Re: Ford article

[Snoopy the Celtics Beagle <snoopy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Here you go...

Five trades we'd like to see
By Chad Ford
NBA Insider
Send an Email to Chad Ford
Wednesday, August 6


Now that the NBA free-agent frenzy has finally wound down, it's time for 
the NBA trading season to get into full gear. To date, there has been only 
one major trade -- the four-team deal that swapped four guys no one else 
wanted -- Latrell Sprewell, Keith Van Horn, Glenn Robinson and Terrell Brandon.

That's a major disappointment when you consider how many top teams struck 
out in the free-agent market this summer.

The Mavericks haven't answered the moves by the Lakers, Spurs, Kings and 
T-Wolves. The Jazz replaced two Hall of Famers, Karl Malone and John 
Stockton, with, Keon Clark. That $20 million-plus in cap room has to be 
good for something. The Blazers are conspicuously quiet, the Pacers have 
been on the verge of something for six months, and the Knicks can't rest on 
Van Horn and "optimistic" Antonio McDyess.

With the "A" and "B" list free agents off the board, trades are the only 
way for teams to upgrade their roster, clear cap space or take care of a 
logjam. So far the rumor mill has been surprisingly quiet. It's about time 
that changed.

While we can't save everyone, here's our best shot at fixing the Bulls, 
Celtics, Sonics, Hawks, Blazers, Mavs, Wizards, Pacers, Sixers, Cavs, 
Warriors and Grizzlies in one fell swoop.

In an effort to jump start the process a little, Insider takes a look at 
several trades that should happen this summer. Please note that these are 
NOT trade rumors or speculation, just trades we'd like to see. However, in 
the name of realism, all the trades do conform with collective bargaining 
agreement guidelines.

TRADE 1
Antoine Walker to Chicago; Donyell Marshall, Marcus Fizer, Jerome James and 
Eddie Robinson to Boston; Shareef Abdur-Rahim to Seattle; Vladimir 
Radmanovic, Brent Barry, Eric Williams and Bulls' No. 1 to Atlanta

Why the Bulls should do it: It appears that the Bulls have settled on the 
three young players they intend on building around -- Tyson Chandler, Eddy 
Curry and Jamal Crawford. Now it's time to think playoffs. The addition of 
Scottie Pippen this summer was a move in the right direction, but adding 
Walker to the mix finally propels them into playoffs. In return the Bulls 
must give up three bench players, which shouldn't be hard to do. They've 
been trying to dump Robinson's contract all summer and neither Marshall nor 
Fizer has the talent that Walker does. Walker's ability to handle and pass 
the ball are perfect in the triangle offense, and spies in Chicago claim 
that Walker, a Windy City native, is in the best shape of his career after 
intensive workouts this summer. A front line of Chandler, Walker and Curry 
will be among the biggest and most versatile in the East. Put them together 
with Crawford and Jalen Rose and the Bulls should make plenty on noise this 
season. The downside? The Bulls lose some depth on the bench by dumping 
Fizer and Robinson.

Projected Starting Five:

PG Jamal Crawford
SG Jalen Rose
SF Tyson Chandler
PF Antoine Walker
C Eddy Curry

Why the Celtics should do it: Danny Ainge claims that he hasn't been 
shopping Walker, but the rampant trade rumors surrounding Walker suggest 
that where there's smoke there's fire. The Celtics' problem the last few 
years has been depth. If Walker or Paul Pierce are having off nights, the 
team was doomed. Not anymore. Marshall and Fizer are both versatile enough 
to play the four or three. James is the closest thing to a center the 
Celtics have had in a long time, even if he is a project. And Robinson's 
athleticism should be a nice complement in the backcourt to rookie point 
guard Marcus Banks. The downside? Cap flexibility. The Celtics were due to 
have Williams off the books next summer. Marshall and James have two years 
left on their contracts. Robinson has three. Fizer will be a restricted 
free agent next summer. Can the Celtics afford to pay him?

Projected Starting Five:

PG Marcus Banks
SG Eddie Robinson/Kedrick Brown
SF Paul Pierce
PF Donyell Marshall/Marcus Fizer
C Tony Battie/Jerome James

Why the Sonics should do it: Despite having three 7-footers collecting more 
than $15 million in salary next year, the Sonics lack a real power forward 
or center who can command double teams in the post. Without one, Ray Allen 
and Rashard Lewis can't get the open looks they need to knock down the big 
shots. While Abdur-Rahim isn't a classic four, he's the best guy available. 
He's young, athletic, rebounds and can score in the paint. The Sonics 
actually flirted with acquiring him two years ago in a swap for Gary 
Payton. A core of Allen, Lewis and Abdur-Rahim is about as good as the 
Sonics are going to get given their cap restraints. The downside? The 
Sonics give up a lot to get him. Radmanovic still has the trappings of a 
star, but he just can't get enough minutes behind Lewis. Barry has played a 
big part in the Sonics' success the past two seasons, but he's a free agent 
next summer and the team can't afford to keep him. And for all of James' 
problems last year, he's still has upside in the middle.

