We have been talking about how to fix the Bobcats, would trading Gerald Wallace be a step in the right direction? If so where should he go?
It really depends on what they get for him. If it's something like Al Harrington, I'd have to say no. The presiding issue with Wallace is his injury issues. If the man could just stay healthy, I'd say that even thinking of trading him would be silly. He's a very good defensive player and has a solid offensive game as well. The main drawback on him is his injuries though, and if you could get someone who would stay healthy and still give close to his production, you might have to consider it.
even his injury issues could be fixed if they quit playing him out of position at PF. Anybody taking the constant pounding inside against guys he gives up 20-30 pounds to, is bound to get hit up with injuries...If he played a more natural SF night in and night out...he'll mend nicely. Just because he can play PF and hold his own in stints, doesn't mean he SHOULD play that position all the time. They maybe in the process of fixing that now...but it doesn't change the fact the Bobcats lack interior depth ad were forced to play him there
I just dont think Wallace and Richardson fit in together. They are both very good players, but if I am rebuilding Charlotte I would move Felton out and see what you have in Augustin in addition to moving one of Richardson and Wallace. Im not a huge fan of Felton or Augustin, but I dont see Felton panning out the way Charlotte had hoped he would. The one thing I would try to do is ship out Wallace or Richardson and bring in a center so Okafor can move to PF. I really dont think Eddy Curry is a bad option considering he is playing next to Okafor. The other option would be to bring in a defensive center and build the team from the inside out. Charlotte has not drafted well and really needs to rid itself of those players and bring in some new guys that fit Larry Brown (meaning not rookies). I think if you can swap Richardson or Wallace for a defensive center and some role players the outlook would be much better than it is now.
Wallace should be a Blazer- he'd fit in perfectly and in exchange we could give cap room and a few good prospects.
Blake and Rudy Fernandez for Felton and Crash. I think it is fair for both teams. Blazers have too much talent anyway. Crash is better now. Which is what Blazers need. If Frye is still in Portland, ship him for Sean May as well. Blazers have too much talent and need to acquire solid vets. They can't build for the future anymore because they wont be able to keep all their talent.
It would have to be Przybilla, Rudy, and Blake for Wallace and Felton, but im not sure why Portland does it. I could see Portland being interested in Wallace, but not Felton at all. Felton would just jam their PG situation even more and really isnt that good to be taking on his salary. Wallace would be interesting in Portland, but I think if they go for a big name its a guy who can put up 20+ per game and Wallace isnt going to score 20+ on the Blazers. I think its a decent pacakge for Charlotte considering Larry Brown is the head coach. The problem is Richardson is a SG and Rudy is a SG. Rudy isnt going to see a lot of time behind Richardson and neither can play SF. Przybilla makes sense with Okafor, because that would slide Okafor to PF and give the Bobcats another shot blocker in the paint for a reasonable price. Blake would be a good PG to split time with Augustin, but I just dont see that trade happening.
Portland isn't giving up Rudy... Sergio wants out anyway and we have a jammed PG situation, and once Webster comes back from injury it looks like Frye would be the odd-man out... So we can make a package of Raef (huge expiring contract), Sergio, Frye for Wallace and a contract or something like that. Doubt the Bobs would do that though unless they are hellbent on saving money/cap space.
I'm not sure Blazers can keep Roy, Aldride, Oden, Webster, Batum, Bayless and Fernandez. I think it is pretty clear that Frye won't be back and my assumption is that Blake and Travis are expandable. You have to break eggs to make an omelette
I thought Felton would be a good back up for Blake plus I heard that Cats wanted to trade him. That's the only reason I put him in the equation. Plus he is pretty skilled and can score so I thought he would be a good fit beside Roy.
They can keep all of them minus Webster for the next three years on their rookie contracts. That is more than enough time to figure out who needs an extension and who is expendable.
Didn't they recently resign Webster to an extension? And I can't foresee them being able to keep all the talent they have. They're all going to demand more than what they're worth...plus they're going to have to pay Roy close to a max deal...good luck crunching all the numbers to find the best way to keep as many as possible.
Yeah they locked up Webster for 4 more years at $20 mil. Obviously I expect them to make a move for a major contributer in the future, but really they could extend Roy and still have enough money to throw at LeBron or Bosh. They also would have enough cap space and talent to work out a sign and trade for either of those two. By looking at their payroll they could easily make a move in the next two year to trade for a good/star player. They have Raef's expiring this year. Then they have cap space and all their young talent to offer next year.
Just wondering...does all this factor in Greg Oden? When he's off his rookie contract in the next couple years, he's going to likely demand a boat-load of cash, assuming he pans out. Oh yea, so is Lamarcus Aldridge. Between those two and Roy...if they intend on keeping them as the core of this team (which might be a good idea), that's going to be a lot of money...and I'm not sure if they'd have the cap-space to throw at a big name FA unless they are willing to part ways with one of those three.
I think you lock down Roy/Aldridge/Oden for a while to big deals... and then lock down Rudy, Bayless and Batum with decent deals. From there you kinda pull a spurs and surround your (young) core with cheap role playing vets.
Oden's extension would kick in the year after the 2010 summer. They cant resign Roy and LaMarcus and make a run at one of the big names without making some drastic moves. However, they could work a sign and trade revolving around LaMarcus in the summer of 2010 if they need to.
