TT '09 - VINCECARTER4PRES wins!

[dockingsched]

i'll have my votes up later tonight.

[InBoobieWeTrust]

Round 2 - Assignment #1
Get Amar'e outta Phoenix!

Phoenix sends:
Amar'e Stoudamire

New Orleans sends:
David West
Antonio Daniels
Devin Brown
1st round pick

Originality: 7-I do think NO is an intriguing destination for Amare, so I like the original premise of the deal.
Feasibility: 2- My biggest problem here is that I don't see Amare getting a max contract extension from NOH. That's what he's going to want, and there are going to be a few teams who will give him that in the summer of 2010, but I don't think NOH is one of them and I don't think they trade the economically friendly David West away to take a likely one year rental of Amare. Plus, Paul and West have some awesome chemistry, maybe not something you want to break up.
Effectiveness: 6- It saves Phoenix money, keeps them relevant(6-8th seed), and probably turns NOH into a serious contender for a year...I just feel the Amare contract situation makes a trade with him in it hard to come by, it's tough to be original, but at the same time the usual suspect deals(Chicago, NYK, Miami) are more feasible, even if less effective.

Round 2 - Assignment #1
Get Amar'e outta Phoenix!

Suns get: Carlos Boozer, Javale McGee, CJ Miles, future 1st
Suns trade: Amar'e Stoudamire, Alando Tucker

Wiz get: Amar'e Stoudamire, Alando Tucker
Wiz trade: Caron Butler, Javale McGee, Mike James

Jazz get: Caron Butler, Mike James
Jazz trade: Carlos Boozer, CJ Miles, future 1st

Originality: 3
Feasibility: 2
Effectiveness: 6

The suns get a solid package back for Amare, but the Wizards involvement in this deal really skews things. I don't think the Wizards would be prepared to trade McGee and Butler for Amare becuase of his contract situation, because of team fit, and because of injury concerns. (mainly his contract, though). I personally think Butler is extremely valuable, so I don't think this trade is workable at all, although it does fill necessary holes/requirements that each team would need in a trade.

ATL in: Amare Stoudemire, Ronnie Brewer, Alando Tucker ($20.1M), 2010 Utah 1st
ATL out: Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, ($25.7M)

UTAH in: Joe Johnson, Leandro Barbosa, Reggie Evans, Quincy Douby ($27.3M)
UTAH out: Carlos Boozer, Ronnie Brewer, C.J. Miles, Matt Harpring, ($25.2M), 2010 Utah 1st

PHO in: Carlos Boozer, Josh Smith, C.J. Miles ($26.8M)
PHO out: Amare Stoudemire, Leandro Barbosa, Alando Tucker ($24.0M)

TOR in: Matt Harpring ($6.5M)
TOR out: Reggie Evans, Quincy Douby ($5.8M)

Originality: 6
Feasibility: 0
Effectiveness: 2

It's an interesting idea with a lot of new names added in, but it is in no way feasible and I don't think it is effective at all for either the Raptors or the Hawks.

Atlanta Trades: Joe Johnson (extended)
Atlanta Gets: Andre Iguodala

Originality: 7
Feasibility: 3
Effectiveness: 2

I had never even really considered or seen this before, but I don't think it's feasible for multiple reasons. First of all, Atlanta gets a clear downgrade. The last thing they need is another guy who can't shoot in their line-up. Philly makes out well talent/fit-wise, but monetarily and in terms of public perception...I'm not sure how much they'd be willing to part with Iggy to pay Joe Johnson all that money.

MIA out: Wade, J.Jones, Quinn (21,16M total)
MIA in: Harris, Lee, Yi, Boone, Hassell, '10 DAL 1st, '11 GSW 1st (19,26M total)


NJN out: Harris, Lee, Yi, Boone, Hassell, '10 DAL 1st, '11 GSW 1st (19,26M total)
NJN in: Wade, J.Jones, Quinn (21,16M total)

Originality: 2
Feasibility: 1
Effectiveness: 2

This not even in the BALLPARK for Wade(as in, Miami would riot if they got this in return for Wade). I also agree there is a catch 22 because trading away all conceivable talent from a team would be idiotic for a one year rental of Wade. However, I think there are a few teams where it could be done, I just don't think you found the right fit at all.