Projected Starting Five:

PG Antonio Daniels
SG Ray Allen
SF Rashard Lewis
PF Shareef Abdur-Rahim
C Vitaly Potapenko

Why the Hawks should do it: Cap space. New owner David McDavid is going to 
want to come and put his stamp on the team sooner rather than later. 
Abdur-Rahim isn't the problem in Atlanta, but he also isn't a guy you build 
around either. Radmanovic is a restricted free agent next summer and Barry 
and Williams are unrestricted free agents. If the Hawks pulled the trigger 
on the deal, they would be roughly $10 million under the cap next season, 
assuming they re-sign Terry. Radmanovic is the key to the deal. He's young, 
versatile and should have a breakout year in Atlanta given plenty of 
playing time at the three. Barry could also turn into a valuable asset down 
the road. His ability to swing between both guard positions should help 
Terry's game. The downside? The apathy in Atlanta over the Hawks is already 
rampant. Will dumping Rahim, a Georgia native, drive the 15 fans the Hawks 
have left away?

Projected Starting Five:

PG Jason Terry
SG Brent Barry
SF Vladimir Radmanovic
PF Theo Ratliff
C Nazr Mohammed

Trade 2
Rasheed Wallace to Washington for Kwame Brown, Jahidi White and Christian 
Laettner

Why the Blazers should do it: It's time to clean house. New Blazers GM John 
Nash has to rethink everything the Blazers have done the last five years. 
On paper, they still have the talent to compete in the West. But in 
practice, the team just doesn't work. With five teams in the West already 
primed and ready for a run at the title, what's the point of a first-round 
playoff exit and more embarrassing off-the-court problems. The team should 
start the process right away by shipping Wallace out of town. For all of 
his talent, what has he really done for the team? He's an unrestricted free 
agent next summer, and third-year forward Zach Randolph is already their 
best low-post scorer. Adding Brown takes the sting out of losing Wallace. 
Brown has been disappointing his first two years in the league, but he's 
still very young and really needs a change of scenery. White and Laettner 
are cap fillers. The good news is that they both have only two years left 
on their contracts. The downside? Brown continues his listless play.

Projected Starting Five:

See Trade 3 below.

Why the Wizards should do it: With the addition of Gilbert Arenas, the 
Wizards now have one of the best backcourts in the East. They need a 
frontcourt veteran to complement them and Wallace is a low-risk 
proposition. Wallace already has one tour of duty in Washington and spent 
two years in North Carolina playing with Stackhouse. If he plays up to his 
potential, the Wizards should be one of the top five teams in the East next 
season. If he doesn't, he comes off the books next year and the Wizards 
drop $17 million below the salary cap during the summer of 2004. The 
downside? Kwame catches fire in Portland and averages 20 and 10 for the 
rest of his career.

Projected Starting Five:

PG Gilbert Arenas
SG Jerry Stackhouse
SF Jarvis Hayes/Jared Jeffries
PF Rasheed Wallace
C Brendan Haywood

Trade 3
Raef LaFrentz and Michael Finley to Portland for Dale Davis, Ruben 
Patterson and Bonzi Wells

Why the Blazers should do it: Because removing one bad apple won't be 
enough to change the karma in Portland. If the Blazers can also dump Wells 
and Patterson, they have, over night, changed the character of this team 
for the better. Finley is an all-star-caliber swingman without the baggage 
or inconsistency that Wells brings to the table. LaFrentz isn't the tough 
interior defender that Davis is, but when given the minutes, he's one of 
the best shot blockers in the league. The downside? The Blazers lose a 
little on the talent, but the gains in chemistry should more than make up 
for that. Forget about cap space. Both LaFrentz and Finley are locked into 
long-term deals.

Projected Starting Five:

PG Derek Anderson
SG Michael Finley
SF Kwame Brown
PF Zach Randolph
C Raef LaFrentz

Why the Mavs should do it: The Mavs are one of the most exiting teams, 
offensively, in the NBA. But they lack the toughness on defense to get deep 
into the playoffs. Mark Cuban and Co. have struck out in every attempt to 
get a blue collar big man. This is the best they can do. Davis may not do 
much on offense, but he's a relentless rebounder and a tough low-post 
defender. The Mavs will also upgrade their backcourt toughness. Wells is 
one of the most physical two guards in the league and Patterson has made a 
living shutting down athletic swingmen. The downside? Do you really want to 
mess with a good thing? Will the upsurge in toughness kill the great 
chemistry the Mavs have? Losing Finley is a high price to pay.

