Jalen Rose said it was a steal for Charlotte, though. Also of note is that it appears that Charlotte has every intention of playing Przy as a Bobber for the rest of the season, and Przy also gives hints that he's not ready to retire.
If Rose really said that (not saying he didn't), then he must be secretly on Charlotte's payroll. The deal makes sense from a financial standpoint, but talent-wise, it's a landslide in Portland's favor. Bill Simmons at ESPN did an interesting breakdown of past trades of multiple role players for stars, and found that they always favor the team getting the "star." I think he might've been a little selective in the trades he chose (didn't mention the Blazers' trades for Pippen or Steve Smith, nor the draft trade involving Richard Jefferson and Eddie Griffin), but I think the point is accurate. Blazers win. Bobcats live to spend another day.
We traded a guy with a busted up knee, a guy with a busted up eye socket, and a guy with a busted up career, plus two likely inconsequential draft picks, all for a near-star. I can't imagine how the Charlotte perspective can be defended other than by financial motivations.
Memo to Jalen Rose: Dear Jalen, you have a good gig at ESPN. MJ is out of the game and no longer successful. It's OK to not suck up to him anymore. Really, it's OK.
[video=youtube;GtfZbj4J71A]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtfZbj4J71A&feature=player_embedded#at=51[/video]
I don't think it's a bad trade for Charlotte at all. They were going nowhere, they were over the tax line and they were/are old. This trade at least clears the way for an honest to goodness rebuild ... now of course he somehow has to turn those picks into viable players which I'd say his record is pretty uneven on, but it's better to have a small chance to improve and pay out less money than have no chance at all and pay through the nose.
It's part of the never ending debate (since we'll never know the truth) about whether a team could get more for their star player (The Zach trade debate will return, you watch!). I firmly believe they could have gotten more (maybe even a lot more) if they had chosen the timing of the trade more judiciously. edit: btw, MJ sucks, and he doesn't want to admit it. He may not even be smart enough to know it. His logic is very flawed in the above quote.
"They were honest with me and told me they wanted me here," the 31-year-old Przybilla said. "That means a lot, especially coming from Michael Jordan. He looked me in the eye and told me this. I've never, to be honest, had a general manager tell me that." Every time I think my opinion of PA's business style cannot fall any lower, I'm mistaken.