Miami Trades:
Dwayne Wade
Mario Chalmers

Miami Receives:
Brook Lopez
Devin Harris
Tony Battie

New Jersey Trades:
Brook Lopez
Devin Harris
Tony Battie

New Jersey Receives:
Dwayne Wade
Mario Chalmers

Originality: 2
Feasibility: 0
Effectiveness:2
This is the other side of the catch-22 I spoke about above. The comical part about this trade is that you also have Chalmers going to NJ. Again, I don't feel you did a good job here, I don't think you were creative or innovative at all and I don't think you fully considered the bad from either side.

ASSIGNMENT # 4: Poopdamoop (7) vs. SW567 (15)
Get Bosh Out of Toronto

Toronto trades: Chris Bosh, Jose Calderon, Marcus Banks
Toronto receives: Tony Parker, Samuel Dalembert, Michael Finley, Dejuan Blair, 2011 Spurs 1st rounder, lotto protected 2010 Sixers 1st rounder

San Antonio trades: Tony Parker, Michael Finley, Dejuan Blair, Marcus Williams, 2011 1st Rounder
San Antonio receives: Chris Bosh, Louis Williams

Philadelphia trades: Louis Williams, Samuel Dalembert, lotto protected 1st rounder
Philadelphia receives: Jose Calderon, Marcus Banks.

Originality: 6
Feasibility: 0
Effectiveness: 2

I like the trade for Philly and I think it's an interesting idea, but in my mind, I don't even know how much more valuable Chris Bosh is than Tony Parker at this point, especially in the eyes of the Spurs organization. I don't think they'd even consider this, and I don't think it makes them better either.

Toronto Raptors:
Incoming - Joakim Noah, Tyrus Thomas, John Salmons
Outgoing - Chris Bosh, Patrick O'Bryant, Quincy Douby, 2010 2nd round pick, 2011 1st round pick (lottery protected)

Chicago Bulls:
Incoming - Chris Bosh, Patrick O'Bryant, Quincy Douby, 2010 2nd round pick, 2011 1st round pick (lottery protected)
Outgoing - Joakim Noah, Tyrus Thomas, John Salmons

Originality: 1
Feasibility: 4
Effectivness: 4

The old but effective Bosh to Chicago deal. I don't think it happens, but it has the basis for a Bosh deal. I think more needs to be included from the Bulls side, but I think it's a solid step in the right direction if Bosh were to become available. I think you giving Chicago picks is completely wrong though, so I knocked points off for that.

[CellarDoor]

DCash's internet is on the fritz, and we've already got three in, I'd say call it here Commish.

[ecuhus1981]

OK, thanks for the heads-up, CD.

I'll tally the results tomorrow. dcash4, if you can get your votes in before mid-morning, please do so; otherwise, don't sweat it.

[ecuhus1981]

OK, here are the results form Round Two:

Assignment #1: vincecarter4pres advances to the semi-finals with an average score of 16.0. mikero averaged 15.0.

Assignment #2: sammydavis advances to the semi-finals with an average score of 14.0. legacyinthemakin89c averaged 10.0.

Assignment #3: RTM advances to the semi-finals with an average score of 13.67. sterncohen averaged 11.67.

Assignment #4: poopdamoop advances to the semi-finals with an average score of 15.67. SW567 averaged 12.67.

I'll have semi-final assignments out on Wednesday. The deadline for them should be Sunday, with judging completed by Tuesday. To all the competitors, keep up the good work!

[vincecarter4pres]

Ecuhus, why don't you join the Nets Board FFL?

[ecuhus1981]

Oooh, YOU KNOW IT! Thanks for the heads-up.

[ecuhus1981]

SEMI-FINAL ASSIGNMENTS

OK, I finally settled on a pair of assignments for this round. Your mission is to trim the payroll of two teams whose postseason chances look... bleak. Anyone who is not on an expiring or rookie-scale contract is available, but be sure to assign appropriate value. Neither of these teams are having a firesale, just willing to go in a different direction with the franchise (at the right price).

ASSIGNMENT # 1: vincecarter4pres (1) vs. sammydavis (4)
Salary Striptease: Milwaukee Edition

ASSIGNMENT # 2: RTM (3) vs. Poopdamoop (7)
Salary Striptease: Sacramento Edition


THE DEADLINE IS SUNDAY, 9/6 AT MIDNIGHT ET. Judges will have until Tuesday, 9/8 at midnight ET to grade the assignments.

