I've said it before but I truly think that when it comes to trades it will be a buyers market in the NBA right before the deadline. There are only a handful of owners who have been immune from the downturn of the economy. With the salary cap pegged to decrease for the first time ever I don't see many teams wanting to be over it. IMO I can see owners telling their GMs to make moves to shed salary either this year or next season. I also think that the Lebron James situation also gives franchises the excuse to dump salary while telling their fans that they are doing this to enter the bidding war for him. Now this is just my opinion but I'm suspect this on Detroit's trade of Billups for AI. While they say they are going after LBJ you have to wonder just how serious they are. If LBJ is going to leave Cleveland I see him going to NY, not to Detroit. The city of Detroit is hurting right now financially. Lebron gains nothing by going to the Pistons but by the Pistons saying they are making moves to go after LBJ it pacifies the fans accept the trade for AI that actually makes them a worse team. Also look at teams like the Kings, the Maloof brothers Palm casino stock has lost 80% of its value. That's a huge hit. They're over the cap. Can they really afford to be? That's just one owner, I think there are others who are also hurting financially. My point is I'm very optimistic about what Raef's contract situation has the potential to get us, I get the feeling that's what KP is thinking also. Remember, Raef's contract is the only one out there that not only saves a team money but can also make them money. I'll say it again, we will see trades happen this year where a team will shed a star just to save money happen this year.
Yeah, I agree Raef's contract becomes more and more valuable when we get to the deadline. The only problem I see for KP is who to pinpoint that makes sense for this team. If it were a perfect world, we'd get a 25-28 year old stud SF or PG, but how many of those are out there that are available for cap space and a prospect or two, without having to give up our top 3 and probably Rudy?
I think you are right about the general state of the situation, but the problem is that there are still few people that will be made available that will really help this team. C, PF and SG are well set with the Blazers. But there are scarce few players out there who would a) be a significant upgrade, and b) fit with the team. Especially at PG. Billups would have been a perfect pickup for the Blazers, but he has found his home in Denver. So, what PG is going to be available? There are a few SF's that might be good to snag, but most of them except for G Wallace (who I am not convinced is available) would be a minor upgrade at most.
I think it all comes down to which owners are hurting financially, Raptors? Nets? Pistons? Could we get Prince, if they really want to get LBJ he would be the one to be traded. Can the Cavs really afford to keep LeBron, the owner of the Cavs owns Quicken Loans, seems like he could be hurting (and no I don't think we can get Lebron, just pointing out that some of these owners could be really hurting.)
The answer is none of them. If we want a stud playmaker, we'll have to part with more than Raef. And forget about Travis or Martell - teams will want Rudy or LA AND Raef.
