Trade Deadline Countdown....January 2016

[Saberestar]

McD plays his cards to his chest. He's making Gambo go nuts haha

I am going to hear the podcast, hopefully it's available already.

[AtheJ415]

By the way, if I haven't mentioned it enough, we need Terrence Jones.

agree and i think Hou is one of the teams most likely to make a trade before the deadline. they are one of the only teams that 1)need a trade and 2) can't take their time as they rack up ben simmons scratcher tickets. (bucks also came to mind)

i liked Jones a little more than Kieff even when Kieff wasn't a load. Hou isn't resigning him. i wonder what Hou is asking for and I wonder if we have anything the'yre interested in (PJ? archie/weems maybe?)

OTOH i don't want to give up too much for him bc i think he is an unrestricted FA after this yr, right? i dunno how bird rights even work so i don't know if we'd even be able to keep him if we wanted to

He's a restricted FA after the year, so we'd get the right to match. He could get a lot of money, but now that he's benched I'm not sure that will necessarily be the case. We'll see I suppose. I am still hoping he's the Markieff target.

[Saberestar]

I think if we cant land Simmons we should go after Dunn. I know hes another PG but I think hes the second best player in the draft. Maybe trade Bled for a stud big and bring Knight off of the bench.

I think that Dunn is a good prospect, but he is three, I'mgoing to repeat, THREE years older than Ingram and even with that difference of age he is not better right now than him.

If we want to play a modern basketball would be great to pair Warren with one of Simmons or Ingram. That would be a fun tandem of forwards to watch.

[PhxSunsFan13]

You guys think the Suns make a run at Hassan Whiteside this summer?

[bwgood77]

Spoiler:

Being an all star and having all star talent are 2 different things. Bledsoe has all star talent and played at an all star level this year. His numbers are unequivocally better than a couple guys who will make it. Yes, he won't make it, but that's a different conversation. Goran was top 5 in win shares and made 3rd team all nba but wasn't an all star that year. Kobe is having the worst year maybe ever and is going to make it. He made it as a youngin despite not even starting on his team simply because he was popular. A lot goes into that. Knight, in my opinion, has a hell of a lot of talent, which I would call near all star. He doesn't play like it this year for many reasons, which we've discussed on this board ad nauseum. But I think it's fair to say he's not performing up to his talent level, and within that statement it means his talent level is higher than what he's shown.

To characterize our season as lost relative to where we are now because of our early season issues with Markieff and the boneheaded plays by Knight is a big misnomer. That's why the playoffs may have been lost and explains why we might have been the 9 or 10 seed picking in the early teens, but it in no way explains where we are now, which is what I was discussing in my post when I said we can catch a 2 seed potentially and I'm excited about that.

Also, I'll say this: Those issues aren't talent-related. Markieff being disgruntled has nothing to do with Markieff's talent. Knight making a boneheaded play isn't because he's untalented. Those are both mental issues. Hell, Hornacek could've prevented both by: 1. Benching Markieff, but Hornacek kept playing him through his awfulness for no reason, then sat him, watched others drastically outperform him, and then miraculously played him again. 2. Not running game-deciding plays through Knight. But hell, Hornacek wasn't good at end of game scenarios even during Dragic's monster year. He's always struggled with that, but his defenders always make excuses for that, just like his lack of assists, lack of leadership, the constant lack of chemistry, and lack of respect he seems to command with almost everyone we add. The entire team is underperforming, which points to a much larger issue. Our coach is the 2nd biggest underperformer imo. A coach's job is so much more than X's and O's, and while Hornacek may be a smart guy, I've yet to see him be the locker room leader who commands respect and disciplines this team in the manner a coach should. It's been an issue our entire time here.

Now, we have reached a new low, and so either Bledsoe ought to be an MVP candidate and considered way more than an all-star given what's happened since he left, because he was the difference between getting blown out by the Lakers and losing to the 76ers and competing for the 8 or 9 seed, or perhaps the team has given up because our coach has been unable to get them to perform to their potential. You can't have it both ways. You can't say our star guard isn't a star, but then also use that as an excuse for why we have suddenly become the worst team in the NBA, all while absolving the coach. We have had a dramatic and epic fall off that teams that have lost stars simply haven't, and I don't see, for instance, Indy last year without Paul George as more talented than what we have right now.

