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I ran some more numbers, and this is the Chris Paul deal I would offer:

37.56 NOH OUT: Paul+Peja+Okafor
34.97 NOH IN: Rubio+Flynn+McGrady+OPec+Blount

23.10 MIN OUT: Rubio+Flynn+Gomes+OPec+Blount+Cardinal
30.41 MIN IN: Paul+Peja+Cook

25.98 HOU OUT: McGrady+Cook
21.26 HOU IN: Okafor+Gomes+Cardinal

NOH gets two great, cheap young PGs, and a ton of savings. Over the next three years:

2009-10: $8 mil (2.59 salary + 0.57 + 4.50 lux share)
2010-11: $49 mil (including lux tax and share)
2011-12: $26 mil
2012-13: $27 mil
TOTAL SAVINGS: $110 MILLION DOLLARS

I remain convinced that Shinn cannot turn down this kind of savings, because of the lack of revenues their team draws.

HOU gets everything it wants for McGrady's expiring, getting their big man next to Yao that they've demanded, plus Ryan Gomes, plus getting under the lux, for an additional savings of $12 million dollars

MIN: They lose Rubio and Flynn, but have Chris Paul and Sessions. They add $7 mil of salary this year and $26 mil next season with Paul and Peja's expiring. They can then try to use Peja's expiring plus all our picks in a sign-and-trade for another star to join Paul/Al/Love .. and with Paul here, we become a better free agent destination. We're over the cap, but we retain the MLE to bring Pekovic over, to use or trade. We retain our lottery pick.


Thoughts?

Being that I'm not on the Rubio bandwagon, I'd rather keep him

And what happens if we get Wall? Ha.

I wonder if Houston really wants to take Okafor's contract. I think it's a negative nancy and prevents them from going after Bosh or Johnson in free agency. That's a deal blocker right there.

As for us, sure I guess we would have to do it. But honestly, I would have mixed feelings about the deal as I've developed an unhealthy Rubio attachment.

why would the hornets want flynn and rubio ..+they have collison...am i missing something here

The latest rumor I've hear is that HOU has been demanding that any McGrady trade bring them back a good big man to play next to Yao. That's right .. "Yao." That means they are willing to go after longer term deals. Moreover, you take $12 mil off Okafor's price up-front, and give them Gomes, and I think they may have an easy yes.

I don't think Okafor is as over-priced as many maintain. He just got his new contract last summer, under the current NBA economy, and moreover, he was able to be traded for not just an expiring, but an expiring starting center. He's averaging close to his typical double-double.

FG 52.8% 9.8 RPG 1.8 BPG 11.2 RPG

He wasn't traded for an expiring. Chandler had $24 million due on his deal and had big injury question marks. The Hornets tried and failed to trade Chandler for an expiring. (OKC bailed).

Landry is better than Okafor in my opinion.

Dr.Krapinsky wrote:I wonder if Houston really wants to take Okafor's contract. I think it's a negative nancy and prevents them from going after Bosh or Johnson in free agency. That's a deal blocker right there.

Why do people continually overstate how much cap space teams will have? Houston will have less than us (much of which is likely committed to re-signing Scola), not nearly enough to get Bosh or Johnson as a free agent.

Other teams that will not have max cap space in 2010:
-Oklahoma City: Once Krystic picks up his option, they'll have a little over $10 million.
-Chicago: Bill Simmons recently made the claim that if they can move Hinrich for an expiring they'll have enough for two max free agents (Chad Ford didn't correct him). In fact, they might not have enough for even one since Salmons is playing so poorly that he'll likely want to pick up his player option.
-Memphis: Only Simmons was dumb enough to say this, but in a column a while back, he listed Memphis among the teams with max-free agent cap space and left Minnesota off. That douche.

hotshotschamp wrote:why would the hornets want flynn and rubio ..+they have collison...am i missing something here

I can't see them being interested in both of them either.

We signed Sessions, with Flynn and Rubio.

Hornets need to finish this season, and Rubio won't be over next season either. Collison has done little.

this deal aint happening....nextttt

Dr.Krapinsky wrote:He wasn't traded for an expiring. Chandler had $24 million due on his deal and had big injury question marks. The Hornets tried and failed to trade Chandler for an expiring. (OKC bailed).

Landry is better than Okafor in my opinion.

Whoops - you're right. I would mention that the Hornets succeeded in trading Chandler for an expiring, but it was Chandler that failed the physical. He's healthy (healthier?) now.

Still, if you pro-rate the $12 mil savings over Okafor's contract, I don't think its bad at all for double-double production. I'm not comfortable with its length, but HOU is saying themselves that they want a longer term option to pair with Yao. I like Landry as well, but they seem to be looking for more size.

shrink wrote:Thoughts?

