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One of the first moves Mike D'Antoni is expected to leave his fingerprints on as the head coach of the Knicks is a deal to bring a pair of his favorite Suns to his new team, according to a source close to The New York Daily News.

He is expected to make a push to acquire guard Leandro Barbosa and forward Boris Diaw from Phoenix, where the pair have reportedly fallen out of favor.

No interest in Diaw, but Barbosa would be a great fit for the Sixers. Maybe some sort of crazy three-way trade could be worked out.

OhhBF wrote:http://basketball.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/52491/20080513/dantoni_already_eyeing_his_favorite_suns/

One of the first moves Mike D'Antoni is expected to leave his fingerprints on as the head coach of the Knicks is a deal to bring a pair of his favorite Suns to his new team, according to a source close to The New York Daily News.

He is expected to make a push to acquire guard Leandro Barbosa and forward Boris Diaw from Phoenix, where the pair have reportedly fallen out of favor.

No interest in Diaw, but Barbosa would be a great fit for the Sixers. Maybe some sort of crazy three-way trade could be worked out.

Barbosa is a crowd pleaser. Fans would enjoy him at the Wachovia. Diaw, I take a pass.

Sixers have absolutely no chance to acquire either of these players... If the Suns deal these guys, they'll be seeking expirings... Sixers have no expiring contracts except for Andre Miller, and Stefanski ain't swapping Miller for Barbs' big contract. He'd probably be more likely to let Miller expire than trade for Diaw's big contract, too... Further, Miller figures to be a valuable part of the team in 2008-09.

Fire BK wrote:Sixers have absolutely no chance to acquire either of these players... If the Suns deal these guys, they'll be seeking expirings... Sixers have no expiring contracts except for Andre Miller, and Stefanski ain't swapping Miller for Barbs' big contract. He'd probably be more likely to let Miller expire than trade for Diaw's big contract, too... Further, Miller figures to be a valuable part of the team in 2008-09.

I do not see a Miller deal bringing in Barbosa, but I can see a Miller deal if it benefits Philadelphia. We have to see if the La Clippers,Chicago and some other teams offer with regard to Miller. It might take a 3 way deal. The 76ers are not going to give Miller away for free. This cap maks it so hard to make a fair deal.

S/T Iguodala for Diaw and Barbosa. That would save the Suns about 5 mil/yr and it would give them a player who they can plug right in for Hill and be the future of the franchise at SF. Hill, if he stays, would be a nice spark off the bench for them. Iguodala would be a great fit in the SUns uptempo style and would also upgrade their D a bit.

The Sixers get a versatile SF/PF in Diaw who can cause matchups problems for opposing teams due to his ball handling/passing skills. Diaw was the goto player for the Suns in the last couple playoff games when he took over for Hill in the starting lineup. He looked like the Diaw from 2005 when he started at PF/C with Stoudamire injured. One thing that is obvious about Diaw is that he is way more effective when he has the ball in his hands a lot on offense. This is similar to Iguodala for us. Diaw is a decent defender too.

I'm less interested in Barbosa as he's another combo guard who really can't play the point except for small stretches in games. Since we already have Lou filling that role, I'm not sure how you would fit both guys in the lineup. Maybe Barbosa makes Lou a S/T candidate too? Maybe Lou can eventually be the PG and Barbosa the bench combo guard? Either way, he would provide a 3pt option for us. He's also pretty strong at getting to the rim due to his quickness.

I think something like this has potential to work for both teams. It's funny that unlike other people here, I would much rather have Diaw at 9 mil than Barboasa at 6 mil. Diaw has way more all-around skills/versatility than Barbosa who is really just an undersized scorer and poor defender.

Diaw at the end of the day is a very sofT player with an inconsistent level of confidence. true he is much like Iguodala in the way that he is absolutely nothing but maybe a single good play a game if he isn't used as a ball hog type playmaking scorer. Depending on how Diaw guards Bosh, D. Howard, R. Wallace, Prince, and Jamison I would do that trade and sign J. Chill. If he can't guard those players to a respectable level and just simply brings his BEST offensive game to the table like 05-06 then he is worthless.