I'm not sure why the playoffs somehow came into this. None of my previous post was about us making the playoffs. It was about us having way more talent than the other tanking teams. Utah certainly isn't one of those tanking teams. We have more talent than how we are playing right now, and therefore have no business having a shot at the 2 seed in the tankathon. I'm merely stating that, and that I'm happy for it because it may benefit us more in the long run than playing to our potential would have thanks to this high pick. Also, when it comes to a discussion of the playoffs in the current year, developed talent is the key. That is different from long-term talent that you'd want to build around. So the word talent means different things in those 2 contexts. The guys I labeled as keepers, as guys we must move, and as in-between are all based on long-term value and therefore includes undeveloped talent/ceiling, and not their short-term ability to help us succeed this season. Those are 2 very different discussions. Otherwise, Bledsoe is my keeper and not in between, for instance.

I agree we have some young talent, but even for the other tanking teams, I don't know how many fans outside of our forum, and many inside would take Booker, Len and Warren over Noel, Embiid and Okafor, or over Russell and Randle, or Wiggins, Towns, LaVine and Shabazz, or Greek Freak, Parker and Middleton. Perhaps you think our guys have more talent and that is fine.

Many talk about trading Bledsoe or Len. I don't want to do that. I like our talent and we have a lot of nice pieces, but we're also a makeshift roster, without a real FO plan when the big targets don't hit. I'm also glad we have a good chance at Simmons. I'm just not sure we have more young talent than the guys on those other teams.

Besides being a team playing the first year together with no continuity in roster, we've also played the most games in the league.

Hornacek has been far from a good coach this year but there have been all sorts of problems. I don't really want him to stay for his sake and sanity and I'm sure if he wants to coach he will find a place with more of a plan and continuity, though I think he might be happy just chilling in Phx.

You talk about raw talent but I really can't believe you think our young guys have more raw skills and talent than those other teams I named. Bledsoe has a lot of raw ability that I like, and has more athletic ability than a guy like Conley, but Conley plays smart ball.

I certainly wouldn't place Bledsoe above Curry, Westbrook, Harden (despite his down year), Klay, Paul, and probably Conley or Lillard...perhaps even Parker and Ginobili this year, because most of those play team ball. Bledsoe does have some great talent and should be ahead of at least those last three guys I named. I can't remember how many guards make the all star game though. We have a near all star in Bledsoe but the way even our fans (and fans of previous teams he's been on don't think he is really a near all star).

I'm not really concerned with what fans outside our forum would think. They follow their teams. We follow ours. But I watch enough hoops to feel pretty good about my statement. Also, the vast majority of people are going to be influenced by hype and draft slot. Since our guys have been under the radar or later selections, you aren't going to find those fans agreeing at all, which is fine. For instance, their assessment of Embiid or Parker vs. Booker, or their opinions of Okafor (saw a fan ask HP if Okafor would make the HOF putting up his current numbers for his career, which was laughed at. That's the difference in efficiency, hype, etc.).

I take ours over LAL's any and every day.

I take ours over PHI's any and every day. Okafor and Noel are the only one I'd want on my team, and right now Okafor's putting up numbers on shots. He is essentially their Brandon Knight. His efficiency is awful, and he's never defended and may never defend. He does have obvious upside though, which is why I'd want him, similar to why I'm not willing to give up on Knight when he's been so poorly coached here. Noel is a nice player but still has a ton of work to do to become an offensive threat imo. Embiid has already had questions about his commitment to the game, desire to recover from injuries as opposed to drink and party, and certainly looks like an immature Greg Oden. All 3 have a very clumsy fit together that is destined to have to be dismantled.

Brooklyn is RHJ and Lopez, who is probably too old for a rebuilding team.

