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The Trading Post
Posted on | February 16, 2010 | 1 Comment
When I worked at EA Sports a number of years ago, I was involved heavily in `Franchise Mode’. It was a natural fit for me and I loved it. Though gameplay was fun, it was managing the roster that I found the most fun. Making trades, drafting etc. What the game never achieved, however, was the hype surrounding this time of year in the NBA. I know I should probably take Doug Smith’s tact and hate this time of year because it’s not about the game, and involves innuendo and rumours, the bane of his existence, but I can’t help it. It’s fun.
Yes, it can be fun for the fan, but for the players it must be torture. Imagine you’re busy going about your job when you keep hearing your name popping up in rumoured transfers to other branches in different cities. It must be difficult.
So with all due respect to the players, this post is dedicated to discussing every rumoured deal, and maybe proposing a new one or two. There are simply too many deals to discuss every single one, so I’ll focus on a few that seem to have legs. First off, though, I’m going to look at Toronto’s situation.
TORONTO
For the first time in a while, the Raptors are virtually a non-entity on the trade rumour mill. It’s a good sign. Making a deal might end up backfiring for the Raptors, unless it seriously upgrades their talent level. Still, there are a couple of moves they could make that might improve them.
Andre Igoudala for Demar DeRozan, Amir Johnson and Marcus Banks
In an earlier post, I proposed including Calderon in a trade for Iguodala, in this one, he’s not included, but Philly gets more salary relief. Banks’ contract isn’t great, but it’s 3 years less than Iguodala’s. Including Amir gives them another young prospect, as well as an expiring contract. Obviously Iguodala would be a great fit for the Raptors, and might be enough to entice Bosh to re-sign.
Andris Biedrins for Amir Johnson and Marcus Banks
While Amir Johnson is having a great season for the Raptors, and fills a need, the fact that he’s a free agent this summer makes it a real possibility he won’t be back. Why not use his expiring contract to try and get something in return. Biedrins is underutilized in Golden State and overpaid, but his rebounding, shot blocking and mobility would be a great replacement for Johnson, and the fact that he’s got a long term contract means that he’ll be around for a while. The biggest plus, though, would be that he would be a better insurance policy for Bosh than Johnson.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Antawn Jamison for J.J. Hickson and Z. Ilguaskas
Antawn Jamison is the perfect PF on the market to play with LeBron. He can score outside and inside, and would more than likely get them to the Finals. On the downside, he’s 33, so you’ve got to question how much longer he can play at such a high level. With LeBron not even being 25, the best way to keep him around is to surround him with guys who will be around for a while. Of course, Washington apparently doesn’t want to deal with Cleveland because of the history between them.
Amare Soudemire for J.J. Hickson, Z. Ilguaskas and Jamario Moon (or someone like him)
This would be the trade that would bring the best player, and since he’s indicated he won’t opt out, he’ll probably be with the team for at least another season and would be a huge enticement for LeBron to re-sign. Unfortunately, I don’t think he’s a good fit, and I think he might not like to be LeBron’s second fiddle. On the court, the Cavs currently have LeBron and Shaq to play inside, and I don’t see there being much room down there. Add Stoudamire, and if these guys don’t bump into each other, I’d be surprised. There are also conflicting reports that he my not want to be traded to Cleveland.
Phoenix would be getting Hickson, who is a talented, young big man, as well as Iguaskas’ expiring contract. If I was Phoenix, I’d keep looking.
Troy Murphy for J.J. Hickson and Z. Ilguaskas
Troy Murphy might be the best PF for the Cavs to trade for. He’s younger than Jamison and a better outside shooter than Stoudemire. Plus he’s a better rebounder than either of them. I also think he might be cheaper to trade for. He’s the least sexy option, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this is who they end up getting.
A salary dump for Indiana, plus they get a good young prospect in Hickson. This might be the best deal out there and the best chance to rid themselves of Murphy’s contract. On the plus side, it opens up playing time for rookie Tyler Hansbridge.
Corey Maggette and Raja Bell for J.J. Hickson and Z. Ilguaskas
Now, I haven’t actually heard Bell’s name in any proposed deal, but it works and makes sense. Maggette is having possibly his best year as a pro, and he’s probably more what Cleveland needs. He’s that second scorer that Mo Williams and Shaq simply aren’t. With both him and LeBron on the floor together, opposing teams couldn’t have a weak defender defending Maggette, as they can with Parker. If I was Cleveland, this might be my first choice of the rumoured deals.
