i've had a decent break from trades, this board, and basketball in general, but i've found my way back here again and i can't help but continue to wrack my brains over trade ideas. the latest:
TOR
in: Nelson, RJ, Anderson
out: Bargs, Calderon, Amir
POR
in: Bargs, Bass
out: Camby, Batum
ORL
in: Batum, Camby, Calderon, Amir
out: Nelson, Turk, Anderson, Bass
SAS
in: Hedo
out: RJ
Dwight/Camby
Amir/Harper
Batum/QRich
JJ/Liggins
Calderon/Duhon
use the amnesty clause on Arenas. now, (operating under the assumption that there IS an amnesty clause AND that it applies to the cap, not just luxury tax) with this deal alone, it would put us at roughly $40-45M. make a couple extra moves, and we could wipe QRich and Duhon (or, at least downsize their deals), so we can have room to retain JJ's bird rights AND sign a max FA.
do i think this team is winning a championship next year? no. i think it would be lucky if it made it past the 2nd round. however, i still think it would be very competitive. for starters, we've got guys who can play defense on the perimeter, and we've got a PG with great passing ability - which means more easy buckets for Dwight and the rest of the crew. we've got another solid defensive anchor in the middle, who can team up with Dwight in clutch defensive moments and put an interior on freeze. throw in a couple more one year signings (Landry/KMart/Battier/etc), and we're looking solid.
best of all, at the end of next season Dwight has the room to go recruit is preferred star. or, if he leaves, we're in great financial shape to rebuild, AND, we have the young assets of Amir and Batum to build around.
--- edit: changed deal to include Anderson going to Toronto for Amir, because it seemed too heavily in our favour. although, the original deal DID clear a big chunk of cap space for them down the line, this does as well, plus gives them a nice young big man to build around.
Personally:
Nelson, Turk, Anderson, Bass >>> Batum, Camby, Calderon, Amir
I like Calderon & Camby and their shorter contracts.
But, Batum has yet to establish himself as a consistent starter. I think he is overrated. People hype him up too much which surprises me. Because, he has moments, but not complete games. Thus, I think QRich would definitely be a starter.
Amir is worse than Bass or Anderson. Thus, he gets paid more than both combined.
But, to cut costs, sure it would work. But, PF would be way too weak as Amir is no starter. This would be an interesting lineup.