New Orleans has Davis, who is an absolute monster. He is easily the player I'd take if I could pick anyone to build around. Unfortunately for them, their GM has done a criminal job of surrounding him with talent. He had more talent around him in college. There is not a single player I would want on my team relative to their salaries aside from Anderson, who is too old for a rebuild and will likely become overpaid this offseason, making him fall into the "not want" list for me. Holiday I would be on the fence on. That's it for me. Some may disagree on Evans but I am not a fan at all. I'd prefer Davis just because of who he is relative to the rest of our guys, but only if I didn't take Demps with me. That doesn't appear to be the case for NO for a few years at least, which imo will waste a good portion of their window.

Minnesota has the most talent. Pretty easily. But as far as the playoff conversation they are far too young to have been a legitimate threat. That's why these discussions can't be melded together. They are entirely different valuations. Either way, I don't really consider Minnesota a tanking team as far as our tanking discussions go. They are trying to win games, and imo it's in their best interest to win games, but are just too young to do it. They'll get there soon.

I don't buy Milwaukee's talent at all. Parker is a tweener who doesn't defend, may be best suited for the 4 but wants to be a 3, and can't really shoot at all from 3, and coming off a major injury. Many say he hasn't been the same, and I haven't watched as much this season so he may be playing worse, but his numbers are similar. He just simply wasn't that great before injury. He was good for a 19 year old, but he wasn't legitimately good for an NBA player in the slightest. He's still super young so he will improve, but I personally don't believe he becomes something special at all. He's never defended at any level, and so at best I see him as an elite 1 way player who won't be elite from 3 point range. That's not really that valuable. I honestly wouldn't trade Booker for him. Greak freak I like and think will be good. Middleton is 24, so throwing him in there with a tanking core is borderline imo. If that's the case we could throw Knight in there.

I'd take ours over most of those too except probably Minnesota. But the point is, they all have raw talent but none are playoff caliber and you cannot definitively say any are THAT much better than the other (except maybe Minnesota). I really love our young guys, and I like Bledsoe, and I don't want to give up on Knight. But other than that we don't have a ton of talent...PJ, who you're not a fan of....Leuer, decent, Telly, ok but terrible defensively, Kieff, a negative. Tyson, who is inconsistent, has a hard time dunking, has no offense, etc. The rest all pretty much suck.

We have a lot more talent than we did 2-4 years ago, but many of the guys on those teams had a lot of playoff and nba experience, so they were just naturally more ready to compete at a high level in the nba.

I'm think we are set up fairly well for the future and should be much better next year if we don't make any bad off season decisions, and the team should grow with more experience playing together.

This team is underachieving, but is more at about the level we should have started at 2 years ago when McD took over...luckily we still ended up with a good player in the draft that year....too bad expectations went sky high when we were just in the second year of a rebuild and we didn't move on from guys sooner and then made the off season decisions we did that just killed last year. Luckily, once again we end up with a good draft pick.

[nevetsov]

Never happen in a million years, but I think this could help all teams:

Heat trade: Dragic, Green
Heat get: Knight, Weems

Dragic is a terrible fit in Miami, he's a ball dominant guard trying to play next to another ball dominant guard. He's trying to adapt but he doesn't have the athleticism or talent to excel off the ball. Knight is a much better fit next to Wade, as he needs to play off an alpha 2 guard to take the pressure off and get him open shots.

Tyler Johnson has been balling lately and this trade also opens up opportunity for him.

Knight, Udrih
Wade, Johnson
Deng, Winslow
Bosh, McRoberts
Whiteside, Stoudemire

Magic trade: Oladipo, Watson, Nicholson, Napier
Magic get: Dragic, Green

A team with too much young potential, Orlando cash in some young spare parts/ poor fits for an experienced floor General who can get the most out of their young core. Dragic also has a great track record playing with Frye. They also have a Dragic/Frye succession plan in Payton/Gordon off the bench. This makes them a scary team no one in the east wants to meet in the playoffs.

Dragic, Payton
Fournier, Green
Harris, Hezonja
Frye, Gordon
Vujevic, Dedmon

Celtics trade: Smart, Lee (exp)
Celtics get: Oladipo, Watson, Markieff

With IT entrenched as starting PG, they upgrade their SG to a legit young talent that complements IT's offensive game. They also get a replacement backup PG and Markieff, who they probably don't need any more than D-Lee, but I'm sure they could flip him for something if they wanted.

