NBA Offseason Thread 2010

[Rhonda Rousey's Sports Bra]

It's official now, T Mac to Detroit. I like this idea for a few reasons, one of which is that he can still sell a few tickets and that means good things for the Pistons since they haven't been selling out the Palace recently. Not that T Mac would give them sellout crowds every night, but having an old superstar near the end of his career will get more people to the arena to see him before he retires.

The other reason this is good is because it's a one year deal so if he Iverson's them they can just drop him like a bad habit without a big hit on their pocket books. All and all good move for Detroit.

 

[DaBadGuy]

Four NBA teams have agreed to a five-player trade that will send Trevor Ariza to the New Orleans Hornets and Darren Collison to the Indiana Pacers, two league sources said.

In the proposed deal, the Houston Rockets will send Ariza to the Hornets, who in turn will send Collison and James Posey to the Pacers.

The Pacers will send Troy Murphy to the New Jersey Nets. And the Nets will send Courtney Lee to the Rockets.

According to the sources the Rockets, Hornets, Pacers and Nets have agreed to the details of the trade and are awaiting a trade call with the league this afternoon to make it official.

The deal, if approved, could fill some long-term needs for the Hornets, Pacers and Nets, as well as provide needed salary relief for the Rockets.

For the Hornets, while moving Collison leaves the team without a credible backup for Chris Paul, the addition of Ariza gives them a young, athletic wing entering his prime.

The Hornets are hoping that the addition of Ariza quiets the complaints address Paul's concerns about the team's commitment winning by showing that they're willing to spend money to get better. Ariza signed a six year, $35 million dollar deal with the Rockets last summer.

For the Pacers, landing Collison gives them the young starting point guard they've been looking for and adds another piece to a young core of players including Danny Granger, Roy Hibbert and promising rookies Paul George and Lance Stephenson.

The Pacers did take on the last two years and $13 million of Posey's contract, but the deal also sliced another $4 million off the team's overall payroll.

In Murphy, the Nets get the veteran big man that new coach Avery Johnson has been coveting. Murphy is also on the last year of his contract, which could make him an important trading chip for the Nets at the 2011 trade deadline.

For the Rockets, aside from acquiring Lee, the move is largely a salary dump. This summer the Rockets spent a lot of cash signing Luis Scola, Kyle Lowry and Brad Miller to free agent contracts and their payroll ballooned to $81 million. Before the trade, the team was bracing for a $10 million-plus luxury tax hit. The deal would save them $28 million on the life of the contracts and $10 million this season, including luxury tax considerations.

 

[Big Sexy]

I'll break down the four team trade from each teams perspective:

Hornets- They get a young, athletic small forward in Trevor Ariza and they give up Darren Collison and James Posey. Ariza is basically just a younger and a little more talented version of Posey so that is an upgrade and although Collison played well the Hornets have probably the best point guard in the league in Chris Paul so Collison at this point isn't needed.

Indiana- They receive Darren Collison and James Posey. Posey is a good veteran pick up but the real value they got was Darren Collison. Collison as a rookie showed he can start in this league and the Pacers were in desperate need of a starting point guard. The only guy they gave up was Troy Murphy and while he is good, the Pacers are fairly deep up front so he was expendable.

New Jersey- The Nets were in desperate need of some front court help. Brook Lopez is very good but after him all they have is Kris Humphries and Derrick Favors. Favors isn't ready to start and Humphries sucks so getting Troy Murphy was huge for them. he will definitely start alongside Lopez for the Nets.

Houston- The Rockets lose Ariza but he never really fit in there so getting rid of him won't hurt too much. They have Kevin Martin and probably believe he can play some 3. Courtney Lee is a good shooter and if Yao is able to come back healthy then shooters will be needed. The deal is also going to save Houston 10 million dollars this season.

The Hornets after this trade turned around and traded Julian Wright to the Raptors for Marco Bellinelli. Bellinelli will be a good shooter for CP3 and New Orleans and Julian Wright is another athletic, young prospect on the wings for the Raptors.

