Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Trade Talk

Since the Josh Smith offer sheet was matched by the Atlanta Hawks, it seems that most of the talk surrounding the Grizzlies making another acquisition this offseason has centered on potential trades. Plenty of names have been bandied about on the Grizzlies Fan Boards and on websites/news papers around the country. Let's take a look at who has already been mentioned and find a few more that might prove to be interesting.

Zach Randolph for Darko Milicic/??? - Ron Tillery mentioned him in a brief, one-line comment after the Hawks matched the offer sheet. It caused quite a stir among Grizzlies and Knicks fans when they saw it, but now that comment has been removed from the online piece where it originally appeared (which is why I don't see the point in linking to it).

My thoughts on Z-Bo are quite simple. He's a talented PF and he's a knucklehead. Yes, he puts up good stats, but he doesn't play well in a team concept, plays no defense and is a certifiable black hole on offense. He's a cancer -- and I don't throw that term around loosely. On top of all that, he has the exact same contract that Pau Gasol has, which the organization and its fanbase were so eager to get rid of. He's a glorified role player with a max-level contract, which means that the Grizzlies shouldn't consider him for any reason.

Matt Harpring/Jarron Collins for Darko Milicic - This one popped up in the Salt Lake Tribune column that we linked to earlier in the week, as Steve Luhm answered a reader's question about Darko's ability to fit in with the Jazz. This isn't even a real rumor, as Luhm even labels it a "hypothetical trade" in the column, but it is interesting. On the one hand, Harpring does give the Grizzlies that veteran backup SF that they desperately need behind Rudy Gay. On the other, Jarron Collins is known as "Collins the Lesser" among my circle of NBA friends. That's right, he's not even as good as his brother, Jason, who we fans had the pleasure of seeing last year. Not to mention that this would thrust Marc Gasol directly into the starting lineup when we don't have a clue as to how well he's going to adjust to the NBA. I don't have a problem with taking a calculated risk (Rudy for Shane, Mayo for Love, Miller for Gooden), but this seems to be a needless chance to take just to acquire a SF who will probably only be needed for 10-13 mpg this year. I think that Darko has more value than this trade.

Keith Bogans/Draft Pick for Javaris Crittenton - I've had a lot of back and forth with an Orlando Magic fan about this trade rumor. I think that it could be a win-win for both teams, but it all hinges on the draft pick. I don't think that a 2nd rounder is enough for Memphis to do the deal, but a protected 1st rounder probably would. I like Keith Bogans game a lot. He's a solid defender who can play the SG and SF positions off the bench. He's only 28, which means that he could still fit into the Three Year Plan if they re-sign him beyond the current deal. I'd much rather send them Kyle Lowry (PG only) in this deal than JCritt (combo guard capable), but getting another 1st rounder and thinning out the "young guard" group would probably prove to be worthwhile.

Al Harrington/Marco Belinelli for Antoine Walker/Hakim Warrick/Kyle Lowry - A Warriors fan who was high on Hak/Lowry sent this one to me the other day. Ummm....where do I sign? I'm not a huge fan of Harrington's SF game at the PF spot, but he has the same price tag as Walker for this year and twice the production. Belinelli (Summer League All-Star!) would be solid as a backup SG and might actually get some playing time in Memphis -- something he hasn't gotten much of in Oakland. They are both in the last year of their current contracts, so if they don't work out, then you don't have to keep them. Honestly, this deal feels like something you should have to wear a ski mask to pull off.

Reggie Evans/Willie Green for Hakim Warrick/Javaris Crittenton/Greg Buckner - The Grizzlies get a proven frontcourt presence in Evans, while the Sixers get some instant offense off the bench behind Elton Brand in Hak. Willie Green is a solid guard off the bench who started for Philly much of last year. Critt and Buckner would be quality depth for a team that has dreams of winning the Eastern Conference next year. Evans (28) and Green (27) are both young enough to qualify for the Three Year Plan, too.

