While going through my morning ritual of reading up on basketball blogs, I came across a trade rumor that stuck out at me.
Hoopsworld.com is reporting that the Dallas Mavericks and the Toronto Raptors are in discussions to swap Josh Howard for former first pick Andrea Bargnani.
In all, the discussions around the trade would include the Mavericks sending Howard and either DaSagna (had to check three times how to spell that) Diop or Antoine Wright in exchange for Bargnani and Anthony Parker of the Raptors.
If Diop were to be included in the trade, the Raptors would have to include somebody else to balance the trade salary cap wise. My best estimate is that the trade would be Wright and Howard for Bargnani and Parker.
Outside of Nowitzki, Howard is the Mavericks' most tradeable asset, and because of his questionable off the court issues and a sub-Howardesque performance this year, he is the most likely to be prematurely moved.
I am very skeptical of this trade from the Mavericks' point of view. I believe the trade sounds as if the Mavericks are quickly jumping on making a move for the sake of making a move—never a good idea in professional sports. Do they really want to move a young former all-star for a poor man’s Dirk Nowitzki to line up opposite...Dirk Nowitzki?
Combining Bargnani with Nowitzki would bring you two seven-foot soft and poor defenders in your starting lineup, or most likely a sixth man off the bench in Bargnani’s case. Is that what you want? Trade one of your most valuable assets for a player who has potential but that potential is already on your team in Nowitzki.
In my opinion, two Nowitzkis playing together on the same team would not compliment each other as well as Howard and Nowitzki. Howard has been hampered by injuries all season, and I believe the injuries are more of the cause of his poor play than coaching or the point guard.
Don’t get me wrong, I still like the upside Bargnani has to offer. I just do not believe the Mavericks are the best destination for his talents and, as seen in the past, Howard can be a fantastic sidekick to Dirk.
Bottom line, the Mavericks are in trouble for years to come. The Jason Kidd trade was a disaster with them having gotten rid plenty of young talent (Harris and first-round picks) for an aging veteran who probably won’t be resigned next season. The other players, outside of Howard, are mostly untradeable as their contracts are overbearing for the talents they possess.
In other words, I have no clue what the Mavericks should do with their team and I am happy I am not their GM or coach. The only thing I know is if you are trading Howard, it better be for the right player and I do not believe Bargnani is it.
9 comments Last one added 5 months ago — Leave a Comment
Robert Kleeman 6 months ago
I don't buy this rumor at all. It would be the dumbest trade in the history of basketball. You already explained why this would not work pretty well, so I'll save you from a repeat.
Something else to consider, though: Part of Sam Mitchell's rocky relationship with Bryan Colangelo was his refusal to give defenseless Bargnani the minutes he wanted. Mitchell did not want to reward Bargnani for his crappy work ethic or his inability to defend his position at the NBA level.
So, now that Colangelo has one of his guys in Triano leading the team, why would he get rid of a project player he still believes can be great?
P.S. - If you looked up Diop's name three times, you still spelled it wrong. It's DeSagana Diop. Confusing and picky, I know.
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Scott Quinn 6 months ago
As a raps fan there is no player more frustrating to watch than Andrea Bargnani. While he can show flashes of stardom, there is no consistency in his game and sometimes he does things that have you screaming at the television.
Is it time for Colangelo to finally admit he screwed up in drafting Andrea #1 overall and move on? I don't know. The talent is there, but how long can BC wait just to prove that he was right above Bargnani?
Personally I would make this trade because if you wait any longer, people will forget about Bargnani's potential and his value will continue to fall.
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Tony Chow 6 months ago
This trade will not happen, I like Howard but watching Bargnani develop into a great player is a possibility. Yes, Bargnani have been WILDLY inconsistent but I think people have to remember big men take time to develop unless you happen to be Shaq and Duncan and I believe Bargnani is only 22 and really experiencing better athletes after coming over from the Euro Leagues. If you watch Bargnani, he can easily score 18-20 points without breaking a sweat and some players are just like that. You look at the stat sheet at the end of the night and wonder how he got 20 points.
