Trade Idea: PHX-UTA-NOH-CHI

by rsavaj on Jun 18, 2009 2:53 PM MDT

This is my attempt at a 4 way trade between PHX, UTA, NOH and CHI. I think it makes sense for everyone involved...what do you guys think?

Phoenix Out: Shaquille O'Neal(expiring), Jason Richardson(2 years)
Phoenix In: Luol Deng(5 years), Tyson Chandler(2 years), Andrei Kirelenko(2 years)

Chicago Out: Luol Deng(5 years), Tim Thomas(expiring), Jerome James(super expiring, 80% covered by insurance)
Chicago In: Shaquille O'Neal(expiring)

New Orleans Out: Tyson Chandler(2 years)
New Orleans In: Jerome James(expiring), Tim Thomas(expiring)

Utah Out: Andrei Kirelenko
Utah In: Jason Richardson

Reasoning for all four teams after the jump....

Why for Phoenix?: They sell high on Shaq and pick up a young player they covet in Luol Deng, who hopefully with the help of Phoenix's voodoo training staff can revive his career. Tyson Chandler is the center that they've long been looking to pair with Amare; his defense and rebounding would be ideal fits in the SSOL system. Leandro Barbosa's play has made Jason Richardson expendable, and for a team that drastically needs another defender, Andrei Kirelenko seems like a perfect fit and would replace a lot of what they used to have in Shawn Marion.

Why not for Phoenix?: Chandler, Deng and AK =a lot of money to take in for three underachieving players. In Chandler/Deng's cases, their injuries might derail their careers, and this move completely limits any financial flexibility Phoenix could look forward to with Shaq/Nash/ coming off the books. For a money conscious franchise with a stingy owner, this trade almost seems like an impossibility.

Final Lineup:
Nash/Dragic
AK/Barbosa
Hill/Deng/Tucker
Amare/Dudley
Chandler/Amundson/Lopez

Why for Chicago?: Luol Deng has not lived up to his contract, and acquiring Shaq works out for them in a variety of ways. It immediately boosts their lineup to make them contenders in the East; it gives them a big name to boost season ticket sales; finally, if it doesn't work out, they can just let Shaq expire and gain a lot of cap space for 2010 by dumping Deng's contract. Concerns about Shaq potentially throwing a wrench into the offense are overblown and unfounded; under Alvin Gentry's "Seven Seconds or Shaq" system, the Suns averaged 118 ppg over the final 31 games of the season.

Why not for Chicago?: Even though Deng has been unproductive and injured, he is still young, and he can still turn things around. Trading a young player with potential for an aging Shaq may be hard to swallow.

Final Lineup:
Rose/Hinrich/Hunter
Gordon/Roberson
Salmons/?
Noah/Tyrus Thomas
Shaq/Brad Miller/Aaron Gray

Why for New Orleans?: Simple. They tried to trade Chandler for expirings last season, and with management in cost-cutting mode, there's no indication that they wouldn't welcome expirings for Chandler again. With Jerome James's contract being 80% covered by insurance, this trade offers them massive financial relief.

Why not for New Orleans?: Again, it's pretty simple. If they want to contend in the West, keeping Tyson Chandler with Chris Paul seems crucial. However, judging by their actions last season, their ownership seems to place dollars over wins.

Final Lineup:
Paul/Daniels
Butler/Posey/Brown/Peterson
Peja/Wright
West/Thomas/Bowen
Armstrong/Ely/James

Why for Utah?: AK has worn out his welcome in Utah. He hasn't lived up to his contract, and Jason Richardson brings desperately needed firepower to their lineup. He also has a shorter, cheaper contract, and provides offensive insurance just in case Korver and Boozer don't come back.

Why not for Utah?: Would Jason Richardson be a good fit in Jerry Sloan's system? Maybe not, so I could definitely understand why Utah fans would hesitate to do this trade.

Final Lineup if Korver doesn't come back:
Williams/Price/Knight
Brewer/Almond
Richardson/Harpring/Miles
Boozer/Milsap
Okur/Koufos/Collins/Fesenko

Some footage of the players Phoenix would be receiving:

Luol Deng

Andrei Kirelenko

Tyson Chandler

Poll

Which team says no first?

Phoenix

10 votes

Chicago

26 votes

Utah

32 votes

New Orleans

14 votes

Neither, fair for all

27 votes

109 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

Great trade

Ambitious and well thought out and is definitely fitting for all parties involved.
And another bonus….it takes J-Rich and Shaq off the books in one swing and for great value I think

Now just have to slip this a link to this in Kerr’s email inbox….

by Batmanthesunsfan on Jun 18, 2009 3:08 PM MDT reply actions

makes no sense for Chicago

Chicago – why would they want Shaq with Miller and Noah already there along with another backup center in Aaron Gray?
they have a good young team….. adding another young piece makes more sense….

