Williams (and Walker) trades I'd consider

[Mark Piotrowski <markp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I should state that behind Pierce and (now) Banks, Eric Williams is 
my next favorite Celtic (a hair ahead of Walker).  Its mostly because 
of EWill's insane (and I think ridiculously underrated) ability to 
post-up players bigger and smaller and either get to the hoop or the 
line.  Maybe b/c when I played BBall that was what I had to do since 
I couldn't shoot from outside, but could make FT's, but call me a 
sucker for a nice classical, low-post game (see: McHale, Dino Radja, 
Mark Jackson, et al.).

So a part of me hopes EWill will accept a close-to-minimum offer this 
offseason.  Another part of me looks at trading his expiring contract 
as a way to upgrade our team's talent -- which the acquisition of 
Jones makes much more possible/palitable.

Here are a few trade ideas for EWill:

SEATTLE for Jerome James -- James has one more year than EWill.  He's 
a legit 7-1 and would allow Battie to play some PF (and Walker some 
SF then).  I think we all agree that Size is now our biggest need. 
In 10 fewer MPG than Battie he actually averaged more blocks (1.61 to 
1.21) and 2 less Reb (4.2 to 6.5).  He's sill very young and a touch 
raw, but would be a nice bridge to the days of Kendrick Perkins. 
Seattle has been trying to move one or two of their 3 overpaid 
Centers (James, Calvin Booth, and Vitaly) for the last year.  Plus 
there's always the "thanks-for-the-Baker-Trade" factor, in which I 
think Seattle should be mandated to ... oh never mind, ergh.

NEW YORK for Kurt Thomas -- NY is in that middling position where 
they'll fight for the 8th seed and thus never get the kind of pick 
they need to get better (see Mike Sweetney).  They have a bunch of 
crappy contracts and undersized talent.  But they also have the 
ability to go over cap and into Lux Tax Land to sign an impact free 
agent -- something most teams don't have.

Well if I'm the Knicks at the trade deadline next year and I'm not in 
the hunt for the 4-5-6 playoff spot, I start stockpiling expiring 
contracts to go with McDyess', Ward's and Knight's combined $22 
million.  A Thomas for EWill trade adds another $5 mil to that -- and 
allows them to make a more comfortable run at Kobe Bryant or KG.

Thomas would do 2 things (insurance for Battie should he get hurt) 
and give us leverage in negotiating with or dealing outright Walker. 
Imagine a frontline of Walker-Thomas-Battie, not your typical 
frontline, but they each have unique talents. Thomas' grit would 
allow Walker to play on the perimeter w/o us losing rebounding (like 
we do now).


And what would trade musings be without a few Walker ideas?

HOUSTON:  Walker for Cutino Mobley + Glen Rice -- I've heard the 
Rockets wouldn't mind moving Mobley to free up Francis in the 
backcourt a little.  Houston would then have Francis as a slasher, 
Ming down low and Walker could play out at the 3 point line as a 
release for either The Franchise or The Dynasty.

Adding Mobley replaces Walker's scoring (did you know he actually 
averaged more MPG than Walker?) and adds another Get-Out-and-Runner 
to the team.  We lose some size by having to shift Pierce to SF and 
possibly having to start Blount moving Battie to PF.  But Rice's $10 
mil + EWill's $5 mil expiring contracts (along with the smaller 
Mobley contract) allows us to go after some legit size THIS summer.

MILWAUKEE [Walker + Williams] for Tim Thomas + Toni Kukoc -- Kukoc 
gives us a little more room this summer (allowing us to add a 
mid-level FA and save some $$) and Thomas gives us a reasonable 
replacement for Walker (per-min stats are close to even) and gives us 
a ridiculous amount of cap room in 3 years when Baker, Thomas, 
Battie, Delk, Kedrick, Jones, & McCarty all become FA's.  Milwaukee 
gets a star to build around (with D. Mason + TJ Ford)

CHICAGO -- I'd still trade Walker + whatever for Curry and salary cap 
crap.  Curry is going to be the starting Center for the East 
all-stars this year.  I don't know how the Bulls are going to Sign 
Curry + Chandler to max contracts (which I'm assuming their going to 
push for) in 2 years with Jalen Rose's contract still there.  What 
about Walker for Curry/Eddie Robinson/Jay Williams?  I'd throw in a 
#1 -- might have happened with Crumbs at the controls, but I think 
Paxson's too smart for this.