Official Trade Thread - Part XXVII

[nate33]

Do you guys think Lebron would come here if we had Wall and Love? Say we traded Nene and Beal for Love and Martin then signed Lebron as a free agent. Our lineup would be pretty stacked.
Wall
Martin
Lebron
Love
Random

I don't think Wall and Lebron would mesh well. Obviously, the team would still be really good because there is a lot of talent, but ultimately, I don't think Wall and Lebron have much synergy. That team would look better with someone equally as talented as Wall, but with a more compatible skill set. (It would look better with Beal in place of Wall, for example.)

It's really a moot point. The Wizards wouldn't have cap room for Lebron with Wall and Love at max salaries.

[verbal8]

Do you guys think Lebron would come here if we had Wall and Love? Say we traded Nene and Beal for Love and Martin then signed Lebron as a free agent. Our lineup would be pretty stacked.
Wall
Martin
Lebron
Love
Random

It would be impossible to sign LeBron to anything near a max deal with Porter, Webster, Love, Martin and Wall on the books.

[gambitx777]

I would not want LeBron on this team, he would not mesh well with the team.

[Nivek]

You guys are nuts if you don't want Lebron on this team. He's the best player in the game. That's obviously no guarantee of a championship, but Lebron's presence on the roster puts his team on the short list of contenders.

[Ruzious]

Yeah, I would say there isn't a player in NBA history who wouldn't mesh with Lebron. Remember when the "Big 3" came together, people said he and Wade weren't a good combo because they're too similar. 4 straight NBA finals later... eh, maybe they worked okay together.

[Dat2U]

You guys are nuts if you don't want Lebron on this team. He's the best player in the game. That's obviously no guarantee of a championship, but Lebron's presence on the roster puts his team on the short list of contenders.

Yep, I thought it was nuts when no one here wanted him 4 years ago. Same with Ted, he even said he wasn't interested in pursuing him. I thought it did the Clippers nothing but good to go aggressively after James even though they had no real shot. It eventually set the stage for the Chris Paul acquisition a bit later.

[Dat2U]

Do you guys think Lebron would come here if we had Wall and Love? Say we traded Nene and Beal for Love and Martin then signed Lebron as a free agent. Our lineup would be pretty stacked.
Wall
Martin
Lebron
Love
Random

I don't think Wall and Lebron would mesh well. Obviously, the team would still be really good because there is a lot of talent, but ultimately, I don't think Wall and Lebron have much synergy. That team would look better with someone equally as talented as Wall, but with a more compatible skill set. (It would look better with Beal in place of Wall, for example.)

It's really a moot point. The Wizards wouldn't have cap room for Lebron with Wall and Love at max salaries.

They'd mesh beautifully. Two willing passers, two guys that can get into the lane at will. LeBron has become one of the better shooters in the NBA to boot. Wall could be LeBron's Wade. You really don't need Love to go with that core. Beal and half-way decent C would be enough.

[LyricalRico]

^ Agreed, if you can get LeBron, you get him and figure it out later. And in the unlikely event that LeBron looks at DC and said "this is where I want to be", they could find a way to make it work in a S&T.

Nene+Miller+Porter+picks would work salary-wise and give MIA at least some value, but again LeBron would have to force it to happen and nothing has happened to make me think he's interested.

[hands11]

Ok, I'm thinking LeBron is leaving. He can get that coin anywhere. And it won't be a sign and trade because why would he want to hurt to team he is doing to.... Which is Dallas.

Bosh and Wade opt in and get paid.

MIA then probably tries to cash in on Bosh if its clear they can't rebuild around Wade and Bosh, which I think is clear.

So who gets Bosh and for what ?

PHX ?
WAS ?

Back to TOR ?
Boston after the fail at getting Love ?

[montestewart]

You guys are nuts if you don't want Lebron on this team. He's the best player in the game. That's obviously no guarantee of a championship, but Lebron's presence on the roster puts his team on the short list of contenders.

Yep, I thought it was nuts when no one here wanted him 4 years ago. Same with Ted, he even said he wasn't interested in pursuing him. I thought it did the Clippers nothing but good to go aggressively after James even though they had no real shot. It eventually set the stage for the Chris Paul acquisition a bit later.

To me, LeBJ is a more complete player now, he doesn't come across as so arrogant (maybe a little more secure now that he's won some rings), and I'm over repeatedly being beaten down by his Cavs.

