NBA Trades That NEED To Happen Not Involving Carmelo Anthony
There are a lot of sub .500 teams in the NBA right now. It's not completely Pat Riley's fault. Sometimes you have to wonder how NBA GM's keep their jobs with certain trades and signings...
I mean, Rudy Gay got $82 million for 19 points and highlight dunks in Memphis, Drew Gooden just got $32 million in Milwaukee for his illustrious nine point, seven rebound games and Toronto gave Amir Johnson (who) $34 million for his outstanding six points and five boards a game.
Way to be guys.
$6.8 million a year and you cannot even produce a double double? Correct that, a single double!?
It got me thinking...WWBSD? (What Would Bill Simmons Do?).
For those who aren't aware, Bill Simmons is a writer for ESPN.com who has an extensive knowledge and understanding of basketball and the NBA (yes, they are subtly different).
He speaks very highly of the game on ESPN.com, the NBA Trade Machine.
So I went and played around for awhile and found several scenarios which would make each team better, albeit may never happen.
If there is any doubt in the math or plausibility, go check it out for the logistics. Keep an open mind and remember that these are best case scenarios for these underachieving teams.
So without further ado, here are five NBA teams and the trades that they NEED to make to become contenders or at least get out of the basketball basement.
Clippers: Record 1-9
1 of 5
Trade Machine: +11 Wins
SUNS GET: Chris Kaman - 2 years, $11.8 mil, Eric Bledsoe - 2 years, 1.485 mil, First Rd Pick
FOR
CLIPPERS GET: Steve Nash - 2 years, $10.3 mil & Robin Lopez - 2 years, 1.86 mil
Complete long shot in the dark, I realize this. However, if you're running the Phoenix Suns, at some point you have to realize that you are not contending this year.
Robert Sarver, the Suns owner has shorted Steve Nash of so many players and great teams because of his unwillingness to spend money. He owes him at least a chance to contend before Father Time finally catches up to him.
The Suns are currently 6-4 and 7th place in the always tough Western Conference. The only reason for this is their streaky shooting and ability to hit the long range shot. How long will that last?
Took them to the West finals last year, but the Lakers took them out. The Lakers are better this year and Amare' is gone, now what?
Phoenix lost what little post presence they did have when Amare Stoudemire went to the Knicks and while Kaman may not be the explosive scorer that Stoudemire was, he would more than make up for the lack of a post player plaguing the Suns now.
It makes sense for both teams because Phoenix gets the low post player they need and a rookie from Kentucky in Eric Bledsoe to breed into a hybrid PG/SG, especially if Goran Dragic doesn't pan out.
Plus, the first round pick because if we have learned anything about the Clippers over the years it's that other than Griffin and Danny Manning, they usually end up blowing that anyway.
The Clippers have enormous talent at the wing positions with Aminu's athleticism and Eric Gordon's spot up shooting.
Plus, they already have arguably one of the most talented PF's in Blake Griffin, who is a highlight reel by himself. Put Nash in that equation and let the possibilities marinate. I'll wait. Exciting isn't it?
Lopez provides a stable center in Kaman's absence and now Baron Davis' beard doesn't have to dominate the ball and Nash won't let him.
Find someone to move Davis' contract and this team could easily be a top 5 contender in the west.
One intangible not to overlook. If youngsters Gordon and Griffin put up impressive but marginal numbers with a PG who doesn't try or care, how would they look with a future hall of famer?
Rockets: 3-6
2 of 5
Trade Machine: +3 wins (debatable)
BLAZERS GET: Yao Ming - 1 year, $17.68 Million & First Rd Pick
FOR
ROCKETS GET: Marcus Camby - 2 years, $11.75; Rudy Fernandez - 2 years, 1.246 mil; & Elliot Williams 2 years, 1.256 mil
Let's face it, when you can only utilize a number one pick for 24 minutes a game, it may be time to let it go.
I always wonder when teams talk about "the future" and "next year", what exactly do they mean? If you are the Rockets, what are you waiting for?
Obviously Yao was a no-brainer to draft number 1 overall in 2002. Eight years later and countless games missed (two full seasons in fact), who does Houston think is coming to save them?
This season, Houston revealed that he can only play 24 minutes a game and he can barely handle that (considering he got hurt last week), so shouldn't the Rockets be building around the other players who are getting it done?