Another salary dump, and considering that no one wanted to touch Maggette a year ago, getting Hickson might be a huge bonus. Golden State has too many wing players, too many scorers and not enough healthy PFs. This is a no brainer, in my opinion.
Now, I have only heard Stoudemire’s name, and no one from Miami, so this is purely conjecture. It would completely kill any cap room they would have this summer, but the question is, would they be able to get anyone better than these two? A lineup of Amare, Beasley, Richardson (either Jason or Quentin) and Wade would be pretty offensively potent. The rim would certainly get a workout. I don’t know how good they’d be defensively, though. Possibly even worse than the Raptors.
The latest rumour is that Miami is looking for a third team to trade with, which makes sense, because I don’t see the above trade going down. Despite their desire for Stoudemire, the only thing they really have of any value they are apparently willing to trade is O’Neal and his expiring contract. I’d be surprised if Amare lands in Miami because apart from the above deal, where they get rid of all but Nash’s big contract, there’s nothing Miami has that the Suns would want.
Andre Iguodala and Samuel Dalembert for Tracy McGrady
I don’t know who’s reluctant to make this deal, but it had better be Philadelphia. I know Houston would be taking back salary, and Dalembert would have to move to the bench when Yao returned, but how could you not do this deal? Adding Iguodala to Ariza and Battier would be potent, and having Dalembert would allow Yao to play limited minutes, possibly extending his career. Quite frankly, I think Philadelphia might be looking for a little more than McGrady for Iguodala, and so they should.
Jordan Hill, Jarred Jeffries and Larry Hughes for Tracy McGrady
This is the latest rumour and it makes a little more sense for both teams. Houston gets New Yorks 2009 lottery pick, Jordan Hill and Hughes’ expiring contract, so they still save money. New York gets more cap space and can try McGrady out for a couple of months. If I was Houston, though, I’d ask for a draft pick as well.
Marcus Camby for Travis Outlaw and Steve Blake
Injuries have really hurt Portland’s chances this year, and this trade highlights just how much. Outlaw and Blake are valuable, but they’re free agents this summer, and might not want to re-sign onto Portland’s loaded roster. Camby gives them a real center so they can remain competitive the rest of the season. The Clippers get a good backup for the rest of the season and maybe re-sign outlaw, who could end up starting for the Clippers, when healthy. Really, it’s a short term deal for both, but Portland has the chance to benefit the most. If I were the Clippers, I’d try and get more for Camby and his expiring contract.
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Those are the main rumoured trades around the league, at least ones that I see even remotely happening. Here are a few that I think make sense, but I haven’t heard mentioned.
Mike Miller and Fabricio Oberto for J.J. Hickson and Z. Ilguaskas
This is one I haven’t heard, and considering Washington’s feelings about dealing with Cleveland, probably wouldn’t happen. It is probably the best deal Cleveland could do, however. Miller is the outside shooter and scoring threat the Cavs need at the wing position, and while Oberto’s best days are behind him, and hasn’t been playing much in Washington, he’s got playoff experience with the Spurs, which looks good on anyone’s resume. Besides, he’d only be needed to play a few minutes here and there.
Mike Miller was traded for when it looked like the Wizards might be a playoff team. They are not. Getting Hickson would be a plus. In the end, it’s a low risk deal that makes sense for both teams.
Kirk Hinrich and Jannero Pargo for Sacha Vujacic, Adam Morrison and Jordan Farmar
The Bulls want to clear more cap room to try and get a big free agent, and the Lakers weakest position is PG. Hinrich is made for the triangle offense and would become their best PG. He doesn’t need to handle the ball to be effective but is a better passer than any of the present Laker PGs, is a very good defender and has lots of playoff experience. The Bulls clear cap room, but also get a couple of nice, young bench players.
