Trade Trent

I have officially changed my position.

After watching Gary start for most of the season, I think I would rather keep CJ. I think Trents value is high enough that he should still bring back a nice haul but his defense is overrated and he’s pretty one dimensional on offense. If his shot isn’t falling he is very nearly worthless.

I don’t want to have to pay him this summer and I don’t want him to walk away for nothing. So trade him now while he has value.

 

Agree. And this is coming from a huge Trent fan. I think we can trade Trent for John Collins. Maybe Hawks don’t want him but we could send him to the pistons and they send Grant to the hawks. Obviously more players would need to be involve. But I think Trent for Collins is a pretty good deal

 

I guess it depends on what you get. GT can be our 4th or 5th best player. He can't be our second option.

It's really hard for me to gauge how much teams value CJ. If CJ is valued around the league based on his play this year, which was borderline franchise player, that is a shit-ton of value that could be massively beneficial to the team.

If not, you can probably get nearly as much value for Trent due to his youth and upside and cheaper contract. In which case I'd rather deal Trent.

 

He makes like $1,000,000. Whatcha gonna trade him for?

 

I'd love to swing some sort of a package that brings back a mid to late 1st for him in this loaded next draft. Portland isn't a championship contender as currently constructed & obviously Trent's deal is about up. Get an asset back before he walks for nothing.

STOMP

 

I 100% agree with you. His defensive value is overstated and he's a blackhole on offense. 40% from 3 on volume is terrific, but you look around in the NBA, that kinda production is not hard to find these days. If he gets 15-20 mil/ yr this summer, let him walk.

Trading him might net some value before the deadline.

 

Is that what majority people say about CJ too if his shot not falling he kind worthless.

 

No

 

It does get said sometimes but CJ has proven he can distribute when he puts his mind to it (unfortunately, he often doesn't). CJ is also a significantly better shot creator. I also think CJ is a better rebounder.

 

1) Mid to late first is worthless. Honestly how often do those picks work out?
2) Trent is essentially what you *wish* you got from a mid to late first.
3) Trade him for a mid to late first — bust odds are extremely high. *if* we hit we are looking at probably at least 3 years before this person is a contributor — or we “trade them for nothing” once again.
4) we don’t have to let him “walk for nothing.” We can trade CJ, which is much more likely to get us something of *actual* value. We can keep him.
5) Trading Trent for a shît first round pick is absolutely not worth it in my book.

 

He can't "walk for nothing", he'll either sign a qualifying offer or he'll be matched. I don't think anyone is going to throw $20 mil/year at him.

Of course, none of us actually know his trade value, but it's likely pretty good.

As for John Collins, they want to get rid of him because he wants like 25 mil per. Obviously, the Blazers can't afford this. That's why they are looking for a lotto pick.

Trent for #15 is a no go, but Trent for #15 and Rondo, hmmm.

I like the idea of trading Trent for a non2G, and playing Ant at his best position.

I like where the OPs head is at, but not trading Trent is fine, too.

If I were Neil, I'd be looking hard at trading Rodney's contract this deadline. Packaging his contract with Trent brings interesting possibilities.

 

Granted matching for Crabbe did not work out, but in theory, it was worth the chance. It is nice to have some tradeable salaries that when combined with other assets can help get you a star player.

The bottom line is I would not let him walk if he is offered 15 million. (20+ million might be a different story)

 

You are thinking Duarte, aren't you? I know I did.

 

Trent at 15 mil is probably tradeable. That's about average these days. Trent at 20 mil is a bit annoying and forces you to keep him.

I'm just questioning his impact with CJ on board. We are going to have to pay him on potential and market value, but if he doesn't really improve from his current level, his production is fairly reproducible by mid level guys. Look at what Wayne Ellington, Cam Johnson, Malik Monk, or Danny Green are doing this year. Unless we think Gary can be a swing forward for 25 mpg and our definitive starter at 3, think we can let him go.

 

That's a terrific idea. Maximizes Trent's value, gets us out of potential tax hell, and gives us a way to acquire someone at a position where we need help. I hated giving up 2 picks for Roco-- this would mitigate that a bit.

 

1. All drafts are not the same. It's pretty much universally felt that the next draft is loaded with top talent and really deep too.
2. Trent is likely to leave this off season for nothing. Portland isn't winning a championship this season so I don't mind sacrificing in the short term to benefit the long term.

STOMP

 

I think the problem you'll run into is finding a team willing to give up a first rounder for a guy who will be a free agent in a few months. So you're gonna be limited to teams who won't be able to afford him in the summer, and they're generally loaded and won't want to spend 15-20 mil on a backup.

 

Trent for Jeff Teague and a protected first.

Would Ainge do that?

 

Well, I always have thought he was a better SF than he was a SG. Not a starter as I am hopeful for Little at that position.
But he can get enough minutes at both wing positions to be effective. It is not easy covering quick guards in this league and Gary looks like he can bang with bigger slower wings better than he can cover smaller quicker ones. But that is true of most players. Hell Damon Stoudmire put up 30 on the 72-10 Chicago Bulls his rookie year. Even MJ had a hard time staying with him.

On the other hand, Gary needs to rebound better IMO. Some players have a knack for tracking where the ball will be going off the rim. I do not see that from Trent. But what he does well is spread the floor. He is a hell of a catch and shoot 3 pt shooter.