MIN/NYK/SEA Mayo AND Lopez

[shrink]

I wanted to break this up, to make this a seperate post, so here it goes:

SEA FANS

It's draft night. You've watched the draft go this way:

With the 1st Pick, the Chicago Bulls select Derrick Rose
With the 2nd Pick, the Miami Heat select Michael Beasley
With the 3rd Pick, the Minnesota Timberwolves select OJ Mayo

OK - its your move with the 4th pick

Do you have a trade out there for someone that wants the #4 to get anyone with Mayo off the board?

Do you make the MIN trade and get a small asset with Bayless?

Or do you just draft Bayless and skip getting that free late pick?

SEA FANS, What's your play?

[pr0wler]

I still would not trade down to the #6 for a late 2009 first rounder unless I had guarantees from Memphis that they weren't taking Bayless. Grizzlies have a lot of point guards but they might just take the BPA route if they feel no one is worthy enough to fill out their lineup. Saving like 400,000 this year and having to pay the exact same money the next season isn't really that enticing IMO.

When I said that the #4 pick is very valuable, where did I say that we would move down? They might leverage players like Wilcox/Watson #4 and #24 to possibly move UP in the draft. I think if the Sonics move down it will be to draft a player like Westbrook or Love, somewhere around #8-10 or so.

The only situation I would do this deal is it these three scenarios hold:
1) The Wolves select Mayo (the pretense you listed above)
2) Memphis guarantees they're NOT taking Bayless.
3) There are absolutely no other better deals out there for our #4 pick (unlikely), because this deal is not that enticing really.

[delux55]

unless seattle is ready to move durrant or green with the 4th pick I highly doubt they can move up from 4 lol.

[shrink]

prowler, MEM invested their 1st round lottery pick last season to get their man, Mike Conley, they traded a future first to get Navarro, they have Lowry, and when the Lakers had no other assets to include in the Gasol trade, they also have Crittendon. They have four young PG's. As for centers, the cost-cutting Grizz have an expensive Darko Milicic, and an expiring Jason Collins. I don't understand how you could worry they'd pick Bayless over Lopez?

Moving up at your price is not going to happen -- the leap to a top two pick is huge in this draft. CHI is going to bring local Derrick Rose home, and in the off chance MIA trades the pick, Riley has said he wants an elite player back, and Wilcox, Watson and the #24 are not close to the amount he'd want to slide down. And obviously, in this scenario MIN's not going to trade down and give Mayo away to mess up their trade. To be honest, I'm not sure Green and the #4 would get you a top two pick. That's how big the gap is.

If you don't believe me, I welcome you to offer Wilcox/Watson #4 and #24 for a top two pick on the trade board before independent fans.

If you have a better trade down deal, I'd be happy to hear it. However, as I said, I've heard zero deals for your #4 on the trade board or your own board that don't start with, "If Mayo is still available, we'd trade ..." I've heard nobody offer anything for Bayless. If you have these deals -- deals where someone asked "Would you still do this deal if Mayo was off the board?" -- please enlighten me, but I've seen none.

This trade is getting an asset for doing nothing. SEA still gets its man, and they add to the their trade ammunition for next season.

[TrentTuckerForever]

on behalf of knick fans everywhere i'd like to say....AHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA no.

P.S. - isiah no longer runs the team, donnie walsh does, don't expect horrible moves like the ones you guys suggested

Whether Walsh suggested this or not (and I think there's plenty of evidence on this thread he did), this is still a legitimate path to clear salary. You want expirings? You have to give up picks. You want the picks? You're going to miss your shot at LeBron. This route wouldn't be the end of the world either, but it seems like having cap space available the year the best player on the planet enters free agency would be an okay strategy if you're a big market team.

My gut is that Walsh will keep the picks and let the crummy contracts/attitudes (Marbury, Curry, Randolph et at) expire. His track record in Indy was to build through the draft, but then again he didn't have the resources there that he does now in NY. We shall see.