I don't think we have the pieces to make a major trade (that has been covered ad nauseum). There are 2 moves that I personally would consider to help use get a little younger and a little deeper. Trade 1: !st rounder and TE to Clips for Wilcox and Simmons. I like Bobby Simmons alot. Reminds me of a younger Elie. Good shooter and defender. Wilcox (I think) could do a good job along side of Ming and appearently the Clips aren't that high on him. Simmons is in the last year of his contract so the Clips could lose him for nothing. I know the Clips love cap space and draft picks so maybe... Trade 2: Most of you will hate this one, but we need a PG for insurance against helath problems with Sura and we don't have what it takes to get a great , even a good one. With that being said, I would package Spoon and Gaines to the Cavs for Snow and Diop. Snow would give us good depth at the PG and Diop contract expires after this season. IF JVG like him or gets him to play then you have your long term back up for Yao, if not let him go at the end of the year. I know the Cavs want to rid themselves of Snow's contract so maybe...
Why would you think Cleveland would want that deal? They would be the dumbest team in the league to take that deal
I think that the Clips might be interested from the perspective that Simmons is a FA at the end of the season and they could lose him outright. I have read on espn and such that they have been less enamored with Wilcox, and he is not going to get alot og PT behind Brand. My deal with them gives them cap space and a first round pick, both of which they love. The Cleveland deal gets them out of a long term contract that they no longer want, plus Spoon's deal ends at the end of next season. Gaines is a thorw in to make the numbers work, but I would happily replace him with anyone else to make the numbers match. MoT might be a possibility here as well.
Again, supposedly Cleveland is wanting to get rid of Snow's contract, and they have been talking about moving Diop for a while. I think Snow could be had, Spoon's contract is up at the end of next season which I think would give them some $$$ for Lebron's extention.
I'm pretty sure Gaines has little to no value. Spoon is not even an expiring contract. Plus, the cavs may hate Snow's contract, but they're playing pretty well right now, and I doubt they want to mess with the chemistry for nothing in return. I think your first trade suggestion is much more realistic; however, as much as I like Wilcox and Simmons, we need a point guard more than anything in the world. Perhaps our 1st round pick and Taylor for Snow? Taylor comes off the books a couple of years before Snow would, and they get a late first round pick. We'd still have our trade exception which we could flaunt in front of the Clips. Snow's contract gives us more time to find a young pg for the future. One thing the Sura experiment has taught me: We don't need our pg to be a lights out shooter to be effective, we just need a smart, versitile player who can take care of the ball and get people involved. Barry, Wesley, Padgett, T-Mac, and Howard can all shoot the ball.
I think a 1st is too much for Snow. I rechecked RealGM, and a Snow and Diop for MoT works and could be a more realistc alternative. MoT would make a great back up for them, but I would not give them our first, I would do a 2nd rounder though.
Yea, if we can get away with swapping contracts between Taylor and Snow, I think it's worth it. Between Snow and Sura, we won't have to worry about our pg. It makes it tougher for us financially down the road though. Capologists would much rather get rid of Howard because I think we have him for like 5 years, but he is playing very well for our team right now. It's a difficult decision. The more I think about it, the more I wonder wether it's worth it to take on Snow's contract. There's just not that many other alternatives.
I'm surprised it's the second trade you guys feel is not realistic. I know the Clips aren't high on Wilcox, but he's still on a rookie-scale contract and has the p-word. Simmons is a good player, and by himself warrants a first-rounder, if not much, much more. Asking for both seems ridiculous to me for the TE and a first-round pick. Neither player is a throw-in.
From JVG's radio talk, it sounds like that Rox will trade either Spoon, MoT or J. Howard + the 1st rounder for an expiring contract (or 2 small contracts). That "expiring contract" will be either a PG or a PF, most likely a PG. This way you gain financial flexibility and fill the need at the PG position for a year. Rox has these assets to trade: the 1st rounder and J. Howard. J. Howard is actually productive even with his huge contract. Some team might bite on it if you throw them the 1st rounder. Spoon could also be traded together with the 1st rounder. Spoon only has one additional year left. Some team might be willing to take him with the 1st rounder. I think Rox will be happy to trade MoT + 1st rounder for an expiring contract. It is the best Rox can do but it is not easy. The second best is to trade Spoon for something without giving up the 1st rounder, but it is difficult to do.
If Sura could shoot, I might more open to getting Snow. But with Sura and Snow, we're stuck with two rotation players who combined will average over 48 mpg easily and can't stick the three-ball on a consistent basis.
It is s moot point now, but remember Simmons is a FA after this season, so they risk losing him outright. Clips aren't high on Wilcox, so I figured both for a first this year plau the cap felxibilty of the TE. As I said though, now it is a moot point. I would love to go after Simmons as a FA though.
