http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/smith_110131.html Expiring? We are looking at: DAN GADZURIC VLADIMIR RADMANOVIC RODNEY CARNEY ACIE LAW they also have a 2 million dollar trade exception
I assume other teams such as Dallas would be willing to give expirings for Deng. It might be interesting in Denver has a real fire sale on Melo as they would seem to prefer expirings than Deng. We still don't have much to offer.
What does Denver want with expiring contracts? They have to pay the salaries this season only to get the same benefit at the end of the season by letting Melo walk. Keeping Melo through free agency at least shows they would like to re-sign him and gives the fans something to root for other than Rodney Carney. On the other hand, expirings along with draft picks and a talented young player and they probably go for it.
Man, there's a lot of buyers remorse going on in discussions about trades that would net the Bulls Anthony for Deng, Gibson and picks on RealGM. This is kinda' funny because the Bulls haven't, and will probably never have the opportunity to acquire Anthony. Regardless, is everyone here in agreement that that's the most asinine argument we've heard? I keep going back to how Anthony played at the World Championships and Olympics. He's such a brilliantly well rounded offensive player -- even more so than Durant. I remember Anthony scoring every which way with ease and at an effective level. He has the mid-range jumper, drives to the hoop for fouls, posts up, finishes around the hoop, little cut passes, &tc., &tc., &tc. I can't help but salivate over how he would play alongside Rose, Boozer and Noah. In that group, you have a supremely talented and versatile offensive core who are also good on the boards and have a high basketball I.Q. (at least on offense.) As to Anthony's defense, after seeing Boozer's development I'm not really convinced you need more than a player who is committed to playing team defense. Boozer hasn't really gotten in any better guarding opposing players in one-and-one situations. But he's doing just fine because his rotations have improved. Boozer is never going to be able to guard Dwight Howard without being embarrassed, but as long as he continues to show hard and quickly rotate back on pick and rolls I really am not that concerned. I feel the same way about Anthony. It would be great to have a defensive stopper like Deng on the wing, but who really cares when you have to score ten points less a game.
Pretty much... Melo is obviously better to have than Deng. Obviously we shouldn't trade Deng for expirings, but on the off chance we can wrangle in a really awesome player this way, I'd certainly go for it. Still think Deng to The Kings for expirings and Fran Garcia coming back here with is very preferable to to Dan Gadzuriz and Vlad Rad
I'm sure that it's a stupid question, but why is this big news? From GSW's perspective, if they want to improve their team, of course they'd want Deng for players they don't really want. Deng's good. Then there's the "All roads lead to Melo" angle. Again, I don't get why expirings would be attractive to Denver in return for Anthony. If they want to shed salary, they can just let Melo walk after the season...at least that way they'd have a great player for the rest of this season. The Nuggets have some nice players, but other than Anthony, they're all high-efficiency role players. The team's built around Anthony, a relatively inefficient high-volume scorer. Seems to me that if they trade Anthony, they need scoring in return. Net, if you want to use Deng to get Anthony, you'll need 4 teams involved...Bulls, Denver, GSW and a team willing to part with a scorer (ideally young, inexpensive and a forward) in return for cap relief. Sounds like a very long shot to me.
You don't want Deng? The Kings could use him and they have cap-space. Another team that could use him even more but I don't know if has cap-space: the Clippers.
Deng clearly has his critics within the fanbase, but virtually no one here is talking about trading Deng for expirings. The buzz is all about using Deng and his $11MM salary to get Carmelo Anthony. Denver doesn't want Deng, so you'd need to involve a third team that both wants Deng and would give up something Denver wants. As I said earlier, I don't see why Denver would want to trade Anthony for expirings, since if they're all about creating cap space they can just let Anthony walk. And for what it's worth, Deng and his contract is the last thing the Kings want and the Clips have cap space, but not a lot.
Why do you think Golden State wants to get better but Sacramento does not? You have some inside track to what they want?
Inside track? Nah. I'm sure that the Kings would like to get better in a daydreamy "Gee, wouldn't it be nice to have a good team" sort of way, but it's no accident that they've got the lowest (or second-lowest) payroll in the league. They can't afford a higher payroll. GSW on the other hand has a healthy-sized payroll more indicative of a team that's looking for on-court success. So just call it a semi-educated guess. Feel pretty good about it, though.
This pretty much sums up my feeling about it. I really like Deng, but Melo is so good you have to consider giving up just about anyone on the team to get him. The only scenarios I can see that we get Melo from Denver is if they take back Deng (so salaries fit under CBA) or we involve a 3rd team who can absorb salary - this is a typical kind of thing that is done. The Bulls do have something to offer beyond Deng or cap space - draft picks. Two #1s this year, including Charlotte's. We also have a guy like Taj who's pretty good and on a rookie scale contract. It might help to look at Denver's entire picture. They're nearly $14M into the LT, but will be under the LT next season even with Anthony if he stays at $19M. If they dealt for cap space, they could get as far as $25M under the salary cap and be a big player in free agency. The pickings don't seem all that great, though, and the top players are Denver's own with guys like Tyson Chandler, David West, Zach Randolph, Shane Battier, etc., being available to fill out their roster. If they are going to rebuild completely, they obviously could use our draft picks and either a young guy on rookie scale contract or a young guy who's earned a bigger contract.
Another explanation is simply that, like the Bulls a few years back, they don't see a point in adding superfluous players to a young team that's not going to win much anyway. But at some point, if the team actually starts winning, it will be an attractive option. For the Bulls, coming off six titles in eight years and in a big market, you can take profits like that and still have a fan base. The Kings don't have those advantages, and they run a real risk of losing a critical number of funs if they're completely non-competitive. It's a fine line. They need to get themselves a new arena built, or move the team, which are expensive propositions. On the other hand, no city wants to shell out for a team that's not even attempting to be competitive. Did you know the league actually has a minimum salary cap too (75% of the cap, or $43M). Even with Deng on board in the sort of trade I suggested (sending out Landry and Garcia), they'll still be one of the least salary obligated teams in the league this year. Obviously we don't know what the new CBA holds, but they're projecting to be something on the order of $12M under the minimum for next year as well. So they're probably going to have to spend about that amount of money on players, whether it's a useful one like Deng, or it's filler they take from some other team to acquire a pick.
But if he walks, Denver doesn't get some extra goodies that some team (the Bulls) could throw in now. In our case, we don't have much, but we could give them Taj, Omer, and a couple of 1st rounders, including the Charlotte pick. It's not much, but if Melo will thwart the New Jersey trade, is it better than what the Knicks can offer? They don't have a pick to offer that offers as much promise as the potential Charlotte pick. However, if the Knicks step up and offer Gallo/Chandler, Fields, and a 1st round pick gained from trading Randolph plus Curry's expiring, that tops our offer. It's never been clear just how much NY is willing to offer. As promising as Fields is, he shouldn't be the dealbreaker for a Melo deal.
Golden State is also only four games back of the 8th playoff spot this year as of today. Sacto is way back there. Spending in the offseason probably would help ticket sales more for a team like the Kings, as it might breed some hope.
