Dream Links: Trade Talk Edition

by Only_A_Lad on Jan 10, 2010 4:41 PM CST in Links

I didn't see the game last night, and I have no idea whether or not Xiane, Dave, Lee, or Tom plans on writing a recap, so here's Posting and Toasting's take:

- In that first half, David Lee was positively magical. He seized the opportunity to compete against people his size, and connected on jumpers and drives with either hand. In the second half, Lee disappeared. I'm sure the Rockets stepped up their defense, but it seemed a little like the Knicks were looking elsewhere and Dave wasn't necessarily looking to score after catches. Meanwhile, Luis Scola copied Lee's first half with a scoring barrage of his own in the third and fourth quarters. Lee ended up with 26, 12, and 6, but Scola got his 23 and 7 when it counted most. I wish I'd taped this one, because I don't really know where Lee went.

...

- If any team is built to exploit Mike D'Antoni's short rotation, it's the Rockets. D'Antoni played only 7 men (plus a 3-minute charity stint for Marcus Landry), while Rick Adelman got serious, meaningful contributions from 9 players. The Rocket bench was outstanding. You know what to expect from Carl Landry, but Kyle Lowry was getting buckets and rebounds like he absolutely never should, Chase Budinger made some slick offensive plays, and David Andersen overcame a perilously douchey goatee to drop 10 points.

- No, but seriously, Andersen needs to either shave or accept the nickname I just came up with: David "Date Rape" Andersen.

Really? My personal nickname for him is "catfish-lips."

More links after the jump.

Peter "King of Bullshit" Vecsey has an interesting (probably made-up) story about the Lakers' pursuit of Chris Bosh:

My source believes the Lakers will offer Andrew Bynum for Bosh (if they haven’t done so already) well before the deadline expires. In itself, the one-for-one swap is impossible to make. Bynum’s "base year" essentially allows L.A. to take back but half of his salary this year ($12.5M). Of course, that restriction is lifted when next year’s salary ($13.7M) activates come July 1, at which time a sign-and-trade transaction would be feasible.

This seems pretty unlikely to me (well, even more unlikely than the other unlikely "trade rumors" floating around). I mean, Bosh and Gasol seem to be too similar to play effectively alongside one another. And here is where I tip my hand and make a confession, dear readers: I don't think too highly of Chris Bosh. This isn't based on that silly "Chris Bosh isn't a leader" thing being repeated last year. It's just that he strikes me as a great offensive player, a good rebounder, and a terrible defender. In other words, he's Yao without the defense, and I don't think that adds up to a "superstar" player.

Bynum, on the other hand (and I know this is going to seem silly, given how much time we spent trashing the guy in the playoffs last season - my personal favorite was "He's the league leader in towel waiving!"), seems to be turning into that sort of player. And if he weren't stuck in a system that is limiting his touches (uh oh, did I just say something kinda-sorta critical of Phil Jackson?), he'd be much more monstrous than he is now. He's great around the basket, he's a good rebounder (though his numbers are down this season), and he's a good defender.

So, despite the hype, I think this would probably be a net downgrade for the Lakers. Maybe we should hope it's true.

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In a supreme disappointment to me, it looks like the Pacers probably aren't interested in dealing away Danny Granger this season:

Minnesota Timberwolves general manager David Kahn recently offered forward Al Jefferson (notes) to the Indiana Pacers for forward Danny Granger (notes), but was immediately rebuffed, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

While Pacers president Larry Bird remains determined to build around Granger, sources say Kahn has become increasingly dubious on making Jefferson a cornerstone for the Timberwolves.

So far, Kahn has tried to undo almost everything from the Kevin McHale regime, and trading Jefferson would be another significant step in that direction.

On the other hand, maybe the Rockets could trade for one of the only guys who routinely kicks Yao's ass.

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The Nets are getting rid of everyone not named "Devin Harris" who has been in the league for more than two years.

