Gasol traded to the Lakers

[The Guilty Party]

Did Phoenix say no because it was Amare or no because they didn't want to pay Garnett the extension he wanted??

Either answer tells me that Phoenix' ownership has little interest in winning a championship when you consider how good the Suns would be with Garnett on that team instead of Amare.

[UptownPhilly]

The suns won't win a chip until they play something collectively, called defense.

[The Guilty Party]

The suns won't win a chip until they play something collectively, called defense.

Agreed which is why I think Steve Kerr will begin to flip this roster if they get bounced before the Finals again. Amare is an explosive player but defense is not his strenth. That said, Marion will be entering the final year of his contract so perhaps he will be the one to get moved. Then again, Marion is one of the best all-around players in the game and would seem to fit Kerr's style a little more than some others on that roster.

[The Guilty Party]

Also... what the hell are the Bulls doing??? This trade not only takes Gasol off of the market but it means Kobe is definitely not going anywhere.

If you would have told me 12 months ago that both Gasol and Garnett were going to be traded, I would have asked you which one is playing for the Bulls. I'm really starting to doubt that John Paxson is the genius some made him out to be.

[chrice]

Did Phoenix say no because it was Amare or no because they didn't want to pay Garnett the extension he wanted??

Either answer tells me that Phoenix' ownership has little interest in winning a championship when you consider how good the Suns would be with Garnett on that team instead of Amare.

The original trade fell through; which would have allowed Phoenix to send Marion in a three way w/ Minny & Boston for KG. They didn't want to trade KG for Amare straight up because it wasn't a big enough move to justify a star forward for an older star forward when you factor in the lack of depth at 4 & 5 for them was their biggest issue. Wanted KG & Amare on the same team. But yes, you are right in that they are not willing to pay more than a few in luxury tax, even to increase their chances of a title.

[The Guilty Party]

Has anyone else looked at the Bulls board about this trade? Their feelings about Paxson are very reminiscent of this boards' feelings about BK prior to his firing.

[UptownPhilly]

Paxson isn't a very good GM.

If I'm correct,
-He gave Has-Been Wallace a max contract.
-Traded Tyson Chandler for nothing(even then he filled a need, defense and rebounding)
-He robbed Isiah of draft picks(but who hasn't???)
-Drafted Tyrus Thomas over LaMarcus Aldridge.

I'm not sure what else I left out.

[The Guilty Party]

I imagine there are a lot of agents for restricted free agents sleeping a little easier tonight since the number of teams that could compete for their client's services just doubled.

If Memphis takes a run at any of the RFAs it could drive the cost up for everyone else.

[The Sixer Fixer]

With the system that Memphis employs (up-tempo) I could see them getting in on someone like Josh Smith if they can clear some more cap room. Seems he might be the perfect PF with the style they play.

[The Guilty Party]

Ahhhh... finally there's something we agree on. I think Josh Smith in Memphis makes a lot of sense since he does seem to fit in with the up-tempo style while I think Okafor makes more sense here.

Either way, MJ and Billy Knight have to be a little more worried tonight than they were last night. Of course if Phoenix puts Stoudemire on the market, I imagine both teams will have a lot of interest.

[Fire BK]

I imagine there are a lot of agents for restricted free agents sleeping a little easier tonight since the number of teams that could compete for their client's services just doubled.

If Memphis takes a run at any of the RFAs it could drive the cost up for everyone else.

Exactly. Finally someone is talking about the real implications of this deal. People keep getting so wrapped up in the Elton Brands and Josh Smiths of the world - it's ridonkulous.

The real competition this summer will be for the Craig Smiths, Paul Milsaps and Rony Turiafs. Laugh now, but you are sleeping on the most attractive PF's on the market.

The Gasol trade hurts the Sixers because look at what Memphis shelled out for Donnie Darko last summer. Silly money. Don't think for a second they won't throw major dough at some of these sleeper RFAs. Okafor is okay, but he's got back issues, and we know his ceiling offensively. He's limited. And he's gonna cost the price of a porsch.

Next, this deal cements Andre Miller's fate. Gone.

Eddie is on the phone constantly right now with his buddy up the turnpike,
Mr. Thorn, attempting to insert himself in a 3 or 4-team Kidd deal. Dallas makes the most sense considering they want him so bad, Cuban's willing to extend him, Kidd wants to go there, and NJ would be able to send him to the West. But clearly, Dallas doesn't have the salary to match. Involving Andre Milller in a blockbuster for Kidd is a longshot, especially considering the challenges of including Portland in a 4-way deal. But it's being discussed.

