UTA-PHX-NOH-CHI Blockbuster

[rsavaj]

http://www1.realgm.com/src_checktrade.p ... id=5122847

Based off my earlier trade but with Utah added in as another party.

Phoenix Out: Shaquille O'Neal(expiring), Jason Richardson(2 years)
Phoenix In: Luol Deng(5 years), Tyson Chandler(2 years), Andrei Kirelenko(2 years)

Chicago Out: Luol Deng(5 years), Tim Thomas(expiring), Jerome James(super expiring, 80% covered by insurance)
Chicago In: Shaquille O'Neal(expiring)

New Orleans Out: Tyson Chandler(2 years)
New Orleans In: Jerome James(expiring), Tim Thomas(expiring)

Utah Out: Andrei Kirelenko
Utah In: Jason Richardson

****
Why for Phoenix?: They sell high on Shaq and pick up a young player they covet in Luol Deng, who hopefully with the help of Phoenix's voodoo training staff can revive his career. Tyson Chandler is the center that they've long been looking to pair with Amare; his defense and rebounding would be ideal fits in the SSOL system. Leandro Barbosa's play has made Jason Richardson expendable, and for a team that drastically needs another defender, Andrei Kirelenko seems like a perfect fit and would replace a lot of what they used to have in Shawn Marion.

Why not for Phoenix?: Chandler, Deng and AK is a lot of money to take in for three underachieving players. In Chandler/Deng's cases, their injuries might derail their careers, and this move completely limits any financial flexibility Phoenix could look forward to with Shaq/Nash/ coming off the books. For a money conscious franchise with a stingy owner, this trade almost seems like an impossibility.

Final Lineup:
Nash/Dragic
AK/Barbosa
Hill/Deng/Tucker
Amare/Dudley
Chandler/Amundson/Lopez

Why for Chicago?: Luol Deng has not lived up to his contract, and acquiring Shaq works out for them in a variety of ways. It immediately boosts their lineup to make them contenders in the East; it gives them a big name to boost season ticket sales; finally, if it doesn't work out, they can just let Shaq expire and gain a lot of cap space for 2010 by dumping Deng's contract. Concerns about Shaq potentially throwing a wrench into the offense are overblown and unfounded; under Alvin Gentry's "Seven Seconds or Shaq" system, the Suns averaged 118 ppg over the final 31 games of the season.

Why not for Chicago?: Even though Deng has been unproductive and injured, he is still young, and he can still turn things around. Trading a young player with potential for an aging Shaq may be hard to swallow.

Final Lineup:
Rose/Hinrich/Hunter
Gordon/Roberson
Salmons/?
Noah/Tyrus Thomas
Shaq/Brad Miller/Aaron Gray


Why for New Orleans?: Simple. They tried to trade Chandler for expirings last season, and with management in cost-cutting mode, there's no indication that they wouldn't welcome expirings for Chandler again. With Jerome James's contract being 80% covered by insurance, this trade offers them massive financial relief.

Why not for New Orleans?: Again, it's pretty simple. If they want to contend in the West, keeping Tyson Chandler with Chris Paul seems crucial. However, judging by their actions last season, their ownership seems to place dollars over wins.

Final Lineup:
Paul/Daniels
Butler/Posey/Brown/Peterson
Peja/Wright
West/Thomas/Bowen
Armstrong/Ely/James



Why for Utah?: AK has worn out his welcome in Utah. He hasn't lived up to his contract, and Jason Richardson brings desperately needed firepower to their lineup. He also has a shorter, cheaper contract, and provides offensive insurance just in case Korver and Boozer don't come back.

Why not for Utah?: Would Jason Richardson be a good fit in Jerry Sloan's system? Maybe not, so I could definitely understand why Utah fans would hesitate to do this trade.

Final Lineup if Korver doesn't come back:
Williams/Price/Knight
Brewer/Almond
Richardson/Harpring/Miles
Boozer/Milsap
Okur/Koufos/Collins/Fesenko




I think it's pretty fair for all four teams involved. Judging by the thread "Suns like Deng" on the CHI board, Shaq for Deng has some fans. I don't know how Utah fans will react, and I know NOH fans will hate it but I think it's plausible for them since they want expirings for Chandler.

What do you think?

[TASTIC]

Utah says no first

And my eyes say no to those hideous font colours vaj

And I think NOR needs SOMETHING other than expirings, whether it's RoLo, or Tucker + our 2nd

[qclakers]

Utah says no first

And my eyes say no to those hideous font colours vaj

And I think NOR needs SOMETHING other than expirings, whether it's RoLo, or Tucker + our 2nd

I think Utah says hell yes. Saves them a couple mil this year to help with Millsap resigning and gets them some more offense and dumps AK47 who just hasn't fit well the last two seasons.

