More Trades
It’s been far too long since I posted anything, and since the ‘Mid-Season Report’ is approaching at warp speed, and I still have to do my ‘2008 Year in Music’, I’ve got to take care of some old business.
Charlotte Bobcats acquire Raja Bell, Boris Diaw, DeSagana Diop & Sean Singletary. These two trades reek of Coach Larry Brown’s influence. He’s been griping about needing a big man all season, yet it was him who called the shot on the selection of the diminutive D.J. Augustin over center Brook Lopez on draft night. Even though the rest of the Charlotte “brain trust” all wanted Lopez, AND they already had a very serviceable PG in Ray Felton.
Anyway, Bell is past his prime as a top flight defender and his 3-point touch deserted him a while back. Diaw has always been inconsistent and doesn’t seem like LB’s type of player at all. Boris will likely move the bench as 6th man so Diop can start and Emeka Okafor can slide over to his natural PF spot. The move for DeSagana is puzzling to me for two reasons. One they already have Nazr Mohammed (the same player) and second Diop just signed a ridiculous contract this summer that pays him $31 million over the next five years. I think Singletary has a place in the league, but he’s unlikely to see time unless something significant happens with Felton or Augustin.
All these acquisitions do as I see it is make the Bobcats a middling team for at least the next two seasons if not more. They’ll be more competitive for sure, but not good enough to make the playoffs or bad enough to get a high lottery pick. It’s quite obvious that LB is shaping this team to his liking and that Michael Jordan is doing his bidding.
With no Isiah Thomas and Kevin McHale stripped of his personnel duties; this is where NBA teams now come to make deals that no one else would touch. This doesn’t end well for LB or MJ…sorry guys.
Phoenix Suns acquire Jason Richardson, Jared Dudley & a 2010 second round pick (Charlotte). To say GM Steve Kerr has gotten off to rough start might be understating things a little, but he hit a home run here. Dumping the aging Bell and overpaid Diaw for an athletic SG that is hitting 43.3% of his long range bombs was a masterstroke. Even if his integration into the lineup has been a little slow, J-Rich is a great fit in Phoenix. The Suns problems (like their lack of defenders) go deeper than him.
The thing that makes this trade so great is that Dudley is a awfully useful defensive minded role playing combo forward, and the Bobcats 2010 second rounder figures to be very good as well. This was theft plain and simple.
Dallas Mavericks acquire Matt Carroll & Ryan Hollins. Carroll gives the Mavs a reliable third shooter off the pine that can space the floor when Jason Terry and Dirk Nowitzki are off. But to be honest this was more about dumping the stupid contract they gave Diop this past off season, although Carroll will help them. Hollins is long and athletic but not much else. He’s probably headed to Europe sooner rather than later.
Washington Wizards acquire Mike James & Javaris Crittenton. This was a nice move for the Wiz considering what they gave up, but it’s not enough to make a difference in their record. James is a veteran gunning PG that absolutely does NOT create for others. Crittenton is a young shoot first PG in the James/Gilbert Arenas mode. Interim Coach Ed Tapscott would be wise to give Crit more minutes since Washington obviously isn’t going anywhere this season. I know one thing for sure, the Lakers could sure use Javaris’ services right about now.
Oklahoma City Thunder acquire Chucky Atkins & a lottery protected 2009 first round pick (Denver). What can I say; this was another great move by wunderkind GM Sam Presti. To get a first rounder for Johan Petro is highway robbery. Atkins is a nice insurance policy for when/if Presti moves Earl Watson, but not much more.
New Orleans Hornets acquire Antonio Daniels & a conditional second round pick (Memphis). At first I thought this was great move for NO; giving them a backup to Chris Paul at the point as well as a guy who could play alongside CP3 in the backcourt. But for some reason Coach Byron Scott has been reluctant to give AD the minutes he deserves. This makes no sense since you don’t want to run Paul into the ground and Daniels is clearly a 20 minute a night guy with their roster. Coach Scott is known for this though. He also ran Brandon Bass out of town on a rail two years ago even though the Hornets desperately needed another big man…and still do.