Amare Stoudemire for Tyrus Thomas and Brad Miller
I know the Bulls are hoping for Wade to sign, but that’s unlikely, and what they need more than anything is an inside scorer. They discussed trading for Amare last season, but nothing happened. He’s now healthy and would give the Bulls another scorer, which they have lacked. Tyrus Thomas has struggled in his time in Chicago, but he’s not made for that kind of ball. If anyone would benefit from playing with Nash, Thomas would. If the Suns do trade Amare, I think Thomas is the best prospect they could get for him. Miller’s expiring contract means it’s basically Amare for Thomas, which, considering the circumstances makes sense.
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Now, although Orlando has not really been mentioned in any trade talk, I think they need to make some sort of deal. The only reason they beat Cleveland last year is because they matched up well against them, but this year that isn’t so. Trading for Vince hasn’t worked out as well as they hoped, and could use a creative wing player who can do what Turkoglu did, which be the initiator. The player who would be absolutely perfect would have been Iguodala, but Orlando has absolutely no pieces that Philadelphia would want. That might mean bringing a third team into it, but I can’t see who.
Boston’s window is closing, if it isn’t already closed. Danny Ainge has to figure out if the team is still a contender, and may want to use Ray Allen’s expiring contract to get younger.
Minnesota is apparently interested in Tyrus Thomas, but I don’t know who they want to send back in return. The question is, why on earth would they want Thomas? Thinking about it, though, it makes perfect sense. They drafted two starting PGs in the last draft, so might as well deal for another PF when their two best players are PFs. They’re very big on redundancy in Minnesota, and if the GM continues to make moves that don’t quite make sense, he’s going to find himself redundant.
Ladies and Gentlemen….REGGIE EVANS!!!!!!
Posted on | February 9, 2010 | 3 Comments
After ESPN picked Philadelphia to finish higher in the standings than the Raptors, in their preseason predictions, many Raptor fans might be feeling a sense of satisfaction with where the Raptors (and Sixers) are just before the break.
I, on the other hand, did not have a lot of optimism about the season the Sixers were about to have. Yes, Elton Brand looked like he was actually going to be healthy, and Thaddeus Young, Lou Williams and Marreese Speights were young players that were poised to get even better. Plus, they pushed the eventual Eastern Conference Champions, the Magic, to 6 hard fought games in the playoffs last spring AND they were able to grab projected lottery pick, Jrue Holiday late in the first round.
The main reason I wasn’t optimistic about the Sixers season was because of the fact they had no real piint guard on the roster. Andre Miller, who has been underappreciated at just about every stop, left to sign with the Blazers, and that means running the team was left to Lou Williams, who is a shoot first point guard (his second choice is shooting, as well), and rookie Jrue Holiday, who struggled mightily in his first season at UCLA and who also is not a pass first PG.
Through much time and thought, I have realized, that I was in fact wrong. No, the Sixers are about where I figured they’d be, but it wasn’t their PG play. The REAL reason the Sixers have not done well this season can be traced back to that fateful day in June when they traded their most important player away.
Yes, that’s right, I’m talking about Reggie Evans.
Sure, he only averaged 14 mpg during the season, but Reggie Evans is about to become the most important player in Raptors HISTORY!
No one player has personified the hope and dreams that Raptor fans inject into marginal players, like Roko Ukic, Pops and Kris Humphries.
We are all indeed, truly blessed.
[Yes, I'm aware I said that my next post would be a look back at my predictions. That will come tomorrow or Thursday]
By the way, how many fans/bloggers/writers are going to bring up how good the Raptors would be if Igoudala were on the roster tonight Wednesday. Can’t say I disagree.
And The Walls Came Crumbling Down!
Posted on | February 2, 2010 | 4 Comments
Anyone who’s followed, or played, basketball for a number of years knew this was an incredibly dangerous game against the Pacers. There were four reasons why I had a feeling the Raptors were going to lose tonight:
1. The Raptors had come back from double digits in four of their last five game, and one of them was against the mighty Lakers. It’s great to be able to come back like that, but when you do it four times in a row, there’s the danger in believing that you can turn it on at any time, so there’s a tendency to relax. Great teams do it all the time. Great teams often can get away with it. The Raptors, no matter how well they have been playing, are not a great team.
2. The Raptors had just won 5 games in a row, a season high. Confidence was high and they’d just been able to easily handle Indiana. In the game in Toronto against Indiana, the Raptors were pretty much in charge the entire time, and despite the Pacers staying close for most of the game, the Raptors were able to kick it into high gear when it mattered and put the game away. Great, but don’t believe you can always do that.
