Camby to LAC for a Second Round Pick?

[PR07]

The Los Angeles Clippers today acquired forward Marcus Camby from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for a future second round draft pick. The NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2006-07, Camby comes to the Clippers with a reputation as one of the top defenders in the league. A 12-year veteran, Camby led the NBA in blocked shots last year (3.61) for the third straight season, becoming only the second player in NBA history to lead the league in three consecutive seasons. “I love this acquisition for the current make up of our team,” Clippers head coach Mike Dunleavy said. “We are getting a consummate pro who is maybe the best team defender in the league and who has 60 playoff games under his belt.”

Did the Clippers just absorb his salary or was some sort of exception used? That's a steal for them.

And where were we when this went down?

[MillerTime101]

Another example of the power of having cap room.

Im glad we were not involved in trade talks. I want no part of Camby on this team, he is a stat stuffer and a terrible team defender. I have seen him rip rebounds away from his own teammates and leave them out to dry to go for the block. There is a reason he is being traded for a 2nd rounder. It is also no wonder his team is always at the bottom of the league in terms of team defense.

I believe they just absorbed his contract with the void Brand left.

[joew8302]

Another example of the power of having cap room.

Im glad we were not involved in trade talks. I want no part of Camby on this team, he is a stat stuffer and a terrible team defender. I have seen him rip rebounds away from his own teammates and leave them out to dry to go for the block. There is a reason he is being traded for a 2nd rounder. It is also no wonder his team is always at the bottom of the league in terms of team defense.

I believe they just absorbed his contract with the void Brand left.

I completely disagree with your assessment of Camby. There was a reason he was a Defensive Player of the Year, and it isn't because he is a terrible defender. He will play good defense and grab rebounds. I would take him on the Pacers given the right salary.

[granger05]

Anybody disappointed with the deal we got for JO? Honestly, this is a head scratcher to me. Obviously, the Nuggets just wanted to unload Camby's salary. The 2nd round pick just seems like the minimum you take back so that it's a "trade" rather than a straight dump. I disagree with the post above about Camby's effectiveness. Hollinger (everyone's hated stat geek) had several articles this year detailing the Nuggets perceived defensive failings. He felt their defense was fine, but their frenetic pace led to poorer defensive statistics (ie. gave up a lot of points but allowed a lower shooting percentage).

Anyway, I live out in Colorado and I see the Nuggets a few times a year (at least once when the Pacers come to call). Camby is a more than solid Center especially given the way the league is playing now. He can knock down shots out to the college three point line and is very active on the defensive end. He makes almost no effort on the offensive side anymore other than stretching the floor with the occasional jumper or getting put back dunks or lobs. However, he always competes on defense. I got the impression this last year that he was just saving himself for that side of the ball. It seemed like a decent decision given the team's other options. I don't blame Camby for the Nuggets recent underachieving ways. In fact, I think he was part of what kept them afloat and was their most important player.

They Nuggets have several other large contracts in Carmelo, KMart, Iverson, and Nene. Even with this salary dump I doubt they have any money free to make a different move unless it's a midlevel-type signing. I think they'll be missing the playoffs next season for sure.

[Scoot McGroot]

Denver's now under the luxury tax, but not even close to getting under the salary cap. Denver might even still be under the luxury tax once they fill their roster for the season.

This really hurts the Nuggets on the court this year, but with the way Kenyon Martin was finally getting healthy, and Nene needing minutes for the Nuggets to show why they re-signed him, they should be relatively ok. Steven Hunter will be the Marcus Camby-lite for them this year.


This was a great deal for the Clippers though. Camby's only got 2 years and less than $20 million on his deal remaining, and should be interesting next to Kaman and Thornton for the Clippers. He's a solid option for them, and MUCH better than that Zach Randolph rumor going around. Much better choice for the Clippers.

[cdash]

Denver's now under the luxury tax, but not even close to getting under the salary cap. Denver might even still be under the luxury tax once they fill their roster for the season.

This really hurts the Nuggets on the court this year, but with the way Kenyon Martin was finally getting healthy, and Nene needing minutes for the Nuggets to show why they re-signed him, they should be relatively ok. Steven Hunter will be the Marcus Camby-lite for them this year.


This was a great deal for the Clippers though. Camby's only got 2 years and less than $20 million on his deal remaining, and should be interesting next to Kaman and Thornton for the Clippers. He's a solid option for them, and MUCH better than that Zach Randolph rumor going around. Much better choice for the Clippers.

Agreed on the Zach Randolph comment. I dont understand why the Knicks didnt do that deal. Randolph has little value, he has a contract that limits their ability to land LeBron, Wade, Bosh, whoever in 2010, and he doesnt seem to be a very good fit for D'Antoni's offense.