Thomas, Watson
Oladipo, Bradley
Crowder, Turner
Sullinger, Olynyk
Johnson, Zeller

Suns trade: Knight, Markieff, Weems
Suns get: Smart, Napier, Nicholson, David Lee (exp/cut)

We essentially undo the Knight trade, as Ennis=Napier, Plumlee=Nicholson, and LA pick=Smart. We get a legitimate young PG talent who is a bit like a Bledsoe understudy, who can play out this season as a starter with the rest of the young core and slide back into a backup role next season when Bled returns. Great insurance in case of another Bledsoe injury too. I would think Smart would have higher long term value as far as need, fit and age than Knight. Napier and Nicholson are other interesting young pieces.

(Bledsoe), Smart, Napier
Booker, Goodwin
Warren, Tucker
Leuer, Teletovic, Nicholson
Chandler, Len

[Barkley6]

You guys think the Suns make a run at Hassan Whiteside this summer?

Might be able to make a play for him at the deadline, the Heat don't have his bird rights and he could walk for nothing at the end of the year as an UFA. Maybe a deal of Markieff and Tucker for Whiteside and Deng?

Adding Whiteside also makes Len tradeable. Suns could, in theory, still have the ammo to pull off a Cousins trade, something like:

Knight, Goodwin, Len, Cleveland Pick, Suns 2018 pick for Cousins (Might not be enough, I know.)

Lineup Would Be:
Bledsoe/Price
Booker/Weems
Warren/Deng/
Cousins/Leur/Teletovic
Whiteside/Chandler

Pretty good young core to add a lottery pick to, naturally you'd have to resign Whiteside, but Suns would shed salary in both deals, and would have Deng's expiring coming off the books in the summer in which to try to do just that.

I dunno, it's just rosterbating at this point, but I think that's a pretty exciting starting 5.

[Frank Lee]

I just don't think that team has any prayer of winning a title, and worse, is good enough to make the playoffs. So we reach our fantastically overrated goal of playoffs but are further from a title. You can't properly rebuild without getting younger.

Says who ? Did you write the ''official rebuild manual' ? So if you make the playoffs you will then likely (we would ) pick in the teens. Are you saying you can't build a team with mid round picks ? That you have to get a 1 -2 -3 pick ? And the only way to get that pick is to be really bad ? Didn't we get younger with Booker and Warren ? Aren't they progressing better than our #5 pick ?

Didn't we make our best runs with players acquired via trades, free agency, and a sprinkling of picks mixed in.

IMO, its a combination of all methods ... trades, free agency, drafting. (see GSt) Putting all eggs in one basket and you end up like Philly on one end or Brooklyn on the other. You get better by ... getting better and not making blunderful moves that set you back.

Sadly, I can't see how we trade out of this, nor see how we draft out of it... and free agency ? sheesh who wants to join this mess now, plus, EVERYONE has cap space this yr. We do not have many options. Except to unload vets, fire coaches and wait 3 yrs for our youngsters to be not so young.... all while the GM keeps his head low. Accountability creeps towards the top.

[saintEscaton]

You guys think the Suns make a run at Hassan Whiteside this summer?

Might be able to make a play for him at the deadline, the Heat don't have his bird rights and he could walk for nothing at the end of the year as an UFA. Maybe a deal of Markieff and Tucker for Whiteside and Deng?

Adding Whiteside also makes Len tradeable. Suns could, in theory, still have the ammo to pull off a Cousins trade, something like:

Knight, Goodwin, Len, Cleveland Pick, Suns 2018 pick for Cousins (Might not be enough, I know.)

Lineup Would Be:
Bledsoe/Price
Booker/Weems
Warren/Deng/
Cousins/Leur/Teletovic
Whiteside/Chandler

Pretty good young core to add a lottery pick to, naturally you'd have to resign Whiteside, but Suns would shed salary in both deals, and would have Deng's expiring coming off the books in the summer in which to try to do just that.

I dunno, it's just rosterbating at this point, but I think that's a pretty exciting starting 5.

