Waston and Petro/Swift/Sene for a SG

[wiff]

Orlando has an abundance of SG's and a need for a backup PG and a big. Any interest in Bogans?

Same deal with the Magic as it is with the Heat. You say Bogans we say Lee. They say Wright we say Cook.

The only way I can see towards bridging the gap is tossing in a pick, or swapping a pick. Presti has a boatload of extras... what would his 2009 2nd be worth to you? Likely be the first 2nd round pick.

Courtney Lee? Really? Clearly you guys are much higher on Watson and Petro than the rest of the world.

Orlando would consider something with Bogans or Redick, but certainly would not even consider Lee or Pietrus.

I guess Lee and his 5.8 pts are untouchable? Actually Watson scores about the same but he brings 6dimes with him too.

[Cammo101]

Courtney Lee? Really? Clearly you guys are much higher on Watson and Petro than the rest of the world.

Orlando would consider something with Bogans or Redick, but certainly would not even consider Lee or Pietrus.

I guess Lee and his 5.8 pts are untouchable? Actually Watson scores about the same but he brings 6dimes with him too.[/quote]

Courtney Lee is a rookie and only now starting to play meaningful minutes. Surely you see the difference between he and Watson's situations. Also, Lee is proving to be a pretty good little defender. Orlando would be looking to move a SG in part to get Lee more playing time.

Lee is far from untouchable, but Orlando has no reason to trade him for 2 backups that the Thunder are looking to move. Orlando wants a big or PG on the cheap, not at the expense of a good young talent. Lee and Westbrook would be a fantastic young backcourt though.

[gswhoops]

Interesting about Belinelli... you think there's any possibility of a trade?

For what you're offering...no. At this point we'd need to get a pretty significant piece in return and aside from Durant/Green/1st (none of which are even within the realm of possibility for Belinelli) nothing would really interest the Warriors.

I'd take the original offer (Watson + Swift/Petro/Sene, take your pick) for Jamal Crawford though. I doubt Crawford's exactly what you're looking for but he's a SG.

[djthesonicsfan]

Orlando has an abundance of SG's and a need for a backup PG and a big. Any interest in Bogans?

Same deal with the Magic as it is with the Heat. You say Bogans we say Lee. They say Wright we say Cook.

The only way I can see towards bridging the gap is tossing in a pick, or swapping a pick. Presti has a boatload of extras... what would his 2009 2nd be worth to you? Likely be the first 2nd round pick.

Courtney Lee? Really? Clearly you guys are much higher on Watson and Petro than the rest of the world.

Orlando would consider something with Bogans or Redick, but certainly would not even consider Lee or Pietrus.

No argument on your value assessment of the players. Totally agree on Courtney Lee's upside... which is why we'd be looking to add him to our squad. But the deal that's was being referred to, at least in my post, is Joe Smith & a 2009 2nd for Courtney Lee & Brian Cook. It's been mentioned a couple of different times on the trade board. That deal would be about contending this season & clearing space under the tax to sign Turkoglu & Gortat next season. Way more than just a value conversation.

[djthesonicsfan]

Interesting about Belinelli... you think there's any possibility of a trade?

For what you're offering...no. At this point we'd need to get a pretty significant piece in return and aside from Durant/Green/1st (none of which are even within the realm of possibility for Belinelli) nothing would really interest the Warriors.

I'd take the original offer (Watson + Swift/Petro/Sene, take your pick) for Jamal Crawford though. I doubt Crawford's exactly what you're looking for but he's a SG.

Pretty much what I thought. And ya, you're right about Crawford. Too bad it took so long for Belinelli to get rotation minutes. He can shoot.

[JustinSane]

I think Lee is going to be good. In the one time I've seen him play, his defense was giving the Pistons real problems, and he's quick to the rim. Reminds me of Rondo.

[Flash is the Future]

Hey wiff! Here's my list of possibilities for what it's worth...

- Joe Smith & Damien Wilkins for Daequan Cook & Mark Blount
Gets Riley pretty close to being able to sign Carlos Boozer this summer, especially if he also dumps the S Livingston experiment before his contract becomes guaranteed. Plus the Heat need to compete now & they sure could use a decent big. When James Jones returns (not to mention Dorell Wright) finding minutes for Daequan Cook will be a tough trick. Presti could actually use Blount as a backup center next season before dumping his contract as an expiring at the deadline. I also think Riley may wind up trading Marion if he can't find a way to clear enough cap space to sign Boozer. In that case another version of this trade could easily be part of a larger three/four team deal.

