Carmelo to the Los Angeles Clippers?
Yesterday, John Ireland from 710 ESPN Los Angeles made a trade proposal that should make Clipper fans very excited for the upcoming season. He proposed that the Clippers trade Chris Kaman and Blake Griffin for Carmelo Anthony and Denver’s First round pick in the 2011 draft. At first I laughed it off, thinking why in the world would Denver do that? But after thinking about it for a while it makes sense for both teams.
For the Clippers:
You are getting a top five player for pretty much an aging center and an unproven player who is coming back from injury. No one has any idea how Blake Griffin is going to rebound (pun intended) and play this year. From all the reports it looks like he should be back to full strength and ready to play for this upcoming season. However, rehabbing and playing 25-30 mins in a full court game is completely different. Chris Kaman, though he is a very solid center, is starting to show wear and tear. He is still a double double machine, but it would make sense to trade him when his stock is still kind of high. Getting Carmelo would definitely be a boon for the Clippers organization. As my colleague Amish mentioned in his article, the Clippers have made poor management decisions and have been a running joke for a long time in the sports world. This move would give the Clippers an opportunity to sell out games and finally give die hard Clipper fans something to cheer about. The Clippers would also get a chance to build their future by having two picks (Denver’s and their own) in the 2011 draft.
Predicted Line up:
PG- Baron Davis
SG- Eric Gordon
SF- Carmelo Anthony
PF- Al Farouq Aminu/ Craig Smith
C- DeAndre Jordan
For the Nuggets:
Carmelo obviously wants to get out, but the question is when and for whom? This move allows them to still compete without completely blowing up their team. They get a young power forward who can run and has the potential to be a future star in the league. He comes at a cheap price and the Nuggets can build around him in the future. As for Kaman, he still has a few more years at about 10 million dollars/year. Not the cheapest alternative, but they would be getting a very good center to add more depth and size to their front line. It seems like having a strong and big front line is key for NBA teams to be successful these days.
Predicted Lineup:
PG- Chauncey Billups
SG- JR Smith
SF- Al Harrington
PF- Blake Grffin/Kenyon Martin
C- Kaman/Nene
This would be a great trade for both teams in my eyes BUT, this is just an opinion…so please Pardon My Bias.