Denver Nuggets acquire Johan Petro, a 2009 second round pick (Oklahoma City) & a top 55 protected 2015 second round pick (Clippers). All these moves can be summed up like this; they got Denver under the luxury tax. Coach George Karl and VP Mark Warkentien are kidding themselves if they think Petro is going to help them do anything besides pick up silly fouls. The swap of picks with the Thunder means they aren’t on the hook for guaranteed money to a draft pick this summer. And they’ll likely never see that second rounder from the Clips.
Memphis Grizzlies acquire Steve Francis, Shaun Livingston, a first round pick (Washington) & a second round pick (Houston). GM Chris Wallace gets the unintentional comedy award for making moves to get back picks he already gave away. The first rounder is one he sent to the Wiz for Juan Carlos Navarro (who went back to Spain after one season). The second rounder he sent to Houston last summer on draft night. Yikes. Livingston was released immediately and Francis is seeking a buyout so he can join Antoine Walker on the unemployment line. But hey, at least they signed Darius Miles to save their season!
Los Angeles Clippers acquire Hassan Adams & Cheikh Samb. The Clips, much like the Griz, are under the salary cap so they can take back other team’s trash to help them dump unwanted salaries. Adams was waived immediately and this is the second time Samb was traded this season. I hope Cheikh has his passport ready.
Houston Rockets acquire a conditional 2011 second round pick (Memphis). It’s doubtful that the Rockets will ever get that pick, but they had to take something back for Francis. My, how the mighty have fallen when the club they came up with can’t wait to dump their $2.6 million dollar contract to get under the tax line.
Miami Heat acquire a top 55 protected 2012 second round pick (Memphis). Again, Miami is unlikely to ever see this pick, but they had to get something in return for Livingston.
Toronto Raptors acquire a conditional 2015 second round pick (Clippers). Yet another luxury tax move where the Raps likely won’t get the pick.
Charlotte Bobcats acquire Raja Bell, Boris Diaw, DeSagana Diop & Sean Singletary. These two trades reek of Coach Larry Brown’s influence. He’s been griping about needing a big man all season, yet it was him who called the shot on the selection of the diminutive D.J. Augustin over center Brook Lopez on draft night. Even though the rest of the Charlotte “brain trust” all wanted Lopez, AND they already had a very serviceable PG in Ray Felton.
Anyway, Bell is past his prime as a top flight defender and his 3-point touch deserted him a while back. Diaw has always been inconsistent and doesn’t seem like LB’s type of player at all. Boris will likely move the bench as 6th man so Diop can start and Emeka Okafor can slide over to his natural PF spot. The move for DeSagana is puzzling to me for two reasons. One they already have Nazr Mohammed (the same player) and second Diop just signed a ridiculous contract this summer that pays him $31 million over the next five years. I think Singletary has a place in the league, but he’s unlikely to see time unless something significant happens with Felton or Augustin.
All these acquisitions do as I see it is make the Bobcats a middling team for at least the next two seasons if not more. They’ll be more competitive for sure, but not good enough to make the playoffs or bad enough to get a high lottery pick. It’s quite obvious that LB is shaping this team to his liking and that Michael Jordan is doing his bidding.
With no Isiah Thomas and Kevin McHale stripped of his personnel duties; this is where NBA teams now come to make deals that no one else would touch. This doesn’t end well for LB or MJ…sorry guys.
Phoenix Suns acquire Jason Richardson, Jared Dudley & a 2010 second round pick (Charlotte). To say GM Steve Kerr has gotten off to rough start might be understating things a little, but he hit a home run here. Dumping the aging Bell and overpaid Diaw for an athletic SG that is hitting 43.3% of his long range bombs was a masterstroke. Even if his integration into the lineup has been a little slow, J-Rich is a great fit in Phoenix. The Suns problems (like their lack of defenders) go deeper than him.
