RealGM

Just playing around with the trade checker..

Trade 1:
Nets Out:
Vince Carter

Nets In:
Brian Skinner
Eric Piatkowski
Mike James
Steve Francis
Leandro Barbosa

Suns Out:
Leandro Barbosa
Brian Skinner
Eric Piatkowski

Suns In:
Shane Battier

Rockets Out:
Shane Battier
Mike James
Steve Francis

Rockets In:
Vince Carter

Why For NJ:
Huge financial savings from Carter's deal to Barbosa's deal. The rest of the contracts expire within two years. Creates a backcourt of Harris / Barbosa / M. Williams - a trio of players who are incredibly fast, very young, and have great perimeter shooting.

Why For Phx:
The acquisition of Shaq shows that they're interested in playing slowdown, halfcourt ball, to some degree. Battier is a lockdown three who will also provide help on the defensive boards. Gives them a lineup of Shaq / Amare / Battier / Bell / Nash that allows them to hide Shaq's inadequacies on the defensive end.

Why For Houston:
Pairing Vince Carter with Tracy McGrady at this stage of their careers could help spark a playoff run. A Yao - TMac - VC trio has to be taken seriously, even in the West.

Trade 2:
NJ Out:
Mike James
Bostjan Nachbar

Why NJ:
Nene Hilario provides size, and isn't horribly overpaid. If he doesn't work out, can always be moved later. Also, frees up Josh Boone as trade bait - leaving NJ with a Krstic / Nene / S. Williams trio up front.

Why Denver:
Nene's out for the season, and Denver needs another guard. Mike James is a decent stopgap at point, and Bostjan Nachbar's range is always helpful coming off the bench. Darrell Armstrong could be included also.

NJ In:
Nene Hilario

NJ 2009 Starting Lineup:
Center: Nene Hilario / Josh Boone / Skinner
Power Forward: Sean Williams / Nenad Krstic
Small Forward: Richard Jefferson / Eric Piatkowski
Shooting Guard: Leandro Barbosa / Steve Francis
Point Guard: Devin Harris / Marcus Williams

Thoughts?

Well, apparently Wells and James are going to the Hornets in exchange for Bobby Jackson. So those two trades don't look too realistic at all.

The Suns will never, ever, do this trade.

Suns wouldnt touch this trade in a million years

Suns wouldn't trade Barbosa unless it was an offer they couldn't refuse.

I agree. No way Suns trade Barbosa

although i'm sure tracy would for vince to come over to houston, that aint happening

Is Barbosa really that important to Phoenix with Shaq there?

How effective is he in the halfcourt set?

barbosa is very important to them regardless of Shaq. He might even be more important because of him. He has that outside shot, and he's extremely athletic. Plus, Phoenix's bench is thin as it is. Losing Barbosa would leave them with NO bench. He's one of only 3 20+ point threats on the floor (Nash, Amare, Barbosa). The rest chip in with 10-16. They need his scoring especially without marion.

But doesn't Battier have a similar outside shot?

He's also a much better defensive player than Barbosa, and the Suns are going to need a guy like that, as we saw last night.

Barbosa is better than Raja Bell Barbosa is basically the suns starter, he just doesn start the games but he plays more minutes than Raja Bell