While I agree he's no genius all of what you mentioned above is irrelevant to the Gasol trade. Yeah I agree those 4 wont go there but there are a whole lot more top quality FA in 2010. Money talks. They have to start somewhere. They have SOME good young talent that could start becoming good in the near future. Well he WAS a playoff loser, granted he didnt have the best talent around him but he didnt even win a game. None. In regards to him helping the Lakers, Wallace didnt say he sucked. Of course he was good, just not a franchise player. Most important to your point...It is irrelevant to MEM what kind of position the trade puts the Lakers in. MEM isnt contending for a title for the next 3+ years so why should they care? All that MEM cared about was MEM, as they should. Yeah, I see how that is a BS reason but there are a few things to consider...Pau had injured himself during those games for Spain which put a bitter taste in everybodys mouth in MEM. Second, Marc wasnt really a major focus of the trade. Sure he was a good prospect but that is all he was to them at the time. Their main focus was the money. If Marc turned out to be something of value (which he most certainly has) it would just be icing on the cake. He said it himself he wasnt even planning to come over until he was traded to Memphis, a town he lived in while Pau played there. Or that since Pau was gone that nobody was untouchable. I think a GM wouldnt be doing his job well if he didnt make a phone call just to see the motivation and mindset of the other GM was. I dont know who he worked for before but his stay as Memphis GM could be longer than around 2 years since Jerry West was there recently. I agree about your "at least three years" for Memphis...now do you really think it would be any different if Pau was there all this time and three years from now? Just one more reason to trade him for more options in the future.
The thing is that McCants is a big fan and front office favorite in Charlotte and a very capable scorer (15ppg as a 6th man). Collins may be worthless as a player...but his 6.5mil that comes off the books this off season isn't. and Charlotte is rebuilding and those teams can always be swayed with draft picks...and Minnesota has a possible 6 in this draft (4 1st Rounders, 2 2nd rounders). true that I am a big Wolves fan...I do balance things out with team needs as well...I also posted in a Timberwolves thread a three team deal involving Charlotte and Washington. Since I would much rather have Butler in 'Sota. But with Charlotte wanting McCants....this is best possible deal...unless Minnesota goes for Felton instead
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=2777 9 points per game on 34% from the field, 25% from three, 1 assist, 1.4 turnovers, in 20 minutes per game? Hey whatever floats Charlotte's boat I guess.
He had a career year last year, it appears. This year, he's been awful. He's scoring under 10 PPG on awful efficiency. Not just bad efficiency, terrible efficiency. Last year, McCants was about the caliber of an average starter. He hasn't been that good any other year of his career and this is one of this worst seasons. I really doubt he has much value, UNC favourite or not.
true that....I'm not trying to sound bias or blind....I'm just stating that they really love him out there and giving that kind of atmosphere and minutes he can be a 20ppg player. And getting a 20ppg scorer (who will get better...last year he was coming off injuries...and this year I'd attribute his slow start to Whittman who just didn't let him play for some reason, he's doing much better under McHale). And what rebuilding team doesn't like cap space and draft picks?
Why not? He has a history of making bonehead decisions. He suddenly flipped a switch and knows what he's doing? No top quality FAs would leave their current teams for..... Memphis. The cap-space plan has been done before and failed several times. Fans should care that there isn't an ending in sight for them to be in contention for another three years, and probably more. That won't sell any season tickets for a team struggling financially. OK, so Marc Gasol is a nice rotation player, but not a young prospect that fans will get excited about. Memphis got nobody for a cornerstone player. Pau for cap space. Great, that should put butts in the seats. Oh... Memphis is dead last in attendance so far this season. Or maybe, they wanted to rip him off again, like I said. Wallace made the trade weeks before the trading deadline if I remember, and there were NBA execs questioning why he didn't let other teams make a better offer. Kobe even described it as a "donation." lol. And months later, Wallace even had his owner -- his boss -- question the move and whether the Grizz got the most out of Gasol: HE COULDN'T EVEN CONVINCE HIS OWNER IT WAS A GOOD MOVE. For the first time, even Heisley wondered whether his general manager, Chris Wallace, blew it by caving so soon to the Lakers. “I don’t know if I got the most value,” Heisley confessed. “Maybe our people should’ve shopped (Gasol) more and maybe we would’ve gotten more, done a better deal. Maybe Chris did call every team in the league. I don’t think he did, but maybe he should’ve…” http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-heisleygasol060308&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
I guess that they might be able to get more for Wallace, but it's clear why they would do it: they get a starting small forward back, they get a rotation big back... and they save millions and millions in salary because both Outlaw and Frye are going to be expiring contract no later than at the end of next season. Ed O.