Those are the ones that I'm aware of at the moment, although I'm hearing rumblings of Andrei Kirilenko being available, too. AK-47 is a tremendous talent and was always better as a PF than the SF role he has assumed since the arrival of Boozer/Okur. But, he also has the same max contract that Gasol and Randolph have, which means that it would be counter-productive to trade for him at this juncture. That's really too bad, since the combination of him with Darko/Marc in the frontcourt backing up Conley/Mayo/Lowry in the backcourt would display a fearsome level of defense. C'est la vie.

Be sure to either email us any rumors that you've heard of recently or just leave them in the comments.

BallHype: hype it up!

4 comments:

Chip Crain said...

I don't care who the Grizzlies trade as long as Marco Jaric is here all season!

I think losing Miller and not getting to see Adriana Lima would just be too great a punishment.

Huckleberry said...

This is not a rumor, but I know Sacramento needs another PG and has a glut of big men. How about Hakim Warrick and Javaris Crittenton for Spencer Hawes and Shelden Williams.

Shelden Williams hasn’t lived up to his #5 overall pick, but I believe he can be a solid defensive player and rebounder which is something the Grizz have never had in a PF. He is also only 25 years old and fits into the nucleus of the team.

Spencer Hawes was hurt most of his rookie year but at 20 years old he still has a long career ahead of him. He has a very good offensive game and reminds me of a young Brad Miller.

Bottom line is that I feel Sacramento would be an ideal trading partner. They need more guards and have too many big men. The Grizz have the opposite issue. There are players on both of these teams that could mutually help the other next season.

zack said...

RE sacto kings

IMO, they are set at PG...

they just spend a ton of money, for better or worse, on Beno the great....then signed Summer League standout Bobby Brown (without Whitney) to a 2 year guaranteed contract....

I doubt they would want to have 3 PG's needing time and weaken another position to do it....

Anonymous said...

The Grizzlies should definitely pass on that Zach Randolph trade. The Darko trade makes excellent sense for the Jazz but none for the Grizzlies so no deal again. I don't think the Sixers trade makes sense for either team. Phily already have a promising young point in Lou Williams, and they need Reggie's toughness and experience in the paint. I don't think it brings back enough quality for Crittenton either, especially considering both Green and Evans have three more years on their deals totaling around $9mil that last season.

The other two are interesting trades:

The GSW-MEM one. The Grizzlies shouldn't make that trade. Al Harrington has an extra year on his contract which isn't worth eating. Also, Walker is a more valuable trade asset than most expiring deals because of his team option (team option or non-guaranteed?). Antoine's contract is going to have great trade value on draft day next year because he has that team option, so he can be traded when other contracts that are about to expire that summer cannot. That will be very valuable to a team with a bloated payroll. Belinelli is interesting but he's a long way from being a sure thing, his potential isn't enough to persuade me to take on Harrington's deal regardless of the rest.

If they did make it I wouldn't mind. I like watching Al Harrington play. But it isn't worth it.

The Orlando trade is fantastic for the Magic and ... hmm ... functional I suppose for the Grizzlies.

On a personal level I'd love to see Crittenton play next to Dwight Howard again. Crittenton would also explode under SVG's offense and with the talented veterans around him. It would be fantastic for his career. I think he'd win that starting spot from Nelson either during this coming season or at the start of the year after that.

As for the Grizzlies, you're giving up one heck of a talented player for a solid role player. That's not great business. The draft pick is grand but it will likely be in the mid 20's of the first round. Crittenton was a steal where he was picked in the late teens, can you really expect to get a better prospect than Critt? I don't think so. Maybe you get lucky, but it's unlikely you get a better prospect than Javaris.

As for Bogans, good defensive player, smart, plays hard every night, very good perimeter shooter. He was Orlando's most consistent player off the bench in the post season and their 5th best player. He's useful and he'll fill in those holes behind OJ and Rudy. I'd like to see those guys have a defensive minded wing next to them too, to teach them the way. Lot of good things there.

The Magic trade is workable but I'm not wild about it. It's an absolute home run for the Magic, huge gains for them .... but only decent for the Grizzlies.