OT - The Ben Gordon situation

evildallas · Post #1 » by **evildallas** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 10:24 am

Mighty bold headline today about Gordon saying he's played his last game for the Bulls and won't sign the 1 year qualifying offer. Unless he is Europe bound I don't see what leverage he has except to sign the 1 year qualifying offer to get free next summer. My questions to everyone are 1) How much do you think he's worth per year? This is not for the Hawks (he doesn't fit IMO), just in general how much should an NBA team pay him for his future services. 2) What team do you think would be a trading partner with the Bulls for Gordon's services?

evildallas · Post #2 » by **evildallas** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 10:29 am

Now answering my own question in a separate post. Hoping to read other people's thoughts though.

I've wondered these things and don't have a good answer for fair price. To me he's a scoring specialist most likely off the bench since he hasn't shown enough PG skill to successfully run a team and he's so undersized at the 2 guard that he'd be a liability on D unless you could pair him with a big PG. Basically, he's Jason Terry. Like or not Ben that's 8M dollar range.

As far as who could be a trading partner, I came up with 3 possible teams each trade would probably include a pick as well to make it worthwhile to Chicago.
1) New Orleans - Strong interior D would help mask his defensive liabilities and they could use another shooter especially after letting Pargo go. Scenario I could see Mike James, Mo Peterson, Melvin Ely for Gordon and Nocioni. For Chicago, Peterson replaces Nocioni at a discount, and the rest is salary dump.
2) New Jersey - Unsure about the contract length issue, but they could use a 3rd guard and scoring off the bench. Couldn't do the deal until end of the month, but I see a scenario of Bobby Simmons and Trenton Hassell for Gordon and Nocioni or Bobby Simmons, Trenton Hassell, and Josh Boone for Gordon, Gooden (or Nocioni), and Cedric Simmons (or Thabo). For Chicago, they get Bobby Simmons to replace Nocioni at a shorter commitment. The 2nd option also gives Josh Boone to help shore up the front line.
3) LA Clippers - Not sure of Clippers adding that salary length, but they could do it and improve the team. Scenario I see would be Tim Thomas, Cuttino Mobley, and the rights to the Greek Baby Shaq (Schortsianitis) for Gordon and Nocioni. For Chicago it is a salary dump with each contract ending in 2 seasons where Nocioni has 4 on his. The rights to Baby Shaq could be interesting as low post power guy if they can keep him in shape.

The trades all look crappy to me except that they could net a pick and dump Nocioni's salary. The best deal I think would be New Orleans, but I'd be tempted to say enjoy Europe and we will try to sign and trade you next summer when you come back. What can I say I don't think there is a great trade market for an undersized SG in today's NBA.

raleigh · Post #3 » by **raleigh** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 1:14 pm

Why he doesn't sign the QO, I don't understand.

lethalweapon3 · Post #4 » by **lethalweapon3** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 2:04 pm

Ben Gordon == Jason Terry. Dunno why that's never dawned on me before but you're exactly right.

How about Miami? Aside from Chalmers I can't figure out what they've got planned with that backcourt. And they could go Gordo-Wade or Wade-James Jones as needed. What they'd give up (Haslem??) is another matter I gotta think about some more.

~lw3

evildallas · Post #5 » by **evildallas** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 5:05 pm

You know, I didn't think about Miami because I was thinking of Gordon solely as 2 guard. It would be a non-traditional lineup without a true point, but Ben Gordon would be a good complement to Dwayne Wade in the back court. Wade is a penetrator and Gordon is a shooter. Since the half court offense runs through Wade normally anyway they might be able to get away without a true point. Gordon can handle well enough to bring the ball up. The real question is whether Chicago would deal him to Miami where he could hurt them. I would say yes if it can get good pieces back.

lethalweapon3 · Post #6 » by **lethalweapon3** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 7:48 pm

Best combo for a Bulls-Heat S&T I could come up with was Gordo/Noah for either Haslem/Banks or Blount/Cook/1st Round Pick

~lw3

evildallas · Post #7 » by **evildallas** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 8:15 pm

lethalweapon3 wrote:Best combo for a Bulls-Heat S&T I could come up with was Gordo/Noah for either Haslem/Banks or Blount/Cook/1st Round Pick

~lw3

The other way those deals could work is to replace Noah with Cedric Simmons and Thabo Sefolosha since I've heard the Bulls would prefer to keep Noah. It's a tough sell as I'm sure the Bulls would prefer Haslem, but really wouldn't want Banks 3 year deal. Likewise the 1st rounder and Cook might be attractive, but Mark Blount isn't exactly the C that people would prefer.

Harry10 · Post #8 » by **Harry10** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 8:46 pm

lethalweapon3 wrote:Ben Gordon == Jason Terry. Dunno why that's never dawned on me before but you're exactly right.

How about Miami? Aside from Chalmers I can't figure out what they've got planned with that backcourt. And they could go Gordo-Wade or Wade-James Jones as needed. What they'd give up (Haslem??) is another matter I gotta think about some more.

~lw3

Terry chokes in the 4th, Gordon does a better job at the end of games, but Terry does have a better defence than Ben.

HoopsGuru25 · Post #9 » by **HoopsGuru25** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 7:42 pm

mrhonline wrote:Why he doesn't sign the QO, I don't understand.

I don't understand why he publicly came out and said that he wouldn't take the QO(which isn't that low considering where he was picked). How does that put any pressure on the Bulls to raise their offer?

Harry10 · Post #10 » by **Harry10** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 8:13 pm

^ i would be worried if i was Ben. Bulls just got Rose and Ben will be riding the bench most of the year, and i doubt he will average 18ppg going into UFA.

Lue_4_MVP · Post #11 » by **Lue_4_MVP** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 9:34 pm

Harry10 wrote:
lethalweapon3 wrote:Ben Gordon == Jason Terry. Dunno why that's never dawned on me before but you're exactly right.

How about Miami? Aside from Chalmers I can't figure out what they've got planned with that backcourt. And they could go Gordo-Wade or Wade-James Jones as needed. What they'd give up (Haslem??) is another matter I gotta think about some more.

~lw3

Terry chokes in the 4th, Gordon does a better job at the end of games, but Terry does have a better defence than Ben.

Well JT can at least masquerade as a PG for a while (had a 7 apg season while back) whereas I don't think Ben Gordon can even bring the ball up the court without turning it over. JT was more of a combo guard whereas Gordon is your typical SG-in-a-PG's-body. I'd definitely take JT over Gordon at this point. Gordon was surprising his rookie year but I don't recall him hitting any clutch shots lately.

Gordon is a fool for turning down anything over 9 mil a year because I don't see him as anything more than a 1-dimensional chucker.

gsuteke · Post #12 » by **gsuteke** » Tue Aug 19, 2008 12:37 am

mrhonline wrote:Why he doesn't sign the QO, I don't understand.

My guess is his QO is approx. 6.4 and he wants 11 million +

5 million is a big hit to buy your freedom over a single year

lethalweapon3 · Post #13 » by **lethalweapon3** » Tue Aug 19, 2008 12:50 am

Thanks to the Wiretap, it looks like we can scratch Miami, at least if the Heat's beat blogger is to be believed. He seems to think the Bulls are interested in Marion as part of a deal (I doubt that would happen).

http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports_ba ... eason.html

~lw3