roster moves?

[rippadonn]

That's nowhere even close to being fair. New Orleans' current back-up is better than Felton is, and Diaw isn't even an expiring contract for them. Think of all the reasons you'd like to get rid of Diaw, and that's the same list of reasons nobody would trade for him. We're going to have to move some serious money, and give them some talent to make the deal worth it, to get CP3. Its not impossible, but "Ray and Diaw" aren't going to get it done.

Haven't your people been talking about how much CP is costing the team and how Collision-sp (the current backup)seems to be a good replacement? Ray would give them a nice one two punch and save the Hornets a lot of money.

Look at Diaws games last year. Clearly there is nothing wrong with the man. His problem is purely motivational. He was dropping 32 on teams last year and was dominant at times. He also speaks French and would probably enjoy the culture in Louisiana.

If the backup is as good as they're saying I don't see it as such a bad trade. Raymond and Boris are two solid players.

[BF91]

CP is costing the team a lot of money, and he'd cost us just as much. Your trade proposal offers little in terms of equal money (correct me if I'm wrong) getting exchanged between the two teams. Simply put, we have to clear money to make room for Paul and Felton/Diaw's contracts aren't enough to do it.

And yes, Collison is a good replacement for CP3, so why trade for a starting PG? Chances are Felton would make more money than Collison or any of the other PG's on the market would. Why pay that much money for Felton when you could get a Steve Blake-type backup for much cheaper? Sure Blake isn't as good as Felton is, but he'd be their back-up point guard. You don't need a starting-caliber player there, especially if you're trying to blow up the team.

And as much as Diaw could help that team, he could just as easily hurt them. This is a "what have you done for me lately" kind of sport, and lately Diaw hasn't done much. There's the potential that he reverts back to what he was doing in '08-'09, and there's also the very real possibility that he continues what he did this year.

What you're saying is that we should trade a pair of, at best, roughly league-average players, one of which is not a position of need for the Hornets, for arguably the best PG in the NBA. Neither of them are going to offer salary relief after the season like one of Chandler or Mohammed would, and to trade Felton he'd have to be locked into a contract. It just doesn't match up. It doesn't make sense for the Hornets because of the players involved, and it doesn't make sense for the Bobcats because it would likely push us over the luxury tax.

Not gonna happen. I'm not saying a trade for CP3 won't happen, but it won't be for those two. It doesn't make sense for either team. One thing you're going to have to consider is the financials involved.

[BF91]

Its not a real rumor, but here's a possible deal floating around the internet that I've seen:

Philly Gets

Tyson Chandler

Raymond Felton (maybe)

Charlotte Gets

Elton Brand

#2 Pick in 2010 Draft

Obviously we're taking on a bad contract with Elton Brand, but he's a clear upgrade over Boris Diaw, our incumbent starter at PF. If we bring back Thomas, then we have an insurance policy for if/when Brand gets hurt. His contract does stink something horrible, but it ends after the '12-'13 season, same as most of our contracts. It limits what we can do over the next few years, but opens up the payroll that much more when we'll have our first real shot at big-name free agent. What we can look forward to, is that Brand played in 76 games last year, showing that maybe he's almost back from injuries. Its also believed that the Princeton-style offense run in Philly limited his production when he was on the court, so a change of scenery would do him well. In general, players coming to the Bobcats the past few years have seen their production increase.

Of course, the real prize here is the #2 overall pick. With it, we get to draft whichever one of John Wall/Evan Turner is still on the board, or we can move back to pick one of the several forwards/centers expected to go in the top-10. Its hard to mess up a pick that high in the draft, because if all else fails you stay where you are and get a potential franchise player. If I were the Bobcats, I'd seriously explore moving back because a young big man is one of the things we're going to need to build around.

Philly would get what they've been looking for: a chance to get out of Brand's contract. While this particular scenario is just speculation, the 76'ers have been looking at dealing the #2 pick if they can dump Brand's contract. Chandler offers them $12MM off the books for next offseason, when they could add a solid player via free agency since they won't be able to this year. I've seen Felton in some scenarios and not others, I think that would just come down to if Doug Collins likes Felton or not.

Obviously, this is something I would strongly consider doing if I were the Bobcats. Despite the downsides to Brand, when he is on the floor he is a legitimate post presence, something the Bobcats need. He's also looking like he may be putting some of the injuries behind him, and we can always find a decent back-up for him. The #2 pick in the draft is what I'm really after, and we can really grab a good young piece to build around. We can go with (likely) Evan Turner there, or we can drop back a few picks to get a young big man.

At the minimum, its an interesting scenario to look at. Both sides are taking a risk, but both could end up with a big upgrade.

[pantherfan49]

You have to sign Felton first to trade him and his rumored contract demands, if matched by the Bobs, would assure that he is almost untradeable.

If you wanted to possibly swing a real deal with NO, you could offer DJ, Nazr, and a future 1st round pick for Paul. You would then need to bring in a backup PG.

[pantherfan49]

Its hard to mess up a pick that high in the draft, because if all else fails you stay where you are and get a potential franchise player.

Did you see the minutes AMMO played in LA last night?

[mick eye]

You have to sign Felton first to trade him and his rumored contract demands, if matched by the Bobs, would assure that he is almost untradeable.

If you wanted to possibly swing a real deal with NO, you could offer DJ, Nazr, and a future 1st round pick for Paul. You would then need to bring in a backup PG.

:iagree: Money is still not quite right, but would love to see this kind of move.

[pantherfan49]

:iagree: Money is still not quite right, but would love to see this kind of move.

The problem is that the only other expiring the Bobs have to offer is TC and I don't think NO would take him back.

[BF91]

The problem is that the only other expiring the Bobs have to offer is TC and I don't think NO would take him back.

