I thought I'd get a consolidated thread going with some potential options. Knowns: ORL wants to trade Howard Howard would like to go to the Nets Nets can't make the trade on their own. As is, we have 30.8M tied up in cap space next summer with LMA, Wes, and all of the holds/draft picks/Euros except Oden (I don't know what his cap hold is yet). 40.3 if you include Wallace picking up his player option. Rumors: We're involved. Potentially a 4th team is involved. Wallace to ORL for draft picks only Wallace + ?? and getting back players and draft picks Potential Scenarios: 1) Just like the first rumor. ORL gets Wallace and Lopez, NJN gets Howard, we get a 9.5M TPE and (maybe?) 3 first round picks this year: NJNs, HOUs (protected, from NJN) and ORLs. 1a) We can use the TPE almost anytime between now and the trade deadline to pick up an expiring contract player from a team that doesn't want to pay tax (or wants to lessen their tax hit) and get a pick or young player for our trouble (like Kurt Thomas bringing back multiple 1sts, or Eric Maynor or something) 1b) We can potentially move Felton and Batum and a bunch of picks for CP3. Assuming he'd resign with us (or at least pick up his option year for next year) we'd have LMA, Wes, the younguns, CP3 and 14M in cap space (maybe less by Oden's cap hold, but keeping the ability to match on him if he comes back this year and plays decently). Outcome: Unless we swing the trade to get CP3, we have LMA, Wes, the ability to match anyone on Batum, the rookies/younguns/Euros, potentially 4 draft picks in the first round, and 27M in cap space (less by Oden's cap hold and the draft pick holds) 2) Add Wes into the deal somehow, but still take nothing back (or maybe a small contract back) and maintain the picks. Still get the TPE, still get the picks, but now your cap hold for the summer is 24.3M, giving you 34M in space (minus Oden's hold --if you want to keep it-- and the draft picks). 3) Add Wes to the trade, bring back a big-time player on a non-max contract (like Josh Smith, Ellis, etc.) that still brings down total salary, but now you have LMA, stud player on non-max contract, ability to match Batum and/or Oden, rookies/younguns/old draft picks, 3-4 1st rounders, and around 15M or so to get a premium player to pair with them from next year's FA or trade. 4) Combine 2 and 3 to get CP3, stud player like Ellis or Smith and LMA. After it's all done, get Crawford with our big MLE (2 yrs/10M with option), and Landry on a 1/5M trade exception if you can.
Yes it's probably good to start a new thread just for Blazer rumors. It's a little hard figuring out what you said on what thread. I really do think Portland has their eye on CP3. It just smells this scenario. BTW that TPE can also be used in a sign and trade. So we could offer, Camby, Felton and picks to New Orleans for CP3. Then use the 9.5 mil TPE to work a sign and trade for Landry to New Orleans. They were going to lose Landry anyways. This way, they get the 6-8 TPE as well as a deal worker.
why "waste" the TPE on a lower-level talent like Landry, when you can really do some damage with it later on in the year. Look at all the people within 10M of the lux tax. Expiring contracts ~5-9M Kirk Hinrich Boris Diaw Andre MIller James Posey Lamar Odom OJ Mayo Martell Webster JJ Redick Andres Nocioni Leandro Barbosa OR decent players in that range with long term deals. Either way, I wouldn't spend it on Landry. Backup PFs aren't guys you take up cap space for, and if you do sign to 1yr deals you can use DPE or MLE or BAE on them.
But it's a way to entice the deal even more. And we won't be giving Landry 9.5 mil a season either. We would still have around 8-10 mil still available this summer in this scenario.
If you're using it solely as part of a CP3 trade, then sure. If you're just using the TPE to sign Landry for more than NOH would give him, then I say no.