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Marc Spears has a lot on the Blazers' current personnel issues:

Such is life for Portland’s NBA franchise these days. They cleaned out the Jail Blazers only to become the Ail Blazers. Expected to contend for a berth in the Western Conference this season, they have weathered a staggering run of injuries that rivals anything the league has seen in years. Even the daily injury updates didn’t seem as important compared to another problem that’s simmered all season before boiling over Thursday: McMillan and point guard Andre Miller (notes) have struggled to build a productive relationship.

The two clashed at the end of Thursday’s practice during a heated argument about Miller’s role. Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard said as many as seven people talked in what he described as an open forum. But no one was heard louder than Miller and McMillan, who went back and forth at each other. A source with knowledge of the argument said Miller, who could not be reached for comment, has been frustrated for a while and became upset that McMillan called him out in front of the entire team during the pow-wow after practice.

...a little on Washington's attempts to clean house:

One NBA executive said the Washington Wizards continue to listen to offers for forwards Caron Butler (notes) and Antawn Jamison (notes). The source said that the Cleveland Cavaliers are willing to give up center Zydrunas Ilgauskas (notes), but Washington doesn’t appear interested in that deal. If the Wizards eventually have the opportunity to void Gilbert Arenas’(notes) $111 million contract and Butler and/or Jamison are moved for expiring deals, the Wizards could start from scratch with plenty of cap room in the heralded 2010 free-agent market.

...a tad from Daryl Morey:

The Houston Rockets have continued to be patient with their attempts to trade Tracy McGrady (notes). "It’s probably something that might take to the deadline," Rockets GM Daryl Morey said. "That’s just how the league works. Teams don’t want to move until they are almost forced to move. But I think there are enough teams that are interested. We’re hoping that something happens to help him out and help us out." Morey said he hopes to acquire an "elite level" player for McGrady.

...and a sentence or two on the next CBA:

Two NBA general managers predict that commissioner David Stern will push for a hard salary cap once the Collective Bargaining Agreement re-opens in the summer of 2011. The league wants to better help teams save money while leveling the playing field league-wide. One of the GMs said such a hard cap would be gradually implemented. "I don’t know where it goes, but the players have to realize that teams are losing too much money," one GM said.

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I mentioned two days ago that Joey Dorsey continues to tear up the D-League, and his performance at the Showcase in Boise warranted a place in the showcase's honorary "first team." Joey is the only player on assignment (that is, a player currently on an NBA roster) on the first team, and one of only two among all the honored players. Good for him.

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Speaking of the D-League, Art Garcia has some interesting ideas on how to improve it. Personally, I think this is probably the biggest one:

Currently, the only D-League players tied to specific NBA clubs are those on assignment. Joey Dorsey is a member of the Rockets who plays for the Vipers. But the rest of the Vipers are free agents and can be called up by any NBA team.

For NBA teams that have made the financial commitment to run D-League clubs, one reward could be holding rights to additional players on those rosters besides those who are assigned. For example: if the Suns want to call up one of the Vipers, maybe the Rockets would have the ability to match.

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More on the D-League: BPro looks into NBADL-to-NBA translations.

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Despite the three-game skid last week, the Rockets are listed 7th in the B-Ref Blog rankings, still #1 in schedule strength.

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Last, here's Chase Budinger stealing the ball, beating everyone down the court, and sending it home. That boy's got some skills, I tell ya what.

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Comments

Catfish lips is so right. hahaha

by dacodeman on Jan 10, 2010 4:58 PM CST reply actions

David "Date Rape" Anderson

Love it

Get off your knees Greg, you're blowin' the game.

by kriess on Jan 10, 2010 4:58 PM CST reply actions

D-league

I’ve wondered what the point of the Rocket’s D-league team is lately. They sure don’t seem to use it the way an MLB franchise uses their minor league teams.

by ReverendRocket on Jan 10, 2010 6:41 PM CST via mobile reply actions

because they can't

you only get so many assignments to the d-league (in baseball, each player has a set number of options, rather than it being set by team). Beyond that, they don’t own the rights to anyone in RGV besides Dorsey, and he doesn’t fulfill any of their needs right now. So the only way they can call anyone up is by offering them a contract, and that counts double against the luxury tax.