No because we don't want a UFC rematch
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZley8yAOg4[/youtube]

[Saberestar]

Phoenix is waiving Cory Jefferson, an athletic forward who was '14 second round pick, sources tell Yahoo. Jefferson had non-guaranteed deal.

https://mobile.twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/684959583668834305

Ummmm....
Creating a roster spot?

Terrence Jones and Brewer for Markieff?

I know that we have to trade Markieff, but I don't like this possible trade. Brewer is playing really bad, and he is on a $24M/3 years contract.

And I don't like Jones. I prefer to trade him for an expiring and a low first round pick.

We will see what happens.

[carey]

No, just waiving him before his contract would have become guaranteed for the season.

[AtheJ415]

I just don't think that team has any prayer of winning a title, and worse, is good enough to make the playoffs. So we reach our fantastically overrated goal of playoffs but are further from a title. You can't properly rebuild without getting younger.

Says who ? Did you write the ''official rebuild manual' ? So if you make the playoffs you will then likely (we would ) pick in the teens. Are you saying you can't build a team with mid round picks ? That you have to get a 1 -2 -3 pick ? And the only way to get that pick is to be really bad ? Didn't we get younger with Booker and Warren ? Aren't they progressing better than our #5 pick ?

Didn't we make our best runs with players acquired via trades, free agency, and a sprinkling of picks mixed in.

IMO, its a combination of all methods ... trades, free agency, drafting. (see GSt) Putting all eggs in one basket and you end up like Philly on one end or Brooklyn on the other. You get better by ... getting better and not making blunderful moves that set you back.

Sadly, I can't see how we trade out of this, nor see how we draft out of it... and free agency ? sheesh who wants to join this mess now, plus, EVERYONE has cap space this yr. We do not have many options. Except to unload vets, fire coaches and wait 3 yrs for our youngsters to be not so young.... all while the GM keeps his head low. Accountability creeps towards the top.

Says common sense. But that would explain why you're constantly so upset with the team and those moves. Apparently trading Gortat and Dragic cost us a title.

And if you've followed anything I've said about the draft it's always been about the player being more important than the pick number. It's not impossible to build with mid-teen picks, but it's not as likely or easy, and all else being equal having a higher pick is better if your team isn't winning a title and is capped out (which that team would be), and is a bunch of guys on the downsides of their careers aside from Bledsoe, so whoever you pick and add in FA has to improve faster than they decline.

The rest is an entire misrepresentation about what I'm advocating for or what I said. I've never advocated for a Philly type rebuild and never will, but that's not the scenario we are in. And FA is still available to us because we're not openly doing it the way Philly has for 2 years. It's clear our franchise wants to win. Making the playoffs with that particular team whose youngest key player is 26 and no superstars is essentially a worse version of the Grizzlies who at least have Gasol. What's their future look like? Also the idea that we could've gotten Booker, or even Warren, with that team is beyond a stretch. Booker in particular slid to us, and with that team we're looking at a much later pick last year. We'd probably be looking at a guy like Ennis instead of Warren and a guy like Justin Anderson instead of Booker. There are lots of ways to rebuild, but in general keeping an old team of role players around and trying to win with guys in their early to mid 30s with 1 key guy at 26 is not one that works out. I can't think of any who have done that aside from SA, and they did it because they were so unbelievably fortunate to get Kawhi Leonard, a stud superstar youngster who slid in the draft a lot, and even then SA didn't quite know what they were getting with him (that he would be this good).

[AtheJ415]

Phoenix is waiving Cory Jefferson, an athletic forward who was '14 second round pick, sources tell Yahoo. Jefferson had non-guaranteed deal.

https://mobile.twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/684959583668834305

Ummmm....
Creating a roster spot?

Terrence Jones and Brewer for Markieff?

I know that we have to trade Markieff, but I don't like this possible trade. Brewer is playing really bad, and he is on a $24M/3 years contract.

And I don't like Jones. I prefer to trade him for an expiring and a low first round pick.

We will see what happens.

Why don't you like Jones? He hustles, plays D, protects the rim, and has great handles and can run the floor. He can also hit the 3 well enough to play out there. He's 24 with some good athleticism to improve.

I agree about Brewer, but just curious why on Jones. Is it the homeless man incident, his contract, or just a desire to rather go younger with a pick?

