Fake Trade Thread

[316Hornets]

Charlotte sends
Kemba Walker
Nic Batum

Phoenix sends
Josh Jackson
Jared Dudley
Brandon Knight
#16 2018 pick

You have lost your damn mind

Kemba only has 1 year left on that contract. Suns could get Boogie and compete next year with their top 3 pick so they trade Josh Jackson. Dudley is dead weight we take in exchange for trading Batum.

Josh Jackson was #4 pick of draft. #16 this year helps us rebuild. Getting out of the Batum contract allows us to get back in the thick of things sooner. We'll be set up to tank next season and then aim to compete in 3 years.

[HornetJail]

we would have to be really really high on Josh Jackson to do that. The more I think about it, the more I think we don't trade Kemba and we try to get some real upgrades

[HornetJail]

I realize this probably isn't super-likely but user NYG on the trade board has been putting together a hell of a lot of trades based on team needs of every team, etc and he probably assembled my favorite series of reasonable trades I've seen so far.
Read from here down: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1699577&p=65505883#p65502967

In short, we send out Dwight, Batum, Marvin, #11 this year, our pick next year, and possibly Lamb (since I assume Minnesota would need him) for...
Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker (signed to a hefty 2 or 3 year deal I assume), Jeremy Lin, and about $15M worth of cap relief under the tax that would allow us to use the MLE to fill things out.
Zeller/Willy
Jabari/Frank
MKG/Graham/Bacon
Wiggins/Monk
Kemba/Lin
plus about $8-10M to chase some third-stringers that can take the floor in an emergency and not completely crater us on both ends.

Makes us younger, more flexible, and wayyyy better offensively. Good coaching can make this team competent on defense. Jabari and Wiggins are both 23 next year and have a lot of upside. I'd be overjoyed if we landed even one of these guys, let alone both.

[316Hornets]

I realize this probably isn't super-likely but user NYG on the trade board has been putting together a hell of a lot of trades based on team needs of every team, etc and he probably assembled my favorite series of reasonable trades I've seen so far.
Read from here down: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1699577&p=65505883#p65502967

In short, we send out Dwight, Batum, Marvin, #11 this year, our pick next year, and possibly Lamb (since I assume Minnesota would need him) for...
Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker (signed to a hefty 2 or 3 year deal I assume), Jeremy Lin, and about $15M worth of cap relief under the tax that would allow us to use the MLE to fill things out.
Zeller/Willy
Jabari/Frank
MKG/Graham/Bacon
Wiggins/Monk
Kemba/Lin
plus about $8-10M to chase some third-stringers that can take the floor in an emergency and not completely crater us on both ends.

Makes us younger, more flexible, and wayyyy better offensively. Good coaching can make this team competent on defense. Jabari and Wiggins are both 23 next year and have a lot of upside. I'd be overjoyed if we landed even one of these guys, let alone both.

This is insane man. Wiggins contract is worse than Batums. If we signed Kemba to a max after making this deal, we would have nothing left over and no draft picks. We'd be a worse off version of the Wolves.

[JDR720]

Marvin for Jon Leuer and Bullock (or Stanley)

We get a great shooter and Leuer is cheaper than Marvin, but only paid 8 games this season (sprained ankle). Detroit gets rid of a poor contract.

If its Stanley instead, we get another young player to try out.

[Lwcasu]

Lets say the Cavs get bounced early (as in before the finals), and it's obvious Lebron is going to leave, would you gamble on trading for Love for our 1st + matching salaries? It would be an opportunity to get better while also continuing some development, i.e., Monk.

[stinger14]

Lets say the Cavs get bounced early (as in before the finals), and it's obvious Lebron is going to leave, would you gamble on trading for Love for our 1st + matching salaries? It would be an opportunity to get better while also continuing some development, i.e., Monk.

Hornets
Kevin Love
George Hill

Cavs
MKG
Marvin
Dwight's expiring
11th pick

If the Cavs are willing to do this, then heck yeah from me. Adding Hill to play with Monk on the second unit would be big. Hill can also play beside of Kemba at times.

Kemba / Hill
Lamb / Monk
Batum / Bacon
Love / Frank
Cody / Willy

[BeesWax]

Lets say the Cavs get bounced early (as in before the finals), and it's obvious Lebron is going to leave, would you gamble on trading for Love for our 1st + matching salaries? It would be an opportunity to get better while also continuing some development, i.e., Monk.

I dont want Love. I just don't feel like he is going to be a major difference maker here. Also feel like this is more bad salary to tack onto what we already have.

[Braggins]

Also that roster after the Love trade only has a single above average defender (Cody). I would possibly trade for Love, but I'm not giving up this years pick and if we trade MKG we have to replace him with a defensive wing or we won't have a single competent wing defender on the roster.