Luis Scola, Aaron Brooks, Kevin Martin can all score in bunches, while Budinger, Jordan Hill, Rudy Fernandez (who doesn't want to be in Portland anyway) and Courtney Lee can be great complimentary players.
Add in defensive minded players such as Patrick Patterson, Shane Battier AND Marcus Camby and that sounds like a great eight to nine man rotation. That is what teams claim they strive for, a contending eight to nine man rotation of players who compete every night.
The one team in the league that could take this type of trade and still contend?
The Portland Trail Blazers.
Why do it? The Blazers are already a good team, so why put that in jeopardy for the 7'6" Ming, who won't be able to play big minutes?
Three reasons: because they're the one team who doesn't need him to play big minutes, they can get cap relief at the end of the year when his contract is up and the first round pick.
Two of these three things are very important in the NBA and when it comes to the center position Portland is stacked.
Joel Przybilla, Greg Oden, Yao Ming would be their 3 headed monster of rebounds and blocked shots. The best part is that none of the above would be expected to do much outside their fragile frame's ability.
Just rebound, block shots and in Yao's case score some points for their allotted 20 minutes per on the court.
Easy math: 7'1" + 7'0" + 7'6" divided by 48 minutes, multiply by 82 games = 60 wins
Besides, neither Greg Oden nor Yao Ming will EVER be healthy enough to compete for long periods of time without getting hurt. So why not put them together for a year and see what happens?
Kings: 3-6
3 of 5
Trade Machine: +6 wins
SPURS GET: Demarcus Cousins - 3 years, 3.74 mil; Beno Udrih - 2 years, 6.75 mil & Donte Green - 2 years, 930,700
FOR
KINGS GET: Tony Parker - 5 years, 13.5 mil & Tiago Splitter - 2 years, 3.4 mil.
No, neither team would ever do this. The Kings won't give up on Cousins unless there is something they can't refuse.
San Antonio would treat Parker like the Eagles did McNabb and ask him where he would like to play. They wouldn't just cut ties and banish him to Sacramento, he's been with them too long.
Yes, Demarcus Cousins will most likely turn out to be a stud; he was a top five pick. Coming out of college though, there were many questions about his work ethic, weight and all around attitude.
The Kings took the chance; they even hired his high school coach hoping that he would be able to control and focus his talents.
Cousins started the season in the starting lineup with the Maloofs dreaming that Tyreke Evans and Demarcus would make Arco Arena relevant again.
Not even 10 games into the season, Cousins is on the bench and has had several run-ins with Head Coach Paul Westphal and the rest of his staff.
No, not one, not two, several. I bet the four teams who passed on Cousins in the draft are glad they did their homework.
Here's what I am proposing: out of ALL the NBA teams, which team has the most structure? The most discipline? One perennial Hall of Famer, as well as one, if not the, best coach in the NBA?
That's right, the San Antonio Spurs.
Talk about reaching and exceeding one's potential, stick Cousins with Duncan and Pop for the next few years and tell me he doesn't at least resemble a baby Shaq.
Udrih is included in the deal, A. to make the numbers work and B. because the Kings rue the day they ever signed him to that large contract, so for anyone to get one of their young studs must be willing to take on one of their worst contracts.
Greene is just an extra swingman that can be included. Now I'm not naive, I know the Kings would NEVER do this. But it works for them too, in a weird kind of way.
Parker becomes the savior of their franchise in his twilight years. He is still capable of putting up good numbers, but he's also never been on a bad team, so we don't know what his maximum limits are when it comes to scoring.
Tyreke Evans is NOT a point guard and he will never be a point guard. Parker allows him to move over to his natural scoring position at shooting guard and cuts down on the Kings' turnovers tremendously.
Splitter is their new young big man that they can breed into their center of the future. If you watched the World Championships this past summer, you know what this 6'11" Brazilian is capable of.
That leaves the Kings with a starting lineup that looks like this:
PG-Parker, SG-Evans, SF-Omri Casspi, PF-Carl Landry/Tiago Splitter, C-Samuel Dalembert/Tiago Splitter
And more playing time for PG Pooh Jeter...I don't know who he is or his skill level, but his name...actual name is POOH!
That counts for something, I think.
Wizards: 2-6
4 of 5
Trade machine: +5 wins
NUGGETS GET: Gilbert Arenas - 4 years, 17.7 mil; Kirk Hinrich - 2 years, 9 mil; Javale McGee 2 years, 1.6 mil & 2 Conditional First Round Picks
FOR
WIZARDS GET: Chauncey Billups - 2 years, 13.5 mil; Nene Hilario - 2 years, 11.36 mil & JR Smith - 1 year 6.75 mil
This scenario works in the theory that Carmelo Anthony will not be staying with the Nuggets. Which by now has to be a certainty.