Either way, it appears Andre Miller is gone. The Gasol trade is a wake-up call for Eddie. Time to shed even more contracts. Dumping Miller would open so much room, it's almost too tempting to decline. Moreover, with Memphis's glut of young point guards, the possibility of swapping Carney for Lowry becomes realistic. Return both players to their respective hometowns. Bring in a young PG. Render Miller more expendable.

As a hypothetical aside, Eddie is forced to wait until the deadline to send a Willie Green to Detroit for expirings that Dumars received from MJ in the Nazr deal (2-month window).

Lastly, it's time to dump Evans, and we all know that.

So in summation, this Gasol trade is sending shockwaves through the Sixers' front office. 1) Memphis is now a serious player this summer and the Sixers need to clear more room. 2) MEM now has 4 young PGs and could have real interest in Carney.... These factors add up to a sailing boat for Andre Miller. He's probably gone.

[dbodner]

The real competition this summer will be for the Craig Smiths, Paul Milsaps and Rony Turiafs. Laugh now, but you are sleeping on the most attractive PF's on the market.

Paul Milsap's not a free agent until 2009, unfortunately.

[SendEm]

NBA players may be from the Memphis area but I doubt that anyone wants to sign there without being SERIOUSLY overpaid.

[The Guilty Party]

There also seems to be some doubt that Memphis will even spend this money in the summer due to the potential sale of the team.

[The Guilty Party]

There were two interesting bits of info in Chris Sheridan's column today.

Wallace estimated the Grizzlies could be about $17 million under the salary cap in the summer of 2009 if they refrain from using their space over the upcoming summer and fill out next year's roster with players on one-year contracts.

Acknowledging the logjam at point guard, Wallace said he does not anticipate going into next season with Crittenton, Kyle Lowry and Mike Conley all on the roster.

"It'll be like locking the three of them in a room. We'll see which two come out, and we'll move the other guy," Wallace said.


If Memphis decides to wait a year to use it's cap space, that would be a huge benefit to us. Also, do you have any interest in any of the 3 young PGs?? I assume you answered yes so which one would you want??

[Wildfire]

I think reuniting Crittenton with Thad would be interesting (not to mention I would believe we could give up the least for Crittenton, since they haven't seen much of him yet).

[dbodner]

If Memphis decides to wait a year to use it's cap space, that would be a huge benefit to us. Also, do you have any interest in any of the 3 young PGs?? I assume you answered yes so which one would you want??

Dunno. I'm beginning to think we should do the same.

[Wildfire]

Dunno. I'm beginning to think we should do the same.

Ditto. I'm starting to become a little down on the players that will be available this year. There will be many more players that we could actually get next year, rather than guys like Okafor where it's extremely far-fetched that they'll actually leave.

But not getting someone good this off-season will piss me off even more about us not being bottom 5.

[Hops2thesky]

If Memphis decides to wait a year to use it's cap space, that would be a huge benefit to us. Also, do you have any interest in any of the 3 young PGs?? I assume you answered yes so which one would you want??

Dunno. I'm beginning to think we should do the same.

Well, we have tons of flexibility...
Make an offer to an RFA or two (early one to Emeka, for example, and if that fails, mabe one to Calderon)
If that does not work, then save the cap space for 2009.

Right now, with the Sixers contract structure, they have that flexibility...

[Hoops23]

Memphis is going to have max cap room this summer

How do you figure? My calculations have them at about 48 million in committed salary:
Crittenton $1,381,560
Mike Miler $9,128,575
Darko $7,000,000
Cardinal $6,300,000
Swift $6,200,000
Stoudamire $4,650,000
Conley $3,630,480
Gay $2,579,400
Warrick $2,119,102
Lowry $1,163,520
Jefferson $711,517
Lakers 1st (ca 20) 957,300
Grizzlies 1st (ca 5) 2,372,800

That would give them roughly 10 million, unless I've missed something. The rumored "Swift for Collins" trade has no effect, as they're both owed $6.2 million for next year.

IMO they will have a cap space not more than $9.5m. That calculation is base from paying their rookies drafted at no. 4 & no. 24.
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