Official Trade Thread XXI (12/13/12 - 02/06/13)

[Nivek]

Except, Okafor really isn't playing any better.

[hands11]

Except, Okafor really isn't playing any better.

He started off with the team playing terrible for Nov. He shot .404% and averaged 5.8 rebound in 22 minutes. He looked terrible out there. Not all his fault. The line ups sucked because of injuries and he was on a new team that he hadn't found his grove with. And because of the line up, he was being asked to do more then he should be asked offensively.

Since Sat 12/22 he posted his first double double. Since then he posted 5 in 9 games.

Since Sat 12/15 he has posted 8 double digit rebounding game in 13 games and missed double digits with 9 in two others. And one of those games was 18 rebounds.

And beyond the numbers, you can see it with you eyes he is playing better.

Now if he would only shoot a FT. My God. How does something shoot 1-7 from the line. But he has always been a bad FT shooter. Why, I don't know. You think someone would fix whatever is wrong by now.

[gambitx777]

hes got value to contenders. i think we could flip him for some expiring contracts and maybe a team who does not have great care for draft picks.
I think if we want to dump him, we need to look at the bucks, the hawks and maybe the lakers. if we can get in to a 3 way of some kind that would be good to.

[dangermouse]

Warrios are another team who may need the services of a shot blocking/rebounding bigman, depending on the health of Bogut.

And of course Dallas who need a player like that badly.

[SizzlinSimms]

I can't see any value for any Wizard players. It's extremely sad.

Maybe Seraphin. Other than that teams could find the same talent for far less money (Okafor, Nene, Ariza).

[gambitx777]

Yeah but who would those two teams give us? i don't see the contracts to make a trade?
what aobut this,. ?
http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=bj5jnbr
hawks get : Okafur and Ariza
Wiz get : Udrih, Dalembert, Morrow, and Petro
Bucks get : Harris and Zaza.
I'm not sure about picks.... not sure what to ask for picks wise.

[nate33]

I can't see any value for any Wizard players. It's extremely sad.

Maybe Seraphin. Other than that teams could find the same talent for far less money (Okafor, Nene, Ariza).

Going by my Trade Board thread, it seems that a lot of people (fans, anyway) would be interested in acquiring Okafor for an expiring contract. There were about 4 or 5 plausible scenarios proposed by other teams' fans that I would do if I was GM of the Wizards.

The best scenario was:
Brooklyn trades: Humprhies
Brooklyn receives: Okafor

Charlotte trades: Diop
Charlotte receives: Humphries

Washington trades: Okafor
Washington receives: Diop

We save $6M instantly (well, actually $3M after prorating) and we get out of the last year of Okafor's contract.

[dangermouse]

Warriors could send us Biedrins and Jarret Jack and a first. We'd cut Jack who returns to GSW after the waiting period. Biedrins contract is the same length but he only gets paid $9m a year flat. Not ideal, but we do get that first.

Mavs could send us Kaman who is expiring, provided they believe the Kaman/Dirk pairing isnt going to get them anywhere. Personally i dont think it will, they need a better defender and rebounder next to Dirk. If they add Roddy Beaubois to the deal it makes the trade work. Unfortunately he is also expiring, if he was still on that cheap deal, it would be perfect.

It would be great if they were desperate enough to include Crowder, thereby giving us a do-over for the last draft, but that ain't happenin. Maybe the pressure Dirk's latest comments put on them will give them an itchy trigger finger, though. You never know.

[deneem4]

Trade nene. or boozer/bellinelli (maybe have to add martin or crawford)
Why for wizards: boozer shoots alot and rebounds better... best pick and roll big man shooter and bellimelli 3pt specialist
Why for bulls: Chicago can trim down under the cap and chicago fans dont like boozer...nene defense is better...adding crawford gives the bulls another player that can create his own shot

Nene/(martin or crawford) for zach....
the grizzlies want to trade him to get under cap and need a wing shooter

[Nivek]

Trade nene. or boozer/bellinelli (maybe have to add martin or crawford)
Why for wizards: boozer shoots alot and rebounds better... best pick and roll big man shooter and bellimelli 3pt specialist
Why for bulls: Chicago can trim down under the cap and chicago fans dont like boozer...nene defense is better...adding crawford gives the bulls another player that can create his own shot

Nene/(martin or crawford) for zach....
the grizzlies want to trade him to get under cap and need a wing shooter

Nene is better than Boozer, and Boozer costs more.