Your point about the Clippers could easily apply to the Wizards. For many years, they seemed absent from the name FA sweepstakes, as if certain they could never land one and were trying to spare themselves the reputation of loser. If that was the plan, I think it might have backfired. Going after a name FA and failing at least shows you think big and have some confidence. The Wizards need to look more like players in the game.

[deneem4]

Lebron is a stat head...He wouldn't look right playing next to wall for the simple fact wall if extremely on and off...Lebron took 20 shots once in the finals, and ironically that's the game they won...every other game he was being too passive...thats the last thing John wall needs...He honestly need a beal that isn't scared to miss

[gambitx777]

The thing is, we would have the money to sign him, again let ariza walk, buy out miller and dump web, sign lebron and hope he takes bit less to sign gortat or Monroe, But, again I don't see that happening, labron won't be getting paid as much as he could be getting, he does not care about money right now, he cares about his legacy and brand. He's probably going to sign some where for a 12-16 mill a year range. I would not be shocked if he signed on somewhere for the lower end of that, Because if he takes less, every one else coming there will take less.

[dangermouse]

Lebron to DC is an even bigger pipe dream than Melo to DC.

[montestewart]

Lebron to DC is an even bigger pipe dream than Melo to DC.

But still more realistic than Wilt to DC.

[nate33]

Here's a thought

Let's assume Wade refuses to take a pay cut (and why would he walk away from $40M) and let's further assume that Lebron and Bosh ultimately decide to stay in Miami. With that the case, Miami no longer has any effective cap room. Furthermore, with all of their over-the-hill vets contemplating retirement, they won't have many salary slots to work with when trying to add a player. Basically, it'll just be the Big Three plus Chris Anderson, Norris Cole, Udonis Haslem, the MLE and the BAE.

What if Washington steps in to help out? We can give them Nene in exchange for whatever flotsam they want to use as salary filler. Basically, Miami signs guys like Ray Allen and/or Shane Battier to 1-year deals for a total salary equal to 67% of Nene's salary ($8.67M), and then trade them (along with $3M cash) for Nene. That way, they add a quality veteran big man while still keeping their MLE available. They also give those retiring veterans a nice "retirement gift", which would let the rest of the league see that they take care of their own.

I'd have to check the rules about retirement though. Could they sign Battier and Allen to 1-year deals worth $4.34M each, trade them to us, and then Battier and Allen retire? Would we still be on the hook for their cap hit and salary? But even if we are stuck paying their entire year of salary, it's no big deal. If Miami sends us $3M cash as part of the transaction, we would essentially be paying just $5.67M to make the last $26M of Nene's contract go away.

If Miami somehow manages to sign Kyle Lowry for the full MLE, a guy like Brandon Rush for the BAE, and resign Rashard Lewis, they'd have another contending team next year:

PG Lowry/Cole
SG Wade/Rush
SF Lebron/Lewis
PF Bosh/Haslem
C Anderson/Nene

Maybe they can S&T Beasley or Chalmers for a useful SF as well.

[stevemcqueen1]

If LeBron were willing to give up the ball to Wall more and become more of a classic forward, then he could mesh with Wall really well because Wall is a true PG.

LeBron and Wade have never meshed well. At first they just took turns dominating the game (and the ball). Then Wade got old in a hurry and it just became the LeBron show.

It'd be different here no doubt. For one thing, Wall is an emerging star, not a breaking down star. It wouldn't make sense to under-utilize him like Miami started under-utilizing Wade. For another thing, Wall is pass first, his biggest strength by far is playmaking, not finishing. It would make more sense for him to be the playmaker and LeBron the finisher.

But LeBron's streaky shooting would be a little bit of an issue. He's so perimeter oriented for a forward his size. Imagine if he became more of a true Karl Malone type with Wall as his PG? He could be the best PnR roll man in the game. His speed + his hands + his size and finishing ability would be incredible.

And his post game has always been a potentially powerful weapon. There would be off ball offense for LeBron if he played with a really superior PG. But LeBron would also have to want to transition away from the perimeter game.

I think this is actually the natural progression for him though once he ages. He's not a shooter, makes since for him to eventually become a true front court player once his speed declines.

But LeBron isn't going to leave Miami IMO. He'd have to walk away from an absurd amount of money to do it. And even if he did, we can't offer him a max deal. And even if we gut our team to do it, then is what we'd have to offer better than what he's already got in Miami? Who is he going to trust over Pat Riley?