[rsavaj]

You guys think the Suns make a run at Hassan Whiteside this summer?

Might be able to make a play for him at the deadline, the Heat don't have his bird rights and he could walk for nothing at the end of the year as an UFA. Maybe a deal of Markieff and Tucker for Whiteside and Deng?

Adding Whiteside also makes Len tradeable. Suns could, in theory, still have the ammo to pull off a Cousins trade, something like:

Knight, Goodwin, Len, Cleveland Pick, Suns 2018 pick for Cousins (Might not be enough, I know.)

Lineup Would Be:
Bledsoe/Price
Booker/Weems
Warren/Deng/
Cousins/Leur/Teletovic
Whiteside/Chandler

Pretty good young core to add a lottery pick to, naturally you'd have to resign Whiteside, but Suns would shed salary in both deals, and would have Deng's expiring coming off the books in the summer in which to try to do just that.

I dunno, it's just rosterbating at this point, but I think that's a pretty exciting starting 5.

I was actually thinking about Whiteside after listening to Zach Lowe's podcast with Windhorst. Lowe was speculating that it might make sense for Miami to move Whiteside and Deng for some rotation players who can help them. Windhorst threw out Ryan Anderson as a suggestion, since he's an expiring deal and Riley's trying to free up cap space to make some Riley moves. That got me thinking about a deal based around Markieff/Tucker for Whiteside/Deng, as you suggested.

Then Windhorst also said Brooklyn was looking at moving Joe Johnson for players that can help THEM in a desperate attempt at a playoff berth, even if it means taking longterm money back.

Taking all of that information into account, I give you: http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=hgj386x

Suns out: Kieff, Tucker, Chandler, Archie, Telly
Suns in: Whiteside, Joe Johnson's Expiring Contract, The Artist Formerly Known as STAT

Why: Because Hassan Whiteside, that's why. Not sure I need to say much else, but dumping Chandler's contract is a huge +, and getting two of the 04/05 gang back together just makes me happy inside. I want Amare to end his career in purple and orange.

Why not: We run the risk of Whiteside leaving a few months later in free agency, losing some assets for nothing. We wouldn't have his Bird Rights, and pretty much every team in the league would have enough cap space to throw max money at him. Buuuuuuuuut I think we'd be able to offer him 7.5% raises annually vs the rest of the league's 4% raises, which would work in our favor.

Oh, and he and Alex Len really kind of hate each other, but that's okay.

Brooklyn Out: Joe Johnson's Expiring Contract
Brooklyn In: Tyson Chandler, Luol Deng, Josh McBob

Why: Talent-wise, this is a good deal for them. They essentially get a new frontcourt for JJ, who is having the worst year of his career. If they're really gung-ho on trying to make the playoffs, I actually think this would be a good deal for them.

Why not: Tyson and McBob aren't on good contracts, and Deng is an expiring, so you have to wonder if Brooklyn would move JJ for that longterm money like Windhorst says they would.

Heat Out: Whiteside, Deng, Josh McBob, Amare
Heat In: Motivated Kieff!, Tucker, Archie, Telly

Why: This one is a harder sell, and if any team were to decline, it would be Miami. Still, if they decide to move Whiteside and get some pieces back, I don't think this is terrible for them. Markieff would no doubt be motivated and play well after he gets moved, and nabbing a fully engaged Kieff on that steal of a deal is a great move. PJ Tucker gives them a veteran 3/D/grit guy that is right up Riley's alley. Teletovic gives them a sharpshooter who would give them the floor spacer they THOUGHT they were getting with McBob. Archie is a prospect to pair with Winslow. Add all of that to the fact that they'd be paired with Dragic/Green and you know that the chemistry's already there. Plus, it's a good deal for them financially, shedding McBob's contract for expirings(Telly), a rookie deal(Archie), a short-term deal(Tucker), and a steal of a deal(Kieff).

Why not: I have a feeling they could get a better offer for a player of Whiteside's caliber. Enough said.