Randolph is better than Nene, but Nene would likely be a suitable replacement for him with what they're doing down there. And Nene costs less, so that would get them under the luxury tax threshold. Memphis is so close to the threshold, though that they could probably give away one of their scrubs to someone under the tax threshold and avoid it. Randolph is a year older than Nene and is more expensive, which makes a bit less sense for Wizards.

The better move would for Memphis would be to swap out Gay for a SF who plays better and costs less.

[nate33]

Warriors could send us Biedrins and Jarret Jack and a first. We'd cut Jack who returns to GSW after the waiting period. Biedrins contract is the same length but he only gets paid $9m a year flat. Not ideal, but we do get that first.

Why would we cut Jack? He'd instantly become the best PG on the team behind Wall. That said, je's a pretty important player on their team. I don't see them giving him as well as the pick, but I like the premise of the trade. Maybe plug in Brandon Rush in place of Jack (Rush is out for the year with a knee injury). Basically, they'd be giving up 2 useless players (Biedrins and Rush) for one very useful player who costs the same amount of money for the same duration. As compensation, they give us a first round pick. Maybe Rush comes back next year as a useful wing man.

Mavs could send us Kaman who is expiring, provided they believe the Kaman/Dirk pairing isnt going to get them anywhere. Personally i dont think it will, they need a better defender and rebounder next to Dirk. If they add Roddy Beaubois to the deal it makes the trade work. Unfortunately he is also expiring, if he was still on that cheap deal, it would be perfect.

Dallas is poised to get way under the cap this summer. I don't think they'll take on extra salary. It makes more sense for them to wait until the offseason and go after Dwight Howard, or at least somebody like Josh Smith.

[Nivek]

Here's a Washington-Memphis-Phoenix trade that might have appeal all the way around.

Wizards trade:
- Nene

Wizards receive:
- Zach Randolph
- Sebastian Telfair (expiring)

Why -- Modest upgrade from Nene. A year older, but better injury history. Contract ends a year earlier than Nene's.
Why not? -- Randolph has been a good guy in Memphis, but there's no guarantee that would continue with a bad team in Washington. Makes $3 million more than Nene.

Memphis trades:
- Zach Randolph
- Rudy Gay

Memphis receives:
- Nene
- Jared Dudley
- Michael Beasley

Why? -- Nene costs less and would be a very nice replacement for Randolph. Dudley actually an upgrade from Gay for $10.6 million less. Would reduce salary by $7.8 million, which would put them solidly under the luxury tax threshold.
Why not? -- Questions about Nene's foot. Beasley is inexplicably on a three-year contract.

Phoenix trades:
- Dudley
- Beasley
- Telfair

Phoenix receives:
- Gay

Why? -- Dunno. If it was me, I couldn't really come up with a "why" on this one. Maybe Phoenix's front office thinks Gay could still become a star?
Why not? -- Gay is inefficient and high usage and doesn't do a lot else to help.

[deneem4]

Trade nene. or boozer/bellinelli (maybe have to add martin or crawford)
Why for wizards: boozer shoots alot and rebounds better... best pick and roll big man shooter and bellimelli 3pt specialist
Why for bulls: Chicago can trim down under the cap and chicago fans dont like boozer...nene defense is better...adding crawford gives the bulls another player that can create his own shot

Nene/(martin or crawford) for zach....
the grizzlies want to trade him to get under cap and need a wing shooter

Nene is better than Boozer, and Boozer costs more.

Randolph is better than Nene, but Nene would likely be a suitable replacement for him with what they're doing down there. And Nene costs less, so that would get them under the luxury tax threshold. Memphis is so close to the threshold, though that they could probably give away one of their scrubs to someone under the tax threshold and avoid it. Randolph is a year older than Nene and is more expensive, which makes a bit less sense for Wizards.

The better move would for Memphis would be to swap out Gay for a SF who plays better and costs less.

