RealGM

Looking at rumors around the league I came up with this bit of gamble:

Atlanta/Portland/Houston

Atlanta receives:
Andre Miller PG (Solid starter, different type of PG than Bibby)
Aaron Brooks G (on the outs in Houston, can spark the bench)
Chris Anderson C (deemed a bad contract if Carmelo is dealt)

Portland receives:
Mike Bibby PG (saves them money against the cap and fits what Roy wants to play with backcourt)

Houston receives:
Zaza Pachulia C (looking for a C, not sure if Zaza is big enough for their liking) (uses exception to make it fit in the cap)

Denver
Mo Evans F (saves Anderson's 4 year deal against the cap)
Jeff Teague G

ESPN trade machine calls it a +13, for what that's worth. The initial deal (without Denver) upgraded our backcourt, but cost us a big. The second half of the deal got us an energy big back. It should shake up the locker room and help the backcourt without costing us one of the big 4 this year. Additionally, we might have to sweeten the Portland deal because Miller isn't guaranteed next year (at least not fully). I think it stays within the luxury tax threshold, but if not Thomas can go any of the 3 teams to reduce our team salary.

Resultant lineup:
Miller/Brooks
Johnson/Crawford/Crawford
Williams/Wilkins/Sy
Smith/Powell
Horford/Anderson/Collins/Thomas

Something simpler with Nets

Bibby Marvin Zaza & 1st for Harris and Murphy & 2nd

Harris- teague
JJ- JC1- JC2
Evans- wilkins
Smith- Murphy- Powell
al- Collins- Thomas

then ATL could send
ATL to send Smith-JC2-Atl 2nd to OKL
OKL to send Krstic, harden to Dallas J.Green and 1st to ATL
DAL to send Haywood to ATL and Jones + 2nd to OKL

Harris- Teague
JJ- JC1- Evans
Green-Evans- wilkins
Al- Murphy- Powell
Haywood- Collins- Thomas

better starting 5 and more power off the bench (JC1, Murphy). More flexibility with 11 coming off the cap with Murphy and JC1 and green both can be resigned...
I actually like that team...built around harris-JJ- Al with 2 solid complimentary players.

As for these deals:
- Don't think POR would go for it as is. If we add JC1 then things could get interesting, but I couldn't see them signing off on Bibby for Miller straight up right now. Even if Roy doesn't want to play next to Miller, Miller walks in a couple of months anyway, so it wouldn't be a problem anymore. With the new CBA looming, I can't see teams deciding to add a year on an expiring contract without getting an upgrade.

- Really interested in seeing what it'd take to pry Brooks off HOU. Zaza is an interesting piece to throw @ them, but I'd think they'd pass. Brooks would start for us, and giving up starters for backups isn't good business. Maybe throw in a 1st? Maybe try to pry a backup big for that as well? Maybe something like Zaza + Teague for Brooks + Miller? At least they get a prospect back...

- DEN is possibly the most interesting. Teague + expiring for Bird-Man. DEN would have to trade Chauncey 1st, but it's a possibility.

- I think NJN would laugh us off the phone with that offer. They were using Harris as a chip to land 'Melo and they're paying Murphy so they can take on some salary with a trade... and they cash that in for a couple of backups, Marvin, and a late 1st? Laughable. The followup on that deal is prolly worse though. I'd rather Harden and Krstic over Haywood and his contract... and I'd prefer Smoove over all the other players in the deal combined.

When I started on the deal I didn't realize that Andre Miller is not guaranteed next year. As such I think you're right it would take more because Bibby's contract goes into next year.

The Houston deal was in response to them possibly trading with Chicago for Asik. Asik has more upside than Zaza, but Morey needs help now or it could be someone else's problem. Zaza could start if needed. Brooks has value, but he isn't doing much for them now. I still think matching salary and a 1st would get him at the trade deadline because he likely walks in the summer. They've already invested in Kyle Lowry and Brooks hasn't shown a willingness to fall in line as a backup. Brad Miller would have little desire to leave Houston as he specifically signed to play for Adelman. I'm not saying he's impossible to get, just that he might not be in the best mood playing for us. To be honest I would be happy just adding Brooks for a 1st and Evans and ignoring the Portland deal and Denver deal, but I think they would prefer Zaza.

I used Teague in the Denver deal because he had the least impactful contract. I don't think JC2 got close enough in salary. Perhaps JC2, Mo Evans, and Etan Thomas would work for Anderson without anything happening with Billups. I don't think Billups gets dealt. He doesn't want traded and he's only partially guaranteed for next year, so they can cut ties if they lose Anthony. Of course if you use Evans to get Brooks you don't have the right pieces for Anderson.

I'm not trying to come up with a sweetheart deal, just reasonable deals that would help.