 

[Khalifa]

Wow interesting deal. Pacers definately got the best the trade, and have a reasonable starting line up with Collison, Stephenson/ Rush, Granger, Hansborugh/George and Hibbit. In a few years they will look pretty dangerous. Nets. I guess it's ok for them seeing as Lee didn't have the impact many expected him to have. Lee to Rockets is interesting. It took me awhile to think who would play the 3 and I just realised they still haev Battier but obviously Ariza is a better all round player than Battier. So I think Rockets lost the trade from all teams. With Yao back this year the floor would have opened up more, a full season of Martin and with Brooks rising Ariza would have been the perfect fit. Plus he is a very good defender to help the already good defensive team of Rockets. So I don't know why they traded Ariza but shit happens right.

 

[Big Sexy]

Wow interesting deal. Pacers definately got the best the trade, and have a reasonable starting line up with Collison, Stephenson/ Rush, Granger, Hansborugh/George and Hibbit. In a few years they will look pretty dangerous. Nets. I guess it's ok for them seeing as Lee didn't have the impact many expected him to have. Lee to Rockets is interesting. It took me awhile to think who would play the 3 and I just realised they still haev Battier but obviously Ariza is a better all round player than Battier. So I think Rockets lost the trade from all teams. With Yao back this year the floor would have opened up more, a full season of Martin and with Brooks rising Ariza would have been the perfect fit. Plus he is a very good defender to help the already good defensive team of Rockets. So I don't know why they traded Ariza but shit happens right.

The Rockets payroll was huge after all of the resignings they had this offseason and trading Ariza saved them about 10 million dollars for this season. Also, Courtney Lee and Kevin Martin are friends off the court and have good chemistry together. It's very possible that they have Martin play some at the 3 with Lee at the two.

 

[gd]

Crazy trade. You don't see those four teamers all that often.

I like what the Hornets did. They had no need for Collison and Posey is aging and doesn't really have the best contract. Ariza didn't have a great year last year, but he was a starter on a championship team just two years ago. If nothing else, this is a move for the sake of making a move to keep CP3 happy. Bringing in a shooter in exchange for the disappointing Wright was a good move as well.

Great move for the Pacers. Murphy had a big contract for such an average player and Collison gives them their best PG since Tinsley, excpet for without the shooting up strip clubs.

The Nets getting didn't exactly get a better player with Murphy for Lee, but they have more than enough backcourt players and really needed some big guys. The problem is, Murphy isn't that good, meaning they'll still probably suck this year. He'll be fine though for awhile until Favors is ready.

The Rockets clearly did this for money reasons, as Lee doesn't really fit great with them. They'll struggle defensively anytime they use a lineup where either Martin or Lee is playing the 3, but Battier should play a lot of minutes off the bench. In fact, Lee should probably be the one coming off the bench, that face mask wearing freak.

 

[gd]

So the big news right now is Carmelo is likely going ot be out of Denver sooner or later. Not a huge surprise, as they offered him a big extension awhile ago and hasn't made a decision on it yet, which means he's not exactly a big fan of staying in Denver.

He has one year left on his contract before he's a free agent, and I really think he'll be traded eventually. If not now, then at some point during the season. The Knicks are the likely destination, apparently, with Tony Parker coming at a later date.

If the Knicks did end up getting Carmelo, they'd be left with virtually no one else significant on the roster other than Amare. Are those 2 good enough to carry a team? I don't know. Surely interesting to see how this plays out.

 

[Big Sexy]

So the big news right now is Carmelo is likely going ot be out of Denver sooner or later. Not a huge surprise, as they offered him a big extension awhile ago and hasn't made a decision on it yet, which means he's not exactly a big fan of staying in Denver.

He has one year left on his contract before he's a free agent, and I really think he'll be traded eventually. If not now, then at some point during the season. The Knicks are the likely destination, apparently, with Tony Parker coming at a later date.

If the Knicks did end up getting Carmelo, they'd be left with virtually no one else significant on the roster other than Amare. Are those 2 good enough to carry a team? I don't know. Surely interesting to see how this plays out.

To get Carmelo the Knicks would have to give up Eddy Curry's expiring contract, Danilo Galinari, either Wilson Chandler or Anthony Randolph, and a draft pick or two. That would leave the Knicks with a team of Raymond Felton, Melo, Amare, either Chandler or Randolph (which ever one didn't get traded), Ronny Turiaf, Bill Walker, Azubuike, Toney Douglas, and Roger Mason. That is definitely a good enough team to at least compete and certainly better then what they have now.