Dalembert Diaw Smith
Diaw Thad Reggie
Thad Carney
Childress Barbosa
Miller Lou Barbosa

That second team when Dalembert gets in foul trouble is interesting

Diaw
Thad
Childress
Barbosa
Miller Lou Williams

I'd rather have Diaw as well; but you'd need someone to motivate him to play and/or put the ball in his hands as a faciliator, something like what Iggy needs.

Iggy and Willie Green for Diaw and Barbosa sounds like a good gamble considering the upside. The only downside of the trade is if Diaw comes in and sucks at PF. I can NEVER see a scenario where both Iggy and Diaw are playing well but Iggy advances past our expectations turning into Scottie Pippen for the Suns.

i dont really wnat either but diaw is a better fit, barbosa is louis williams

SendEm wrote:Iggy and Willie Green for Diaw and Barbosa sounds like a good gamble considering the upside

yeah...right

So a 6'8" soft PF is now the answer to this franchise's needs...and in what aspect does this help the Sixers advance in the playoffs? Barbosa is a fantastic talent, but I'm not sure he's the PG of the future here either. Give me a lot of other moves, and this starts to make sense.

^^^ I don't think I would trade Iguodala for these 2 guys either. It's fine if we decide to let him walk, but Iguodala will be a much better player than Barbosa and Diaw.

Wouldn't it be much easier to just keep Young as a PF, rather than bringing in Diaw?

Roletagg wrote:^^^ I don't think I would trade Iguodala for these 2 guys either. It's fine if we decide to let him walk, but Iguodala will be a much better player than Barbosa and Diaw.

Wouldn't it be much easier to just keep Young as a PF, rather than bringing in Diaw?

It's Diaw's playmaking potential that's appealing. his addition could be the first move taken to have a backup plan for Andre Miller. Thad is just a finisher, however a very good and unique one. Iguodala can't replace any part of Andre Miller and he is a worse player without an Andre Miller making plays and picking up the scoring when Iguodala mentally disappears for stretches on the court. Also Barbosa is an offensive upgrade over Willie Green who also would be included in any deal as I see it. Also I would sign Childress and probably let Lou Williams walk in favor of signing Roger Mason Jr..

you have a ragin bonar for Mason Jr. dontcha?

I don't understand the interest in Diaw. The Sixers need more from a PF than what Diaw gives a team.

If they have the capspace to do it, a three-way where they get Randolph and Barbosa sounds preferable to Diaw and Barbosa. It might be possible to do without giving up anyone of signifigance. Randolph has negative value at this point, and the Sixers would taking on a lot of payroll. The Suns are probably looking to pare their's down, and might be willing to receive less in return if they can clean up their cap.

Both of these players are role players (good ones) that really wouldn't take this team to the next level. If they could be had for cheap, I would be interested but that's unlikely.

Instead... I look for New York to make a play for one or both of these guys. I imagine Barbosa will be a top priority for D'Antoni if the Knicks fail to draft a PG with their top pick.

Barbosa isn't a PG...

... according to you. I don't believe D'Antoni feels the same way. I'm sure he'd rather have Nash but if D'Antoni is going to implement his "7 seconds or less" offense in New York, Barbosa can play the point for him.

Get ready for millions of rumors of good players who are coming to the Knicks, usually in return for problem players with bad contracts. The NY press has a new management team in Walsh and D'Antoni and they will go nuts with unrealistic trade and FA rumors.

I'll rather have Barbosa as my PG over the current Knicks PG's any day. I don't expect for D'antoni to run the same offense he had in Phoenix just like he changed the offense to suit Shaq recently and suit Diaw back in 2005. He'll have something new up his sleeve but still free flowing. I'll be interested in seeing how Crawford, Robinson, and David L. benefit.