PHI/MEM/UTAH

[blackham9258]

PHI OUT: Andre Iguodala, #15
PHI IN: Al Jefferson, Raja Bell, MEM #26 pick

MEM OUT: Rudy Gay, #26
MEM IN: IGGY, GSW pick top #6 protected that Utah Owns

UTAH OUT: Al Jefferson, Raja, GSW Pick
UTAH IN: Rudy Gay, #15 from PHI

Why for PHI: The chill between Coach and Player (Collins/Iggy) is over and they move on from eachother. PHI gets a much needed Center who was an allstar snub in the west and an expiring deal. They get another expiring deal and defensive minded sharpshooter in Raja.

Why for MEM: They know they can't keep Rudy's contract long term so they take a 1 time allstar SF on a shorter contract who is far superior on the defensive end, and they turn more of the offense over to their bigs. They also get a sure fire lotto pick next year which allows them to get a young player on a rookie scale... which is a major need and major plus in the new cba. They give up by a small margin the best player in the deal (based on youth mostly being 1 and 2 years younger than Al come next season and Iggy), but they get the most coveted pick owned by any team (the GSW pick).

Why for Utah: Their glut of quality bigs finally pays off as they upgrade their weakest position of SF, and they turn the C position over to Favors. They give up a coveted pick, but they get a young SF to pair with their other core young players. They also get into this draft.

Thoughts.

[QuantumMacgyver]

I actually really like this. Al would be a monumental upgrade over Brand, the Jazz land a solid SF in Gay AND get into the draft, not sure if iggy is what Memphis wants, but it'd make them a scary team for sure. Interesting proposal. Nice work ham. Moving Al n Raja for Gay and Marshall would make me a happy camper.

[FJS]

Well, without Gay, they went deeper in the PO last year.

[kamazilla]

I like this trade a lot for the Jazz. You should post it on the trade board.

[reapaman]

This is garbage for the Jazz. Why anyone would want Rudy with that max contract is beyond me.

[nguyenbalong]

Al Jefferson, Raja, GSW Pick for Rudy and 15th is one hell of a deal. at 15th you get a decent rookie point and a legit scorer. If anything id say its too perfect for Us.

[spoonhoops]

love this deal.

[QuantumMacgyver]

This is garbage for the Jazz. Why anyone would want Rudy with that max contract is beyond me.

This is a solid point. I had totally forgotten about Rudy's contract. He makes almost 20 mill in 14/15. Ugh. I'm out. A Big Al for Iggys swap would be intriguing.

[Ugly0598]

This is actually a really good deal, but I'm not sure if Philly would accept it.

[Luigi]

Some heavy contracts being swung in this deal:
Gay - $16,460,532, $17,888,932, $19,317,326.
Iguodala - $14,718,250, $15,904,750 player option.
Jefferson - $15,000,000

If we don't think we can get a better free agent than Gay or Iggy next summer, maybe we should do it.

[eLo]

Gay is second behind JJ when it comes to being overpaid

[blackham9258]

Couple things to keep in mind:

Gay is overpaid but we can take on the extra $4-$5M a year in salary because we have all rookie contract guys. That said, if we max or near max Favors and give Hayward a good contract the first year of their big money will be the last year of Gay's contract. Then once Gay comes off the books we can reup this still young SF who will only be 28,29. In fact if we still have guys on rookie deals, we might not have a full $45M on the books (which I think is the minimum team salary).

Also remember that Gay can score more than 20ppg on the Jazz because we won't have a go to scorer. He shares shots with the black hole that is Zach Randolph, and with OJ Mayo and Gasol. His PPG was highest in his second year before all the bigs arrived.

I think having Gay helps us defensively on the perimeter, and obviously offensively on the perimeter and gives us a star who can be a go to scorer down the stretch in tight games.

The fact that he is overpaid is not an issue for us now. Now, if we could somehow get him for less than our GSW pick, say our own pick lottery protected then that would be even better.

IGGY on the other hand is already 28 and will be 29 next year, and he and Doug Collins have a bad relationship and they want to get rid of him... I think they would be the most likely to do the deal besides the Jazz. In 4 years he will be over the hill for a wing and not part of our future when Favors, Burks, Hayward and Kanter are heading into their youthful prime. Gay's game will translate better as he gets older as he is a longer player, and shoots his shot at the apex of his jump... and his 4 year re-up contract with us will take him from 29-32.... Thats perfect!