The thing that makes this trade so great is that Dudley is a awfully useful defensive minded role playing combo forward, and the Bobcats 2010 second rounder figures to be very good as well. This was theft plain and simple.
Dallas Mavericks acquire Matt Carroll & Ryan Hollins. Carroll gives the Mavs a reliable third shooter off the pine that can space the floor when Jason Terry and Dirk Nowitzki are off. But to be honest this was more about dumping the stupid contract they gave Diop this past off season, although Carroll will help them. Hollins is long and athletic but not much else. He’s probably headed to Europe sooner rather than later.
Washington Wizards acquire Mike James & Javaris Crittenton. This was a nice move for the Wiz considering what they gave up, but it’s not enough to make a difference in their record. James is a veteran gunning PG that absolutely does NOT create for others. Crittenton is a young shoot first PG in the James/Gilbert Arenas mode. Interim Coach Ed Tapscott would be wise to give Crit more minutes since Washington obviously isn’t going anywhere this season. I know one thing for sure, the Lakers could sure use Javaris’ services right about now.
Oklahoma City Thunder acquire Chucky Atkins & a lottery protected 2009 first round pick (Denver). What can I say; this was another great move by wunderkind GM Sam Presti. To get a first rounder for Johan Petro is highway robbery. Atkins is a nice insurance policy for when/if Presti moves Earl Watson, but not much more.
New Orleans Hornets acquire Antonio Daniels & a conditional second round pick (Memphis). At first I thought this was great move for NO; giving them a backup to Chris Paul at the point as well as a guy who could play alongside CP3 in the backcourt. But for some reason Coach Byron Scott has been reluctant to give AD the minutes he deserves. This makes no sense since you don’t want to run Paul into the ground and Daniels is clearly a 20 minute a night guy with their roster. Coach Scott is known for this though. He also ran Brandon Bass out of town on a rail two years ago even though the Hornets desperately needed another big man…and still do.
Denver Nuggets acquire Johan Petro, a 2009 second round pick (Oklahoma City) & a top 55 protected 2015 second round pick (Clippers). All these moves can be summed up like this; they got Denver under the luxury tax. Coach George Karl and VP Mark Warkentien are kidding themselves if they think Petro is going to help them do anything besides pick up silly fouls. The swap of picks with the Thunder means they aren’t on the hook for guaranteed money to a draft pick this summer. And they’ll likely never see that second rounder from the Clips.
Memphis Grizzlies acquire Steve Francis, Shaun Livingston, a first round pick (Washington) & a second round pick (Houston). GM Chris Wallace gets the unintentional comedy award for making moves to get back picks he already gave away. The first rounder is one he sent to the Wiz for Juan Carlos Navarro (who went back to Spain after one season). The second rounder he sent to Houston last summer on draft night. Yikes. Livingston was released immediately and Francis is seeking a buyout so he can join Antoine Walker on the unemployment line. But hey, at least they signed Darius Miles to save their season!
Los Angeles Clippers acquire Hassan Adams & Cheikh Samb. The Clips, much like the Griz, are under the salary cap so they can take back other team’s trash to help them dump unwanted salaries. Adams was waived immediately and this is the second time Samb was traded this season. I hope Cheikh has his passport ready.
Houston Rockets acquire a conditional 2011 second round pick (Memphis). It’s doubtful that the Rockets will ever get that pick, but they had to take something back for Francis. My, how the mighty have fallen when the club they came up with can’t wait to dump their $2.6 million dollar contract to get under the tax line.
Miami Heat acquire a top 55 protected 2012 second round pick (Memphis). Again, Miami is unlikely to ever see this pick, but they had to get something in return for Livingston.
Toronto Raptors acquire a conditional 2015 second round pick (Clippers). Yet another luxury tax move where the Raps likely won’t get the pick.
posted by D$ at 4:08 PM
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