Miami Makes a Move

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=l37rl2

Sorry for another Boozer to Miami trade but this one is pretty significantly different.

Miami trades Udonis Haslem (1 yr 7.1 mil) and James Jones (1 yr 4.3 mil + Team Options) to the Jazz and trades Jermaine O'Neal (1 yr 23 mil) Daequan Cook (1 yr 1.3 mil + Team Options) to the Bucks. Utah trades Carlos Boozer (1 yr 12.6 mil) to the Heat and Kyle Korver (1 yr 5.3 mil) to the Bucks. Milwaukee trades Michael Redd (2 yrs 35 mil), Dan Gadzuric (2 yrs 14 mil), Francisco Elson (1 yr 1.7 mil) and Malik Rose (1 yr 1.3 mil) to the Heat.

Miami is the far and away talent winner in this trade. Along with the other big trades that have gone down this offseason that means that they also take back the most money. In this case that means a lot more money. Wade, Boozer, Redd and Mike Beasley would give the Heat an unbelievable offensive lineup that can do everything. It would also mean that they would have some serious defensive liabilities and a big luxury tax bill. They also would still not have a center although I hear that Eddy Curry is available... As with last night if it causes Dwayne Wade to resign it would be worth it. Gadzuric has one of the worst contracts in the NBA but but between he, Elson and Joel Anthony they could fill the spot with guys that will rebound, defend and hustle to the best of their ability. This is a good thing because there would not be many shots to go around. If this team doesn't work out Redd expires after 2010 and could be used as an expiring contract that year.

Utah dumps a bunch of salary (six million) and gets productive players back. Haslem seems like the kind of guy that Jerry Sloan would like coaching. He definitely gets the most out of his talent. James Jones and Kyle Korver are pretty similar so there isn't really much lost there. Jones also has an interesting contract because all of his years after this coming year are team options. Since the options are in the neighborhood of 5 million it might be a good idea to keep him coming back. If not though the Jazz can treat him like an expiring contract or move him to somebody that would value him as that.

Milwaukee gets to essentially take a do over for all of the bad contracts they have given out over the last few years. They could really go crazy and throw in Bogut and Bell for expiring contracts from the Heat if they wanted as well. Most likely this is far enough. Going into 2010 hardly 20 million committed. With Brandon Jennings, Charlie Bell, Daequan Cook, Joe Alexander, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Andrew Bogut they would have great backups at every position as well. Too harsh? Maybe but this trade would allow the Bucks to really hit the reset button, get another high pick and have the opportunity to sign some guys that could really make a difference for them. It is always dangerous to count on cap room and draft picks but the Bucks are definitely not going to win an championships as currently constructed and have already admitted that by moving Richard Jefferson for nothing. This is would be one way to accelerate that process.

Money, Money, Money

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=mlengh

Utah trades Carlos Boozer (1 yr 12.5 mil) to Miami and Matt Harpring (1 yr 6.5 mil) to OKC. Miami trades James Jones (1 yr 4. mil) to Utah and Udonis Haslem (1 yr 7.1 mil) to OKC. OKC trades Damian Wilkins (1 yr 3.3 mil) to Miami and Nick Collison (2 yrs 12.5 mil) to Utah.

The driving force behind a trade like this is money. Utah is close to the luxury tax and Paul Millsap just signed a big offer sheet with the Blazers. To further complicate matters the Blazers have front loaded the contract so that Utah would have to pay him over 11 million this year to keep him. If they can't find a way to trade salary, they probably can not match the offer. This trade would allow the Jazz to dump 8 million and match the offer for Millsap. Once a team would get past this coming year in the contract offered to Millsap the salaries are not so bad because it is so heavily front loaded. Nick Collison is a hard worker who gets the most out of his talent and he would fit well in Utah. James Jones replicates what Kyle Korver does (shoot) but he is a productive player. Not really a fair trade talent wise for Boozer but both players that they would recieve are productive and it gives them the finanical flexibility to retain Millsap.

