<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Isiah Thomas nearly settled the ongoing feud between Stephon Marbury and Kurt Thomas yesterday, but a proposed deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers fell apart at the last minute.</div> New York Daily News Well, for all of those who insist that this glut will last forever, Kurt Thomas will likely be gone pretty soon. His contract is the only thing that might be a problem, but when almost all of the GM's in the league are calling you about the player, he has to be something special. Many teams wouldn't mind trading for a solid veteran role player giving you 12 points, 10 rebounds, a block, a steal, and some good hard nosed low post defense. Kurt Thomas is a great fit for any team, and we can get some good things for him. Now, it is unclear what we will get for him and how this trade will finally turn out, but one thing is sure: when we trade Kurt, we'll be getting some good value. We almost got Drew Gooden, but Cleveland backed out at the end.
Kurt Thomas is a hard worker and a very talented player. Any team would want him on their team because of what he brings to the table. With that being said there are still a number of things that would prevent him from being moved: 1) He is currently 33 years old. Signed onto a contract extension through to the 2008-09 season. By the time his contract runs out, he will be 37 years old. That is not exactly very appealing to many teams. 2) The contract extension he did sign was a doozy. He is set to make 30.9 million dollars a year, which comes out to 7.725 million per year. An aging power foward will be hard to move for this type of cash. Sure a deal can be swung but it would most likely involve the Knicks taking on another weighty contract that could very well handcuff them even further. 3) I do not think picks or young players can be traded for Kurt. It is just not logical for most teams to trade away young talent and/or draft picks for a 33 year old power somewhat undersized power foward making 7.725 million dollars a year. Circumstances in which he could be moved: 1) A team is trying desperately to make it into the Championship game and are willing to part with young talent to make it there. One team that has been mentioned is Cleveland. But I think they just did not want to part with Gooden, who could very well end up being better than Kurt. That is just one example. 2) A team wants to get rid of it's more weighty contracts. Kurt Thomas' salary could match up with another overpaid player that a team wants to unload. You won't see any 3 for one deals that we saw this past deadline but you could see salaries matching up and a deal being made. But I can't really see one team that wants to unload or could unload players to acquire Kurt. All in all he is a talented player no doubt but at the asking price of close to ten million dollars, he will be one of the harder Knicks to move this off season.
Courtvision, I think picks can be traded for Kurt Thomas. Maybe not lottery, however to a team in contention. Possibly in the late teens and up can be traded. Teams with prtty good records and playoff bound can use a solid double double and great work in Kurt Thomas.
^It can be done but you also have to take into account the amount of money he is making. A team would have to add another player(s) into the trade to make the salaries work out. That is why I'm saying that for the Knicks to trade Kurt, they would more than likely take on more dead weight contracts. And a team that has a pick drafting in the 15-20 range are probably not willing to take on such a big contract for an aging player. They are most likely not even playing for a championship, which should be one of the only reasons as to why he is added to a team.
I see Kurt Thomas being the 'Sheed' piece to some team in contention and at the very least, can help a team get into contention. Sure is contract might not be to good, but when you're so close toa championship needing the service of one player, I think that is disregarded a bit. If we can snag a couple of young players and possibly a pick I think it can work out. Maybe not a 15 pick, but 18 and above. Kurt Thomas provides that solid big man that most teams covet and can become a more than decent back up. A double double, a block, a steal and some nice defense my friend, will definitely draw some interest.
If Iam the Knicks I dont move Kurt Thomas till late during the offseason, that is when his trade value will be at his highest. Once the high priced free Agent bigs are signed(like Shareef, Big Z etc) and teams are desperate to add some much need size, they would be willing to give up a little more for Kurt at that point. Also the Knicks cant give up Kurt until they get a legit player at the 5 spot cause even tho Kurt isnt comfortable playing the 5, he is really the only guy in a current Knicks uniform who can play the position consistently right now with Mohammod gone. The Knicks are going to have to be extremely careful of their timming in moving Kurt Thomas if they want to end up on the positive side of a deal.
