Courtney Lee Out, Troy Murphy In!

ace · Aug 11, 2010

Four NBA teams have agreed to a five-player trade that will send Trevor Ariza to the New Orleans Hornets and Darren Collison to the Indiana Pacers, two league sources said.

In the proposed deal, the Houston Rockets will send Ariza to the Hornets, who in turn will send Collison and James Posey to the Pacers.

The Pacers will send Troy Murphy to the New Jersey Nets. And the Nets will send Courtney Lee to the Rockets.

According to the sources the Rockets, Hornets, Pacers and Nets have agreed to the details of the trade and are awaiting a trade call with the league this afternoon to make it official.

The deal could fill some long-term needs for the Hornets, Pacers and Nets, as well as provide needed salary relief for the Rockets.

For the Hornets, while moving Collison leaves the team without a credible backup for Chris Paul, the addition of Ariza gives them a young, athletic wing entering his prime.

The Hornets are hoping that the addition of Ariza addresses Paul's concerns about the team's commitment to winning by showing that they're willing to spend money to get better. Ariza signed a six year, $35 million dollar deal with the Rockets last summer.

For the Pacers, landing Collison gives them the young starting point guard they've been looking for and adds another piece to a young core of players including Danny Granger, Roy Hibbert and promising rookies Paul George and Lance Stephenson.

The Pacers did take on the last two years and $13 million of Posey's contract, but the deal also sliced another $4 million off the team's overall payroll.

In Murphy, the Nets get the veteran big man that new coach Avery Johnson has been coveting. Murphy is also on the last year of his contract, which could make him an important trading chip for the Nets at the 2011 trade deadline.

For the Rockets, aside from acquiring Lee, the move is largely a salary dump. This summer the Rockets spent a lot of cash signing Luis Scola, Kyle Lowry and Brad Miller to free agent contracts and their payroll ballooned to $81 million. Before the trade, the team was bracing for a $10 million-plus luxury tax hit. The deal would save them $28 million on the life of the contracts and $10 million this season, including luxury tax considerations.
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truebluefan · Aug 11, 2010

I like this trade for the Nets. Murphy can board and shoot!

shankyoass · Aug 11, 2010

I think this move was also made to open up PT for Terrence Williams.

NJNetz · Aug 11, 2010

I think Lee can become a very good player, but I'm all in favor of giving Terrence Williams more minutes. Last season he's shown that can be a great player.

I might be wrong, but I believe the Nets inquired about Murphy for the past several seasons.

I'm interested to see how well the Murphy-Lopez combo will work.

NJNetz · Aug 11, 2010

I just realized NO pretty much gave up Collison for Ariza. Surely they could've gotten a better deal elsewhere.

speeds · Aug 12, 2010

Lee isn't really a young player anymore but he has potential to improve... dunno what the Nets are going to accomplish by getting Murphy (expiring contracts < TPE's)... kind of an odd trade.

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Courtney Lee Out, Troy Murphy In!

ace Member

truebluefan Administrator Staff Member Administrator

shankyoass Ceci n'est pas une pipe.

NJNetz BBW Banned

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Courtney Lee Out, Troy Murphy In!

ace Member

truebluefan Administrator Staff Member Administrator

shankyoass Ceci n'est pas une pipe.

NJNetz BBW Banned

NJNetz BBW Banned

speeds $2.50 highball, $1.50 beer Staff Member Administrator GFX Team

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