Re: I totally agree.

[peter delevett <pdelevett@amcity.com>]

I hate to say this, but I think the fact that we lost out on Stewart
exponentially increases the chances of our trading Pierce. Popeye and
(hopefully) Battie will improve our interior play quite a bit over last year,
but I believe RP still wants a center so we don't get killed on defense (and I
don't think Schintzius can fill the bill). Stewart had a lot of question
marks, but he would have helped us defensively. I no longer think Rick will be
willing to wait until next year, especially since Walker's new contract will
limit our FA flexibility. 

I've thought about this an inordinate amount of time, and I think there's a
solution that could net us a decent big man while still not leaving us totally
in the lurch at the 3. Yes, it's the Potapenko deal again, but with a twist.
We would send Pierce, DQ and Dontae to Cleveland in exchange for Potapenko and
Wesley Person. Hear me out here. All we are really giving up is Pierce, which
is a lot, but we are gaining a 6'10, 280 pounder who can lean on the big
bodies and is a good post scorer. We also are gaining a scorer at the 3 spot
who can swing to the 2, is young and athletic enough to play Pitinoball, and
is one of the better three point shooters in the league. We were dismal in
that area last year, and having him (& Dana) on the wings could really open
things up inside for Walker and for drives to the basket by Mercer. One of our
biggest needs at the end of last season, remember, was a scoring 3; we got
that in spades in Pierce, but Person will still meet that need while also
bringing us a legitimate center. Potapenko's no all-pro, but in the insane
world where Matt Geiger gets $80 million, we might never be able to afford
one. His lousy rebounding and shot-blocking could be offset by Jones and
Battie, respectively. 

We also get rid of Dontae's salary and potential attitude problem. The Cavs
would probably be willing to do this, as Dontae's contract expires at the end
of the season. They would have to sign Potapenko to an extension before we
made this deal, since he's also a FA this summer.

The salaries aren't an exact match -- there's a difference of about $420K, and
I don't know if that's close enough to satisfy NBA rules and/or fit under our
cap. If not, we could try to balance the scales by throwing in Bowen, who
earns $507K this year, though I would be loath to lose him:

De Q: 1.44 million					Person: $3.08 million
Dontae: $953,856					Potapenko: $1.23 million
Pierce: $1.5 million (approx.)		TOTAL: $4.31 million
TOTAL: $3.89 million

Me, I would be willing to say, 'Let's see what Battie and even Schintzius can
do before we deal Pierce.' I've already raised my concerns about whether
Potapenko could run & gun in our system. But if we are doomed to trade Pierce,
I think this could be one of the more attractive deals around.