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Sorry to bother you guys , but I came up with a 3 team trade in the event that Chris Paul becomes available. The sticking point is the Pacers interest in taking on players this season rather than try to use cap space next summer. After reading the list of 2011 free agents, I get the feeling that it's not a great class even before you consider most players will try to get extensions before a potential lockout.

2011 free agents: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/stor ... ents-10-11

I'll ask my question before the trade because I want you to consider it before /while reading the proposal. The following trade sacrifices your 2011 cap space, but who in the free agent class will:
A) Be bettter than the players you receive in this trade
B) still be available come summertime
C) Have interest in joining the Pacers
D) come at a decent/better price than the acquired players (i.e. don't have to grossly overpay for)

So far most have criticized Indy's motivation to complete the trade. I'm just looking to see how true that is from a fan's perspective:

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachi ... Id=2a3t9ky (Lopez is substituted for Favors)

Nets send: Favors to NOH, Devin Harris to IND, a player of Indy's choosing other than Favors to make salaries work (Lee is used for example), 2 1st rd picks to NOH, 2nd rd pick to Indy, cash* (more on that later)

Nets receive: Paul, Dunleavy ($10mil. expiring)


Hornets send: Paul to NJ, Posey and Okafor to Indy, 2nd rd pick to Indy

Hornets receive: Favors, 2 1st rd picks, T.J. Ford and Jeff Foster (both expiring contracts), cash*


Pacers send: Ford, Foster, and Dunleavy (all expiring)

Pacers receive: Harris, Okafor, Posey, 2 2nd rd picks (one from NO, one from NJ) cash*

*The trade can be split up into multiple transactions in order to send $3mil. to both Indy and NO to sweeten the pot if needed. for example Dunleavy for Harris + $3mil. etc...

Keep in mind Okafor is a good player, but his contract is bad, he's not like Brand or Turkoglu. This allows Indy to keep Murphy's bird rights and MLE to spend. Harris is better than any PG scheduled to be a free agent The on the court talent is completely lopsided in Indy's favor. Harris, Rush, Granger, Murphy, Okafor, Hibbert. That team at least takes Charlotte's playoff spot and keeps Granger happy.


Sorry for the long post, but what do you guys think? Am I completely crazy? or would Pacers fans rather have Devin Harris, Okafor, Murphy's bird rights, and the MLE or have cap space to have a chance at a free agent or two next offseason?

No is the most polite way to say it, but for the record this deal is so horrendous for the Pacers that a lot more can be said of just how awful this thought is.

That is terrible. Harris ain't worth takin on Okafor, let alone Okafor and Posey. All those 1sts better be comin Indy's way if you want this deal done from Indy.

I really don't understand how this trade is bad for us. Like the OP said, we most likely won't be able to pull any quality free agents in 2011. We get a former all-star in Harris, and a defensive player in Okafor, while keeping a great trade chip in Murphy. Both those second round picks would probably be between 31 and 44, so if we can do the same thing next year as we did with Stephenson I think we'd come out great. It's not like any of our players we are trading are going to get any time this year, so I would be all for this, also we get cash. This year we would be a playoff team and we would only get better.

If the Pacers are takin on Okafor and Posey the might as well just get Paul.

I respect those that despise the ideaof this trade, but I'm just curious what player you would sign or trade for instead?

Okafor is not a bad player just overpaid.

Okafor is not a bad player just overpaid.

That is the same thing we said about Murphy for the past few seasons.

Almost free at last. We don't want seconds.

kmsmith5 wrote:I respect those that despise the ideaof this trade, but I'm just curious what player you would sign or trade for instead?

Okafor is not a bad player just overpaid.

I don't think Okafor is a bad player either. But, coming to Indiana he's a backup center. I'm not sure he can play the 4 and if that turns out to be the case he could come to Indiana and not even play 20 minutes a night. As Indiana is constructed now or as they look to be constructed in the future I'm just now sure Okafor fits. Even though Harris is a very good player I just don't think he's good enough to justify swallowing the Okafor committment.

Essentially what we would be doing is off loading all our expirings to get 2 bad contracts that have mutiple years left on them with visibly declining players attached to them and a moderatly good PG back. Ummm, why would we want to trade all our league leading cap space going into next year for this gabage that helps every team involved except the pacers. Don't say we get our PG either because bringing all that to get a PG is.... Well let's just say we wouldn't be interested.

Essentially what we would be doing is off loading all our expirings to get 2 bad contracts that have mutiple years left on them with visibly declining players attached to them and a moderatly good PG back. Ummm, why would we want to trade all our league leading cap space going into next year for this gabage that helps every team involved except the pacers. Don't say we get our PG either because bringing all that to get a PG is.... Well let's just say we wouldn't be interested.

kmsmith5 wrote:Sorry to bother you guys

That is all you did.