Basically, the can’t use the Vipers like the Astros use the RR Express because the NBADL simply doesn’t work like that. Not yet, anyways, though I think it’s highly doubtful the league ever develops anything that looks a lot like MLB’s minor leagues.

The Dream Shake

by Only_A_Lad on Jan 10, 2010 7:34 PM CST up reply actions

T-Mac

A few weeks ago, i didn’t think a trade would happen for T-Mac since it would be difficult . Now though, i think there will be a trade for him considering alot of teams want to make changes and the upcoming free agency. I do hope the Rockets get an ‘elite’ player(s) for him.

by inquisitiveman on Jan 10, 2010 10:06 PM CST reply actions

Bosh,Bynum,etc

Kinda agree w/Bosh. He’s a complementary player who wants first player pay and status. Don’t get me wrong,I’d love to see him in a Rockets uni,but wouldn’t expect him to carry team.

Re Bynum. Kurt over on ForumBlueandGold-who has started getting access to the team-said that it was discussed at some level in Lakers organization,FWIW.
I see three possibilities on source for Vecsey:
1)It’s from Raptors trying to stake out what they want for Bosh
2)It’s from Bynum trying to put pressure on Lakers
3)It’s another salvo in war between Phil/Jeanie and Jim Buss, who daddy Buss intends to give team to. Bynum is Jim’s big claim to basketball fame and Phil both loves Bosh and dislikes Bynum.

by Tisbee on Jan 10, 2010 10:57 PM CST reply actions

Interestingly (not really),

SS&R patrons seem much less impressed with Bynum than I am. What a strange reversal.

I see three possibilities on source for Vecsey:

In all likelihood, it’s pure nonsense. The rumor mill, appropriately enough, is an industry. Journalists know that “zOMG TRADE RUMOR” attracts a lot more readers than any other story, and requires comparatively little effort. Get someone semi-associated with a team to say they “might” make a trade, and you’ve got a story.

The Dream Shake

by Only_A_Lad on Jan 11, 2010 12:15 AM CST up reply actions

Let's not forget that Vescey hasn't been relevant since... well, ever.

by DribbleHooper on Jan 11, 2010 4:45 PM CST up reply actions

Is Bosh really necessary if we’re gonna give up a piece?

I mean Scola + Landry is pretty solid at the PF position. Sure, no superstar but solid nonetheless. I would really prefer a wing star so we would be back to Yao + T-Mac but actually have supporting pieces.

by VBG on Jan 11, 2010 7:05 AM CST reply actions

sort of depends on the money Scola commands.

If Scola is going to be more than MLE (i.e. Ariza’s current deal), then perhaps we can’t really pick up anyone of substance if we sign Scola. So if we could only play with one of Scola/Bosh, I pick Bosh.

I see the point about the 2-3 position. Can we get Ginobili in free agency? He’s about the only wing stud I can see coming here, unless you really think we have a chance at Joe Johnson and would want to pay him big money for a long time.

by Metalate on Jan 11, 2010 10:40 AM CST up reply actions

Ginobli... now, or 1975?

Manu Ginobli 5 years ago would have been an outstanding pickup. To sign him this summer? We’d be better off signing Tracy McGrady… you’d get the same output.

by grungedave on Jan 11, 2010 12:33 PM CST up reply actions

MJ ain't walking through that door.

If you want to get better on the wing (or anywhere really), who do you look to pick up in free agency? Or are you resigned to a Brooks-Battier-Ariza-Scola-Yao lineup next year? I just can’t think of anyone else that we have any real shot at that could conceivably crack that starting lineup. Depending on the contract, I think Ginobili might be worth the obvious risks.

by Metalate on Jan 11, 2010 4:02 PM CST reply actions