[sammydavis]

Do we still have to accomplish the mission with a single trade or can we make more than one?

Thanks!

[ecuhus1981]

Good question. You can have multiple transactions in one proposal, but I would err on the side of caution. I have been lenient with the multi-trade proposals in this competition so far, but as we move closer the the championship, I may be more prone to penalize someone for a portion of their proposal that is just a hot mess. Better to leave a team half-rebuilt with one move that makes sense, than complete a project with two trades, and one of the trades just doesn't work.

[shrink]

Ought to be a particularly interesting semi-finals to watch.

[ecuhus1981]

Only 30 hours to go...

[sammydavis]

Only 30 hours to go...

Yeah, everyone's waiting until the last minute...

[poopdamoop]

Fine, I'll be the first.

Sacramento trades: Kevin Martin, Andres Nocioni, Beno Udrih
Sacramento receives: Josh Howard, JJ Barea, Matt Carroll, Shawne Williams

Dallas trades: Josh Howard, JJ Barea, Matt Carroll, Shawne Williams
Dallas receives: Kevin Martin, Andres Nocioni, Beno Udrih

Why for Sacramento? They shed two long term contracts at the expense of Kevin Martin. They save about 4 million instantly in cap money, and only Carroll has more than one year on his contract left out of the players they receive. Howard is an all-star calibre SF that can help fill the void left by Martin's scoring, and Barea can back up Evans at the point and provide a scoring spark off the bench. They also get a boatload of cap space in the 2011 offseason, and can make a splash there.

Evans/Barea/Rodriguez
Garcia/Evans/Carroll
Howard/Greene/Williams
Thompson/May/Thomas
Hawes/Thompson

They can also parlay some of their newfound assets into a true backup center to finish balancing out the roster.

Why for Dallas? They go all out to win the title and maximize Dirk's prime years. Martin is a perfect SG to play off Kidd and Dirk, and can give them more shooting and slashing from the wings. Udrih and Nocioni have long contracts, but Cuban has proved that a high payroll means very little to him if it brings wins, and these two can still contribute off the bench.

Kidd/Udrih/Beaubois
Martin/Terry/Ross
Marion/Nocioni/Thomas
Dirk/Nocioni/Humphries
Dampier/Gooden/Dirk

This gives them much more balance, and puts them up with LA and San Antoino imo

[vincecarter4pres]

Salary Stiptease: Milwaukee Edition

Milwaukee sends:
Michael Redd
Kurt Thomas

Cleveland sends:
Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Boobie Gibson
Jamario Moon

Why?
Milwaukee gets out of about 11 mill of Redd's contract in 2010-11. They get back some sort of quality depth and a one year rental of Big Z. Although he may not be the ideal fit, they can also always reflip him around the trade deadline. They save around 2 mill this year as well. Might help in resigning Sessions if they have the desire to.
For Cleveland, if they sign Lebron to a shorter extension, as has been talked of, or even if they just resign him to a long term deal, the fact is, even if they waive Delonte West, they will only be around 8 or 9 mill under the cap if it is at 53 million. They could probably pull a solid FA for that, but who and how old is that player going to be? Redd sets them up nicely with a true 1b option who scores quite efficiently off the ball. He is only signed for two years, so they are setup for a probable run at a 2011 FA, which is a solid class in it's own right. They "only" take on around 11 mill in extra salary in 2010-11 after completing this deal. They also bring in a very solid veteran big man in Kurt Thomas, who is probably a better fit then Z after the Shaq trade.
Quite a formidable lineup after:
PG Mo Williams
SG Redd
SF Lebron
PF Kurt Thomas
C Shaq
Bench: Sideshow Bob, Delonte West, Anthony Parker, JJ Hickson, Leone Powe, Darnell Jackson

[sammydavis]

Salary Stiptease: Milwaukee Edition


Since I can't trade rookie deals or expirings, the only tradable players RIGHT NOW are:
Bell, Bogut, Gadzuric, Moute, Meeks and Redd.
Not much. Even Bogut has BYC, but he'd be a cornerstone in MIL in a rebuilding anyway.

So ...