Projected Starting Five:

PG Steve Nash
SG Bonzi Wells
SF Dirk Nowitzki
PF Dale Davis
C Shawn Bradley

Trade 4
Eric Snow and Dajuan Wagner to Indiana; Al Harrington, Jamaal Tinsley and 
Sam Clancy to Cleveland; Darius Miles and Fred Jones to Philly

Why the Pacers should do it: They haven't given up on Tinsley, but they 
need a veteran to run the point and an explosive two guard who can hit from 
the perimeter and get to the basket. Snow is ideal for them because of his 
consistency and superior on-the-ball defense. Pair him together in the 
backcourt with Artest and you have a lockdown on the perimeter. Put him 
together with Wagner, and you could be looking at the next Iverson. The 
downside? The Pacers don't want to trade Harrington or Tinsley. Jonathan 
Bender will really have to step up for this trade to work for Indy.

Projected Starting Five:

PG Eric Snow
SG Dajuan Wagner
SF Ron Artest
PF Jermaine O'Neal
C Scot Pollard

Why the Cavs should do it: The Cavs don't want to admit it, but they've got 
a big logjam in the backcourt. Wagner, Ricky Davis, Miles and LeBron James 
is just too much. The team could really use some size, interior scoring and 
a real point guard to run the show -- at least until James gets a little 
more accustomed to playing in the NBA. In Boston at the Reebok Pro Summer 
League, he looked much better playing small forward than he did at point 
guard. Miles also looked good in the summer league, but he becomes a 
restricted free agent next summer. Can the Cavs afford to keep him? 
Harrington gives them a young, athletic big body who can play the three or 
the four. Tinsley ranked sixth in the league in assists last year. While he 
struggles to be a 40-minutes-a-night guy, with James and Kevin Ollie, there 
are plenty of guys out there who can relieve him when he struggles. The 
downside? Both Wagner and Miles have big upsides. The Cavs may not be ready 
to give up on them just yet.

Projected Starting Five:

PG Jamaal Tinsley
SG Ricky Davis
SF LeBron James
PF Al Harrington/Carlos Boozer
C Zydrunas Ilgauskas

Why the Sixers should do it: Second-year point guard John Salmons looked 
great in both summer leagues this year. He has the size, scoring ability 
and defensive toughness to step right in and take the starting point guard 
job. That leaves the Sixers with a unique opportunity to steal a young, 
athletic forward in Miles. Glenn Robinson won't be playing in Philly 
forever and Miles looks to still be another year or two away from being a 
star. But eventually, an Salmons-Iverson-Miles combination looks pretty 
intriguing. The downside? Losing Snow is a tough. He's so steady and such a 
superb defender.

Projected Starting Five:

PG John Salmons
SG Allen Iverson
SF Glenn Robinson
PF Kenny Thomas
C Marc Jackson

Trade 5
Erick Dampier and Danny Fortson to Memphis for Wesley Person and Brevin Knight

Why the Grizz should do it: Jerry West is getting impatient. He wants to 
win this year and he's willing to pay the price to do it. The Grizzlies' 
biggest need is in the middle. Dampier isn't an all-star but he's a big, 
tough rebounder and shot blocker. And, he's probably the best big man 
available via trade. Fortson's contract is terrible, but he is one of the 
premier rebounders in the league and a small price to pay for adding a 
legit big man like Dampier. The downside? Forget about cap room for the 
next four or five years and start saying luxury tax.

Projected Starting Five:

PG Jason Williams
SG James Posey
SF Mike Miller
PF Pau Gasol
C Erick Dampier

Why the Warriors should do it: GM Garry St. Jean didn't take my advice last 
week when I implored the team to make the trades necessary to keep Gilbert 
Arenas. Fine. Without Arenas, the Warriors don't have a shot at making the 
playoffs in the West. If that's the case, why not raise the white flag now, 
get a couple of bad contracts off the books and start over again next 
summer. Person and Knight are both in the last year of their contracts. The 
trade would put the Warriors roughly $13 million under the cap next season 
and allow them to pursue a top-flight point guard via free agency. It also 
would put them at the bottom of the standings in the West and give them an 
excellent shot at the No. 1 pick in the 2004 NBA draft.

Projected Starting Five:

PG Speedy Claxton
SG Jason Richardson
SF Antawn Jamison
PF Troy Murphy
C Adonal Foyle

At 02:25 PM 8/6/03 -0400, Mark Piotrowski wrote:

>as a self-professed Trade Junkie I'm dying to see the Chad Ford Insider 
>article "Five Trades We'd Like to See" on ESPN.com.
>
>anyone interested in posting or summarizing?
>
>thanks,
>(the other) mark