Oklahoma City essentially pays just over 3 million to move Collison's 6.75 cap number for 2010. They do replace him with a capable player in Udonis Haslem. Matt Harpring will most likely not play this year so his salary is wasted but Damien Wilkins wasn't going to play either so talent wise this works out fine for OKC. Most likely they will be involved for Utah to save significant money because the only other team with cap room left is the Blazers. Alternatively Utah could find a team with a large trade exception that was willing to take on salary.

Miami would get a real post presence that they have been desperately missing since Shaq was traded. They take the largest salary hit of more than 5 million (10 million with the luxury tax). This might be too much for Miami to consider the deal. However if it would cause Dwayne Wade to sign and extension then it would definitely be worth it. Boozer, Wade and the lure of South Beach could cause free agents to flock to Miami. Even if Wade re-signed and Boozer took a deal starting at 12 million, they would have only 40 million committed in 2010 (although they would have only 4 players under contract). The downside of this trade for Miami is that Boozer is not a center and with Michael Beasley at the 3 the Heat would be very weak defensively. Miami also could send a combination of players with small salaries back to OKC in order to lessen their financial burden although it would make the trade less attractive for OKC.

Clarification

This trade ended up quite a bit different than it looked last night. Here is how it ended up: Dallas got Marion, Kris Humphries, Nathan Jawai, Greg Buckner and cash (from Toronto). Toronto got Devean George and Antoine Wright. Memphis got Jerry Stackhouse, a 2015 second round pick (from Toronto) and cash (from Dallas). Finally Orlando got a 7 million trade exception. Pretty complicated for something that started with nothing but the rights to sign Shawn Marion to a contract.

I covered the Dallas angle last night. All of the smaller pieces have changed since then and make the picture much clearer as to why Memphis and Toronto were interested in doing this deal. Toronto gets to keep their mid level exception by having Orlando agree to a sign and trade instead of just signing Turkoglu from them. Memphis gains 4 million in 2010 cap money by moving Buckner. For Dallas, Humphries and Jawai will fill the backup PF role that Brandon Bass is leaving while Wright was pretty redundant with Josh Howard and Jason Terry playing SG. For Toronto he might start and should at least play significant minutes. A similar deal was then worked with Memphis who received Stackhouse and sent Greg Buckner packing to Dallas. Buckner has only 1 million guaranteed on his contract so Dallas will buy him out. The interesting thing is that Humphries and Jawai have a couple of years left on their contracts while Wright and George both expire this year. So Dallas took on 5 million (Jawai has a team option that could make this smaller) in 2010 in order to pay Shawn Marion 8 million dollars a year for 5 years. It is really nice for Dallas to have an owner that is willing to take on money to bring in important piece like Marion back. Here is how they end up:

Jason Kidd/Juan Jose Barea

Josh Howard/Jason Terry/Quinton Ross

Shawn Marion/Matt Carroll/Shawne Williams

Dirk Nowitzki/Kris Humphries/Nathan Jawai/Ryan Hollins

Marcin Gortat/Erick Dampier

and Toronto (They still have the midlevel):

Jose Calderon/Roko Leni Ukic/Marcus Banks

Antoine Wright/Demar DeRozan/Quincy Douby

Hedo Turkoglu/Devean George

Chris Bosh/Pops Mensa Bonsu/Reggie Evans

Andrea Bargnani

They don't have a center. I don't know who actually fills this spot but the starting lineup is probably set.

ESPN

Dallas Adds Another Piece

Although the details of this trade have not been released it sounds like it is going to go through. Essentially Memphis/OKC and Toronto play facilitator to Marion getting a larger contract. There could be some incentive for those teams from Dallas but we don't know that quite yet. At the very least Dallas will be sending 2 million to cover Jerry Stackhouse's buyout. He still is an interesting trade piece and could potentially get moved again. He has to be bought out by August 10th in order for his contract to not be guaranteed fully (7 million).