I know we keep coming back to this, but the bolded part isn't true at all. First of all, Livingston's contract is already guaranteed. We signed him for 2 years because he was never going to be worth much this year, but hopefully his recovery is complete by next season. Second of all, finding minutes for Daequan Cook isn't what's going to be tough. Finding minutes for Dorell Wright will probably prove impossible except on nights when someone is hurt. Cook is currently 5th on the team in minutes (with only Chalmers+Wade+Marion+Haslem playing more). Cook's minutes will be there. Our minutes distribution will probably look something like this when James Jones gets back and we stop showcasing Banks. Marion/Cook will probably both see a slight decrease in minutes, and Diawara will probably lose all of his PT (which has been about 12MPG this year). And at some point Zo will get back and start cutting into Joel/Magloire's minutes at C.

PG: Mario Chalmers (32)/Chris Quinn (16)
SG: Dwyane Wade (37)/Daequan Cook (11)
SF: Shawn Marion (20)/James Jones (19.5)/Daequan Cook (8.5)
PF: Udonis Haslem (14)/Michael Beasley (20)/Shawn Marion (14)
C: Joel Anthony (20)/Udonis Haslem (20)/Jamaal Magloire (8)

Looking at that minutes chart, we're absolutely loaded at PF. I don't really see Joe Smith being a good center for us, though I suppose he could play some? And Wilkins is useless (James Jones/Marion would probably share all of his minutes). I just don't think we're really after Boozer with Beasley on the team. Beasley hasn't played a minute all year long at SF, and Boozer's not really a center. If we trade Beasley for Boozer, I suppose it could be a possibility, albeit one I'm not fond of. And in that case, we wouldn't need capspace for Boozer. Overall, it seems clear that we're looking at 2010 more than 2009, so we don't care about having Blount on the team. And if we trade Marion we kiss all 2009 caspace goodbye anyway. The Banks/Cook for Smith trade that I'd mentioned before doesn't seem like a possibility anymore. Cook's doing a pretty good job playing SF next to Wade, in addition to being our only shooter. I don't think there's a deal here anymore, as Cook has simply been too good. He's pretty much our only reliable shooter from downtown, something that's crucial on a team with Dwyane Wade. With all of that in mind, I don't think Cook is available in a salary dump. Cook is only going out if we get actual value back in return (almost certainly a starter).

I accept your input on S Livingston's contract. I had read something other than that. Wish I could remember the link. But I'm sure you'd have that right. As with the Heat plan & Beasley at the PF spot. I had envisioned next season's lineup for the Heat as something like Chalmers, Wade, Beasley, Boozer & Anthony with Jones & Haslem first off the bench. But ya, I agree Cook's good and getting gooder every game. The only value in return would be the shot at Boozer. And that would be a pretty risky deal.

I was going by Shamsports. I remember there being some confusion among local papers about it when he was first given the contract. But the wiretap says we've just released him (5 days before the guaranteed deadline) so perhaps it wasn't all guaranteed. Or we needed a roster spot for Zo, and we felt that Livingston was the player who would have the greatest chance of getting signed by another team, thus cutting our costs. At this point I'm not sure.

EDIT: He wound up guaranteed $370,000. A rare occasion in which Shamsports was wrong, I suppose.

[djthesonicsfan]

Interesting. So I guess the question is why Livingston got cut. Is it because Riley didn't think he'd recover properly? Totally possible. Or is it because Riley is looking forward to clearing more cap space? Maybe. Boozer is eligible for 30% of salary cap I think. That's a lot of money... $18M or something like that, right? The Heat would need to dump at least $8M (Blount) more salary to have a chance. Loserx had an interesting idea about a Utah sign/trade which made sense if Sloan & ownership agree to focus on keeping Millsap... which would allow the Jazz to stay under the tax.

Thoughts?

[Flash is the Future]

I don't think this has anything to do with 2009 capspace. We needed a roster spot to sign Zo. Magloire was semi-productive, along with Diawara. The made Livingston the most viable option to cut. Cook+Wade+Chalmers have all of the minutes at guard locked up. And no sane team would pay Boozer 18 million IMO.

[djthesonicsfan]

Rashard Lewis got $16M so anything's possible, but I agree $18M would be too much for Boozer. What do you think he'll get?

[Flash is the Future]

He might actually get a contract starting in that same range, maybe a contract starting at around 2 million higher than what Brand got 13 million). He'd be overpaid, but happy, I'm sure.

[Prospect Dong]

Belinnelli has had a breakout in recent weeks and is now starting...scoring 15-25...passing well,playing much better D....he's pretty much not available anything like cheap.

Marco has scored 7, 10 and 2 points in his last three games.