The Sports Guy refers to himself as the Picasso of ESPN’s NBA Trade Machine. Well if he is Picasso then The Sports Bank’s Peter Christian and David Kay are the da Vinci and van Gogh of the trade machine (though neither would cut their own ear off while working on a trade… or at least I don’t think.)
In this new feature, Peter and David will play the role of NBA general manager since they are likely more intelligent than half of the GM’s out there. One will propose a challenge to the other to make a trade happen with certain requirements and the other will accept the mission like he were Tom Cruise and explain why all parties involved would pull the trigger on the deal.
(DK) Detroit is a team going nowhere fast and has serious chemistry issues. Pete, your challenge is to blow up the Pistons roster so they can free up cap space and begin the re-building process. Reluctantly play the role of Joe Dumars and dump the large contracts of two of the three; Rip Hamilton, Ben Gordon, and/or Charlie Villanueva while also freeing Tayshaun Prince from this miserable team. Make it a three or four-team deal and acquire expiring contracts, young players, and at least one guaranteed first round pick in the 2011 NBA Draft in return. Go!
(PC) As Joe Dumars, the biggest obstacle is finding the partners to swing a deal. Asking a team to take on large chunks of contracts while also asking for a draft pick is difficult. Any time I find myself in a difficult spot as a GM, I make it a habit to give David Kahn a call. Kahner and I threw a few ideas off the wall until it was realized that we needed to bring a third team in. I have to give David credit as he pushed me to call Mark Cuban.
After a few hours I came to the realization that if Cuban was going to take two of my big contracts I was going to have to take Caron Butler back. Once we got over that hurdle it was pretty smooth sailing. Here’s what we created:
Pistons get: Butler (expiring contract), Corey Brewer (young player/expiring contract), DeShawn Stevenson (expiring), JJ Barea (young & expiring) and Brian Cardinal (expiring). Additionally, we get Utah’s 2011 1st round pick (top 16 protected) from Minnesota.
Timberwolves get: Rip Hamilton, Rodrigue Beaubois, Dallas’ 2011 1st round pick, Denver’s 2011 2nd round pick (via Detroit) and $3 million in cash from Detroit.
Mavericks get: Charlie Villanueva, Tayshaun Prince, Johnny Flynn and Lazar Hayward
View the trade using ESPN’s Trade Machine
The Pistons agree to this deal because it saves us a boatload of money this year and frees up a lot of cap space for us to rebuild with. The Timberwolves do this deal because they get a few more assets they could use now or this summer to continue their ongoing process in Minnesota. The Mavericks do this because they’ve been decimated by injuries and they need better pieces around Dirk if they want to still be mentioned as a West contender in the Spring.
So David, is this a priceless masterpiece or is this trade a complete pile of crap?
(DK) Mark Cuban definitely took a hit when his best trade, Caron Butler and his expiring contract was lost for the season due to a knee injury. Any team willing to just take on his expiring contract is clearly in a salary dumping situation and that is what the Pistons are trying to accomplish with this trade so it makes sense. Adding Charlie V. and Tayshaun provides Dallas with more depth at both forward spots and I think Prince would be a great veteran pick-up for any playoff contender. So from the Mavs’ point of view, I like it especially when you consider they would land a young point guard in Jonny Flynn who could eventually be a successor for Jason Kidd.
I could not see Kahn getting involved in this trade though. To give up two of his recent first round picks would mean he would have to swallow his pride which I do not see him doing. Yes, they land a pair of first round picks out of this deal and another young point guard in Beaubois, but they also take on Rip Hamilton’s remaining two years, $25-plus million which also seems very un-Kahn-like.
For Detroit, it is a complete cap dump because Corey Brewer would be the only player possibly worth keeping besides the first round pick. However, it does clear up $20 million for next summer which would put the Pistons well under the cap and begin the much needed re-building process.
Plus, I love the trade because it frees Lazar from Minnesota and pairs him in Dallas with former Marquette Golden Eagle, Steve Novak.
Next Challenge: David tries to trade Steve Nash to a contender.