[LofJ]

Yeah, I was interested in Love last summer but I don't think he's the type of player we need right now. If we're going for a big splash trade (pun intended) the guy we should be targeting is Klay Thompson. Lamb and the 11th pick, and we send Marvin to a third team for an additional expiring to send to GS.

Baring a big move like that I hope we can find a way to get Marc Gasol for Dwight. One idea is to send him to a 3rd team like OKC if PG bolts with Adams going to Memphis. And then follow that up by moving Marvin to Utah for Alec Burks. We take Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at 11 (with the hope of developing him to dump Batum).

Kemba/Monk
Lamb/SGA/Bacon
Batum/Burks
MKG/Zeller
Gasol/Kaminsky/Hernangomez

That team could play Spurs basketball and we would be well set up to either remake the team or rebuild next summer (depending on how things go).

[SWedd523]

I never want Kevin Love to play on the Hornets.

[LofJ]

I know the Grizzlies have repeatedly stated they're not interested in moving Gasol, but realistically how competitive can they hope to be next season? Their top 5 pick might help somewhat, but rookies very rarely move the needle. The only way they can significantly improve is if Conley and Parsons both play 60+ games again. And even if they do their ceiling is the 7th seed and a first round exit (sounds familiar). However, unlike the Hornets, they owe a top 8 protected pick to Boston. So most likely they will finish in the 7 to 11 seed range and surrender a late lottery pick to the Celtics. Maybe that isn't the worst bet because the 2019 draft doesn't look that strong, but do Gasol and Conley really want to waste another year going nowhere?

Marc Gasol really is the perfect fit for this roster, he would make everyone better. It would allow a coach that actually understands modern basketball to play Gasol and Kaminsky at the 5 with MKG/Zeller at the 4. And all three of Kaminsky, Zeller, and MKG would shine like we've never seen them before. But the problem is I don't know if it's possible to tempt Memphis without including the 11th pick. Gasol's fit is amazing enough that normally I'd say we should go for it, but the future is too uncertain to be trading lottery picks away when most of the team could bolt in free agency next summer.

Come on Mitch pull off another Gasol trade. You drafted Marc, bring him to Charlotte without moving the 11th pick.

[JDR720]

Marvin for Bayless and two 2nd round picks (lets say 39th and 56th)

We get a backup PG, 76ers get a good fit. We can trade 55th (ours) and 56th to move up into the 40's probably. Bayless is also expiring.

[LofJ]

I think we're going to get some interesting offers for Kemba over the next few months. He's an elite catch and shoot player that is perfectly suited to play with guys like Lebron, Giannis, and Simmons.

[BeesWax]

I think we're going to get some interesting offers for Kemba over the next few months. He's an elite catch and shoot player that is perfectly suited to play with guys like Lebron, Giannis, and Simmons.

Between that and the fact that his contract and cap holds would be great for teams looking to add in the next two years I think he holds more value than many are thinking. The reality is the market drives the price and he has some nice features to him that could bring competing bidder which would help us.

[LofJ]

I think we're going to get some interesting offers for Kemba over the next few months. He's an elite catch and shoot player that is perfectly suited to play with guys like Lebron, Giannis, and Simmons.

Between that and the fact that his contract and cap holds would be great for teams looking to add in the next two years I think he holds more value than many are thinking. The reality is the market drives the price and he has some nice features to him that could bring competing bidder which would help us.

I agree, we need our Eastern conference competitors to bid against one another. The best way for that to happen is for either Philly or Cleveland to land another core player via free agency or trade respectively. Once that happens the other team is going to want to answer with a move of their own (too many people are discounting the ability of the Cavs to retool).

I'm not saying that we should trade Kemba, but I believe we will get some offers that we would be foolish not to strongly consider. Philly in particular could fill our asset coffer up rather nicely while limiting their own long-term outlook.

We aren't going to contend with our current core, but for the next group that follows that is something to consider given how young the Sixers are.

[Vanderbilt_Grad]

I don't buy that this current team can't be good with the subtraction of Dwight and the addition of good coaching. They might not be in the NBA finals, but could be in the first round at a minimum. With a few other small trades they might even be dangerous.

I can also see a competitive rebuild involving trading Kemba building something different. It's just that you can't assume that it will work. Getting a guy who likes the team, the area, etc. isn't always in the cards. Look at what Hayward did to the Jazz for example. The team could easily 'reload' with young guys only to have them walk.

I have no real feel for which direction Mitch is going to go, but I feel like a lot of folks here make assumptions about rebuilding being the only way forward. It's not, and it's potentially the more risky course.

[yosemiteben]

Given the caliber of coaches we are interviewing, I seriously doubt we're going to rebuild. Top tier coaching candidates aren't going to sign up to oversee a rebuild. I think one of the things we can offer is that we have a veteran roster that is talented and we've just underperformed and are in need of a change in philosophy. An elite coach should be able to win with this roster.