CHI - Maybe since they are only losing Deng and they might like getting out of that contract because then they could possibly be players in 2010.

NOH pretty much has to say yes. They already moved him for similar garbage last year and at least Thomas can play for them this year and be ok. Maybe toss someone's late first their way.

PHX - In my opinion they would jump all over this. They would still have Amare to trade for more pieces or keep and have a sick front court. Chandler and AK are two investments(or one as expirings in a yr) so they have a little more time with Nash and too get some youth to take over. They would need to find a 2 guard either through FA or the draft.

[sendai91]

This Utah fan says yes. AK's contract is a killer for the Jazz for the next couple of years. We'd have to find a new home for CJ Miles if this deal goes down and Korver doesn't opt out, but that's OK with me.

[JDubJazz]

Utah says yes to an AK for JRich swap.

Also, if Korver doesn't opt out, the Jazz may try to weasel in on the the NOH part of the deal for Chandler by offering Harpring and Korver (both expirings-works in trade checker). Harpring and Korver would certainly offer more value to NOH for next season and save the Hornets about 2 mil this year too.

That would give the Jazz a starting lineup of

D-Will
Brewer
J-Rich
(one of either Boozer or Okur)
Chandler

which would be a scary lineup for any team to match up with.

[qclakers]

Utah says yes to an AK for JRich swap.

Also, if Korver doesn't opt out, the Jazz may try to weasel in on the the NOH part of the deal for Chandler by offering Harpring and Korver (both expirings-works in trade checker). Harpring and Korver would certainly offer more value to NOH for next season and save the Hornets about 2 mil this year too.

That would give the Jazz a starting lineup of

D-Will
Brewer
J-Rich
(one of either Boozer or Okur)
Chandler

which would be a scary lineup for any team to match up with.

And PHX might be ok with that part if Amare is willing to play center again.
Amare/Ak/Deng/Nash with a 2 guard to be named later. Hill/Barbosa off the bench and draft Earl Clark or Brandon Jennings or Gerald Henderson.

[Leto]

rsavaj wrote:Any other thoughts?

No chance the Bulls do this.

Seriously, I can't see the Bulls trading 24 y.o. Deng for 37 y.o. Shaq. That's falt out stupid no matter how big of a salary dump it is. You're trading Deng at his lowest possible point for one year of Shaq. It's not happening.

[qclakers]

rsavaj wrote:Any other thoughts?

No chance the Bulls do this.

Seriously, I can't see the Bulls trading 24 y.o. Deng for 37 y.o. Shaq. That's falt out stupid no matter how big of a salary dump it is. You're trading Deng at his lowest possible point for one year of Shaq. It's not happening.

If they don't believe in Deng long term it is a great move. Not only do they get out of his contract without having to take back long term contracts or give up draft picks(which is usually the case to get someone to take on a bad contract) but they get to appease their fans in the process by having a good show for one year. Shaq/TT/Salmons/Gordon/Rose pretty good lineup.

[Leto]

This is only a great move if your a Suns fan. There's a reason Cleveland would not give the Suns West in the deal at the deadline. It's because that would be overpaying for Shaq--not because he's a bad player--but because he's 37 years old. The notion that he's now worth Deng PLUS 12 million in expirings is flat out stupid and it's not happening. IF the Suns had any 1st round picks, it would be different--but they dont.

Edit: as an addendum, if Deng were not in the Bulls plans, they still wouldn't do this because they could get a lot better value for Deng from another team. You don't just salary dump starting SF that play two ways who just turned 24.

Edit #2: If Deng is traded to the Suns, it's because Amare is coming to the Bulls---not Shaq.

[BiggMann]

Utah has to consider this, but I am not sure JRich is a good fit right now...although he's an upgrade from CJ Miles. If we could add Korver, and Harpring (possibliy number 20) to land Chandler we'd jump all over this.

[qclakers]

This is only a great move if your a Suns fan. There's a reason Cleveland would not give the Suns West in the deal at the deadline. It's because that would be overpaying for Shaq--not because he's a bad player--but because he's 37 years old. The notion that he's now worth Deng PLUS 12 million in expirings is flat out stupid and it's not happening. IF the Suns had any 1st round picks, it would be different--but they dont.

Edit: as an addendum, if Deng were not in the Bulls plans, they still wouldn't do this because they could get a lot better value for Deng from another team. You don't just salary dump starting SF that play two ways who just turned 24.

Edit #2: If Deng is traded to the Suns, it's because Amare is coming to the Bulls---not Shaq.