My number one goal this off-season is to make the call now on Millsap or jefferson to either make a trade and get a player or get a solid lottery pick. We are still 4 years away and we need to keep acquiring assets... losing that GSW pick was a big deal.

Do something now KOC.

[DelaneyRudd]

Will this prevent the Jazz from resigning 3 rookie contracts? Lets say 1 max, 2 closer to max? I think it would. So it comes down to the idea that one of the last two draft classes will sign elsewhere when we would like to keep him, 1 will pan out big time, and 1 will sign a big but not max contract because they are still potentially going to get better.

[blackham9258]

No.

Favors and Haywards contracts first year of being large would be Gay's last. Unless Hayward makes huge steps, (and he would carry less of a wing load with Gay on the team... thus lowering his value) he will be a $6-$8M per year player. And its not a give that Favors will be max. He could sign a 4/$50, with Millsap already signed to a 4/$32M deal.

2014-15
Favors - $11M (first year of 4 yr $50M)
Paul - $8M
Gay- $19.3M
Hayward- $7M (first year of 4/$32)
PG TBD - $5M or Could be on a rookie scale

Total Starting Lineup: $50M

Bench: $18M
Kanter: $5M
Burks: $3M
PG's: $3M for 2
Back Up Wings: $4M for 2
Back Up Bigs: $3M for 1

Total: $69M

By then Kanter could have totally taken over and he is in the Starting Lineup at $5M, and Millsap is gone for a PG starter... who know but it is easily possible in that one year.

Then the next year when Kanter and Burks re-up we decide if we still want Gay or what.... Lots can happen from now until the off-season of extensions for Hayward and Fav's. They may not become what we hope. Fav's may be a $8-$10M guy, and Hayward a MLE guy, and Burks is the guy we need to save our money for... who know but that one year with Gay at his peak is easily doable.

Plus, Gays next contract might be $8-10M per and we have all the room we need to re-up other guys.

[blackham9258]

With stud Wings and Bigs (Gay, Hayward, Burks & Fav's, Sap, and Kanter) we may also see the Jazz go after a serviceable PG via free agency after Harris expires like getting Eric Maynor back for 4/$16M... That contract will be too rich for the Thunder after re-upping Harden and Ibaka in the near future and the fact that Harden can run the point. They will pass on that luxury and pick up a guy like our very own Earl Watson after next season.

We could sign Eric after next season and tier his payscale: $6M, $4.5, $3, $2.5 so that in our big expensive year we are only paying him $4.5M and then a back up rookie scale guy and a minimum veteran to round out our PG position.

So many options....

The Gay money may also be opted out... He has that 2014-15 year as an option and if he likes the Jazz and wants to sign a 4/$56M contract we could do that and tier his contract opposite of Fav's and Hayward to maximize our cap situation. Something like: $16,$14,$14,$12....

We will be fine.

[DelaneyRudd]

Is a 6 4 3 2 structure allowed? Isn't the cap hit a contract average, with the benefit being it's easier to trade a guy whos already paid?

[SJSF]

Just why not AL Jeff for Iggy?

[blackham9258]

My premise is that 4 years from now we will start to compete:

Now Iggy is going to be 29 next year, and will likely opt out after next season to take advantage of re-upping for a 4 year contract that takes him from 30-33. Do we want a 33 year old SF who leans on his athleticism and who isn't a scorer at that age... when we begin to compete. Meaning will we want to re-up him again for 3 more years from age 34-36 when we start to compete?

I think the fact that Gay is 26, and would be 29 when we reup him during our competitive years is what I am most looking at. I also believe that because of his length, and shooting style he will produce better as he gets older. But the key is that 4 years from now when our team is really ready to compete he will still be in his prime.... 29-33.

[erudite23]

We can't carry Gay at the contract figure. That is almost AK level cap-killer. He will have a to make a significant leap to justify that expense. Right now, he's almost the Al Jefferson of SFs. He gets tons of opportunities, but is middling efficient. He's not a particularly motivated defender, and he settles for long Js way too much. Good player, and he might get better, but I think you're getting the same problems you have with Al Jefferson, only moving them to the wing instead.

I'd rather get a defensive force in Iggy that can finish and produce solid scoring numbers for you as a complimentary option. His improving J might even make him a floor stretcher as he gets older. Also, he is likely to get re-signed for 10m-ish per season after his contract, which will be good value for him into his mid 30s, I believe.

Gay is getting paid like a superstar but not even quit producing like a star.