I can see how that trade would work, but they have Diaw waiting to fill in at the starting SF and with him making 9mil a season they can't have him riding the pine...so once again Outlaw would be on the bench. Frye would just be let go. Like I said I see how this isn't a bad trade...I still feel it would benefit them more with the 'Sota trade...McCants makes it easier to get rid of Felton who they been shopping around and make room for Diaw at SF....and Collins gives them more in cap room this off season (6.5mil)...and I can't express enough how much a draft pick added to a trade with a rebuilding team can sway the tide. So head to head the deals kinda shape out as both teams giving cap space (Frye 3.5mil to Collins' 6.5mil)...and then Outlaw against McCants and a 1st Round pick....hmmm...that is a tough trade but they might lean towards the fan favorite player with the added 1st round pick and another 3mil in cap space though.
yes, for now since Wallace is the SF...but if Wallace is traded...the front three in Charlotte will probably be Nazr Mohammed at Center, Okafor at PF and Diaw at SF....Diaw is versitile enough to play all three front court spots...just because a player primarily plays one position doesn't mean they don't play others....Okafor is primarily a PF but be plays Center as well
I pretty much disagree with all of this. I don't think that Okafor is a power forward and I don't think that Nazr will get (m)any minutes. Earlier this season the Bobcats were starting DUDLEY at the power forward spot, with Okafor at the 5 and Nazr buried on the bench. The team could have easily brought Dudley off the bench and used Okafor and Nazr differently if Brown had thought those guys deserved/fit best into those slots. Diaw/Okafor/Nazr would be one of the slowest front courts this decade. I can't imagine that Brown would run that out there in the starting five. Ed O.
You're not providing facts and apparently you don't even know what the word means. You're posting your extremely obscure opinion that is maybe shared with 1% of humanity. Like I said, you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. It's common sense, apparently you don't have any. Why would I try and prove common sense to you. If you don't get it, you're not going to get it by having it explained to you. [Deleted] This thread was supposed to be about Gerald Wallace, but you're sorry ass came in here and ruined it. [Deleted.]
Wow, DaRizzle just ignore him. He has no right to tell you to get out of here, or what to do at all. He seems to really take disagreements personally and result to personal attacks rather than trying to discuss it like a mature adult. I agree w/ you that a hell of a lot of Portland trade proposals are extremely lob sided for us, and we seem that a bunch of our trash can equal a good player from another team. But I think that EVERY team has those fans. I've seen plenty of lobsided trades on pretty much ever teams board be it here, on ESPN or BBF. I also think that the Memphis/LA trade wasn't as bad as some people think, but it was still a good trade for LA. Critt, cap space, Arthur and Mark Gasol isn't bad for Pau who didn't want to be there and ahd a big contract and was never going to take them anywhere. And it also made them worse and allowed them to get a higher pick and get Mayo, who will be better than Gasol. Marc Gasol also may be close to as good as Pau Gasol in the future (which is what this trade is about, their future).
Drink Your Milkshake Banned DaRizzle we all owe you a debt of gratitude for finally pushing this guy over the edge. i don't think he ever added any substance to the convo. as for wallace, why does everyone think we HAVE to make a trade right now? have expectations really risen that much over the last month? i mean i still don't think we are a legit contender for the title, so why tie yourself up in contracts when we still don't know what webster will give us this season? i understand we don't want RL's contract to go to waste but simply making a move for a boarderline star isn't what i'm looking for right now.
I don't think people are saying we have to make a trade, but when it's an open secret that a team is shopping a player of Wallace's caliber (a near all-star) who fills a notable need for this team, it's pretty natural to see people salivate over the possibilities a little bit; especially when you consider that the available free agents, that Raef and Francis' expiring contracts makes available, aren't likely to be any better of a fit. It's also worth noting that by NBA standards Wallace is probably worth every penny of his non-escalating, 9.5 million a year. I actually think trading for a "borderline" star is a better move than trying to get a max contract guy who is going to compete with Roy and Aldridge for touches, especially for a player that makes his living off of hustle plays, defense and one of the better transition games in the league -- he's essentially what you would hope Nicolas Batum matures into in four or five years (even though Wallace has kind of a mediocre perimeter game).
We don't have to make any moves, but Wallace is a great fit and better than pretty much anyone available on the FA market this summer. One thing we keep hearing in interviews with BRoy is that we lack toughness and consistency. Adding Wallace would go a long way to addressing those concerns. Making trades isn't something you only do when you are a title contender. I see that argument often and it doesn't hold a lot of water IMHO. I think you always make the move that improves the team and it's not like we are talking about trading for an old veteran with a year or two left in his legs.
Because this isn't only a "win-now" move. Wallace is still young enough to be a part of the core for quite a few years to come. Making the team better now and into the foreseeable future is never a bad idea, championship contender or not. As for Webster, sure, he could still break out. I'm not holding my breath, since he hasn't improved very much since he entered the league. But he's still quite young. I wouldn't base any moves around him and his break-out possibility, though. If he turns into a really good player, it's a nice problem to have and you have a new trade chip.