The Nuggets will be trading Melo much later in the season. This may improve their chances of keeping him around long term because obviously he's not impressed with his current squad. You've got to try something or else you'll end up like Cleveland and Toronto.
Arenas has shown with John Wall that he is willing to play second fiddle (he could just be playing nice to get a ticket out of town, you never know) but Arenas and Anthony are to be reckoned with offensively, while Hinrich provides the three point shooting they would be giving up in JR Smith.
Javel McGee is the sweetener gift from the Wizards, wrapped with a note saying:"thank you so much for taking this contract, here's our best prospect NOT named Wall and two picks, thanks again!".
McGee is an exciting player, he goes to the rim with no fear, is relentless on the boards and he was one Tyson Chandler ankle away from making the World Championships team this summer.
Obviously, this was to improve the worst teams with plausible trade scenarios, so this more explains why the Wizards would be thrilled to make this work.
This trade would literally put Washington in the playoffs. No, not squeak into the playoffs, legit five or six seed.
Billups grooms Wall, teach him how to cut down on the turnovers, harness his skills and become unstoppable. Wall listens and learns from his championship/gold medal pedigree like Nuke in "Bull Durham".
Soaking up everything that "Crash" has to say, while "Crash" (now played by Chauncey Billups, not Kevin Costner) mostly plays the two like he did this summer in the Worlds.
John Wall's mom even wants this trade to happen. Who would you rather have John Wall sitting next to on the chartered flight? Chauncey Billups or Gilbert "take ten paces and draw" Arenas?
Nene would bring a much needed viable half court threat if the Wiz did make the playoffs and he usually leads the league in FG percentage as well.
Then there's JR Smith. No, you don't want Wall hanging out with him either, but they're both so fast and athletic when the Wizards did decide to run, who would stop them? Plus he's an expiring contract, so if it doesn't work and Smith starts to pout (it's inevitable) then he's out after this year.
Bobcats: 4-7
5 of 5
Trade Machine: +8 wins
NETS GET: D.J. Augustin - 2 years, 2.54 mil; Boris Diaw - 1 year, 9 mil & First Round Pick
FOR
BOBCATS GET: Devin Harris - 3 years, 8.98 mil, Damion James - 2 years, 1.56 mil
This doesn't fit Michael Jordan's new philosophy of cutting costs, but it does fit the playoff mold he so desperately wants.
Jordan claimed in a press conference at the beginning of the year that if this team didn't make the playoffs that they would be taking a step back.
This is a step forward. This trade almost happened, although not in this format.
This was a small part of the Carmelo Anthony trade that would have sent him to New Jersey, Harris to Charlotte, Augustin to New Jersey, Diaw to Utah, and Andrea Kirilenko and Derrick Favors to Denver.
Something is going to happen to this underachieving Bobcats team. Larry Brown can only sit idly by for so long.
They lost Felton in the off-season so their toughness at the PG position is questionable. Felton was not worth the money after he got handled by Jameer Nelson in the playoffs last spring.
Harris underachieved as well last year after he was an all-star in 2008, but he's a smart PG who can score and play defense (something that Larry Brown loves).
Damion James is a wing playing rookie who was serviceable at Texas and should be able to provide defense and much needed rest for forwards Stephen Jackson and Gerald Wallace.
Both are top five in the league in minutes played, same as last season, but at some point they're going to break down and then the Bobcats won't be effective at all.
Diaw is expendable and valuable for New Jersey at the same time because he has an expiring deal and can play/defend all five positions, so that would be good for the Nets in a backup PF/SF role.
They let him go in the off-season and will have even more money to spend in Free Agency.
Augustin provides more cap relief, being a cheaper option at PG, where they don't need as much production as they just need someone to run the offense through their bigs Favors, Lopez and Troy Murphy.
Truth be told, the Bobcats need to win now, or blow it up and start over.
They can't blow it up just yet or risk relocation again because the fans in Charlotte don't come if you don't win. They're not very faithful, especially for a team named after a man they hate (Robert Johnson).
It's a shot in the dark, but when you're paying this much guaranteed money up front for a product, sometimes you've got to roll the dice.