Redd+Bell+Gadzuric for McGrady+Barry+B.Cook

Why for MIL?
Get expirings for Redd and dump another 2 bad contracts. The expirings are unproductive (I don't consider TMac as a productive guy anymore) even if TMac is playing in the 2nd half of the season. The team can now match Sessions as they'd still have pieces to trade to DAL (Buckner, Gooden(after 15Dec, he has only 1.9M of 4.5M guaranteed)), MIN (Atkins) or PHX (Pavlovic).
The team is in the hands of the young guns now:

Jennings/(Ridnour)/Ukic
Delfino/(TMac)/Meeks/(Barry)
Ilyasova/Moute/Alexander
Warrick/Sharpe (bought out)/(Cook)
Bogut/(Thomas)/(Elson)

That's 24.7M (plus maybe Sessions) committed to '10... that can be reduced by Delfino's 1.5M guarantee...

Why for HOU?
Assuming Yao comes back before the end of the season (as some reports suggest), this team is a clear playoff contender. If/when Ming is back, they are even better. They have defense in every position, scoring too, leadership in loads... and one less always-injured superstar who's going under the knife instead of playing. Yes, Bell and Gadz suck, but their contracts align nicely with Battier's. They still have some expirings and other assets to work with if needed (Brooks, Scola Hayes, Landry...).

[RTM]

Salary Striptease: Sacramento Edition

I'm going to keep this pretty simple.

Sacramento Gets: Nazr Mohammed

The Kings save cash up front, shave a year off a big contract, and swap a player at an overloaded position for one that fills a need. Nazr is by no means great, but he's shown that when he's on the court, he can be a solid backup center (he put up great numbers when he first arrived in Charlotte, before LB's arrival). He would surely be useful for a team as thin up front as the Kings. The Kings would also likely get some sort of sweetener, whether it be a protected future pick, or just some cash.

Evans / Udrih / Rodriguez
Martin / Evans / Garcia
Garcia / Casspi / Greene
Thompson / May / Thomas
Hawes / Mohammed

Charlotte Gets: Andres Nocioni

Charlotte continues being active under LB. He never played Nazr, and the team has expressed interest in swapping a center for a forward, and has been willing to spend in trades as of recently (Diaw, Radmanovic). Noc is gritty and tough, and is seemingly a great fit on the Cats. He also adds more shooting and scoring, which will surely be needed for this team to make the playoffs. Assuming Felton takes his QO, they become:

Felton / Augustine
Bell / Henderson
Wallace / Nocioni / Radmanovic
Diaw / Nocioni / Brown
Chandler / Diop / Ajinca

[sammydavis]

Sorry guys, I'm in a bit of a 'talking too much' mood, so here are my thoughts about the semifinals.

This round was a struggle for me, I don't like my trade at all.
I had Houston, Cleveland and Dallas in sight, tried to put together something with Ilgauskas or Shaq, Z AND Shaq, J.Howard and Damp, etc. but those all included Bogut...
I couldn't make assumptions about any later trades, just mention the possibility - this made it pretty hard. All in all, I don't know if Hammond does it, but it definitely helps keeping Sessions and getting under the lux tax later in the season. The question is: do the people in MIL management feel it's time to blow up the team? As for Houston, Morey would have Yao, Battier, Landry, Hayes, Lowry (assuming he only takes the QO), Gadz, Redd expiring in '11 - almost 60mil! Even if they retain Scola (and Brooks) in '10, that's serious chips for a trade and for FA. But I still don't know if Morey wants to compete this year with his stars injured, and a good draft coming.

I don't want to comment vincecarter4pres' trade as he's my rival in this round but the Sacto striptease brought 2 very interesting trades. Hope shrink is satisfied as well.

Ecuhus, will there be a bronze medal round? Just to keep the hope I can remain in this competition as long as possible...

[ecuhus1981]

SEMI-FINAL SCORES

ASSIGNMENT # 1: vincecarter4pres (1) vs. sammydavis (4)
Salary Striptease: Milwaukee Edition

Milwaukee sends: Michael Redd, Kurt Thomas
Cleveland sends: Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Boobie Gibson, Jamario Moon[/b]

I think that CLE would be open to moving Z for a legit SG, but I don't think Redd is that guy. They wanted him back when he was a FA (Ohio native as well), but the Cavs organization must recognize how poorly he and Mo fit together in Milwaukee. I'd doubt they want to reunite a dysfunctional backcourt. Moon can't be traded until Dec. 15th, as he just signed a contract. Gibson is no big prize, but he figures to be of more use to CLE than to MIL, who are overloaded with small guards. I like KT to CLE, but that's about it.
ORIGINALITY: 5
FEASIBILITY: 2
EFFECTIVENESS: 3

