RealGM

Giant trades have the chance to die giant deaths, but let me throw this one up here, schlepping on jpatrick's idea to try to bring Westbrook here:

MIN SENDS: #2 + Rubio + Beasley + Flynn + Darko + Pek
MIN GETS: Westbrook + Harden + Okafor

NOH SENDS: Chris Paul + Okafor
NOH GETS: #2 + Rubio + Ibaka + Collison + Flynn + Darko + Pek

OKC SENDS: Westbrook + Harden + Ibaka + Collison
OKC GETS: Chris Paul + Beasley

Westbrook, Ridnour
Harden, Ellington, Hayward
Wes Johnson, Webster
Love, Randolph
Okafor, Tolliver

Chris Paul, Maynor, Nate Robinson
Sefalaosha, Cook
Durant, #24
Beasley
Perkins, Aldrich, Mullins

Here's the thinking:

NOH: They don't think they can get Chris Paul to re-sign, and Stern doesn't want blood on his hands sending him to NYK. Paul agrees to play on the rising Thunder. OKC offers fair value (frustrating Westbrook + Ibaka), but MIN offers the cheaper combo of Rubio + #2 for Westbrook .. the pick being easier to sell to NOH fans. OKC swaps Harden for K-Stater Beasley to make up for Westbrook's scoring. MIN takes on Okafor's longer deal for a cheaper collection of young players that NOH would prefer. NOH auctions off David West later .. maybe for Beasley.

Sure it's crazy. MIN pays a fortune in 2012 with Okafor and new deals for Love (who stays with) Westbrook and Randolph. However, it eliminates roster cluster and helps our investments play the positions we want them in (and Harden gets to start). Ridnour still mentors Westbrook, who has tremendous upside when he learns the PG position.

It needs a lot more polishing, but that's the framework.

After watching last night's game (and the way Harden and Westbrook played off each other), I found myself having the blasphemous thought that a team might be better off with those two as your two top guys than you would be with Westbrook and Durant... I also kept thinking that, eventually, Westbrook and Durant are going to have to be broken up. Westbrook is way too tenacious and assertive offensively to accept 2nd banana status for the rest of his career.

I'm in the minority who really loves Beas, and we've been waiting for Rubio for 2 years; so this is a steep price to pay. But a team with Westbrook, Harden, and Love as your top 3 guys could realistically be contenders for the next decade. I'd do it in a heartbeat.

The limits of Perkins might break this. This article is making the rounds today, couldn't agree more: http://www.gq.com/blogs/the-q/2011/05/the-perkins-process.html.

Perk sat soo much of the crunch time minutes in the Western Conference Finals, and Aldrich is too much of a mystery to be relied on.

I'm not a fan of Westbrook. Just a low basketball IQ player.

His physical tools are amazing. Mentally, he'll never be strong enough to read the game like great point guards a la Jason Kidd or Steve Nash, though.

If Kahn pulled that off, he could forever do no wrong in my eyes. I think MN does that in a heart beat, I think NOH does that given Paul's uncertain future, I just don't see OKC breaking up their core.

OKC SENDS: Westbrook + Harden + Ibaka + Collison
OKC GETS: Chris Paul + Beasley




C'mon, Shrink.


Wolves board near the end.

OKC says no.

thinktank wrote:OKC SENDS: Westbrook + Harden + Ibaka + Collison
OKC GETS: Chris Paul + Beasley




C'mon, Shrink.


Wolves board near the end.

Yeah that's not very good for OKC. Going from Ibaka to Beasley is a major loss defensively.

OKC would do everything in their power to keep Harden, and for good reason. They'd want someone more defensive and less offensively assertive at PF than Beas.

The thought of getting one of my favorite players(Westbrook) and an up and coming SG(Harden) has me foaming at the mouth at this trade. The value is fair for every team involved.

Well done, Shrink.

thinktank wrote:OKC SENDS: Westbrook + Harden + Ibaka + Collison
OKC GETS: Chris Paul + Beasley

C'mon, Shrink.

Wolves board near the end.

It's hard to get concensus on superstar value, but let me ask. What do you think you'd need to add to Westbrook to get to Chris Paul? To outbid other teams for Paul?

I'm thinking Westbrook + Ibaka or Harden (+ collison financially)

then

Ibaka or Harden for Beasley?

... but I can understand people differing on value here.

I really don't think Westbrook is that far off from Cp3, especially taking into account contract/age/health. Westbrook just had a better season this year.

This deal seems pretty fair to me. We could also throw the #20 to OKC if it needs to be tweaked.

I dunno, the #20 pick? thatd be kinda sweet though if the rights to Kyle Singler sealed the deal.

I think OKC is just going to ride it out to prove their allegiance to Westbrook, though I really don't think he's a good match w/ Durant and I have given a lot of thought to if the Wolves have the resources to get him and make a nice Westbrook/Love UCLA combo to build around. Ultimately though I doubt they make any big trade unless they can work out something to get Dwight.

Great trade if the 3 GMs go insane, well, if the other 2 go insane as well.

Good value for everyone, but too crazy to happen. Okafor could go to OKC and I'd be happy with the trade still.

yeah i'd do that trade in a heart beat...no way okc would do that though.

way too early blow up the thunder. just like the wolves didn't need to be broken up after kg and marbury were abused by kemp and payton.

Well, I wouldn't consider acquiring Chris Paul blowing them up. It probably makes them better. I'd probably be against helping the Thunder pair Durant and Paul.
Also, just for the record, Kemp was gone when the Wolves played the Sonics in the playoffs. And it was one of the Wolves more successful 1st round losses. They weren't really abused.

vin baker, excuse me. he and kg were a wash that series. marbury had abysmal shooting while the glove was unstoppable.

But how did we blow the team up afterwards? You can't count Marbury demanding out and the rest of it as going out to willingly dismantle the team.

That was a very entertaining first round loss. I think we only dressed 8 or 9 players due to injuries as I remember a thin bench.