willbcocks wrote:If you really wanted to draft Porter, it would make sense to check with Washington and see if they prefer Noel. If our GM did, you draft Noel, Washington drafts Porter, we swap, and you end up paying him less. I wouldn't want to throw in much of anything, as I like both guys, but you could probably get a second round pick or one of our not-so-hot prospects.
As a Wizards fan, I came to this board wondering about this exact scenario.
So Cleveland likes Porter a lot, but it just doesn't feel right taking him 1st overall.
Meanwhile Washington likes Porter a lot too, but they actually value Noel a little bit more, although not a lot more.
Like you said, Cleveland could draft Noel 1st, have Washington draft Porter 3rd, then work out a trade.
The 3rd pick's first year salary is about $1 million less than the 1st pick's. Not a huge difference, but every little bit counts. This would allow the Cavs to still get the player they want the most (or maybe equally), while shedding a little bit more than $1 million off his annual salary cap hit. That alone is a win for the Cavs, albeit a small one. Meanwhile, the Wizards get the player they preferred, although not necessarily by a wide margin, and the price they pay to do so is $1 million in annual salary cap hits.
That's if they just traded the picks straight up. Trading down from the 1st pick to the 3rd pick for nothing else in return is counter-intuitive, but I think it actually makes sense in this scenario. It's essentially trading player A1 (Porter) for Player A2 (Porter) with a slightly smaller salary cap figure. Obviously every single team would prefer to get Player A2 because it's the exact same player, just with a smaller starting salary. I think it actually makes sense to trade the picks straight up, and it's a legitimately fair proposition.
However, because of how counter-intuitive such a trade would be, and the fact that the Cavs arguably have most of the leverage in that situation, my gut tells me the Wizards would have to add in an additional incentive in order to get the deal done. Nothing big, maybe just a 2nd round pick (or a future 2nd) or an insanely protected pick that's likely to end up only as a 2nd rounder some 5+ years down the line, or perhaps one of Vesely/Singleton/Seraphin/Booker (although to be fair, most Wizards fans would be delighted to see Vesely or Singleton go, as you'd be doing us a favor there lol).
On the other hand, this would all come down to who can negotiate the best. If Ernie Grunfeld is a poor trade negotiator (which many Wiz fans will tell you is the case), then he might cave to the Cavs demands like the situation in the last paragraph. But if Ernie is smart, then he'll realize the Cavs actually have no leverage, as they've already made it obvious that they don't really want to keep the 1st pick, and furthermore, that the Wizards are the Cavs' only realistic trade partner, because if they trade with any team drafting below the Wizards, then Porter won't be around by that pick, since the Wizards would likely take him. If both GMs are good negotiators and evaluators of their assets and leverage, then I think it's possible they'd meet in the middle and just trade the picks straight up. But at the same time, the Wizards could just as easily throw in the 54th pick or a future 2nd, with no harm done, seeing as we're likely to trade or sell the pick anyways.
This sounds like one of those scenarios where it makes too much sense for both teams involved to actually go through with it. Sigh. (or, of course, the Wizards don't prefer Noel, or the Cavs do prefer Noel or another player, making this all irrelevant haha)