It's a lateral move from the other CP3 trades that just involves 2 teams. I think adding Houston would only complicate any CP3 negotiations, as they would do whatever they could to pry him away as well and we would be showing them our hand. If we have the assets to get CP3 without adding a 3rd team, that's what we should do.

Narf wrote:

shrink wrote:Thoughts?

It's a lateral move from the other CP3 trades that just involves 2 teams. I think adding Houston would only complicate any CP3 negotiations, as they would do whatever they could to pry him away as well and we would be showing them our hand. If we have the assets to get CP3 without adding a 3rd team, that's what we should do.

Thanks for the comments. My thinking with HOU is that they serve several functions. First, they take Okafor, which NOH may really like and we may not want to commit too with Jefferson, Love, and Pekovic. Second, they provide a giant expiring. It means that they won't be buried with all of our contracts in a 3-for-9 deal, or some such roster nightmare. I agree its possible that they would want CP3, but they aren't adding the youth, nor are they taking Peja.

Remind me what the two-team CP3 deals look like.

John Doe [MN] wrote:

Dr.Krapinsky wrote:I wonder if Houston really wants to take Okafor's contract. I think it's a negative nancy and prevents them from going after Bosh or Johnson in free agency. That's a deal blocker right there.

I never said how much cap space they'll have. It's well known that Houston is a possible destination for Bosh. They could easily trade someone to clear enough cap space. Taking on Okafor just makes it that much harder.

I don't see Houston wanting Okafor and my guess is that if you ran it by Houston fans they would agree.

I posted a Washington/New Orleans trade in KFAN just for you Shrink

There were a few CP3 trade ideas but the most obvious one is Jefferson, Flynn, cap space, and picks for Okafor, CP3, Mo Pete and Posey. We trade an offensive PF/C for a defensive one with Pekovic coming over, give them a solid young PG prospect, and save them millions. They worry about getting value for West + Peja and rebuild.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=980344

The Hornets aren't trading Chris Paul. They cut $10Mil in salary to get under the luxury tax (what's that, close to a $25Mil saving?) without much of a loss in talent. They will certainly be able to cut enough to get under the luxury tax next year too if they want. Trading your 24 year old franchise player to save money is a last resort.

They will need to do more than just get under the luxury tax.

Why? They've saved more than $11Mil this month. They've made money over $60Mil since moving to NO. What's the big deal?

Briefly, in the past, they've been projected losses of $20 mil/ year. Last year, they were barely able to break even with higher attendance and play-off games. Their attendance has dropped from 17,000 to 15,000 this year, and additional play-off revenue seems unlikely. NOH faces a double-whammy as well -- not only are they selling less tickets, but the tickets they sell are for far less than the NBA average. their small market simply won't afford higher prices. While revenues decline, their payroll has increased. Next season it grows even higher with guaranteed raises for many of their expensive players. Moreover, they will have to add the guaranteed salary for their lottery pick, and all that in a situation where the lux that will decline even farther (they will again be back over). I didn't even include any repayment of their NBA debt, or the vast amount of debt they have in the arena. The team itself is the third least valuable franchise in the NBA, and lost 6% of its value last year.

There is a common belief that if you can get your team under the lux, all your financial problems are over. That's not true. Memphis dealt Pau Gasol because with their revenue streams and low attendance in their partially-filled new arena, they couldn't even operate at a payroll just under the lux. Glenn Taylor may be able to weather a few seasons with $20 mil losses, but Shinn, who's only worth $100 mil, is going to have to make changes. Right now, it looks like the Hornets' losses would be $55 mil over the next 18 months.

I've been impressed by how their front office was able to climb under the lux, but that's not even the minimum that they have to do. Either they have to be hoped to be saved by a miraculous turn-around in their play-off ambitions that boosts attendance and ancillary revenues, or they are going to have to make further, cost-cutting changes to the team.

I'm not sure what projections you're referencing, but with all their moves they've saved roughly $25Mil this year. If they were thinking of losing $20Mil before that, they may actually make money this year. And all that without giving up much talent. They're right in the playoff hunt too, so they could have some income coming in there as well. I don't see how they're going to lose $55Mil over the next 18 months.

Next year they're going to be right up against the luxury tax again. But you can bet they'll find sneaky ways like this to get under it if that's their goal. Aut the following year they have $25Mil coming off the books. It would be even more but they chose to make that Okafor/Chandler trade. Two players who are relatively equal in talent and pay. The big difference being that Okafor has 3 more years on his contract. According to the way that you are portraying their priorities, that trade would've never happened. That's almost an extra $40Mil in guaranteed salary that they gave to a guy who isn't a huge talent upgrade. Not exactly the type of move that a team panicking about their financial situation would make.

They have made $60Mil since being there, which is 14th in the league over that time, so it's not like they've been struggling to stay afloat all this time either.