BiggDawg897 wrote:Ummm, why would we want to trade all our league leading cap space going into next year for this gabage that helps every team involved except the pacers.

Ok, I understand you don't like the trade and I'm over it. I'm not trying to change your mind. All I'm asking now is Who/what do you expect to get from cap space?

The reason I ask is because other than Carmelo Anthony, who is a longshot of even reaching the market, I don't see many good players expiring next summer.

Indy2thaWindy wrote:

kmsmith5 wrote:Sorry to bother you guys

That is all you did.

I was being polite. I can't say the same for you, and you haven't answered my question with a single player(s) you'd like to see targeted through free agency or trade that you'd prefer over Okafor, Harris, Murphy's rights and MLE.

Anyway, I've moved on and I realize Okafor would be more beneficial to a team that wants to win, is just over the salary cap and won't be under it in the next few years, but has plenty of room under the tax threshold, and needs a center.

kmsmith5 wrote:...you haven't answered my question with a single player(s) you'd like to see targeted through free agency...

You realize cap space doesnt go away, right? We could enter the season with all that cap space, a minimum number of players on the roster, and be 'buyers' near the trade deadline.....We don't have to make a splash in free agency next summer. We wont win many games, but we will have more flexablity than your offer gives us. And there always seems to be a bad team have a talent firesale. But the Indy fans are also super tired of paying 3rd tier talent the salary of 1st and 2nd tier players.

This is pretty scattered...

I actually really like this trade other than NOH gaining that many 1st round picks from NJN and not having to give up their own or transfer NJN to IND. NOH isn't going to shed their longterm contracts for expirings AND picks. They would have to shed their longterm deals AND a first round pick for the expirings.
I don't think that NJN sends 3 first round picks (I'm including Favors) for Paul either...

I would really enjoy the 3 man rotation of Hibbert, Okafor and Murphy. Okafor can play the pick and roll on the wings (which none of IND bigs can do...) while Hibbert plays the high post or Murphy plays out on the perimeter.

I think that a team like the Pacers would be a great landing spot for Harris. Harris can score on his own off the bounce (which takes pressure off Granger).

The Pacers lose Foster, but maintain Murphy's expiring to clear enough room under the tax to use the mid-level next year. It's some young talent that would work well in the running offense that the Pacers are trying to instill.
Posey can be moved in the summer of 2011 or the 2012 trade deadline but he can help teach the kids some wing D in the meantime. He's expiring in 2011-12 which makes him an asset fairly soon.
I still need to see a 1st round pick from NOH to take both Posey and Oafor though.

I like the 9-man rotation of Harris, Rush, Granger, Okafor and Hibbert with Price/Stephenson, Jones, George and Murphy coming off the bench.

Cut out the Posey for Foster swap, and include Dahntay Jones to help mitigate taking on such long-term salary (and yeah, you can cut out the 2nd rounders as well) and it'd be doable. To add on the Posey swap is just not possible.

Ok, some people seem to think NO is getting too good a deal here. What if they send West to IND for Murphy. It becomes a lot more palatable for Indy now that they get two former all-stars to take two bad contracts.

kmsmith5 wrote:Ok, some people seem to think NO is getting too good a deal here. What if they send West to IND for Murphy. It becomes a lot more palatable for Indy now that they get two former all-stars to take two bad contracts.

Well, we'll take West, but if you add in West, then New Orleans should rightly beat you over the head.

Paul, West, and crap for Favors, 2 1st rounders and expirings? It's not great. I'll say that.

That's what I was thinking, but it's hard to gauge value for all 3 teams. NJ could send 2 or 3 2nd rd picks to IND and IND could send 2 top 20 protected 1st rounders to NO to make it Paul, West, Okafor and Posey for complete cap releif, Favors, 4 1st rounders and cash. Somewhere in there is a fair deal, it just depends on who you ask.

kmsmith5 wrote:That's what I was thinking, but it's hard to gauge value for all 3 teams. NJ could send 2 or 3 2nd rd picks to IND and IND could send 2 top 20 protected 1st rounders to NO to make it Paul, West, Okafor and Posey for complete cap releif, Favors, 4 1st rounders and cash. Somewhere in there is a fair deal, it just depends on who you ask.

If Indy's sending expirings and multiple 1st round picks, while taking on Posey and Okafor, lord knows they're going to explore getting Paul themselves and cutting NJ out of it.

At a certain point, NJ can't piggyback completely off of Indy, just to force Indy to give up assets and take on bad contracts for one or two good players, but not the center piece in the deal. Sure, we don't have a Derrick Favors to offer up, but that's essentially all NJ's offering up here.