Then we won't do it. Without Tyson Chandler included in any deal for a big-money player, it's not going to get done. That's why Tyson Chandler is the player going back in the Elton Brand/#2 pick deal I spoke of above, we need the money Chandler makes off the books so we can pay Brand.

Speaking of expiring contracts, I'm going to go into full rosterbation mode now. I say we do the Chandler-Brand/#2 pick trade, even if it doesn't include Felton. Gauge Felton's market to see if he's going to get paid like he wants to be. If he is, then trade Nazr Mohammed to Chicago for Kirk Hinrich. Hinrich's production has slipped since becoming a bench player, but a new coach in a new town might be good for him. Chicago would do this because of Nazr's expiring contract, and the difference in his and Hinrich's contract this year would let them sign two max level free agents this offseason.

Next, I say we trade our #2 pick so we can move back in the draft with the condition that they take Diaw off of our hands. If we could get one of the other teams in the top-5 to bite on that there's a strong chance we'd be able to draft DeMarcus Cousins as our center of the future.

Of course we lose Diaw's contract, so we can now bring in another center so we don't have to use Diop as our starter, nor do we have to rely on a rookie to get the job done. Obviously my guy is Brendan Haywood, but if all else fails, a guy like Brad Miller will do. So our line-up for the '10-'11 season would be:

PG: Hinrich - Augustin

SG: Jackson - Flip Murray, he's said he'd like to re-sign here/Henderson

SF: Wallace - Brown

PF: Brand - Thomas/some other back-up in free agency

C: Haywood/Miller - Cousins

I think its a clear upgrade from last year, and it should keep us under the luxury tax. Heh, this started as a simple reply and ended up as my take on the entire offseason.

[pantherfan49]

I'm going to go into full rosterbation mode now. I say we do the Chandler-Brand/#2 pick trade, even if it doesn't include Felton. Gauge Felton's market to see if he's going to get paid like he wants to be. If he is, then trade Nazr Mohammed to Chicago for Kirk Hinrich. Hinrich's production has slipped since becoming a bench player, but a new coach in a new town might be good for him. Chicago would do this because of Nazr's expiring contract, and the difference in his and Hinrich's contract this year would let them sign two max level free agents this offseason.

The Bobs' current roster is good enough to maybe win 45 games the next few two seasons and then quickly drop off as age catches up with their players. So I guess I could get behind pushing the detonator but IMO the most important thing for this franchise is to continue being about the 5th-6th best team in the East and make the playoffs for a few seasons, even if that is "mortgaging" the future.

Your scenario isn't trading an experienced, overpaid team for a younger, cheaper team, it is essentially trading experienced, overpaid players for the same, though I do think your scenario might make for a better team.

The key for the Bobs' future is definitely in making better draft choices (which we don't currently have) and locking up their younger players to reasonable contracts.

[BF91]

The Bobs' current roster is good enough to maybe win 45 games the next few two seasons and then quickly drop off as age catches up with their players. So I guess I could get behind pushing the detonator but IMO the most important thing for this franchise is to continue being about the 5th-6th best team in the East and make the playoffs for a few seasons, even if that is "mortgaging" the future.

Your scenario isn't trading an experienced, overpaid team for a younger, cheaper team, it is essentially trading experienced, overpaid players for the same, though I do think your scenario might make for a better team.

The key for the Bobs' future is definitely in making better draft choices (which we don't currently have) and locking up their younger players to reasonable contracts.

Yeah, I understand that those moves are, for the most part, veteran overpaid players for slightly better veteran overpaid players. The key to the entire offseason in my scenario is getting the #2 pick, which would be the building block for the future we all want. In the meantime, we're getting an upgrade at PF, and at worst moving laterally at PG and C. For contractual purposes, Kirk Hinrich is Boris Diaw, but he'd fill a need with Felton gone.

That #2 pick, or whichever one we trade it back for, is the focal point of my entire scenario. Without it, this entire thing, except maybe Nazr for Hinrich, goes out the window. Its a bit of an overstatement, but that one pick this year is what could give us a cornerstone for our franchise. The players make us better now, the draft choice is what sets us up for the future.

Just my two cents.

[mick eye]

If you are gonna blow the team up this is how i would do it.

DJ/Nzar/Diaw to NO for CP3/Julian Wright.

Diop/future 2nd to Detroit for 2010 2nd/Chris Wilcox

Gerald Wallace/future 1st to Trailblazers for Marcus Camby/1st and 2nd round picks

Depth Chart

PG- CP3, Torrance

SG- Jack, Hendo, White

SF- Derrick Brown, Julian Wright

PF- TT, Wilcox

C- TC, Camby, Ajinca, J. Jordan

Jack, CP3 and Tyson leaders of a young team.

Then a lucky draft like this.

Trailblazers 1st. 22nd pick. Terrico White SG, Ol Miss

Pistons 2nd. 36th pick. Jerome Jordan C, Tulsa

Trailblazers 2nd. 44th pick. Mikhail Torrance G, Alabama

[BF91]

My scenario isn't really blowing the team up though. The players that had the biggest part in getting us to the playoffs, Wallace and Jackson, are still there. Every other starter is around league average, which means they're easily replaced. And my scenario has us under the luxury tax, having both Chandler's and Paul's contract on the books at the same time is a recipe for disaster, albeit I'm not sure where Camby's and Wilcox's contracts stand.

[Kakarot]

I like CP3 coming here, but I dont know about adding Julian Wright. He was pretty good his rookie year, but has regressed tremendously since then. He had a decent jumper his rookie year, but him tinkering with it has made it worse. Plus, theres questions about his commitment to the game. He was once quoted as saying something like basketball is just his job, music is his passion or what he wants to do. something along those lines.

Maybe LB could work with him

[pantherfan49]

Diop is untradeable until the last year of his contract.