Whats up doc?

by RottPhiler on Jun 18, 2009 3:42 PM MDT reply actions

how?

wouldnt veteran leadership make more sense?

by Funky Flapsack on Jun 18, 2009 3:53 PM MDT up reply actions

because it is Rose's team....

you don’t want somebody like Shaq coming in and stifling Rose and his leadership……..

my main argument though is that with Shaq they have 4 Centers……. which is a bit much don’t you think at Center?

In relation to your point – maybe a laidback veteran like Ray Allen or Chauncey makes sense, because they (in my humble opinion) will understand their role and let Rose lead……
Shaq has too much of a personality/ego (and I mean that in the best way) to let it be Rose’s team…. we all saw how the The Best Big Man Mentoring project went :-)

Whats up doc?

by RottPhiler on Jun 19, 2009 3:57 PM MDT up reply actions

Wow...that's ambitious

Blogging Suns Basketball

by Seth Pollack on Jun 18, 2009 7:28 PM MDT reply actions

AK is no SG, he's a forward (like Marion)

He’s taking minutes from Amare, Deng and Hill, not Barbosa. I’m not sure that there will be room for him on the roster.

This also means that there will be no backup SG and that the backcourt defense will be even worse than it already is.

by ninjasocks on Jun 18, 2009 8:25 PM MDT reply actions

i'm afraid i don't follow your logic

we lose two bad defenders and add two good defenders…how does our defense get worse?

and hill can play the two if need be…in our system positions are fluid

Steve Nash, the league's MVP, is a longhaired Canadian who spoke out against the war in Iraq and reads The Communist Manifesto. Quentin Richardson declared after a game-winning shot that it "was like Hamlet. It was a suspense thriller, and I killed them at the end." Amare Stoudemire, when asked to comment on a 22-point third quarter against the Kings, said, "I've got a tendency to jump over some guys' heads and throw it down."

by rsavaj on Jun 18, 2009 11:37 PM MDT up reply actions

Dude, if you think Jerry Sloan would put up with J-Rich, you are out of your mind. J Rich is a one dimensional punk, with a zero basketball IQ, WHO CANNOT PLAY DEFENSE and is a poor citizen to boot. Drove drunk with unrestrained kid in the car. Think the Utah fan base would like that?

It’s fun to speculate and all but this thing will never happen.

I would like the New Orleans deal a lot, but Tyson Chandler may never be healthy again. On paper it looks good, but to be honest, I think Chandler’s best days are behind him and his NBA career limited.

One thing I am sure of is that Kerr isn’t going to give away Shaq or Amare. He knows the fans/season ticket holders will not put up with anymore of this trading away draft picks and salary cap/luxury tax conscious dealing. I don’t care if Sarver is cheap or whatever, because the deal is this: if they cash it in for the next 4-5 years in rebuilding mode, he’s never going to make any money and he will be shamed out of town. Even worse, he’d be considered a loser. The guy’s ego is way too big for that. He has to win, somehow.

by RD74 on Jun 18, 2009 10:30 PM MDT reply actions

"Why not for Utah?: Would Jason Richardson be a good fit in Jerry Sloan's system?"

by rsavaj on Jun 18, 2009 11:37 PM MDT up reply actions

No, bad for system, coach, franchise.

In fact I’d be very surprised if we could get anything serviceable for Richardson. I’d rather have Raja Bell than Richardson. I could name about 15 other SG’s I’d rather have than Richardson.

At the time I liked the trade, but I hadn’t seen Rich play a whole lot, just highlights on ESPN which made him look like Kobe on certain nights. Dudley will turn out to be the gem of that trade.

by RD74 on Jun 19, 2009 9:22 AM MDT up reply actions

Nice stuff.

I wish that this could happen but I just dont see it going down. That said, however, I do think that all of these pieces are “expendable” for their respective teams so it could happen!

Go read a book!

by N8lol on Jun 19, 2009 8:57 AM MDT reply actions

Good for everyone but us

I just dont think AK47 would be a good fit for us. Actually, I know Kerr said that we have openings at all possitions and would draft whoever is available, but I dont think thats the case at all. Kerr is smart and knows how to keep plans under wraps. But when you think about it, we need either a small (PG) or a big ©. We’re chock full o’ mids. We have so many players that are SG/SF and SF/PF. I think the biggest thing we need is another PG. Trade Shaq and JRich for a new center, and draft a PG. I wasnt a fan of Dragic until he started to find himself towards the end of the season, and I liked what I saw. So drafting a new PG will, as Kerr said, create friendly competition. These dudes will battle for the chance to be the backup behind Nash. We drafted a big in Lopez already; keep working on him if you’re not trading him. I dont want any draft or trade that will give us more forwards and guards or will move any player besides Shaq, Richardson, Barnes.

by KnowGood on Jun 19, 2009 10:46 AM MDT reply actions