My guess is that any trade involving Joel would be for another big coming back ... who that is and what kind of nuts and bolts such a trade would involve are beyond me, but I don't think we're talking about trading him for nothing but future draft compensation.
Trading Joel might lower us from 47 wins to 40. Or from 42 to 30. It's not going to lower us from 60 to 52. In other words: this team isn't going anywhere with or without Joel, so if we can get value (in the form of a first rounder) I think we take it. Ed O.
Okay, that is reasonable... I've had conversations with people in the Trade Joel crowd and a lot of them don't think that we need to bring back a backup C. It has frustrated me.
Call me a blind homer optimist, but I'm of the opinion that Joel's return will have a more significant impact than most are predicting. Joel means less Dante, better interior defense, decent picks resulting in better half-court execution, and more blocks/defensive rebounds resulting in more transition opportunities. We've never had seen two heady, veteran defensive presences on the roster at the same time; I really want to see 48 minutes of Joel/Camby, including both on the floor together for a few minutes every game. Let's see what they look like with Joel before concluding that he's not a big addition.
If we get "old" Joel like he was pre-injury then you might be right, but really we have no idea how effective he will be after two major (and successive) patellar tendon injuries. His game was never predicated on extreme athleticism, but I wouldn't expect that he'll be back to his old self without missing a beat.
Joel will almost certainly give the team a big boost. I just think in the long run, Joel won't be the difference in us winning a title this season, and in he end, that's what it's all about