First I am a Laker fan not a Suns fan. Second the Suns have the #14 pick in the draft. And I agree about more value for Deng but the idea for the Bulls would be to still be good this year but have max cap space for next year to make a run at Wade, Amare, Bosh, etc... Not saying it is their best option but they might consider it. To get anyone else to take Deng you would have to add incentive because his contract now gives him negative value. If he gets healthy and plays like the old Deng then that may change and that is ultimately why the Bulls will probably not move Deng. Similar to why there is no way the Lakers would move Bynum.

[Leto]

We don't need any more cap space. Check what the Bulls can do next year without options and then with options. If we get anymore cap space next year, the entire team will be FAs not likely to be named Bosh, Amare etc. But, hey, maybe they can sign Ben Wallace again. That worked out well, huh?

I don't think the Suns can trade their pick because they owe one next year. I.E., I don't think you can trade two consecutive draft picks. I could be wrong about the conditions of the rule, however.

[SideSwipe]

Judging by a lot of other CHI reactions of the Shaq to CHI rumors, it seems like you might be in a bit of a minority Leto. Del Negro would probably like a shot a uniting Wade and Bosh together with Rose which they could do if they had all of the cap space of Shaq dropping off in 2010. They are a big market and they have a much higher likelihood of attracting FA's than a lot of other markets, so if they have the market and they have the cash they might as well go for it, their chances are higher than everyone elses to get the deal done.

[qclakers]

We don't need any more cap space. Check what the Bulls can do next year without options and then with options. If we get anymore cap space next year, the entire team will be FAs not likely to be named Bosh, Amare etc. But, hey, maybe they can sign Ben Wallace again. That worked out well, huh?

I don't think the Suns can trade their pick because they owe one next year. I.E., I don't think you can trade two consecutive draft picks. I could be wrong about the conditions of the rule, however.

You are right that they can't trade two years in a row but they just draft who the other team wants and finishes the trade after the draft.

[Slackerr]

Judging by a lot of other CHI reactions of the Shaq to CHI rumors, it seems like you might be in a bit of a minority Leto. Del Negro would probably like a shot a uniting Wade and Bosh together with Rose which they could do if they had all of the cap space of Shaq dropping off in 2010. They are a big market and they have a much higher likelihood of attracting FA's than a lot of other markets, so if they have the market and they have the cash they might as well go for it, their chances are higher than everyone elses to get the deal done.

Part of that majority have an irrational thought that Luol Deng is soft and useless, regardless of his health or anything. The fact of the matter is though... Luol Deng is actually pretty good when healthy and he played when he was really injured. I don't know how anyone can consider him soft and useless, but that's the Chicago fanbase for you. We're very fickle people. One day we'll love you, the next it's all hate.

Anyways, besides that stuff, I'm thinking whoever offers Wade/Bosh the most money, that's where they're going. That means that they probably won't move anywhere unless S+T'd. Other than that, I'm fairly confident that most of the 2010 FAs will be overpaid. I don't want Chicago to be one of those teams.

[qclakers]

Judging by a lot of other CHI reactions of the Shaq to CHI rumors, it seems like you might be in a bit of a minority Leto. Del Negro would probably like a shot a uniting Wade and Bosh together with Rose which they could do if they had all of the cap space of Shaq dropping off in 2010. They are a big market and they have a much higher likelihood of attracting FA's than a lot of other markets, so if they have the market and they have the cash they might as well go for it, their chances are higher than everyone elses to get the deal done.

Part of that majority have an irrational thought that Luol Deng is soft and useless, regardless of his health or anything. The fact of the matter is though... Luol Deng is actually pretty good when healthy and he played when he was really injured. I don't know how anyone can consider him soft and useless, but that's the Chicago fanbase for you. We're very fickle people. One day we'll love you, the next it's all hate.

Anyways, besides that stuff, I'm thinking whoever offers Wade/Bosh the most money, that's where they're going. That means that they probably won't move anywhere unless S+T'd. Other than that, I'm fairly confident that most of the 2010 FAs will be overpaid. I don't want Chicago to be one of those teams.

I totally agree with you on that point. And that is why I think you will see some of these guys start to state their intentions to their current teams privately. The best bet is to trade them this offseason to a team that they will be want to resign with. CHI is in the best position of all teams in this regard because they have a desirable market, a lot of assets they can trade without wiping out their whole team and the money to pay the max without a problem. Then the player will opt out next year and resign under their Bird rights(ala Kobe, who is gonna re-up for 5 yrs 135 mil)

[bwgood77]

Someone get that trade proposal to Kerr immediately. It doesn't really solve our financial problems, but it is exciting and pretty much makes sense for all teams.