Mike Miller revisited

[evildallas]

Now that Mike Miller is in Minnesota is he acquirable? If so, do we have the pieces to make it happen?

[td00]

I would think that McHale likes him enough that he got him by ridding himself of 3 bad contracts.

I think he sticks in Minnesota.

Even so, he wouldn't come here and come off the bench. He would have to take Marvin's slot or slide JJ to the 3.

[evildallas]

Yes, I was figuring him as a replacement for Marvin in the starting lineup.

[D21]

Seeing he was traded, I immediately thought of him too.

His contract is $9M for 2008/09 and $9.75M for 2009/10. Minnesota would certainly ask for some expiring + pick, or younger player, but we only have Zaza as expiring for $4M, and if we trade him, we will need to get a big or sign him with MLE.

[killbuckner]

uhhhh... why not Marvin for Miller as a base? It would make the Hawks significantly better and I'd think that Marvin would fit the wolves timeframe more.

[td00]

Easy, Miller IMO has more value than Marvin, because Miller can stroke the 3-ball.
He almost averages Marvin's rebound numbers as well.
If you want to win now, you go with Miller. He and JJ and Bibby would be a good trio, provided we had enough on the interior.

[Rip2137]

A certain someone...okay...me....has been screaming for a Marvin/Miller trade for the longest now. I still think it can be done. Minnesota obviously ain't winning now anyway and they are looking to the future. What more future could you want than a 21 year old 15-6 guy that is only going to get better.

I think with Love out there and his shooting range they could deal with not having Marvin be the three point threat. I would try the trade, although I am sure that they wouldn't do it. This team would just be so much more balanced with miller on the court even though I think Marvin will eventually be the superior player.

[conleyorbust]

Marv for Miller, Sund should be all over that right now.

Marv certainly has the upsided to surpass Miller one day but as of today, I like Mike... a lot.

The Wolves are so far from competing right now, they don't need Miller at all. Marv's contract is shorter, lets them make a decision quicker and as a bonus, it gives them two swingment who had their stock go too high based on NCAA finals championships.

[evildallas]

This was really why I brought this up. Minnesota is further back on the rebuilding curve (still needing to acquire talent). Miller would be an upgrade for us over the next 2 seasons. I realize that Marvin should ultimately develop into more, but I've been worried for a long time that he will either never develop into that here because of the draft pick pressure and that the salary decision on him will have to based on promise and not performance. The theory is trading upside and promise for a competent veteran second or third threat. The shooting range and experience will lighten the load on Joe. The only problems I see are getting the contracts to matchup and that Joe and Mike Miller would be free agents the same year. Well that and Mike Miller's hair accessory that makes him look like a teenage girl.

We didn't have what Memphis was looking for since they already have Rudy Gay at SF, but Minnesota could be a different story. With Foye and McCants in the back court, they could have Williams, Jefferson, Love in the front court. Corey Brewer can play either SG or SF. Next year if (when) they wind up in the lottery again (keeping their pick) they can add a traditional C with size (looking ahead at 2009 mocks). Resign Marvin (at 23) and they would soon have a multiple year window to compete. I dare say that Miller doesn't make them a competitor for the playoffs in the West this year or probably next. When the rest of the squad is ready to start competing his contract will be up and he'll be 30.

I think it is a good trade matchup to help both teams and a move that is needed to keep moving the team forward. It helps more than adding a 3 pt shooter to the bench because to have an impact it needs to be a skill set in the primary rotation of players. Without it our best hope for advancement is that Marvin comes in next season reliably and willingly stroking the 3 from day 1 or that Josh Smith raises his three point percentage from 25 to 35 during the summer (not holding my breath on either).

[conleyorbust]

The only problems I see are getting the contracts to matchup and that Joe and Mike Miller would be free agents the same year.

Marv and Zaza work in the ESPN checker but there might be some salcap rule I'm missing.

Joe and Miller could be a problem but at that point either want to move in a different direction or be able to resign Miller for less.

