Cap-Friendly Trades

[4ho5ive]

Ok, i know that not everyone here is as hung up on our coming cap space over the next two years and i understand that. The thinking for some is that we wont be able to use any cap space on FA's anyway since our team plays in Minneapolis, Russia. But i dont think that is totally true. Sure we will have a harder time, and we may not get the marquee players, but I think we would have a good shot at the "Mike Millers" of the league. And cap space allows us to absorb great players in trades whose teams are going into a rebuild mode soon(Amare anyone?)

Anyway here are some deals that i think we should take a look at that would help our cap situation and help sort out our team.

1. Mike Miller + Brian Cardinal + Mark Madsen to Cleveland for Wally Szczerbiak + 1st rounder

-Probably the most talked about on the trade board involving us. Cleveland gets a great piece and some 2010 friendly contracts, we pick up a big expiring and another 1st. I know alot of people arent ready to give Miller up yet, and I agree to a point. But the FO started dumping contracts with the Love-Mayo deal, I think they would consider continuing to do so with this sort of deal. I think an issue that isnt talked about is I would love for CLE to buyout Madsen so he can return here to be apart of the organization.

09 Cap Room=$36.9M Just a hair under $37M.

2. Rashad McCants + Brian Cardinal to Cleveland for Eric Snow

-Snow is roughly half the expiring Wally is, but the cost is much less steep. In this case, we are moving a player that it seems more and more posters are turning on everyday and a guy the FO/Coach seems fed up with. Originally proposed by a CLE fan (I think), definitely helps both teams. It a 2-for-1 involving an outgoing 2 year deal and an incoming 1 year deal. Eric Snow probably cant contribute on-court, but his value as a psuedo-assistant coach to Foye and Telfair is where he really helps. Cleveland dumps a lifeless body for some offensive fire-power off the bench. Shrink mentioned the possibility of a buy-out for Snow to return to CLE if it was demanded which is fair.

09 Cap Room=$46M

3. Mike Miller + Brian Cardinal to Portland for Raef LaFrentz + Martell Webster + Channing Frye

As you can see the main theme of these deals is to dump Cardinal. LaFrentz is about $1M less of an expiring than Wally is. However with Channing Frye in the deal it adds up to about $15M. Throw in Webster, a young swing man with ideal size and a great shot and I think this deal helps both teams accomplish what they want. Portland gets Miller and both contracts expire in time for 2010, where Portland may be a very attractive spot for a big name FA.
(*An issue with Webster, ESPN's Trade Machine says he is signed to a 5-year deal, ShamSports has no contract info other than his salary this year and SportsCity is the same only they also have the 5M QO.)

Cap Room 09=$44.8M~ (Assuming we did pick up the QO on Webster i would think McCants would be allowed to walk which would put us at $41M more or less)

4. Rashad McCants + Brian Cardinal to New York for Malik Rose

Very simple swap. McCants would explode in D'Anton's offense running with the 2nd unit next to Nate Rob, Chandler, Mobley, etc. and Cardinal allows for even more cap space in 2010. McCants can still be allowed to walk if they please. Gets us an expiring worth about the same as Snow would be. Basically an alternative to the aforementioned CLE deal. Allen probably gets friendly with Madsen and Ollie as the Suit Crew. I would try to pry a 2nd rounder away, but i dont think they would bite, nor am i aware of their current picks situation.

09 Cap After=$46M

Im still working on some other deals, (Swift from NJ, Zaza in ATL, etc) as well as trying to gauge the reactions of fans from other teams and seeing where some of the deals stand. I dont take any credit for most of the deals here, just bringing them all together for the first time. Feel free to add and discuss any and all trade possibilities.

[C.lupus]

I'd be all over #2 or #4. I'm less enamored of the Miller deals because 1) Miller is playing well and is the young vet that the team needs and 2) as you mentioned, we will likely be targeting the "Mike Miller" type FAs. We already have the ultimate Mike Miller type player and I think the team needs another one. The McCants-based trades would free up enough cap room to get one mid-level FA and we could keep Miller in the process. The writing seems to be on the wall for Shad so we might as well get something of value for him while we can.

[shrink]

I'd do all four. I'd probably trade many of our guys with Cardinal for an expiring, whether it be Smith, Telfair, Gomes, or McCants. They are all worth their contracts, but they arent worth their contracts + $6 mil. McCants might be one we'd really look to explore, because he is starting to look unlikely to me that we'll bring him back, and this way we don't lose him for nothing.

Thanks for bringing these over for discussion, 4ho5ive.

[wolves_fan_82au]

what makes us think we will get a top free agent though ???

