I know there are a couple of points of view about what should be done with the roster now that they are basically a hospital rehab unit more than an actual basketball team, but aside from 'bunkering down' and riding the season out, brainstorm and throw out some realistic trade proposals you think could help the team either in the longterm, short term, or both. First trade: Warriors and Blazers Portland needs: frontcourt depth Portland logjam: point guard depth Warriors needs: salary relief and more complimentary players, instead of ball stoppers Warriors logjams: lots of scorers, not much glue. A possible scenario that works in the trade checker: Anthony Randolph and Corey Maggette for Steve Blake, Travis Outlaw and Rudy fernandez Why the Blazers do it: They need another big in the worst way and a Maggette while a mixed bag of good and bad is still a legitimate scorer from the wing. Why the Blazers don't do it: Questions about Randolph's coachability, Maggette has always been a ball-stopper on offense and he's making a lot of money for the next three years after this, furthermore, the Blazers lose a lot of potential outside shooting which has been the bread and butter of their offense the past few seasons. Why the Dubs do it: they get rid of Maggette's contract and get considerable salary relief going into next season, plus add a nice wing in Rudy who would proabably fit their system like a glove Why the Dubs don't do it: They give up two rotation guys for a point guard having a down year and two players with injuries, secondly maybe they feel there are better offers out there for AR. On the balance I think there are some substantial risks associated with this move and additional moves would probably have to be made down the line to balance the roster and add some shooting back into the lineup (a backup 2 with a deep ball and/or moving one of Bayless or Miller for a point guard who can shoot from behind the arc), secondly I'm not wild about Maggette who I think would make this team too overloaded with players who need to drive to be successful (Miller, Roy, Jerryd, and Corey) and unless big changes were made to the way this team plays ball (a motion or Princeton style offense perhaps) it could really backfire. Post 'em if you got 'em and/or feel free to pick this apart.
outlaws not coming back, joel might not play for over a year, blakes a free agent... only guys "coming back" are oden, rudy, and batun. cunningham, howard and pendy are crap. so other then greg, rudy, and batum... we need help for "next year" a blazer fans favorite words
It's extremely difficult to come up with ideas that could work since literally all of our enticing assets are injured. Looking at what we need two players jump out at me: Tyrus Thomas and JaVale MaGee
I like it. Maggette is overpaid, but is always a threat to get to the FT line. He would also reduce Martell's PT which is a great in my book. An Anthony Randolph & LMA frontcourt is intriguing.
I posted this trade over at RealGM. Highly unlikely we would do it, since it involves moving Joel, but hey, what trades are highly likely that come through here? Portland outgoing: Outlaw, Blake and Joel Portland incoming: Okafor, Devin Brown and Posey Portland loses one current rotation player(Blake) and gains 3(I'd prefer to just waive Brown, and sign someone like Antonio Daniels). Like I said, highly doubtful, because they're not likely to say well, thanks for everything Joel, good luck, and send him away. But, for the sake of the thread... NO outgoing: Okafor, Brown, Posey NO incoming: Outlaw, Blake, Przybilla Why? $$$$ Saves them almost 3.5 million this season, which gets them, I believe, right below the LT level, so it's technically a savings of almost 7 a year(even more when they switch from being a LT payer to getting a payout). Not sure what the payout would be, but basically, it takes them from paying 7, to getting, say, 1, so an 8 million dollar savings, perhaps.(anyone know the likely LT payout?) Then next season, they take on Joel's 7.4 million that he likely will not opt out of with his injury, but they remove Posey and Okafor, saving close to 11 million in salary, and then whatever luxury tax implications they would save as well. Next year, they are slated to have 76 in salary. LT could go down to 68 or so. Cutting 11 million in actual salary takes them from 84(76 plus 8 in LT) to 65. Roughly 19 million in savings in year 2. So that's (very roughly) 27 million dollars through the next two years in savings. Then, of course, they are done, and save an additional 47.9 million over the next 3 seasons from Okafor and Posey. So over a total of 5 seasons, they save roughly 75 million dollars. Numbers are probably off. But fairly close. Looking at over 15 million a year in savings? Miller/Bayless/Mills Roy/Rudy(soon)/Bayless Webster/Posey/........Around trade deadline, Batum/Webster/Posey Aldridge/Howard/Cunningham Okafor/Pendergraph Are we winning a title with that team? Probably not. But I feel better about our rotation, and about making the playoffs this season.
Great deal for both teams. The Hornets keep Paul & West and save a ton of cash next season. Okafor & Oden is a nice defensive combo.
Oh is TT's Blazer stock on the rise after breaking a bone earlier this year? He would fit right in and keep our medical staff busy.
