The thing with the Warriors moving Monta is that his value is at an all-time high. Its not like trading Z-Bo, Steve Francis, Stephon Marbury, Gilbert Arenas, etc. where their careers have hit the tank either on the court or off the court (or both) and everyone knows they suck. Monta had a sort of a breakout season in the sense that the national media now recognizes him as a very good player. All those guys were making 16+ million a year too, Monta is only making 11 and he hasn't hit his prime yet. That said I'd think about doing Andre/Batum if there were no better offers. Andre is pretty attractive for a several reasons a) hes soon to expire, b) Steph Curry has big time issues with fouls and its crucial to get a backup PG who can keep the offense going, c) hes big enough to defend SGs which means you can run some creative stuff with him and Curry out there together, d) he seems to be a solid defender and gets FTs- two things we could use more of. I repeatedly berate Batum on here because you guys pimp him so hard but I'd gladly take him on the team. Young, athletic wing player who projects as a possible Trevor Ariza type is exactly what we need. Its not a great haul but I'm of the belief that in any Monta trade Monta would be the best player in the trade by a large margin. No one is giving us back a Monta-level player. It would have to be for a package of good-not-great role players, prospects, picks, etc. But Monta is not a PG BTW. He doesn't split time at PG with Curry. He only brings the ball up if Curry is benched due to foul trouble and even then they usually preferred Acie Law to come in and run the point. It could work if you're still committed to Roy and let Roy run a lot of the offense. But if you want Monta to run your offense you're in trouble.
But for clarification I bet we would get a better offer than Andre/Batum. I look at teams like Cleveland, Detroit, Memphis, NJ, Orlando, Charlotte, Minny, Toronto, etc. and how many of them seem desperate for any kind of "star" player. Many of these teams have suspect/impatient management and/or owners who want to put asses in seats. LeBron, Bosh, Melo, Amare have already relocated. Dwight, Deron, Paul wouldn't consider going to many of these places. It only takes one dumb GM/owner to put a trade together that GS would do. Still think it will be Monta for a package deal of role players and mid-level prospects/picks. Probably no starting level bigs coming back GS's way. Portland does have the pieces IMO and I suppose adding Monta would give you guys that perimeter player who can create offense to compliment LA. Nate would hate him though. And you'd probably want Andre AND Roy to stay in PDX though because they're big enough to guard twos and they can run the offense.
You forgot the TWO FIRST ROUND PICKS. Joel, Dante, Sean and 2 Picks!!!!!! It was a fair deal, though obviously, frontloaded in Portland's favor in the beginning.
Two rather non-impact first round picks. The kind you can buy for a few million dollars. Neither is or projects to be a top pick. I don't think that changes the value of the package hugely, only a little.
As for Ellis, I've always liked him as a player, but trading Miller for him (as part of a package) only makes sense if the Blazers can swing a separate deal to bring in a good point guard. Without Miller, the team has no one who can viably play point guard at a competitive level. A Johnson/Ellis backcourt isn't viable offensively or defensively and wastes some of Matthews' value. An Ellis/Matthews backcourt is even less viable offensively, though is viable defensively. A Mills/Ellis backcourt is an abomination on both ends that should be destroyed with fire. Right now, like it or not, the team is very very dependent on Miller. I actually like Miller a lot, so that's not a real problem to me, but it does limit the options.
Good posts Run BMJ. I think we'd be very interested in Monta for a package based off Batum or Wes. But with Monta not being a PG it still leaves our roster with basically the same imbalance, especially if we send Miller out in the deal. I don't think the Warriors would have as much use as us for Miller, they'd probably be fine with Camby's expring contract instead.
funny you mention camby because they are reportedly looking to get bigger as per the logo. a camby/batum/rudy package might be juicy to them?
maybe taking biedrins back is the cost of doing business? so something like... camby/miller/? for beans/monta? i agree with minstrel, we would have to nab a pure pg somewheres
In addition, if you're going to play Monta at SG (which is where he should be and where hes a top 10, maybe top 5 guy at that position) then there are only a handful of PGs you can reasonably start next to him. The "We Believe" GSW team that knocked off the Mavs featured Baron and Monta. Baron was big enough to guard 2's and ran the offense, Monta shot over 50% that season I believe (and shot over 60% for the whole month of Feb if memory serves). Miller is one of those guys that is big enough to play next to Monta. Others would be guys like Kidd, Jrue Holliday, Stuckey, Westbrook, Hinrich, maybe Derrick Rose, or big SGs who can run an offense like Roy, Joe Johnson, Tyreke Evans, Wade, etc. Camby makes a lot of sense. Biedrins is gone. Lacob doesn't like him and wants him gone. If there's an amnesty clause this year Lacob will be sprinting to the league offices shouting "BIEDIRNS BIEDRINS!!!!!!!!" If you take him off our hands thats a big deal to us. Getting Camby seems pretty damn good though. Hes good enough to give quality minutes and hes expiring. Between Camby, Wes Matthews, Batum, Rudy, draft picks, etc. there's still enough there to potentially get a deal done. I wonder if even a deal centered around Roy for Monta + Biedrins is possible? Extremely risky by GS and I would imagine they demand your prospects (Batum) and picks.
well roy is byc untill july 1st i believe, so portland would still have to add salary, then when roys new salary kicked in, whabango
Too bad no one will be there to pick up the phone if GS calls This team has no direction or leadership right now and it's pathetic
Do you really think nobody would be in charge? Oooh, I know, how about the guy they said would be in charge until they hire someone? No, can't be.
It's amazing we have Wes Matthews on our team currently, since we didn't have a GM either. I think someone named Buchanon was in charge then, no? You think he has any pull in free agency negotiations though? GTFO.....oh. Wait. Thanks
