First trade:
Crawford (19mil / 2 yrs)
- to CHA for -
Mohammed (13mil / 2 yrs)
May (3.7mil / 1 yr)
Future 1st Rounder
Charlotte is lacking a go-to scorer since the departure of JRich. Crawford could be to the Bobcats what Harrington is to the Knicks, and he fits nicely into their lack of depth at SG.
Mohammed's and May's contracts combined are an improvement over Crawford's. Plus they can replace Kurz and Davidson on our depth chart. Who knows, they may even be useful for us. Currently, they sit at the end of the bench for the Bobcats because of Diaw, Wallace, Okafor, Radmanovic, and Diop.
The first round pick is nice too, protected or not. The main point of the trade is to get Crawford off the squad to avoid him pulling another "Al Harrington" (distraction to the team), without making our cap situation worse, and without bringing in someone who will demand minutes and take them away from our young players.
Second trade:
Maggette ( 39mil / 4 yrs)
- to POR for -
Blake ( 5mil / 1 yr)
Webster ( 20 mil / 3 yrs)
Future 1st Rounder
If there's any position the Blazers should want to upgrade talent-wise (offensively), it has to be at SF. Even though they're taking on Maggette's contract, they're essentially just upgrading from Webster and his contract to Maggette and his. The Blazers can have Jerryd Bayless and Sergio Rodriguez replace Steve Blake at PG. We ask for a future first rounder because the Blazers are probably the last team that needs more young talent.
We get our (much needed) veteran, pass-first PG. We also get Webster, who I'm not crazy about. But we can limit his minutes or stash him on the bench and he won't be an issue like Maggette might be if we tried limiting his minutes. Much like the Crawford trade, the main point of this one is to get minute-hungry expensive vets off the team, without hurting our cap situation, and getting a pick in the process.
These trades aren't as flashy as the "Crawford/Maggette for AK47" (best case scenario) or "Everyone for Bosh/Amare/Boozer" trades, but they're alot more realistic. No team is going to be willing to trade away good talent for Crawford or Maggette, that's just the way it is in this economic climate. The best thing we can do is try to improve our cap situation, get some future draft picks, complete our depth chart (we only have 11 guys on the payroll now), get a vet PG, and free up minutes for our young talent.
Like many have pined for in other threads, this is essentially "trading them away for a bag of chips". Plus future draft picks.
A worse alternative is to stay put and watch Crawford and Maggette (and their agents) demand minutes and cause a distraction in the locker room, when we all know those minutes should go to other players.
PG Ellis / Blake / Watson
SG Belinelli / Morrow / Azubuike
SF Jackson / Webster
PF Randolph / Wright / May
C Biedrins / Turiaf / Mohammed
It might not be much of an improvement over last season's roster, but I don't think it could do any worse than 29 wins. The keys are that we increase our financial flexibility, add future draft picks, and allow the young core to grow as a whole.