[shrink]

what makes us think we will get a top free agent though ???

You don't have to get a top free agent.

The current plan is to get a good free agent (not even "top") in 2010. Unfortunately, about 20 teams could be far enough under the salary cap to make a max offer .. some can make two max offers. MIN is not an appealing location for a free agent, and if he has twenty to choose from, its unlikely we're going to get someone good in 2010, even with all the cap space.

However, 2009 is a different story. Right now, there are only two teams that are very likely to have significant room under the salary cap .. OKC and MEM. In my opinion, MIN is just as attractive a place for a free agent as those two .. perhaps moreso with Al Jefferson in place. Other teams may be candidates in 2009 (MIA, POR, perhaps ATL), but they all have pressure to trade their expiring and win now.

2009 cap space opens more doors than simply signing a top free agent anyway. Listing them, they are:

1. Sign a top free agent for us.

2. Sign a top free agent to a reasonable contract (remember .. few buyers), and trade him Dec. 15th.

3. Trade the cap space. TPE's have tremendous trade value. Camby was traded straight up for a TPE, and PHO traded Kurt Thomas' expiring and two late 1sts for a TPE. MIN traded a small TPE for Carney, Booth, and a protected 1st.

In my opinion, #3 is the most likely use. Certainly there will be teams out there that don't do well, and want to rebuild, particularly since its before the 2010 free agency sweepstakes. We may be the only team that doesn't have to salary match.

Finally, if none of those possibilities open up for us, we're still in the same situation in 2010, since Mike Miller's contract would be gone anyway. I like Mike Miller. He's a nice fit for our team and he wants to be here. However, if a deal is Mike Miller + Brian Cardinal, we're effectively paying $16 mil a year for the 28-year old Miller, and since we're not a play-off team, that's a luxury. In fact, I would be in favor of bringing him back in 2010, when we hopefully have a better team to put around him.

All in all, chopping $16 mil off our salary gives us lots of flexibility that extends beyond simply signing a free agent. It reduces the tremendous risk we'd carry in the current plan, trying to compete for free agents in an extremely crowded market. If we can get a very good deal from a play-off caliber team, I think it makes sense.

I'd rank the deals 2/4 - 3 - 1. I'd rather deal McCants than Miller, since his salary next year is a big question mark, and we may not want to match anyway. However, Miller's salary + Cardinal's takes us far enough under the cap to offer a max deal, or match big salaries in trade. In either event, moving Cardinal combines the timing with the expiring Collins and Booth, and Juwon and Troy hudson also come off the books in 2009, so we shed $24 mil simultaneously.

[mandurugo]

Any trade that has the direct effect of making the team worse in the hope that the draft picks will improve (not the OP's point I know) or to improve cap space in the future only has one sure effect: this crappy team gets worse. I prefer to always try for the immediate reward and make the team as good as possible right now. I know the common aphorism that failing to plan for the future is planning to fail - but in professional sports it's too easy to wallow in re-building hell.

[shrink]

I agree its easy tp wallow in rebuilding, but is it better to wallow midpack?

I ask because I don't see Mike Miller turning us into a play-off team this year. However, coming in 20th isn't any better .. and may even be worse .. than coming in 25th. Trading Miller with Cardinal would be the transformation from one asset to another.

[4ho5ive]

My issue is, McCants has obviously fallen out of favor. I think his time here is done. So if we do trade Miller, with McCants doghouse issues in mind, what are we to do about our SG situation. Does Brew get the go ahead? Do we address it in a trade? Do we force Foye to be our SG?

Thats an issue for me. Miller is great, great guy. Fantastic player and a great person to have here. If we were ONE more year into the rebuild when we got him i would love it, but we are still in phase 1 of the rebuild which is sorting out the crap and establishing an identity. Phase 2 is letting the dust settle and deciding which young pieces to move forward with. Miller is a "We have our young pieces, lets bring in some youngish vets to mesh with these guys who fit what we are trying to build here" type of player.

[revprodeji]

cap space is over rated for small market teams. We need to draft for young vets. Not the hope of signing a young vet.

[shrink]

cap space is over rated for small market teams. We need to draft for young vets. Not the hope of signing a young vet.

Its only over-rated for small market teams if its limited to signing free agents. Its a valuable commodity to trade to bigger market teams to let them get the players they want, and MIN has shown some ability lately trading cap space into value.

[revprodeji]

true...

[Devilzsidewalk]

Hold onto Cardinal until next year when he'll be extremely valuable to teams looking to drop salary for the golden summer of free agency. I'd rather do that than give up Mike Miller just to get rid of Cardinal a year earlier.

[revprodeji]

exactly...