Dallas adds a major piece without giving up much of anything. Stackhouse's contract does have some value but cashing it in for a guy like Marion makes a lot of sense. The Mavs now can trot out a lineup as follows:

Jason Kidd/Juan Jose Barea

Josh Howard/Jason Terry/Antoine Wright/Quinton Ross

Shawn Marion/Matt Carroll/Shawne Williams

Dirk Nowitzki/Ryan Hollins

Marcin Gortat/Erick Dampier

Dallas did win 50 games last year with Josh Howard missing 30 games and being far below 100% for the majority of the season. Since Stackhouse didn't really play last year it is as if Marion was just a simple free agent signing. Adding Marion, Gortat and potentially quite a bit more from Howard to the team that the Mavs had last year really improves their flexibility and athleticism. Marion will make further Josh Howard injuries less impactful but more importantly will provide lock down defense and allow the Mavs to have 5 excellent rebounders on the court. Also the Mavs will have the flexibility to put a Kidd/Terry/Howard/Marion/Nowitzki lineup that would be very difficult to guard. If the opposing team does not have a center that can consistently beat Nowitzki down low then that might be the lineup of choice. Jason Kidd has always been an incredible fast break player but with Nowitzki and Dampier playing big minutes last year he was not able to show those talents. The addition of Marion and to a lesser extent Gortat could solve that problem.

A couple of downsides are that Marion and Howard are slightly redundant and Marion does not make the team younger. Also Marion has not been able to shake the belief that he should be the best player on a team. Maybe at 32 he can accept his role of very skilled second (or third banana). Even still this trade/signing keeps Dallas near the top of the Western Conference. On top of that they have team options for 2010 on Dampier and Howard who could be moved as expiring contracts giving the Mavs in upwards of 25 million in expiring contracts. With an owner like Mark Cuban these are definitely assets that can be put to use.

Toronto Star

Dallas Morning News

Can't we just switch nicknames?

A little outside the box here but it could work...

Jazz trade Carlos Boozer (1 yr 12.5 million) to the Hornets for David West (3 yrs 25 mil) and Rasual Butler (1 yr 3.9 mil)

The number one priority of the offseason for the Hornets is to shed some salary. With a payroll sitting around 80 million (90 after luxury tax) that is understandable. They can not compete with the likes of the Spurs, Lakers or even Nuggets and either need to add even more salary or start to blow it up. Trading for Boozer could potentially accomplish both of these options in one fell swoop. Detroit did something similar last year when trading for Iverson. They get to cut about a million off of this year's payroll through the trade. That is fine but the really nice thing would be potentially shedding the 16 million left on West's contract. If everything would work out well with Boozer they could re-sign him or have the option of using him in a sign and trade. Since he is arguably a more dynamic player than West they would be adding talent too. If the Jazz could convince Portland to take James Posey (and the three years left on his deal) off of their hands for a second round pick they would be in a much better financial position.

The Jazz would gain stability in 2010 and beyond with West. He has a very reasonable contract going forward that actually decreases in the money owed to him each year. West has been a more consistent, if not as talented, player as Boozer. Most of this is due to the fact that has not had the injury problems that have plagued Boozer throughout his career. The Jazz also would add a very capable player in Rasual Butler and could use his shooting touch and athleticism off of their bench. With West in the fold the Jazz could let Paul Millsap go or use him in a sign and trade next year (assuming he is forced to take his restricted tender). Either way West would bring stability to the Jazz' financial situation and to the court. If they could trade Kyle Korver for Jerry Stackhouse and buy him out they would also be in a better financial position this year than they would have been without the trade.

The Matrix to Cleveland?

