RealGM

Minnesota trades: Randolph, Tolliver, & lottery protected 2014 1st-rounder

Phoeix trades: Jared Dudley

I think we're likely to make a trade somewhat similar to this... while K-Mart or Gordon would be nice, I don't know if getting them is really viable/worth it considering the asking price. Also, we have a strong core of Love/Rubio/Pek and I don't think we need another star... IMO we need a great team/glue guy who shoots from outside well and plays good D. I think Jared Dudley fits this description perfectly (41% career 3-point shooter, good individual and team defender, positive locker-room presence for our young team) and I believe he would thrive on the Wolves. My 2nd favorite team is the Suns, so I've watched Dudley play a lot, and I think he's very underrated... strong all-around player with a great attitude. Also, I think Ridnour plays well alongside Rubio and basically does the job we need him to, so I don't mind keeping him in that role.

Since the Suns are basically looking to rebuild, why not ship them a lotto-protected 1st-rounder a year or two down the line (when we'll hopefully be one of the top teams in the west), along with Randolph and Tolliver (expiring)... their run-and-gun system is perfect for Randolph; if he's ever going to make it, Phoenix is the place for him, and they also get a mid-late 1st rounder and a little extra cap space. We get a good wing who fits our team perfectly who is locked into a very reasonable contract for the next 4 years. I would be very happy if we made this deal, and I also think it makes sense for Phoenix.

Also, if D-Will improves quickly and learns to play the 3, Dudley would be a great 6th man, subbing for both the 2 and 3 and giving us 25-30 minutes a game off the bench.

I think something like this could be our core 8-man rotation as a very strong team two years from now, assuming Rubio and Pek continue to develop as we are hoping:

G: Rubio 36 Barea: 28
G: Ridnour 32
F: Dudley 32 D-Will: 28
F: Love 36
C: Pekovic 36 Darko: 12

I'd much rather give them the Utah pick.

Dudley would be solid but it makes me wonder why the Suns would give him up. It's not like he's old or overpaid, so I don't see why they would look to move him for that package regardless of whether they're rebuilding or still trying to compete.

Good thoughts... swapping in the Utah pick seems fine to me... maybe the Suns would need a little more than this offer, but Dudley's not a key player for them... he's a borderline starter (Shannon Brown started over him for part of this season) and he's turning 27 in July. While I'm sure they wouldn't mind keeping him, it's not like he's a young prospect who is expected to improve leaps and bounds. I think he fits our situation better than their situation, while Randolph, cap space, and an extra draft pick have more value for them than for us. If we needed to sweeten the deal a little (without giving up major pieces), I would probably still be in favor it, as I think Dudley really fits our needs perfectly.

I would probably be ok with the OP trade.

It's not flashy, but I would be ok with it as long as it includes the Utah pick rather than our 2014 1st rounder. The question I have though, is he more of a SG or SF? Following him in fantasy I thought he could play both, but last night he looked bigger than I anticipated and might not be a good fit at SG, but obviously that's a very small sample size.

I'd rather include the 2014 lottery-protected 1st rounder, maybe top 18 protected...hopefully we get the Utah pick this year and by 2014 we're picking in the late 1st round.

I don't see any reason why Phoenix would do this.

No way the Suns trade for him. Find his contract. Its $4.25 mil a year for the next 3 years with an option year afterward.

The Wolves should offer Anthony Randolph for Shannon Brown. Suns get a big for the post Nash era (i'm guessing hes dealt at the deadline) and the Wolves get a decent backup wing. Thats a small realistic trade.

I'd hate to see Shannon Brown chucking for a new contract in a Wolves uniform.

I'd love to rent Ray Allen for the rest of the year. If they'd take Beasley and Ellington or something, that'd be swell

Gideon wrote:[...] Dudley's not a key player for them [...]

Not true, Jared is very important for the Suns. Here is a good article about Dudley.

Devilzsidewalk wrote:I'd love to rent Ray Allen for the rest of the year. If they'd take Beasley and Ellington or something, that'd be swell

Regardless of your thoughts on Beasley, you'd want to give up one of our best assets to get a 2 month rental player for a season where we won't go anywhere even with that rental player?

Beasley isn't one of our best assets. And to say we go anywhere is relative, we're not winning the championship but Allen might help us make the playoffs.

gaspar wrote:

Gideon wrote:[...] Dudley's not a key player for them [...]

Not true, Jared is very important for the Suns. Here is a good article about Dudley.

That's just a nice profile of Dudley with some quotes from his coach (which will obviously be positive). Sure, the Suns like him, but it's not like they're building the team around him... he's far from untouchable. The article even mentions that he was a back-up part of the year. That stuff about "adding energy to the second unit" is funny... they were losing and he was in a bit of a slump early in the year, so they tried starting Shannon Brown for a while.

Don't get me wrong - I love Dudley and I think he'd be a perfect fit in a Wolves uniform; that's why I suggested this trade. But you can't say a borderline starter who averages 12-4-2 is one of Phoenix's "key" players. He's a solid role player whom they like but would surely be willing to deal for the right price. Their only "key" players are Nash and Gortat (just like our only key players are Love/Rubio/Pek).

I don't know exactly what Phoenix would want for Dudley, but I hope we talk to them and find out. I wouldn't be shocked if they would accept an extra 1st-round pick, a raw prospect, and a little more cap space... all of those aspects have value for them. Maybe we would end up sweetening the deal a little in some non-major way... I'd probably be okay with that, too, depending on what precisely we had to give up.

If Phoenix trades Nash, they'd probably say yes to a deal like this.
If they keep him, then they wouldn't.

It's not a bad idea if they blow it up though.

Rudy Ferdandez!

I like Rudy too... haven't seen him play as much as Jared Dudley. Rudy seems more athletic and has positive history with Ricky, which is nice... Jared seems more durable and is probably a little better shooter and just slightly more polished overall NBA player right now.

Why not make overtures for both of them and see what happens... it's not necessarily an either/or thing... we really could use a couple of good players at the 2/3 positions.