3. The schedule. It has been well documented that the Raptors have an easy schedule for the next couple of weeks. So documented, in fact, that sports writers have been asking the players about it. One problem: no schedule in the NBA is easy because just about any team can beat any other team in any game. That’s the way it goes. There is only tougher and less tough. Not easy. The Raptors were caught in the trap of believing their schedule was easy. It’s not. It’s just easier than it was in November.
4. Mark Stein. I like Mark Stein, partly because he likes Canada, but putting the Raptors at number 7 in his Weekly Power Rankings probably hurt them more than anything. You don’t think the players know they are now ranked #7? Well, on the plus side, they won’t be ranked #7 in next week’s poll.
So there you have it. I’m not going to talk about the game itself because it’s pointless. It’s one game and, despite what some people think, it’s best not to examine it too closely looking for things that probably aren’t there. It doesn’t mean their defense has regressed. It doesn’t mean Bosh is leaving. It doesn’t mean the team isn’t the same one that won the previous 15 of 20. It just means they played a bad game. It happens to every team, even the good ones.
Hopefully they learned a valuable lesson, that they can’t rest on their laurels and assume they’re going to win any game because they can’t. It’s a lesson every good team eventually has to learn, and as I’ve stated time and time again here, this is a young and relatively inexperienced team. This is one lesson. Let’s learn it and move on.
MORE PERSPECTIVE
The Raptors are currently 2 ½ games behind San Antonio, Portland and Phoenix in the league standings. I don’t think anyone would have guessed that would be so more than halfway into the season.
POLL RESULTS
The results of the first poll were quite interesting. Nearly 100 people gave their opinion (97, to be precise) and it was pretty much a stalemate. 49 respondents said they would trade for Igoudala, whereas 48 said no. I have to say I didn’t expect it to be that close.
Personally, I voted `Yes, but regretfully’.
Now, I don’t think they should go out and seek a trade because stability is going to help more than anything right now, and throwing a new player in the mix might hurt in the short term. It took them long enough to adjust to each other, and making any moves is going to put them back some.
On the other hand, adding Igoudala would make the Raptors a better team. Teams, in general, are only as good as their top 2 or 3 players. Sure, role players matter, and so does depth, but the Lakers made their huge jump to contending by trading away depth and getting Pau Gasol, who immediately became their second best player. Cleveland didn’t become a contender until Mo Williams was signed.
Igoudala would step onto a team where he would arguably be the second best player. A team headed by Bosh, Igoudala and Bargnani is better than a team headed by Bosh, Bargnani and Turkoglu. And the Raptors starting five would become one of the best in the league.
Igoudala would also be a perfect fit for the Raptors, who are at their best when DeRozan is playing a game similar to Igoudala, slashing to the hoop, skying for rebounds and cutting to the basket. What DeRozan does on occasion, Igoudala does every night.
Igoudala also would flourish in a running game, which the Raptors play.
And two of his biggest strengths, defense and rebounding, are the two things the Raptors can have the most trouble with. Suddenly Bargnani’s low rebounding numbers don’t matter as much because Igoudala will be taking up the slack (he’s averaging 6.9 rpg this season).
And trading for Igoudala would increase the likelihood of Bosh re-signing, and if he does leave, would help cushion the blow. If Bosh does leave, the Raptors have very little flexibility to do anything to make up for it. Having Igoudala means the team could still compete.
Yes, losing DeRozan would be hard, but do we really expect that DeRozan’s going to be any better than Igoudala is right now? And Igoudala is 26, so he hasn’t even hit his prime, yet.
And Calderon is an important piece of the team right now, and a great backup to Jack, but if given the choice, wouldn’t you rather have Igoudala as your starting 2 than Calderon as your backup 1?
And then there’s the depth issue. Well, right now the Raptors have 7 players for 3 positions. There’s only so many minutes to go around, and you can bet that Igoudala will be playing a lot more than the 20 minutes DeRozan usually does, so there will be even fewer minutes for the bench wing players. And the fact that Igoudala, Belinelli and even Banks can play plenty of back up PG, it’s not something I’d really worry about.
So, have I changed your mind?
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