Is It Time to Go for Richard Hamilton?

On the other hand, this trade works out quite well for the Hornets, due to their open willingness to trade Chandler in the past. They also currently lack any major scoring threat in the backcourt to go along with Chris Paul. This move would immediately give the Hornets one of the best backcourts in the league, if not the best, as Chris Paul is perhaps the best passer in the league other than Jason Kidd and would easily be able to create shots for Rip. Also, multiple scoring options already on the team would make it very difficult for opposing teams to double-team any New Orleans players, making it easier for Paul to create a shot and for Hamilton to get open enough to take it.

 I would like to see a sign-and-trade with the Utah Jazz as well, due to the fact that current Jazz and former Piston Mehmet Okur is expected to opt out of his contract and seek a contract in the vicinity of what Hamilton is already making. I know that a lot of people would like to see Carlos Boozer or Paul Milsap here, but I do not feel that Boozer is a Piston-type player due to his lack of loyalty and his injury-prone history, nor do I feel that he is worth Hamilton’s contract. I also did not mention Milsap simply because Milsap commands a much smaller contract than Hamilton, so to make a trade work involving him, another player would have to be added. In that case, I fail to believe that Utah has the players in that price range that would give up any benefits or that they would be willing to let go.
Okur, on the other hand, is a large body who has great offensive capabilities and even though he is defensively limited, his offensive presence on the court would allow Kwame Brown to focus more on his own defense which is something Kwame has always preferred to do and did pretty well at this past year when no longer expected to be an offensive threat.

This trade would be a bit trickier than the option with the Hornets simply for two reasons. First, the Jazz already have a tall up-and-coming shooting guard in Ronnie Brewer, who in his second year is already averaging almost 14 ppg. That might make it a bit difficult to get them to bite on adding yet another tall shooting guard, especially if it means losing a quality big man. Secondly, if the deal with the Hornets were to go through, the defensive Chandler might give Okur a stronger reason to sign with Detroit as a free agent, due to the fact that his lack of defense would be compensated for while he simultaneously compensated for Chandler’s lack of offense. If the Pistons made a deal for Okur with Utah first, it would make it more difficult to obtain another player who could help solidify the front line.

 The Phoenix Suns would be a fun place for Hamilton, especially since he would be getting great ball movement from former league MVP Steve Nash. However, the options here are limited. Originally, I was just going to write this off because I do not believe the Suns have anything to offer Detroit. I know a lot of fans would like to see Amar’e Stoudemire here, but I don’t trust his health, especially at the high cost it would take to get him. However, I am reading that the Golden State Warriors offered the Suns a couple players including Andris Biedrens for Amar’e, which could prove interesting. I have no idea if it is true and don’t think the deal would happen because I doubt the Warriors would give up that much for Stoudemire. However, if it is true, defensively Biedrins would be great for us to give up Hamilton for, and would again attract offensive big men such as Okur to sign here. Last year, Biedrins averaged almost 12 rebounds per game, and is earning around the same as Rip.

 Another option that is a possibility, but unlikely, would be a deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, due to the abilities of Baron Davis and the presence of several big men who could potentially fit in the Pistons’ organization, these men being Marcus Camby, Chris Kaman, and Zach Randolph. Of course, Camby and Randolph are highly unlikely players due to the contract differences; Camby’s is much too low, which would force the Clippers to add another player (due to Camby’s age, I wouldn’t mind seeing them sweeten the deal with Al Thornton somehow….ahhh, to dream!) to make it work, and Randolph is making far too much money for Rip’s contract to evenly be traded. This leaves us with a questionable, however excellent trade possibility for Chris Kaman.

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