[HMFFL]

Even though Mike Miller is 28 years old, I would still prefer him over Marvin Williams, and it puts us in a better situation to get out of the first round of the playoffs. I believe Mike is due a contract extension after the upcoming season so there may be some issues resigning him. However, if theres not any issues with that we Sund should serious considering acquiring him. The future would look bright having Joe Johnson, Mike Miller and Acie Law (?) shooting 3 ball for this team. That'd be three guys that can consistently knock it down and It would be nice to see it from both the front and back court.

[evildallas]

The only problems I see are getting the contracts to matchup and that Joe and Mike Miller would be free agents the same year.

Marv and Zaza work in the ESPN checker but there might be some salcap rule I'm missing.

Joe and Miller could be a problem but at that point either want to move in a different direction or be able to resign Miller for less.

I was aware of that one, but I feel bad trading Zaza without having a plan to fill backup C. Maybe if we know that Kwame Brown will sign for a portion of the MLE (uncertain since he's used having people pay him more for his potential). I worry that he'll demand the whole MLE. I actually prefer Diop (bigger, tougher) but expect him to return to Dallas. If we don't have the C thing straightened out we could be forced to rely solely on Solomon or try our luck with the likes of Patrick O'Bryant (I like his potential, but it would be risky to be our entire backup plan).

Actually, if we can line up Kwame and make the trade I think the roster would look pretty good.

Bibby/Law
JJ/Mario
Miller/Childress/Jeremy Richardson
Smith
Al/Kwame/Solomon

I think we would need to sign a bruising PF with some bulk for front line depth and a 3rd PG (possibly Jamont Gordon or Chris Lofton). Maybe Minnesota would throw in Chris Richard after picking up the 2nd year option on him.

[conleyorbust]

The only problems I see are getting the contracts to matchup and that Joe and Mike Miller would be free agents the same year.

Marv and Zaza work in the ESPN checker but there might be some salcap rule I'm missing.

Joe and Miller could be a problem but at that point either want to move in a different direction or be able to resign Miller for less.

I was aware of that one, but I feel bad trading Zaza without having a plan to fill backup C. Maybe if we know that Kwame Brown will sign for a portion of the MLE (uncertain since he's used having people pay him more for his potential). I worry that he'll demand the whole MLE. I actually prefer Diop (bigger, tougher) but expect him to return to Dallas. If we don't have the C thing straightened out we could be forced to rely solely on Solomon or try our luck with the likes of Patrick O'Bryant (I like his potential, but it would be risky to be our entire backup plan).

Actually, if we can line up Kwame and make the trade I think the roster would look pretty good.

Bibby/Law
JJ/Mario
Miller/Childress/Jeremy Richardson
Smith
Al/Kwame/Solomon

I think we would need to sign a bruising PF with some bulk for front line depth and a 3rd PG (possibly Jamont Gordon or Chris Lofton). Maybe Minnesota would throw in Chris Richard after picking up the 2nd year option on him.

I like that plan a lot. That roster looks very good on offense and the addition of Kwame/Richard go a long way towards helping our D (upgrades from Zaza and Marv as backup PF and C).

[HoopsGuru25]

Mchale proves again why he is worst GM in sports history. When your franchise player is a bad defender...you may not want to trade for two other players who are also below average defensively. That team has no balance at all. Mike Miller is a stop gap player on a team in all out rebuild mode(think of Harrington on the Hawks). What could he possibly do for them besides hurt their draft pick?

Miller is a good fit for the Hawks. He fills the need for a 2nd option and a 3 point shooter. My only problem is his back. I would probably trade Marvin for a 27-28 year old Wally too but that trade would look AWFUL today because of how much Wally has declined since then(and Marvin is still likely to improve). I'd trade Marvin for Miller but I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't work out.

[HMFFL]

Mchale proves again why he is worst GM in sports history. When your franchise player is a bad defender...you may not want to trade for two other players who are also below average defensively. That team has no balance at all. Mike Miller is a stop gap player on a team in all out rebuild mode(think of Harrington on the Hawks). What could he possibly do for them besides hurt their draft pick?

