UTA-NOH-NYK-MIN

[shrink]

Interesting. This 7-player deal works. It retains Brewer and gets DAL out of the mix.

UTA GIVES: Kirilenko, Ronnie Price, + future 1st + $3 mil cash
UTA GETS: Eddy Curry + Rautins

NOH GIVES: Peja + Thornton + Willie Green + future 1st
NOH GETS: Kirilenko + $1.2 mil cap space

NYK GIVES: Curry + Rautins
NYK GETS: Peja

MIN GIVES: $6 mil cap space
MIN GETS: Thornton + Ronnie Price (exp) + Green (exp) + two future 1sts + $3 mil cash.

FOR UTA, this deal gets them under the lux, to save about $17 mil, plus whatever's already been paid on Curry (let's say $3 mil). Rautins replaces Price as third string guard. For $20 mil in savings, a future pick and $3 mil is a very good deal. This will only happen if UTA determines they are not a contender, but the team is very cost-conscious.

FOR NOH, Kirilenko is the SF/PF they need. He's putting up much better numbers than Peja (8 PPG, 15 mpg), and the Hornets have been shopping Peja and Thornton. By including Willie Green too (in a concurrent trade), NOH gets under the lux too, and saves about $5 mil.

FOR NYK, Curry is completely worthless but Peja is less so .. especially bombing long-range for D'Antoni. They've got $12 mil giving them nothing .. is switching to Peja worth $2 mil?

FOR MIN, By taking two teams under the lux with $6 mil cap space, they score two future 1sts. Moreover, they add the promising and cheap Thornton, get $3 mil in cash, and the whole trade improves their 2011 UTA pick.

[shangrila]

I guess it's a good return for Minnesota, although we can't just add 3 players without at least 1-2 going out and I wouldn't add Thornton unless we had a role for him. If he's going to be stealing Ellington's DNPCDs then there's no point. Also, the firsts from both teams won't be until at least 2013 so I don't know what their real value would be.

As for the trade itself, both Utah and New Orleans pass. Kirilenko is actually a productive player for Utah and they'll struggle without them. Same with New Orleans and Green, who's become their defensive specialist off the bench. With both teams playing how they are I doubt either of them do a trade that makes them worse especially with both teams having star point guards that have been very vocal about their desire to win.

[Peezo]

Can't see Utah going for this but I would do it for MIN. That would mean potentially giving us their first round pick in 2011 and 2013 because they couldn't give us two in a row.

To shangrila, I would gladly add Ellington if I thought someone would take him in this deal because at least Thornton has proven he can fill it up (wayne is still suspect). He is also about 300,000 cheaper than Ellington, but doesn't have as low of a price tag for next year.

[Neon Black]

Utah definitely says no...Kirilenko is ridiculously valuable to us with all the things he brings to the table, and will probably sign for less next year.

[shangrila]

To shangrila, I would gladly add Ellington if I thought someone would take him in this deal because at least Thornton has proven he can fill it up (wayne is still suspect). He is also about 300,000 cheaper than Ellington, but doesn't have as low of a price tag for next year.

I don't care if it's Ellington specifically but it has to be somebody, we've got far too many wing players as it stands. And that is the other problem with Thornton; he needs to get paid. And I think the odds are good that he'll get a decent contract from someone who liked his rookie season, so what do we do then?

[Piecake]

I'd play Thornton over Brewer pretty easily. We should just cut Ellington. He has no business playing NBA basketball.

No way Utah does this though

[younggunsmn]

Kirilenko is a key guy for Utah, he is going nowhere unless the Jazz are well out of playoff contention (unlikely) at the deadline. When your frontcourt is Okur/Jefferson/Milsap you desperately need someone with Kirilenko's defensive prowess playing next to them.

Utah gives up the best player in the deal (Kirilenko) for Eddy freakin Curry AND a 1st rounder.
Terrible trade for utah. They are not that desperate for money.

Debatable if this is an upgrade for NOH, who would either bring Kirilenko off the bench or move Ariza to the 2, but I don't think there's any way they'd throw in a 1st too (especially after sending one to Portland for Bayless).

Points for creativity though.

[shrink]

As I said, UTA will only do this if its not a contender, and just because they've surged in the last four games with come-from-behind victories does not prove that. UTA is as tiny a market as NOH or MEM, and they are historically extremely cost-conscious, giving up even cheap, promising players like Eric Maynor because of the lux .. and even in a play-off race. Its $20 mil in savings .. and that's probably worth $30 mil to most owners. I think that's easily worth a future 1st .. but only if they are not a true contender.

I think Kirilenko is a huge upgrade over Peja, and easily worth a future 1st. Teams will need size and toughness in the play-offs, and NOH is not getting those qualities from Peja. I see that upgrade worth Thornton. The other half of the deal is removing Willie Green's $4 mil deal and replacing it with the $0.6 mil Rautins, plus getting NOH under the lux, saving them an additional $5 mil. That's gotta be worth a future 1st. I'm not worried about minutes, since Ariza would be playing more 2 with Kirilenko there. I'd happily remove the second part if people think Shinn wouldn't want the savings, but I thought since the AK adds $2.8 mil payroll (doubled for the lux), it makes it more palatable for a team that wants to compete and is also money-conscious.

Paul/Bayless
Ariza/Belineli/Rautins
Kirilenko/Pondexter/Graham
West/Smith/Bonsu
Okafor/Gray/Mbenga

With Peja instead of AK, they don't have a prayer against play-off teams with size.