Toronto's signing of Hedo Turkoglu requires them to either renounce the rights to Shawn Marion, Carlos Delfino and Anthony Parker. The other option is to do a sign and trade with one or all of them. Here is one thing they could do:

The Raptors sign and trade Shawn Marion (??? 3 yrs 30 mil) to the Cavaliers for Anderson Varejao (??? 4 yrs 26 mil) and Daniel Gibson (4 yrs, 17 mil)

For Toronto this trade would add the defensive, rebounding presence that they had been missing. Varejao isn't really a center but he can provide some of the toughness that the Raptors have been missing. Daniel Gibson slots in as a shooter off the bench and as some insurance in case Demar DeRozan is not ready to play big minutes. Because Jose Calderon is a bigger point guard, playing Gibson at the 2 won't hurt the Raptors in the same way it hurt the Cavaliers. Also having Turkoglu handling the ball could allow them to play Gibson more at the 1. The downside to this deal for Toronto is that they are eating up cap space on role players. As long as Bosh stays that isn't a big deal but if he leaves next summer, they would be regretting this trade. Conversely if they let Marion, Delfino and Parker go for nothing the team will have serious holes and that might make Bosh go as well. With or without the trade if the Raptors don't feel that they can re-sign Bosh then they have to move him before the trade deadline.

In a very roundabout way the way free agency has gone so far (Zach Randolph to Memphis, Artest to the Lakers, Turkoglu to the Raptors and Ariza to the Rockets) could work out extremely well for the Cavaliers. Marion would fit in really well next to LeBron providing great defense, versatility, rebounding, athleticism and acceptable shooting. It would also allow LeBron to freely interchange between the 3 and 4 without changing personel. The great thing for the Cavaliers is that this trade would allow them to add talent while keeping the mid level exception. With Marion on board adding another free agent like Grant Hill, Linas Kleiza, Anthony Parker etc would put this team in a place to be favored for a championship again. Considering the bleak outlook at the begining of the offseason that would be a great accomplishment. At the very least, with this trade, they have solved the issues that they had with the Magic in the playoffs.

A Clippers move that makes sense!

Continuing the trend of salary related moves so far this offseason the Clippers traded Zach Randolph (2 yr 33 million) to the Grizzlies for Quentin Richardson (1 yr 9 million). I wouldn't have posted this trade as a potential option because I didn't think the Clippers would have been able to get any expiring contract much less a contract that would also save them 7 million this year. It really is an unbelievable deal money wise that accomplishes a number of things for the Clippers.

1. Blake Griffin gets room to start and grow with Randolph out of the picture.
2. The Clippers now enough room in 2010 to sign a max contract. At this point they have to be the most talented team with that kind of room. Having Baron Davis, Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman and Blake Griffin is the start of a really good team. They also reside in a major market, have amazing weather and give a potential free agent the added bonus of wresting LA away from Kobe and the Lakers. I don't know what more you could expect a team to offer.
3. It give them the option to grab a free agent this year or take on salary from another team. One option that makes sense here is getting Trevor Ariza by offering slightly more than the mid-level. They could also deal Ricky Davis (1 yr 2.5 mil) and Mardy Collins (1 yr 1.8 mil) for James Posey (3 yrs 19.5 mil) and Rasual Butler (1 yr 3.9 mil). It would really upgrade the Clippers bench and allow New Orleans to get within shouting distance of being under the luxury tax.
4. They now have the option of bring back one of the great basketball comedy teams by signing Darius Miles and reuniting him with Richardson. Who doesn't still do the head bump that they came up with? I know I do.

That said it does make some sense basketball wise for the Grizzlies to take on Randolph's contract. Randolph was actually a pretty productive player last year and will fill a huge hole the Grizzlies had at PF. His scoring and rebounding ability could fit in well with Hasheem Thabeet's defensive oriented game. It will take up most of their cap room for 2010 but I doubt that a quality free agent would come to Memphis in the first place. It is amazing that Richardson's contract was traded instead of Marko Jaric's which has one more year on it. Of course you can't blame the Grizzlies for wanting more of Adriana Lima around.

The real issue is that this seems to be an expensive solution for a hole that they could have filled in other cheaper, younger ways. Signing Paul Millsap to a 10 million a year contract would have been cheaper over the next two years than trading for Randolph. David Lee, Drew Gooden and Brandon Bass would also have worked as cheaper alternatives. It is nice to see that the Grizzlies are willing to spend some money however who they chose to spend it on seems odd. Remember that Randolph has been dumped by his last 3 teams for essentially nothing each time.

ESPN's take