I believe Matthews to be much more valuable than his statistics. He's tough, fearless, doesn't make stupid mistakes, is a hard-nosed defender, and can hit the clutch three at a pretty high rate. I'm not completely against trading him, but if we do, the player we bring back better bend the shit out of the needle.
Hmmm, financials aside, this is a tough one. Iman gives you better ball-handling and probably better on-ball defense. Without looking at stats I get the feeling they're about equal as shooters, with Iman taking more stupid shots. Wes is certainly the smarter player. Wes is also a locker room leader. Seems mostly like a lateral move. We'd be gaining better ball-handling, but giving up valuable intangibles. So I guess after writing this I'd have to say no. Once you add in speculation (how would Iman adjust going from NY to PDX?) and realities (additional contracts), as well as "fit" with Lillard/Nic I come down even harder on the "no" side. Though I do recognize that Iman has the potential to make this trade go from a lateral trade to a big win for Portland. And so that's why I think it's an interesting idea that at least deserves some deeper thought if it were actually on the table.
I'm not seeing as how I said I'd decline the trade... Just pointing out that the only 'filler' needed in the original post is Novak, and wondering why the post needed to become all about instead of debating the principals of the original trade suggestion of Wes for Shumpert.