Roster through the end of the season:
Knight/Price
Booker/JJ
Warren/Weems
Leuer/STAT
Whiteside/Len

JJ/STAT/Weems are all gone in the summer. Re-sign Whiteside, add a high draft pick(SIMMONS!), bring over Bogdanovic, enter the summer with a Bledsoe/Knight/Booker/Warren/Simmons/Whiteside/Len/Bogdanovic core, and see where McD goes from there.

[Kerrsed]

Suns also just waived Bryce Cotton as well.......

[Qwigglez]

I was thinking Chandler/Len for Whiteside/Deng/Andeson. Maybe have to throw in Cleveland's pick. Though this could bite us in the butt if Whiteside goes elsewhere in free agency.

[AtheJ415]

Suns also just waived Bryce Cotton as well.......

Yeah. Want them to clear waivers before the salaries become guaranteed. Although I wonder why because you have to have guys to suit up. I am hoping it somehow means my idea of Markieff for Jones, KJ, and any low salary is in play, but I doubt Houston would do it.

[asudevil]

I was thinking Chandler/Len for Whiteside/Deng/Andeson. Maybe have to throw in Cleveland's pick. Though this could bite us in the butt if Whiteside goes elsewhere in free agency.

Anyone trading for Whiteside would need an under-the-table assurance that he would resign. We'd have to take it for what its worth though. I really dont think that's enough to entice Miami. They'll have the cap space to max him out. And if push came to shove, i'm pretty sure they'd choose Whiteside over Wade if Whiteside came to them and said he'd stay for the max.

[asudevil]

Suns trade:
Markieff/Knight
Suns get:
Young/Jennings/RHJ

Suns clear Markieff. Jennings becomes a replacement PG for the rest of the season. Young replaces Markieff at the PF with a decent contract and good productivity. RHJ slides into the backup SG/SF slot. The nice thing here is that this gives the Suns an amazing amount of flexibility. They can resume the tank, and target Simmons if he there, OR Dunn as a consolation. NEXT YEAR:

Len/Chandler
Simmons/Young
Warren/RHJ
Booker/RHJ/Goodwin
Bledsoe/FA

or

Len/Chandler
Young/FA
Warren/RHJ
Booker/RHJ/Goodwin
Bledsoe/Dunn

Nets trade:
Young/RHJ
Nets get:
Knight/Pistons 2016 First

Nets do two things. They gain their PG of the future, and retain cap space to go after another big name FA. They pretty much are a win now team, and cannot afford the embarrassment of giving up the high draft picks they did. So, they become competitive as quickly as possible

Pistons trade:
Jennings/2016 First
Pistons get:
Markieff

Pistons reunite Markieff/Marcus. They could/should possibly send a protected pick to the Nets, because everyone is certain that reuniting the two will boost both of their productivity.
Markieff

[SAKURABA216]

Suns trade:
Markieff/Knight
Suns get:
Young/Jennings/RHJ

Suns clear Markieff. Jennings becomes a replacement PG for the rest of the season. Young replaces Markieff at the PF with a decent contract and good productivity. RHJ slides into the backup SG/SF slot. The nice thing here is that this gives the Suns an amazing amount of flexibility. They can resume the tank, and target Simmons if he there, OR Dunn as a consolation. NEXT YEAR:

Len/Chandler
Simmons/Young
Warren/RHJ
Booker/RHJ/Goodwin
Bledsoe/FA

or

Len/Chandler
Young/FA
Warren/RHJ
Booker/RHJ/Goodwin
Bledsoe/Dunn

Nets trade:
Young/RHJ
Nets get:
Knight/Pistons 2016 First

Nets do two things. They gain their PG of the future, and retain cap space to go after another big name FA. They pretty much are a win now team, and cannot afford the embarrassment of giving up the high draft picks they did. So, they become competitive as quickly as possible

Pistons trade:
Jennings/2016 First
Pistons get:
Markieff

Pistons reunite Markieff/Marcus. They could/should possibly send a protected pick to the Nets, because everyone is certain that reuniting the two will boost both of their productivity.
Markieff

Jennings and a 1st round pick is a lot to give up for Markieff. I honestly wouldn't trade either of those, let alone both for him and I'm one of the few members from the Pistons board that wants him on our team really bad.