would the Marbury trade be half as positive for New York if Marbury wasn't a native son? All-stars bring in fans. Maybe not as much as winning, but Francis being an All-Star does matter even if his being an All-Star doesn't necessarily translate into wins. Magic fans will want a major change after this disastrous season, as willl TMac. I think Francis being high-profile does very much matter. Not saying Orlando would do the trade, but you can't dismiss it.

 

I think that's part of what Okafor brings...

 

I think that Emeka is a great talent and a tremendous defender, but is he the right player to have as a power forward next to Yao? No. Okafor is a back to the basket player and has virtually no range outside of 10 feet. I'm not going to run through the positives and negatives of each player, but generally speaking, you are going to acheive the same effect with Cato.

As much I like Okafor's Bill Russell type defensive qualities, the Rockets do not need another back to the basket post player. What the Rockets need at power forward is a more versatile player.

 

sane came up with almost this trade. it was francis for lue + okafor.

i was for that... in principle.

now you throw in cato and get howard. yo that's not bad! howard can hit the jumper at either the 3 or 4 spot.

 

I think he is required as a power player to support Yao. A team can only have so many scorers. His offence is improving. You could call him a better Otis Thorpe. Also Yao can operate at the high post position. I expect though that with the right guards he would score many points in transition. Look at the bulls teams and the current pistons. Wallace and Rodman have no offensive skills whatsoever yet still made/make invaluable contributions.

 

It should also be made clear that neither Tracy McGrady nor John Paxson & Scot Skiles want to add any more rookies unless they can't get their hands on vets.

T-Mac doesn't want to play with rookies, and the Bulls want as many vets as possible.

As for the Clippers, their pick may be available too for the right price. But I doubt they'd take on any of our big contracts. Maybe if they decide to let Q Richardson walk, we can send them Mobley and a portion of the exception for Richardson and their pick? (around #5)


Also, I love the idea of bringing Tyronne Lue here. I've brought it up before. The guy is rock solid, he protects the ball very well, and has the range to sink it from 3-pt land. More importantly, he's played with Shaq and that should help big time. IMO, he probably can't play 40 minutes like Francis, but he's good for anything between 30 and 35, while we can pick up someone to play the rest with out MLE, Mnimum, or Trade Exception.