Charlotte trade

[granger05]

Chad Ford has rumors today that Westbrooke has a promise from Charlotte at #9 which is why he cancelled the workout with us at #11. This makes it seem that they're disenchanted with Raymond Felton so that got me to looking around. What about a deal like this:

Indiana gives/Charlotte gets:
Mike Dunleavy

Indiana gets/Charlotte gives:
Adam Morrison
Raymond Felton

Why for Charlotte:
I think Jordan and Larry Brown would value a guy like Dunleavy. Honestly, I think this creates the same logjam we've been facing; with their best players, Wallace, Richardson, and now Dunleavy all sharing the swing spots. However, operating on the assumption that they want don't trust Felton this would allow them to turn two players they don't value into one that they do. This is an eye of the beholder type of thing, and I wouldn't be surprsied by people loving or hating this.

Why for Indy:
Cuts a little bit of salary now and more in the future as Morrison and Felton are finishing up their rookie contracts (although we would have to deal with extensions if necessary so it's tough to project any savings, but it does add flexibility). Mainly, this allows us to free ourselves of dependence on Tinsley. We would be free to move him for anything and hopefully get back a defensive-minded SG type since that's a definite need. This also frees up some room for Shawne Williams to play and gets us younger. I'm not a huge Morrison fan, but I think he's better than he's shown so far. On an anecdotal note he also allows us to continue our trend of having a guy that Larry Bird can pretend is the next Larry Bird (Peja->Dunleavy->Morrison). We give up the best player in the deal, but I think we position our roster and franchise quite a bit better.

[count55]

What's the story on Morrison's injury history...and can you get him to shave that skeevy '70's porn 'stache?

I kinda like Felton, not much on Morrison...be curious to see whether Brown would like a guy like Dunleavy or not.

As to dependence on Tinsley, I don't think that's an issue any more. Two years ago, or even last year, we would've said we needed to get a PG back if we dealt Droopy. Today, I think we'd trade him for a bucket of warm spit and start Bowser at the point, if we had to.

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

I love Raymond Felton, this would be a dream trade for me, however the Bobcats wouldn't do it. Felton is a very good player who hasn't been used right by his coaches. Brown will get the best out of him as a player. Also, Brown has always been known to shun rookies, he wouldn't want to start Westbrook. I do see them liking Dunleavy, but not this much.

[mosarsour]

Travis Diener > Raymond Felton. You guys don't need Felton one bit, unless it's to back up TD.

[cdash]

Personally, I think Felton is a turnover machine and he does absolutely nothing for me. Morrison was an absolute trainwreck before he got injured. I'd keep Dunleavy. He has more value than those two.

[dwpacer]

The Bobcats already have too many SG and SF's on their roster to begin with so trading Dunleavy does absolutely nothing for them.

If they can get a scoring option in the post to team with Okafor then you could be looking to a quality deal for the Pacers and for the Bobcats.

[PR07]

I'd do it. I'm not overly high on Felton (his 3 pt shooting % worries me), but he's still young and has upside. Like others have said, Morrison does nothing for me. I don't see him as anything more than a scoring bench player who can't defend a parked car.

The ideal situation in a trade like this would be then to take Eric Gordon or Russell Westbrook at #11.

Felton
Westbrook
Granger
O'Neal
Murphy/Foster

[joew8302]

Felton does give us quickness and athleticism, which is something we haven't had on the perimeter for quite some time now. He has also been a thorn in the Pacers side recently. Yes, his jumper is not great, but he is a very good ball handler and can break a defense down. I am not in love with his game, but I do think he would fill a need for Indiana in a lot of ways.

I think some people are being harsh on Morrison as well. Keep in mind he is still young and learning the ropes. I think once he fully figures out the NBA game he can be very productive. He did have a rough first year, but there were several bright spots along the way, including a huge 30 pt game in Indianapolis. I think giving up on him at this point would be pretty foolish.

I do love Mike, but with this deal the Pacers would get younger, fill some needs and cut salary. These are all good steps in terms of rebuilding. Based on this, I would have a tough time turning this deal down.

[cdash]

I'd do it. I'm not overly high on Felton (his 3 pt shooting % worries me), but he's still young and has upside. Like others have said, Morrison does nothing for me. I don't see him as anything more than a scoring bench player who can't defend a parked car.

The ideal situation in a trade like this would be then to take Eric Gordon or Russell Westbrook at #11.

Felton
Westbrook
Granger
O'Neal
Murphy/Foster

It's increasingly unlikely that Gordon or Westbrook will be there when we pick though...so where to from there? Randolph, Lopez (if they fell), Speights, Koufos?

[PR07]

I'd have to believe then that at least one of Randolph, Lopez, Augustin falls if Westbrook and Joe Alexander go before us as is now being reported.

As of now, if this were to happen, my board would go:

1. Anthony Randolph
2. Brook Lopez
3. DJ Augustin

[Bucky O'Hare]

I think there's enough potential involved to make it worth our while. Felton needs to improve his shooting, but his overall production is solid. Morrison will likely never be anything special, but I still think he could end up a very good shooter/scorer in the mold of a Wally Szczerbiak.

In a deal like this, I'd prefer we keep Felton and then try and move Morrison on for another 1st round pick, or package him with our #11 to move up into the top-10.

[joew8302]

Anthony Randolph would be an absolute steal IMO. Granted the immediately impact would not be there, but with Indiana being where we are I think we can take a prospect and let him develop.

[Wizop]

story is that Westbrook had a minor injury, but will be in Monday. see Bird's press conference. I'm hearing ankle.