[23artest23]

Excellent deal for the Clippers. Marcus is easily of the best defenders down low if he is not the best. Like Scoot mentioned, he also has just 2 years left. I predict he will have a good 2 years but if he does not, the Clippers still have a player of real value that should only increase. If he has a bad year, they still have a good expiring chunk on money to keep or deal the next year.

[MillerTime101]

Another example of the power of having cap room.

Im glad we were not involved in trade talks. I want no part of Camby on this team, he is a stat stuffer and a terrible team defender. I have seen him rip rebounds away from his own teammates and leave them out to dry to go for the block. There is a reason he is being traded for a 2nd rounder. It is also no wonder his team is always at the bottom of the league in terms of team defense.

I believe they just absorbed his contract with the void Brand left.

I completely disagree with your assessment of Camby. There was a reason he was a Defensive Player of the Year, and it isn't because he is a terrible defender. He will play good defense and grab rebounds. I would take him on the Pacers given the right salary.

Your entitled to your opinion on Camby but I ask that you look past the numbers. The reason he was Defensive player of the year is because he is a stat stuffer, if you watch him on every possestion he is always out of position and looks generally lost.

I would consider him to be one the worst team defenders in the NBA. Stats do not tell everything but I will give you one that is undeniable, how you can you have best defender in the league and finish in the bottom 5 in team defense every year?

I cannot express how happy I am that we were not involved with this guy, another great job Larry!

I will say this though, its not a bad deal for the clippers becasue he only ahs 2 more years on his contract and they have the caproom. They pretty much cannot lose on this deal.

You guys are probably going to flame me for this post but all i can do is state my case. If you want proof that I am not just crazy the proof is in the pudding, as they say, Camby has a reasonable contract and they got him for a 2nd round pick. Trust me this is not a surprise, my views on Camby are obviously shared with GM's around the NBA.

[joew8302]

I was listening when you said he was an overrated defender, but when you said he was one of the worst defenders in the league I just stopped reading as that was way over the top.

[cdash]

Well, I dont agree with you on basically anything you say about Camby. He was asked to wander a lot on defense---he had to mask the crappy defense the rest of the team played. He may not be the greatest team defender, but he's not nearly as bad as you make it out to be.

Likewise, I am not sure that GMs around the league do agree with you. The move was strictly a cap related move for Denver. They assume they will have Martin and Nene healthy this year, which really makes it unnecessary for them to pay Camby. Their owner just footed a huge luxury tax bill for a team that was the 8th seed in the playoffs and was swept out without much of a whimper in the first round. Basically, moving Camby saved Denver twice his salary when you figure in the tax with it.

[MillerTime101]

I was listening when you said he was an overrated defender, but when you said he was one of the worst defenders in the league I just stopped reading as that was way over the top.

I did not say he was one of the worse defenders, I said he is one of the worst TEAM defenders, big difference.

He was traded for an option to swap second round picks, enough said.

[Edub]

Clippers got a steal. A 2 year rental of guy who plays hard and plays D. Nuggets better hope Alex English comes back so they can average 150 pts a game next year. That's the only way they are going to be winning games next year. Between him and Kaman. They should have about 4-7 blocks a game and 18-28 rebounds. Defense wins championships. Just ask Kobe.

[CableKC]

I was listening when you said he was an overrated defender, but when you said he was one of the worst defenders in the league I just stopped reading as that was way over the top.

I did not say he was one of the worse defenders, I said he is one of the worst TEAM defenders, big difference.

He was traded for an option to swap second round picks, enough said.

The Nuggets needed to trim $8+ mil from their Salarycap and he was the only one that any team would be interested in that didn't cost an arm and a leg.

If the Nuggets were not in a financial bind due to Luxury Tax concerns...Camby wouldn't have been traded.

The Nuggets traded Camby purely due to Financial reasons...nothing else.

[cdash]

Sorry to bump this thread, but I just thought this was interesting and relevant to the topic, courtesy of Mike Dunleavy Sr:

Marcus Camby is maybe the premier team defender in the league right now. He blocks four shots a game, rebounds 13 a game, [is a] great passer [and is] offensively very efficient in what he does. For us, that [move] was a dream come true.

[MillerTime101]

I was listening when you said he was an overrated defender, but when you said he was one of the worst defenders in the league I just stopped reading as that was way over the top.

I did not say he was one of the worse defenders, I said he is one of the worst TEAM defenders, big difference.

He was traded for an option to swap second round picks, enough said.

The Nuggets needed to trim $8+ mil from their Salarycap and he was the only one that any team would be interested in that didn't cost an arm and a leg.

If the Nuggets were not in a financial bind due to Luxury Tax concerns...Camby wouldn't have been traded.

The Nuggets traded Camby purely due to Financial reasons...nothing else.

They have been shopping Camby since the end of last season, when many teams had the cap space. They wanted to see if they could get more value for him, clearly they could not. GM's are not stupid, they do not give good players away for second round picks I dont care what the situation is.