I think it's a bad trade for Toronto's future, I believe that Bargnani in the next 3 years will far outweigh Howard.
I think the other major point to be made is that Bargnani is the type of player that Toronto needs to build around because of European background. He might be the type of player that is not born in the US and has more thoughts of staying in a city where he is comfortable rahter than moving back to the US after his contract is up.
I'm quite sure after Howard's contract is up, he will move back to a US based team....
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Jeremy Kaufman 6 months ago
I actually like the sound of this trade. Doing so would give the Mavs 3 7 footers in their starting lineup, something that I don't believe has ever been done in the history of the sport. With such a lineup, the Mavs would have an incredible size advantage over most teams, thereby establishing a team identity which the Mavs certainly don't have at the moment.
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Michael T. Penn 6 months ago
Josh Howard is a good player, Diop is a good player. Bargnani is a horrible player, Anthony Parker is an okay player.
No way I see this trade happening unless the Mavs front office has completely lost its mind.
Also I want to correct you. The Kidd trade was not a horrible one for the Mavs. Maybe long term they would have been better off keeping Harris, but Kidd is a much better player (at least for now) and Dirk isn't getting any younger. The team needed to do something to improve 'right now', because they were basically in the same position as the Suns, with an aging star being close but not close enough to winning it all. Harris is developing into a pretty good scorer but Kidd is a great point guard and I think it was worth the risk for them, as they were going nowhere as they were.
If you want to find something to blame for the Mavs being in this position blame the referees eagerness to call fouls in favour of Dwayne Wade (06) and Dirk Nowitzki's propensity to choke in important situations (07). You can't really blame them for losing to the Hornets in 08, Chris Paul is the best point guard since a young Jason Kidd (so not suprisingly better than an old Jason Kidd) and the Hornets were a very good young team last year.
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Bob Soles 6 months ago
I don't think that's a very good trade for the Raptors. Howard doesn't seem to be a player that would fit in well with the team. I would rather trade O'neal before Bargnani.
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JEREMY KEENAN 6 months ago
This would not work for several reasons...
As stated Bargnani is Colangelo's project and under Jay Triano is averaging 21.5 ppg. Not too bad. Colangelo stated on AM 590 that he is not willing to trade Andrea for any reason.
And for all of Josh Howard's talent, Colangelo would not be willing to take on Dallas's problem child.
As far as Bargnani being Nowitzi-esque, sure they are both athletic 7 footers from Europe, but while Dirk has the Ability to bring the ball up and play most positions. I think that Andrea will only succeed in the NBA if he can be a 18 ppg step-out Center.
The Raptor are not a good enough rebounding team for him to hit that role. Every time he steps out for a 3 pt shot he brings the defender to the top of the elbow, giving him the best rebounding angle on the floor.
I think that under the right tutelage, Andrea still can become a top offensive threat.
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Duke Leduc 5 months ago
agree that this trade doesn't make any sense. having two nowitzkis would be trouble for dallas.
the more likely trade for toronto is moving jermaine o'neal. the rumor of the day has him going to miami for shawn marion. that would be a great trade for the raps, as they desperately need to improve their rebounding (bargs has been hitting the glass a lot better lately) and their perimeter defense. it would also be good for miami as marion is very unhappy there, and they need to upgrade their centre position as joel anthony and magloire are not getting it done (providing o'neal recovers from his bum knee).
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jason rivera 5 months ago
O'Neal for Marion---thats the best case scenario, or you can trade O'Neal for Marbury--tank the rest of the year, be a lottery team, have that contract expire this year and sign Marion in the summer for 10 million and save the rest for Bosh or sign another big name:
heres their starting 5 for 2009-2010
1-Calderon
2-top 10 draft pick
3-Marion
4-Bosh
5-Bargs
The team will be deeper and has more of a shot to make noise in the east
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