Plus it's a really bad look for LeBron to leave yet another team to chase rings in greener pastures. It'd cause serious damage to his brand. He'd start to get into Moses Malone NBA vagabond territory and that would hurt his legacy. Moses has no natural fan base for support like Magic, Bird, Jordan, Kareem, and Russell all do. He's not celebrated like they are largely because of it. LeBron doesn't want to run into that same situation.

No he needs to just go to Pat Riley and say, "I'm here for good. Just worry about building a Spurs-like group of role players around me for the next 8 or 9 years."

[penbeast0]

Lebron to DC is an even bigger pipe dream than Melo to DC.

But still more realistic than Wilt to DC.

I don't know; sounds like a reasonable Ernie move . . . brings in a big veteran body who has/had talent but who may not be able to play due to factors like age, being deceased, etc. Think Eric Maynor 2.0.

[stevemcqueen1]

If Miami somehow manages to sign Kyle Lowry for the full MLE, a guy like Brandon Rush for the BAE, and resign Rashard Lewis, they'd have another contending team next year:

Is Kyle Lowry seriously considering signing for the full MLE? This is his one chance at a big contract. This isn't like LeBron/Wade/Bosh all sacrificing a little bit of money to play together after having already signed max extensions before. This would be him taking half as much money as he could make in this contract.

Also, why are you trying to help them out?

[nate33]

If Miami somehow manages to sign Kyle Lowry for the full MLE, a guy like Brandon Rush for the BAE, and resign Rashard Lewis, they'd have another contending team next year:

Is Kyle Lowry seriously considering signing for the full MLE? This is his one chance at a big contract. This isn't like LeBron/Wade/Bosh all sacrificing a little bit of money to play together after having already signed max extensions before. This would be him taking half as much money as he could make in this contract.

No argument. Lowry for the full MLE is a long shot. Riley would have to do some kind of Jedi mind trick on Lowry's agent.

Also, why are you trying to help them out?

To create cap room in 2015 while still having Wall, Beal, Ariza and Gortat on the roster.

[Ruzious]

Here's a thought

Let's assume Wade refuses to take a pay cut (and why would he walk away from $40M) and let's further assume that Lebron and Bosh ultimately decide to stay in Miami. With that the case, Miami no longer has any effective cap room. Furthermore, with all of their over-the-hill vets contemplating retirement, they won't have many salary slots to work with when trying to add a player. Basically, it'll just be the Big Three plus Chris Anderson, Norris Cole, Udonis Haslem, the MLE and the BAE.

What if Washington steps in to help out? We can give them Nene in exchange for whatever flotsam they want to use as salary filler. Basically, they sign guys like Ray Allen and/or Shane Battier to 1-year deals for a total salary equal to 67% of Nene's salary ($8.67M), and then trade them (along with $3M cash) for Nene. That way, they add a quality veteran big man while still keeping their MLE available. They also give those retiring veterans a nice "retirement gift", which would let the rest of the league see that they take care of their own.

I'd have to check the rules about retirement though. Could they sign Battier and Allen to 1-year deals worth $4.34M each, trade them to us, and then Battier and Allen retire? Would we still be on the hook for their cap hit and salary? But even if we are stuck paying their entire year of salary, it's no big deal. If Miami sends us $3M cash as part of the transaction, we would essentially be paying just $5.67M to make the last $26M of Nene's contract go away.

If Miami somehow manages to sign Kyle Lowry for the full MLE, a guy like Brandon Rush for the BAE, and resign Rashard Lewis, they'd have another contending team next year:

PG Lowry/Cole
SG Wade/Rush
SF Lebron/Lewis
PF Bosh/Haslem
C Anderson/Nene

Maybe they can S&T Beasley or Chalmers for a useful SF as well.

The first thing you have to do is send Lowry's agent to jail for accepting the MLE for a player who's worth over twice that.

I doubt the commissioner would allow the trade of Allen and Battier for Nene when it's obvious that the only purpose of their contracts was to circumvent the salary cap. And if he did allow it, of course we'd have the cap hits of Allen and Battier. And besides, if Nene would be that valuable to Miami, why wouldn't he have value for the Wizards? All that trade would do is rid the Wiz of the last year of his contract. Are they even going to have a use for that next season? I doubt it - since they're most likely going to be over the cap, anyway. You'd save Ted some money, but all you'd do to the roster would be deleting its starting PF.