Miller is a good fit for the Hawks. He fills the need for a 2nd option and a 3 point shooter. My only problem is his back. I would probably trade Marvin for a 27-28 year old Wally too but that trade would look AWFUL today because of how much Wally has declined since then(and Marvin is still likely to improve). I'd trade Marvin for Miller but I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't work out.

Mchale seems to fall for these bigs and I don't get it. Kevin doesn't do it for me, but I hope he produces for other reasons, and I fully expect OJ to haunt Kevin for the rest of his life. Kevin could possibly hear it just as bad as Billy Knight heard it about passing on Chris and Deron for Marvin Williams.

I like the addition of Mike Miller if the team actually had a shot at the playoffs. We all knows that's not going to happen. So, Kevin needs to seek out a trade that moves Miller for future draft picks (Or Marvin ).

[HoopsGuru25]

Love could be a good player. I've compared him to Sean May and Mike Sweetney but both of them would have been good if they weren't out of shape. The problem is that the player Minnesota is building around is a defensive liability at center. Playing him and Love at the same time is going to be a disaster(just look at the Knicks this year). Love is going to have to be a Chris Webber type offensive player(which could happen but Mayo could just as easily be a star)to offset how bad the Wolves defense will be. I would have just taken Mayo 3rd...drafted Jordan(who they could just stick out there for 15-20 minutes because they suck) with one of my second rounders...and signed someone like Kwame to guard the other teams best post player.

[evildallas]

When I look at the Western Conference, I think that adding Miller and Love to Minnesota keeps them arguably just ahead of Seattle and Memphis, but it is tight. If the Clippers have Elton Brand healthy and can acquire something for Corey Maggette (Kirk Hinrich?) then I still have them and Sacramento ahead of Minnesota, but with no chance of making the playoffs. Although I can see the Clippers or Kings collapsing this season. The other 10 teams I see as clearly better by quite a margin.

I expect Sacramento to have about 34 wins, The Clippers around 31, Minnesota probably 26, Memphis 25, Seattle 25.

Right now I see us as arguably a 41 win team with the progression of our current players and a healthy Bibby all season (rough banking on that). I think this deal could get us up to 46 wins, which could important for playoff positioning because we'll have to fight off the advances of Miami (not a real 15 win team, so it is hard to gauge them) and Indiana (improved). Charlotte, Chicago and Milwaukee I think don't have enough fire power to reach the playoffs, but will be better too. Only New Jersey (going into full rebuilding) and New York (can't fix that overnight) I think will be clearly at the bottom of the East. Washington, Philly, and Toronto I see as wild cards, but very able to compete for the playoffs depending on health and remaining offseason moves. Cleveland should get 45 wins on Lebron alone. Orlando, Detroit (won't change enough to miss the playoffs), and Boston seem safe bets to me.

Minnesota needs more talent and structure to it to surround Jefferson with. They have a mishmash of mid-level people now. Miller is better than what they had, but isn't enough to get them out of the league basement. Marvin could be one of the future cornerstones and you add another lottery pick (or 2) to the mix and they could be ready to march up the standings as San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, Phoenix, and Denver see their windows start to close.

[jagstang76]

IMO, Miller is a step back from Marvin. I know that sounds crazy right now, but I believe many of you are jumping to conclusions as to how good Marvin is. He's 22 and capable of becoming far more than what Miller is in his prime (right now). Everyone knocks Marvin's lack of range, but he has all the tools to hit consistently from outside and will likely be working on that this offseason. He's bigger and more athletic than Miller which makes him more flexible.

Anyways, I agree that MIN really wants Miller right now because he will provide a solid vet presence and a nice big expiring contract next year. There might be a way to pick him up later (say in a trade where we send Bibby or something), but MIN is going to want his shooting ability to balance out the inside presence of Jefferson and Love. Foye and Telfair will also work well with him as they are excellent at driving to the basket, which will open up things for Miller as well. Not saying this is a good plan, but I can at least see the attempt at logic there. Miller really needs to be with a team like ATL that needs outside shooting, so I'd love to get him. I think if we wait a little longer, we will be able to get him without losing Marvin.