They also got offered Marcus Williams and Josh Boone which they would have done if they wernt over the cap, not exactly a great package. Camby makes 9 million, they could have given away Nene or one of their other over paid players yet they thought Camby was expendable.

Let me say that again, the WORST defensive team in the league thought Camby was expendable.

[Scoot McGroot]

The Nets offered a combo of expirings and only one of the following 3 players (Denver's choice): Josh Boone, Sean Williams, and Marcus Williams.


Denver was not offered multiple of the young players, and did not want expirings in return; they wanted immediate cap space and breathing room against the luxury tax. They got that.


Camby is a great defensive talent. Does he leave his teammates hanging sometimes while he plays a little reckless? Sure, but any player that attempts to block a shot or defend the passing lane does the same thing.

[MillerTime101]

So they were not even offered two young players, his value is even worse then I thought. As I said before GM's are not stupid they would not give away a good player for nothing.

There are many ways to go about cutting salary besides sending one of your better players away for nothing. If he had the value suggested on this board they could have easily packaged him with an overpaid player and got a decent player back while cutting even more salary at the end of the season.

This was not the only move they could make because of the salary cap, this was the only move they could make because Camby is not worth that much.

[CableKC]

They have been shopping Camby since the end of last season, when many teams had the cap space. They wanted to see if they could get more value for him, clearly they could not. GM's are not stupid, they do not give good players away for second round picks I dont care what the situation is.

They also got offered Marcus Williams and Josh Boone which they would have done if they wernt over the cap, not exactly a great package. Camby makes 9 million, they could have given away Nene or one of their other over paid players yet they thought Camby was expendable.

Let me say that again, the WORST defensive team in the league thought Camby was expendable.

I like how you think that it's easy to simply give away a 4 yr/44mil Big Man that did not play last season due to an injury or a PF that is owed $45mil over the next 3 seasons. In case you haven't noticed.....it's not easy to move players that are owed a ton of $$$ that is on the books for 3 years or more that is coming off of an injury.

I am totally guessing here.....but I would think that moving either of them ( Nene or KMart ) before even considering moving Camby is far more preferable.....but since it's difficult to find a taker that would be willing to absorb a $44-45 mil / 3-4 year contract.....it's easy to figure out who the odd man out is.

Did the Nuggets get hosed in terms of trade value here? Definitely
Did the Nuggets get a subsequent offer that was heads and toes better then the one they got from the Clippers? Definitely
Knowing that the Nuggets FO was told to cut salary to get under the Luxury Tax by the Owner, did the Nuggets FO have any choice but to take the Clippers deal that sent them back ZERO salary? Nope.

Since the Clippers ( and Grizzlies...who didn't figure into any of this ) was the only teams in the league that could take on salary without sending back anything and the Nuggets had no choice but to take a deal that didn't return any contracts/salary....the Clippers were in the drivers seat when it came to negotiations. I am guessing that Nuggets insisted on getting a 1st round draft pick...but since the Clippers could have simply taken their toys and left....they didn't have to concede anything to the Nuggets. The Nuggets were shafted when it comes to this deal....but it's not like they had any choice here.

[CableKC]

So they were not even offered two young players, his value is even worse then I thought. As I said before GM's are not stupid they would not give away a good player for nothing.

There are many ways to go about cutting salary besides sending one of your better players away for nothing. If he had the value suggested on this board they could have easily packaged him with an overpaid player and got a decent player back while cutting even more salary at the end of the season.

This was not the only move they could make because of the salary cap, this was the only move they could make because Camby is not worth that much.

If you think it's that easy to simply cut salary without sending away your better players.....you have to tell Bird how to do it.....cuz I'm guessing that he's been trying to figure out a way to do this with Tinsley for the last couple of months.

Again....you have to take into consideration the fact that the Nuggets Owner told the FO that they had to get under the Luxury Tax. This means that they had to send out $9+ mil in contracts while taking back ZERO contracts. Outside of dealing with the Clippers and Grizzlies.....there was no trade that the Nuggets can make to any team where the Nuggets get back $9mil less.

The Clippers and Grizzlies are the only teams that could have taken any player without sending back anything and clearly the Clippers didn't have any interest in anyone other then Camby. Since the Clippers were in a position to say "take it or leave it"....they stood firm and got what they want. Keep in mind....although the Nuggets could have simply held on to Camby and waited til the trade deadline......it's not like there would be any team out there that could have gotten under the Salary cap and therefore taken a player off the Nuggets roster while sending back no additional salary.

In this day and age where Owners and GMs pay attention to how contracts/salary affect their Financial situation, teams don't simply take on players with huge contracts...much less one that is considered ( as you say it ) overpaid. It just doesn't work like that anymore.

[MillerTime101]

Your not understanding and I dont know how I can make this more clear, they have been trying to trade him for sometime now. They were not told yesterday they have to get below the cap, do you honestly think they did not look ahead and see this coming?? What is it you think GM's do all day?