Redd+Bell+Gadzuric for McGrady+Barry+B.Cook

HOU has hopes that T-Mac will be return to form this year, and a healthy Tracy > a healthy Redd. Also, I think the Rockets would rather stink this year and retain their capspace, than be tied to those contracts. If the Artest-Ariza "acquisition" taught us anything, it's that HOU is not making win-now moves.
ORIGINALITY: 5
FEASIBILITY: 3
EFFECTIVENESS: 4



ASSIGNMENT # 2: RTM (3) vs. Poopdamoop (7)
Salary Striptease: Sacramento Edition

Sacramento Gets: Nazr Mohammed
Charlotte Gets: Andres Nocioni

This is almost too obvious, based on rumors coming out of SAC and CHA. It's short and sweet, and helps both teams where they need it.
ORIGINALITY: 6
FEASIBILITY: 6
EFFECTIVENESS: 7

Sacramento trades: Kevin Martin, Andres Nocioni, Beno Udrih
Sacramento receives: Josh Howard, JJ Barea, Matt Carroll, Shawne Williams

ORIGINALITY: I could see a deal based around JoHo/Carroll for K-Mart-Udrih, but adding Nocioni's salary to the mix makes it a bit cost-prohibitive for the Mavs, no matter the talent boost.
ORIGINALITY: 6
FEASIBILITY: 3
EFFECTIVENESS: 5

[InBoobieWeTrust]

Sacramento trades: Kevin Martin, Andres Nocioni, Beno Udrih
Sacramento receives: Josh Howard, JJ Barea, Matt Carroll, Shawne Williams

Dallas trades: Josh Howard, JJ Barea, Matt Carroll, Shawne Williams
Dallas receives: Kevin Martin, Andres Nocioni, Beno Udrih

Originality: 7
Feasibility: 2
Effectiveness: 4

I like the premise and I kind of like what it does in terms of stripping salary for Sacramento. Two things really stop this deal in it's tracks though, the first being the PR nightmare this would be for Sacramento's GM. The second being Matt Carroll's contract. The Kings' seem to like Nocioni and love Martin, an expiring Josh Howard really isn't very valuable, especially with his off the court antics and injury concerns. I realize it's a salary dump, but there should be true young prospect(s)/cheaper talent going back. I think taking Josh Howard and Kevin Martin out of this trade and adding one of Dallas' overseas prospects in would make it a much better idea.

Sacramento Gets: Nazr Mohammed

Charlotte Gets: Andres Nocioni

Originality: 8
Feasibility: 1
Effectiveness: 2

I like the premise again, but I don't think it saves enough money relative to talent/usefulness, because the money it saves right now is negligible, and like I said earlier, the Kings like Nocioni, I'm sure they'd dump him for an expiring, but not Nazr's two year deal.

Milwaukee sends:
Michael Redd
Kurt Thomas

Cleveland sends:
Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Boobie Gibson
Jamario Moon

Originality: 1
Feasibility: 1
Effectiveness: 2
Man, I was really hoping nobody would try to send Redd to Cleveland, because they really have no interest or desire in adding him, especially for this perceived price. The Cavs don't want to re-unite Redd/Mo, in-fact it's the last thing they want to do. They also will not trade away Z to make it happen(especially since this deal is assuming he becomes a one year rental instead of bought out). I do like Kurt Thomas as a Cav, but he's not worth nearly enough to make this deal feasible or effective. Also, the addition Gibson and Moon just add insult to injury(i understand you need the salaries to work, but just saying). I've seen the Redd to Cleveland thing way too much and there is no way it's going to happen, ESPECIALLY with him coming off an ACL tear.

Redd+Bell+Gadzuric for McGrady+Barry+B.Cook

Originality: 2
Feasibility: 0
Effectiveness: 3

However, this one is a doozy. Daryl Morey would need to be put into a mental institution if he pulled the trigger on this. They already have a scoring wing coming off a season-ending injury, except his contract is much more friendly and they don't have to pay Gadzuric or Bell. They know they won't compete this year, there's no reason to handicap themselves financially as well. I think an effective salary striptease for Milwaukee would include a smaller scale deal with Charlie Bell and maybe an asset for an expiring or an un-guaranteed deal.