That NJ deal is horribly one sided for us. I didn't include Marvin in any offers because my understanding is that no one wants his contract given what he's shown. You basically have to tie a first rounder around his neck to get a team to think about it. You have 3 contracts of varying bad degrees dumped on NJ for an expiring big who would help in the short term and a PG upgrade. I don't feel the need to comment on the other deal.

evildallas wrote:The Houston deal was in response to them possibly trading with Chicago for Asik. Asik has more upside than Zaza, but Morey needs help now or it could be someone else's problem. Zaza could start if needed. Brooks has value, but he isn't doing much for them now. I still think matching salary and a 1st would get him at the trade deadline because he likely walks in the summer. They've already invested in Kyle Lowry and Brooks hasn't shown a willingness to fall in line as a backup. Brad Miller would have little desire to leave Houston as he specifically signed to play for Adelman. I'm not saying he's impossible to get, just that he might not be in the best mood playing for us. To be honest I would be happy just adding Brooks for a 1st and Evans and ignoring the Portland deal and Denver deal, but I think they would prefer Zaza.

Good call on Asik - maybe they would take Zaza. But I think you're right in that we need another big if we trade Zaza and an immediate one at that. If Miller is out, then I don't think we can get one from HOU. I don't think they'd trade Hayes, and Hill is still young enough that they'd expect something for him. We'd have to fill the hole elsewhere.

evildallas wrote:I used Teague in the Denver deal because he had the least impactful contract. I don't think JC2 got close enough in salary. Perhaps JC2, Mo Evans, and Etan Thomas would work for Anderson without anything happening with Billups. I don't think Billups gets dealt. He doesn't want traded and he's only partially guaranteed for next year, so they can cut ties if they lose Anthony. Of course if you use Evans to get Brooks you don't have the right pieces for Anderson.

I think if DEN is trading 'Melo, then they'll trade anything on the roster not on a rookie contract that can bring back futures for them. Billups is an interesting case since he's from Denver, but they would prolly go with Lawson in their rebuilding effort, and his TO next year only makes him more attractive for a trading partner. Honestly, I think Teague backing up Lawson might be a very good match for them. Would it be enticing enough to ship Bird-man? I dunno, maybe... it's enough that I'd think 2x if I were them.

I think all the deals proposed are good for us, and none are too bad from the other side (at least close enough to get a counter... unlike the NJN trade proposed above). I don't think we need to trade the entire roster, but there are definitely some parts that could be added. Brooks would fill the quick PG nicely, but I think the 2nd part that is a must for us is the MLE C over a high energy big like Bird Man. Just someone to defend the post, grab some rebounds, and not be too embarrassing on O. Perkins, a healthy Przybilla (although that's looking doubtful), Big Ben, Nazr - h3ll, I'd even consider Diop if the price was right. I mean, geez, a f'ing Collins actually starts for us - how hard could it be to upgrade one of the Collins Twins? It shouldn't take an AS to do that...

I see your points about an MLE C being a better acquisition for us, but that requires the off-season, where Anderson is a now move to fill the hole caused by trading Zaza now. I've looked around the league and due to salaries and availability I came up with Anderson as the best fit (other guys made so much that Jamal Crawford was necessary to acquire). Anderson's deal is just 1 year longer than Zaza and at roughly similar price tag. Acquiring him doesn't really impact our flexibility toward future moves. It's a swap out to us using the needs of the other clubs (Denver shedding salary commitments and Houston looking for size). We could still go after a starting big in the off-season depending on what the cba dictates.

If we're looking to shake up the roster a bit I think the combination of a fast PG and energy big are perfect for us. Zaza may be a lovable big, but he's no longer infectious to his teammates. Maybe its because he struggles to convert open looks or they're just too familiar with him, but Zaza doesn't seem to inspire much anymore. Anderson isn't a true C, but he provides more shot blocking and more rebounding off the bench than Zaza. He'd also be new to his teammates and new to the fans. Don't understand the short term impact of either factor. Brooks isn't perfect (especially on D) and he's not fully bounced back from his injury but he's so much more confident than Teague. Furthermore, he's shown an ability to get to the rim which is something we don't have. The other thing is that he's put up numbers in the league which makes him more credible to start in front of Bibby instead of Teague. I wish Teague had stepped up this year, but he hasn't. It doesn't matter whether he was given an adequate chance, it's the results that matter.

The other thing that Brooks has going for him is a 2M price tag and an expiring contract. Other PGs like Hinrich and Calderon make 9M and Andre Miller makes over 7M. With our salary constraints Brooks may be the best we can do.

My other note is that if this was the off-season I'd be more willing to explore trading a core piece to really remake the roster. Doing anything like that now would likely abort this season. I don't see these moves as killing the chances this year. Even with adjustment periods I think these two players add enough in terms of things missing in the current roster (penetration on offense, defense and rebounding from the bench).