Hmmm, can't get the trade checker on ESPN to display a big trade, for some reason. Piecing it together a little smaller makes it work. Let's see if I can figure it out in a larger deal. Portland outgoing: Blake, Outlaw, Webster, Przybilla, Mills ($19,259,313 Portland Incoming: David Lee, Jared jeffries, Wilson Chandler, Corey Maggette $23,659,971 GS Outgoing: Corey Maggette, Brandon Wright $11,609,371 GS Incoming: Eddy Curry, Jordan Hill $12,983,703 NY outgoing: Eddy Curry, Jared Jeffries, Jordan Hill, David Lee, Wilson Chandler $24,205,743 NY Incoming: Joel Przybilla, Steve Blake, Travis Outlaw, Martell Webster, Patty mills, Brandan Wright $21,930,753 Portland gets a C and 2 SFs for the price of a current SF and backup PG. Portland pays a lot of money. GS swaps comparable prospects in Hill and Wright for a much shorter deal in Curry from Maggette. NY shaves another 7.3 million off of next year's salary. At the cost of Chandler and Hill, but they replace Hill with Wright, and Chandler plays the same spot as Gallinari anyways. They can also try to work out a buyout with Joel, to reduce his cap number some. I think this one might need work, and I can't say I would do it for sure, but I was bored during lunch.
*edit* Anyhow, I wouldn't want Corey Maggette on the team. No way. And after hearing of Randolphs troubles being coached? I do not want him either. I want to keep our guys together and get threw this. I think this is a good test for Brandon and LMA. This is how leaders are developed.
So I've spent most of today on the Trade Machine. I didn't find Simmons' column until 10 minutes ago, dangit. He stole my thunder. I started with thinking that maybe we could hook up a team that's close to the tax line with our potential 3.4M medical exception for Joel. Problem is, there aren't that many teams within 3.4M of the 69.92 tax line. HOU is, but the 4 guys who qualify (big and under 3.4M) are Scola, Landry, Hayes and Andersen. Don't know that they're trading any of those guys. PHX is close at 75.5M. (Amundsen, Clark, Frye--wouldn't that be funny?--, Lopez). MIA doesn't need many more of expiring contracts, and Joel Anthony is the only big they have for our exception. WAS (Blatche?) and NOH (Armstrong) are teams with a little-used big that's under 3.4M and over the tax line, but by 10M...so 3.4M isn't going to help a ton (though it has some value). Then I started thinking about how much teams want to make cap space for 2010. The Knicks, obviously. MIA is almost all the way there. But the Clippers are actually in a decent position to be a LeBron player. The Nets. CHI. I've gravitated to the Knicks recently...thinking that we could try for Curry and Gallinari or Hill (14-14.6M in savings) and all they have to take back is Blake/Outlaw/Howard. But Simmons has a good idea, too. He thinks we'd give up Blake/Outlaw and Claver's rights for Camby, and then talks about Kaman being unloaded along with MIN's 2011 1st. Uh, Blake/Outlaw/Howard (or Rudy, if it comes to that)/cash/2011 first for LAC's 2010, MIN's 2011, and Kaman works also. They save 10M off their 2010 cap, plus however much their lotto pick would cost them. (Let's say they play OK and it turns out around 2M). Their roster becomes: B-Diddy Gordon Rudy (or 6th man)/Thornton Griffin Telfair and Thornton (though they could probably pay someone to take Bassy's player-option of 2.7M for next year and Thornton's 3M) and 27M or so in cap room. If they can get rid of Telfair and Thornton (or both) and their 2010 lotto pick, they could start LBJ and Bosh both at around 16M (not quite "max", but pretty close) You don't think a Baron/Rudy/LBJ/Griffin/Bosh (Gordon as 6th man) lineup would fill seats in LA? For us, Kaman slides in as our starting C. Without giving up much outside of Rudy, we have: Miller/Bayless Roy Webster/(Batum)/Dante LMA/Howard Kaman/JP And LAC's 2010, MIN's 2011. Next year with Oden back we have a 3-man big rotation of LMA/Oden/Kaman. And Freeland potentially coming over. And two lotto picks over the next couple of years.
I love this deal. It's very lopsided in terms of talent, IMO, but if New Orleans desperately wants to save money, then who knows. I've loved the idea of an Oden/Aldridge/Okafor big man rotation for a while now and, of course, Okafor would help this team a lot right now. I'd probably even include Rudy if New Orleans refused to do the deal without getting a player of value back (Outlaw really doesn't count...he's a free agent at the end of the year and will miss much of the remaining season).
Here's a real dream deal if we could get it! The Portland Trail Blazers trade forward Jeff Pendergraph (31st overall pick) to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for guard Sergio Rodriguez, forward Jon Brockman (38th overall pick) and cash considerations. We could even toss in Miller or Blake and still be on the winning side of the deal.
Yeah, talent wise, they take it hard. And I doubt they would do it, it would leave Hilton Armstrong as their only C for the season. I'd hesitate to throw in Rudy, though, because of the 70 million dollars or more their owner wouuld see from this deal. If they don't like the talent aspect, fine, we move on. It's primarily a you save money, we gain talent swap for me.
And then they look over your shoulder to see the players we actually need? Or perhaps they beat some sense into you?
