What do you think of this Trade? (Portland and Atlanta)
Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 4:36 pm
I have been thinking about these 2 young teams and what makes sense for each franchise. Both teams have some very good young pieces. Here is the trade that I am proposing...
Atlanta trades:
-Josh Smith (sign and trade)
-Solomon Jones (makes trade work)
Portland trades:
-Travis Outlaw
-Raef Lafrentz (expiring contract)
-13th pick in the NBA Draft
Who does Atlanta do this deal?
-I don't think Josh Smith is the answer at PF. He is just too small, and teaming him with a smallish C in Al Horford means their team defense will be average at best. So if Atlanta agrees with me on that, they will look at Josh Smith as a SF instead of a PF. Atlanta already has a pair of SF's (depending on what they do with Childress) that are solid. They aren't as good as Josh Smith, but they are still good enough. If Atlanta wants to keep Josh, they will need to pay some pretty good money and I don't think SF is a position where they need to really open up their wallets. Plus if they do this trade, they will have both LaFrentz and Bibby's huge contracts coming off the books next year, which makes Atllanta a major player in the free agent market.
Atlanta also gets a SF back in the deal (Travis Outlaw) that does some of the things that Josh Smith does and they get him at a MUCH, MUCH more reasonable price. And like I said above, they get Raef's huge expiring contract which can help with their salary cap situation at the end of the year. They also get that 13th pick, which I think could be VERY valuable. There are many Center prospects that Atlanta could target with that 13th pick. DeAndre Jordan, Kevin Love, Javale McGee, Robin Lopez, Hasheen Thabeet, etc could all be a big help in the middle for the Hawks. Or Atlanta could look at a quality PG like Augustin or Collison. This is a very deep draft and a good player will fall to #13...and Atlanta doesn't even have a pick.
Why does Portland do this deal?
-I think this is a no-brainer for Portland. The #13 pick isn't as important to the Blazers because they need a more proven player to put with the new guys like Oden, Roy and Aldridge. Outlaw is good, but the addition of Smith would greatly diminish his PT anyways.
Smith is the ultimate glue-guy for a team like this. He plays good defense, gets steals, blocks shots, and does a good job of getting buckets off of plays that aren't designed for him....and with Brandon Roy and Greg Oden, Smith won't have many plays drawn up for him. Portland's biggest rival out West will be the Lakers. They will be the team that Portland needs to battle for the division. Josh Smith is as good of a matchup as you can get for Kobe Bryant. He is tall (6-9) fairly strong (240 pounds) and extremely athletic. He can give Bryant fits. And could you imagine a front-line of Smith-Aldridge-Oden? Talk about length, athletic ability, rebounding, and defense.
The only issue "may" be the contract. I am assuming that the sign and trade would be for a close to max deal...something like the contract Joe Johnson got from Atlanta. That would hurt the pocketbook, but Allen has never been shy to spend money.
PG: Jarret Jack
SG: Brandon Roy
SF: Josh Smith
PF: LaMarcus Aldridge
C: Greg Oden
That looks like a young lineup that can win some titles.
Atlanta trades:
-Josh Smith (sign and trade)
-Solomon Jones (makes trade work)
Portland trades:
-Travis Outlaw
-Raef Lafrentz (expiring contract)
-13th pick in the NBA Draft
Who does Atlanta do this deal?
-I don't think Josh Smith is the answer at PF. He is just too small, and teaming him with a smallish C in Al Horford means their team defense will be average at best. So if Atlanta agrees with me on that, they will look at Josh Smith as a SF instead of a PF. Atlanta already has a pair of SF's (depending on what they do with Childress) that are solid. They aren't as good as Josh Smith, but they are still good enough. If Atlanta wants to keep Josh, they will need to pay some pretty good money and I don't think SF is a position where they need to really open up their wallets. Plus if they do this trade, they will have both LaFrentz and Bibby's huge contracts coming off the books next year, which makes Atllanta a major player in the free agent market.
Atlanta also gets a SF back in the deal (Travis Outlaw) that does some of the things that Josh Smith does and they get him at a MUCH, MUCH more reasonable price. And like I said above, they get Raef's huge expiring contract which can help with their salary cap situation at the end of the year. They also get that 13th pick, which I think could be VERY valuable. There are many Center prospects that Atlanta could target with that 13th pick. DeAndre Jordan, Kevin Love, Javale McGee, Robin Lopez, Hasheen Thabeet, etc could all be a big help in the middle for the Hawks. Or Atlanta could look at a quality PG like Augustin or Collison. This is a very deep draft and a good player will fall to #13...and Atlanta doesn't even have a pick.
Why does Portland do this deal?
-I think this is a no-brainer for Portland. The #13 pick isn't as important to the Blazers because they need a more proven player to put with the new guys like Oden, Roy and Aldridge. Outlaw is good, but the addition of Smith would greatly diminish his PT anyways.
Smith is the ultimate glue-guy for a team like this. He plays good defense, gets steals, blocks shots, and does a good job of getting buckets off of plays that aren't designed for him....and with Brandon Roy and Greg Oden, Smith won't have many plays drawn up for him. Portland's biggest rival out West will be the Lakers. They will be the team that Portland needs to battle for the division. Josh Smith is as good of a matchup as you can get for Kobe Bryant. He is tall (6-9) fairly strong (240 pounds) and extremely athletic. He can give Bryant fits. And could you imagine a front-line of Smith-Aldridge-Oden? Talk about length, athletic ability, rebounding, and defense.
The only issue "may" be the contract. I am assuming that the sign and trade would be for a close to max deal...something like the contract Joe Johnson got from Atlanta. That would hurt the pocketbook, but Allen has never been shy to spend money.
PG: Jarret Jack
SG: Brandon Roy
SF: Josh Smith
PF: LaMarcus Aldridge
C: Greg Oden
That looks like a young lineup that can win some titles.