http://www.nba.com/2008/news/12/10/aldridge.sunstrade/index.html?rss=true Boone? Krstic? What is the situation with Krstic? If the Nets were trade his rights to the Bobcats, could Charlotte sign him to whatever they want and could he come over right away to join them this season? Also, the Suns are down a big by sending Diaw to Charlotte. Only true big guys on their roster are Shaq, Stoudamire, and Robin Lopez. They could use another back up big like Swift or Sean. The Heat is another team that could use a front court player.
Boone, Najera and Hassell for Wallace. They get a starting center, a back-up PF and a defensive bench wing.
They get a bench center, a PF that can't shoot a lick this season, and same goes for Capital. That's highway robbery.
Boone has started 78% of his games the past season and a quarter. He's no Lopez, but he'd be a good starter alongside Okafor and Diaw. They just need a solid guy so they can move Okafor to PF. In the center market who the hell else can they get via trade? Curry? Najera has struggled this season with injuries, but he's proven through out his career that he's a quality back-up, which Charlotte clearly doesn't have. The guys played a grand total of 60 minutes this season, but he's healthy now. He'd be more helpful than May. Hassell is a good defender they can turn to off the bench. When your primary wing players are Morrison, Carroll, and Diaw you can use defensive help. The only guy they have now is Bell. Besides he's mainly just there to make salaries match. And the other benefit is they shed Wallace's salary.
My angle with Boone is that while he may be forced to start in the sense that he's their best C, speaking generally he's a career back up. I think that's the best way to label players in terms of talent, if we must.
Has there ever been a worse frontcourt offensively than a hypothetical Boone and Okafor? The Bobcats will only trade Wallace to the Nets if they get back Carter, Harris, Yi or Lopez IMO.
I don't follow the Bobcats but I've always thought Okafor was a double digit scorer: just a malcontent one because he's forced to play C and would rather play PF.
Look around the league and see how many players that should be back-up centers are actually starting. Actual starting quality centers in this league are very rare and no one is trading one. There are probably about 12 players in the league you can say are starting quality centers. The rest would be like Boone that are best used as quality back-ups, but can start. If Charlotte thinks they can maximize their ridiculous investment in Okafor by moving him to PF then you take the best available without breaking the bank. The only available player is Brad Miller and because of Salmons and Garcia they don't have a need for Wallace. If I had a choice between players like Boone and Noah I would take Boone, even in that instance Chicago doesn't need Wallace. What's really tough for Charlotte is that there aren't many teams that need a starting SF. And at his salary and length of commitment you don't take him on as a back-up. There is not a strong market for Wallace. You only have Minnesota and New Jersey that really have a need. Maybe Toronto if they want to give up on the Bargnani at SF concept and make him Bosh's back-up.
Yeah, this seems to be true. The teams that could use a starting SF or an upgrade like Wallace seem to be limited to: New Jersey Toronto Sacramento Minnesota San Antonio? (kurt thomas to bobcats?) maybe Portland maybe Lakers mabye Utah
I don't see Sacramento. They have Salmons and Garcia and they need to put their money in the frontcourt or another dynamic scorer to take pressure off Martin. Wallace isn't that type of guy. I don't see San Antonio giving up on Bowen and they signed Udoka as his eventual replacement. Plus SA doesn't appear to be the type of team that would spend $9+ on 4 players. Think they are content with Ginobli, Parker, and Duncan as their big ticket starters and then fill in with mid level type players. Portland is stacked at SF with Outlaw, Webster, Batum, and Fernandez. Lakers seem content with Odom, Radmonovic, Ariza and Walton. Utah I thought as a possibility, but they'd have to move Kirilenko and I don't see them doing that. Nor do I see Charlotte needing Kirilenko. As for Toronto the big issue there is if they want to give up on Bargnani as a starter or all together if he's in the trade. And I don't see them with anything Charlotte would want.
Here's a scenario that gives Charlotte, Sacramento, and NJ all what they need. NJ out: Sean Williams (or Boone), Swift, 1st rd pick (w/protections) NJ in: Gerald Wallace Charlotte out: Wallace, May Charlotte in: Brad Miller Sacramento out: Miller Sacramento in: Williams (or Boone), Swift and NJ 1st rd pick NJ get a starting SF that can defend and score. Charlotte gets a starting C. Sacramento clears $12mm in cap space next year, a young big, and a 1st rd pick. Trade Machine