[BeesWax]

I think we're going to get some interesting offers for Kemba over the next few months. He's an elite catch and shoot player that is perfectly suited to play with guys like Lebron, Giannis, and Simmons.

Between that and the fact that his contract and cap holds would be great for teams looking to add in the next two years I think he holds more value than many are thinking. The reality is the market drives the price and he has some nice features to him that could bring competing bidder which would help us.

I agree, we need our Eastern conference competitors to bid against one another. The best way for that to happen is for either Philly or Cleveland to land another core player via free agency or trade respectively. Once that happens the other team is going to want to answer with a move of their own (too many people are discounting the ability of the Cavs to retool).

I'm not saying that we should trade Kemba, but I believe we will get some offers that we would be foolish not to strongly consider. Philly in particular could fill our asset coffer up rather nicely while limiting their own long-term outlook.

We aren't going to contend with our current core, but for the next group that follows that is something to consider given how young the Sixers are.

If I am honest with myself I feel like we won't rebuild and that will be a massive mistake. We have really screwed up the cap trying to build a team for Cliff and have a bad group of guys to build around.

The two most likely outcomes are:

A. We keep Kemba and get a new coach and fight for an end of the playoffs spot and fans all suffer another year of are we going to make it. We squeak into the the playoffs lose in the first round and look pathetic. We resign Kemba to a large deal and settle for being an end of the playoffs treadmill team and we suffer for a decade before they try to build a real winner.

B. We keep Kemba and a new coach cant even win with this team because of how poorly we are built. Kemba leaves but we haven't set ourselves up for any sort of rebuild so we waste what potential Monk has to be a cornerstone and we are screwed again. At that point there is a debate on rebuilding or just trying to tread water. Fear of losing all the ridiculous bandwagon type of fans has them tread water and we watch bad basketball for a very long time.

Hopefully it goes a different way than this but right now this seems most likely. Our management doesn't seem to have the guts to go for a winner because the fear losing the bandwagon bunch. I fear the most trading our pick for more useless garbage and setting back what is inevitable even longer. I hope I am wrong but I just don't see a way to turn this roster into something competitive for an extended period of time.

[Vanderbilt_Grad]

Let’s break down the team’s biggest 3 problems in just winning games.

No backup for Kemba – without a good backup PG the team can be faced with a choice of playing Kemba too many minutes, reducing his effectiveness, or letting other teams go on runs while he sits.

Solution – sign, draft, or develop his backup. With a full summer of practice Monk could surprise us and be that backup that the team has needed … or, if not (and I think it will take Monk at least 1 more year to potentially be ready for that), then the team could sign / draft / trade for someone to hold that down. This seems doable with a good GM.

Team not passing – last year’s offense involved a lot of iso ball and very lackluster team passing. Part of this was on the coaching staff (as I’ve noted team passing went down almost every year under Cliff), but I also think that some of this is on the players. The ball seemed to stick in Dwight’s hands in particular, but I felt like Marv & MKG didn’t exactly wow me with ball movement either. Even Kemba seemed to fall prey to this at times.

Solution – new coaching will help a ton, but I feel like MKG needs to be replaced by someone who can pass and shoot better in the starting lineup (Lamb could start or the team could trade for someone). Replacing Marv with Frank or Nic as PF in the starting unit might help this too, if they are able to play good D. Moving Dwight or altering his role is a must here though. All of this seems doable to me.

Team defense – the team as a whole played poor D last year relative to what many of the guys are capable of individually. Kemba’s defensive numbers in particular weren’t helpful. Dwight had some monster 1 on 1 D against other low past big men, but was frankly terrible against just about anyone else. Even MKG seemed not so great on that end down the stretch.

Solution – again new coaching should help, as would moving Dwight. Getting Batum to play SF or PF might improve the starter’s balance as well defensively. If Dwight is moved the team may need another Center to reduce risk around Cody’s health.

So overall the ‘fix without rebuilding’ would look like this:
1. Get a good coach who will run a pass friendly offense and a defense that will stop 3s
2. Get Kemba a good backup
3. Trade / cut Dwight
4. Trade / bench MKG
5. Experiment with Nic & Frank as starting PF
6. Start Lamb / trade for another SG/SF – or maybe both if Nic can play PF

Incremental improvement while looking for ways to really get over the top is how many good teams got where they are today. It’s not ‘treading water’ as long as the team is mostly getting a little better each year.

Personally, my fake trades to address needs would be along the following lines:

Cut Dwight. Trades will be possible, but nearly all of them will involve bringing back salary. Just cutting him is the most cost effective option over the long run, freeing up salary when needed to resign Kemba.

Trade MKG for Robin Lopez.

Trade Cody for Brandon Knight or maybe Lin if he’s able to play well.

I would explore Nic trades, maybe even packaged with the team’s pick, but any return would have to include some win now guys not just other bad contracts.