Nene is better then boozer but the wizards need a boozer...its not always about talent but how it fits....both are vets but boozer will fit better with the wiz younger players...he can teach wall the pick and roll like he did rose...he spaces the floor better has more range in his jumper..better rebounder and...he also will score if no one else is willing too...thats wht the wizards needs most

Memphis have said theyre willing to move out Randolph...wizards wont hesitate swapping randolph for nene and it makes perfect sense...nene a great pf one of the best...but we need more scoring from downlow...okafor is the defensive presence

[nate33]

Here's a Washington-Memphis-Phoenix trade that might have appeal all the way around.

Wizards trade:
- Nene

Wizards receive:
- Zach Randolph
- Sebastian Telfair (expiring)

Why -- Modest upgrade from Nene. A year older, but better injury history. Contract ends a year earlier than Nene's.
Why not? -- Randolph has been a good guy in Memphis, but there's no guarantee that would continue with a bad team in Washington. Makes $3 million more than Nene.

Memphis trades:
- Zach Randolph
- Rudy Gay

Memphis receives:
- Nene
- Jared Dudley
- Michael Beasley

Why? -- Nene costs less and would be a very nice replacement for Randolph. Dudley actually an upgrade from Gay for $10.6 million less. Would reduce salary by $7.8 million, which would put them solidly under the luxury tax threshold.
Why not? -- Questions about Nene's foot. Beasley is inexplicably on a three-year contract.

Phoenix trades:
- Dudley
- Beasley
- Telfair

Phoenix receives:
- Gay

Why? -- Dunno. If it was me, I couldn't really come up with a "why" on this one. Maybe Phoenix's front office thinks Gay could still become a star?
Why not? -- Gay is inefficient and high usage and doesn't do a lot else to help.

I could definitely see Memphis going for that second trade where they swap Gay's giant contract for Dudley, who is a much more efficient player in a low usage role.

I don't see them being interested in a Randolph for Nene swap because, as you said, Randolph is a little better and definitely more durable. I doubt the Wizards would be interested either based on attitude concerns. It's one thing to ignore the "character first" motto when considering a young talent like Cousins. It's another thing when you are talking about a 31-year-old vet who doesn't really figure into the long term plans.

In theory, Nene is a pretty good fit as the "veteran mentor". He's very good when on the floor, and, over time, should gracefully cede playing time to younger players in order to stay healthy. The only problem is that we lack good young bigs. Maybe that'll change after the draft.

[Nivek]

Nene is better then boozer but the wizards need a boozer...its not always about talent but how it fits....both are vets but boozer will fit better with the wiz younger players...he can teach wall the pick and roll like he did rose...he spaces the floor better has more range in his jumper..better rebounder and...he also will score if no one else is willing too...thats wht the wizards needs most

Boozer isn't a better fit than Nene. He rebounds a little better, but Nene is better at everything else. Shoots more? Okay, pace-adjusted, Boozer this season is averaging 19.9 true shooting attempts (accounting for FGA and FTA) per 40 minutes; Nene is averaging 18.8. This is because Nene draws way more fouls than Boozer does -- an indication that he's more difficult to defend.

Nene is actually higher usage AND more efficient offensively than Boozer. Plus, he's a better passer and defender. The notion that Boozer would somehow be a better fit is nonsense.

[rockymac52]

I like the proposed Z-Bo trade, except for the fact that it's Z-Bo, as a person. I'm terrified he'd 100% pull a Andray Blatche and give up once he was traded here. As a basketball player, I love it.

[payitforward]

...Nene is better then boozer but the wizards need a boozer...its not always about talent but how it fits....

Actually, no -- it's always about "talent" (where that means productivity on the court, not "potential") and never about "how it fits."

Get better players = win more games.

Full stop.

[Dat2U]

Good teams focus on finding talent. Mediocre & bad teams focus on finding good fits.

Randolph would be an upgrade in every sense of the word. Boozer would be a downgrade.

[JWizmentality]

Here's to hoping the new owners of the Kings really hate Demarcus Cousins.

[dangermouse]

I like the proposed Z-Bo trade, except for the fact that it's Z-Bo, as a person. I'm terrified he'd 100% pull a Andray Blatche and give up once he was traded here. As a basketball player, I love it.

Exactly what I thought while reading the trade.

I think i'd just prefer to hope that Nene's foot troubles go away. At least that is something tangible that can be fixed. An attitude problem is not something the Wiz are capable of fixing, as we have seen.

Kind of hypocritical since I like most others have been pushing for Cousins, but i feel that is a different kettle of fish.