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NYSun: As the Pacers Dawdle, Other Deals Develop

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  • NYSun: As the Pacers Dawdle, Other Deals Develop

    As the Pacers Dawdle, Other Deals Develop
    By JOHN HOLLINGER
    January 9, 2006

    http://www.nysun.com/article/25490?page_no=1

    Here's a detailed synopsis of NBA trade discussions over the past month: Ron Artest. The Pacers' quest to unload their talented but troubled forward has dominated the airwaves for the past three weeks, and we don't seem any closer to a solution. However, behind the scenes the Artest situation has had another impact - it's holding up every other potential deal.

    Most of the teams who figure to be active in the trade market either are trying to obtain Artest or are angling to be a third party in the deal. In either case, they're putting everything else on the back burner until this first domino falls. Thus, few if any transactions will take place until the Pacers make their move.

    But once Artest has a new home, expect the floodgates to open. By next month's trade deadlines, at least a dozen players could have new homes. So today, instead of focusing on Artest, let's look at the rest of the players in the trade market, in order of likelihood to be dealt:

    EARL WATSON, Denver Besides Artest, the player most likely to relocate this winter is Watson. The Nuggets' third-string point guard is a defensive ace who also can push it up court and score, and could start for several teams. His five-year, $29 million deal could be a sticking point, but Denver is a motivated seller.

    AL HARRINGTON, Atlanta The Hawks' small forward is off to a strong start for a lousy team, but he's also a free agent after the season. With the Hawks still clearly in rebuilding mode and most of the team's best young talent playing his position, it would make all kinds of sense for Atlanta to move Harrington to a contender before the trade deadline rather than lose him in the off-season.

    CHRIS WILCOX, L.A. Clippers The high-flying forward is stuck behind Elton Brand and doesn't have the trust of his coach, but his proportional stats (13.3 points, 10.5 rebounds per 40 minutes) show he could do some serious damage in the right environment. With the Clips desperate for help on the wings (Corey Maggette and his bum left foot may not be back until April) and Wilcox entering his walk year, L.A. seems ready to cash this chip in. The Nets are interested but, alas, have little to offer in return.

    RUBEN PATTERSON, Portland The Blazers have been trying to unload Patterson for years but may actually find some buyers this time around. The key differences are that Patterson's overly generous contract expires after the season, and that Patterson has toned down his once-unbearable off-court act. If you're wondering about a Patterson-Wilcox swap, which would seem to benefit both clubs, the salaries don't match up unless other players are included.

    RONALD MURRAY, Seattle Murray signed the Sonics' one-year tender over the summer and will be an unrestricted free agent after the season. He's also an odd fit in Seattle's backcourt because of his shoot-first tendencies; what the Sonics really want is a guard to set up Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis.

    Thus, Seattle would be open to moving Murray for a more traditional point man, but his contract is a sticky issue. Murray can veto any trade as a result of his one-year tender, and would lose his Bird rights if traded. That means he might not get as much money next summer if he approved the deal, so an acquiring team would have to sell him on the benefits. Incidentally, the same situation also applies to Seattle's Vladimir Radmanovic and Reggie Evans, and is a major reason why the slumping Sonics have yet to cut a deal.

    MICHAEL DOLEAC, Miami The former Knick is stuck behind Shaquille O'Neal and Alonzo Mourning as Miami's thirdstring center, but he deserves better. Doleac has his limitations, but he's a capable backup center who can bang inside on defense and hit an open jumper at the other end. Miami has an obvious interest in moving him as well, because the club desperately needs another competent wing player. Now that Pat Riley is seeing this for himself on the sidelines, expect a deal to happen soon.

    NENE, Denver The Brazilian big man is out for the season with a knee injury and will be a restricted free agent after the season. Rather than get outbid for his services by Atlanta or Chicago in the summer (each of whom will have oodles of cap space), the Nuggets would prefer to get a return on their investment now - such as a desperately needed shooter. Nene is the main chip in Denver's quest for Artest at the moment, but if that offer falls through, expect him to land on another roster quickly.

    ANTONIO DAVIS and PENNY HARDAWAY, New York If Isiah Thomas pulls the trigger on another deal for an overpaid, underachieving, no defense-playing quasi-star, you can guarantee that the expiring contracts of Davis and Hardaway will be the bait. At least Thomas won't be able to include any first round draft picks in the deal - he already traded those a long time ago. The Knicks also wouldn't mind finding a taker for Quentin Richardson, by the way, but his uninsured back makes this virtually impossible. After missing three straight games with back spasms, the off-season acquisition returned last yesterday to score five points in six minutes.

    JALEN ROSE, Toronto Speaking of overpaid, underachieving, no-defense-playing quasi-stars, the Raptors would love to dump the final year and a half of Rose's contract to get some salary cap relief. Fortunately for Knicks fans, Rose and Isiah had a pretty icy relationship when Thomas coached the Pacers, so it's unlikely he'd pull the trigger on such a deal ... we think. For now, Rose can continue shooting 37% from the floor in the Great North.

    VITALY POTAPENKO, Seattle Potapenko took the unusual step of demanding a trade despite being the 11th man on a bad team (and just think - he's still better than Jerome James).Because he comes cheap and is a wrecking ball in the paint, he might benefit a club looking for more heft inside, like Chicago or Charlotte.

    LATRELL SPREWELL, Minnesota Captain Sprewell is still out there on his yacht somewhere, and it's theoretically possible Minnesota could include him in a sign-and-trade deal if it somehow brought the T'wolves a competent center. Unfortunately, Spree's contract demands remain laughable, so he's likely to sit this one out.

    DARKO MILICIC, Detroit It's time. Pistons GM Joe Dumars has politely refused all requests about Milicic for 2 1/2 years, but with his team making another run at the title, his tune is about to change. Milicic doesn't seem any closer to breaking into the rotation than he did two years ago, and the Pistons could use another player on the wings to ease the burden on their overworked starters. Despite Darko's sluggish play in his few chances, there's still strong demand for his services from height-thirsty general managers.
    "I'll always be a part of Donnie Walsh."
    -Ron Artest, Denver Post, 12.28.05

  • #2
    Re: NYSun: As the Pacers Dawdle, Other Deals Develop

    I don't see him explaining the title "While the Pacers Dawdle"...

    I realize the writer likely didn't write the title and it seems misnamed.... unless something was cut from the story.

    I'm inclined to listen if someone wants to theorize the Pacers are in fact dawdling but I don't see it in the article. I don't even see where the other part of the title is explained (what other deals are happening? It says everything is on hold)

    OTOH, it is interesting to think the Pacers are holding up several other teams from making moves.

    -Bball
    Nuntius was right for a while. I was wrong for a while. But ultimately I was right and Frank Vogel has been let go.

    ------

    "A player who makes a team great is more valuable than a great player. Losing yourself in the group, for the good of the group, that’s teamwork."

    -John Wooden

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: NYSun: As the Pacers Dawdle, Other Deals Develop

      Originally posted by Bball
      I don't see him explaining the title "While the Pacers Dawdle"...

      I realize the writer likely didn't write the title and it seems misnamed.... unless something was cut from the story.

      I'm inclined to listen if someone wants to theorize the Pacers are in fact dawdling but I don't see it in the article. I don't even see where the other part of the title is explained (what other deals are happening? It says everything is on hold)

      OTOH, it is interesting to think the Pacers are holding up several other teams from making moves.


      -Bball
      It makes total sense that the Pacers are the linchpin in any further trade considering that there are several teams that are hoping that they can come up with the highest "lowball" offer that the Pacers will accept.

      I see 2 things happening by February 23rd:

      1 ) By the 1st week of February, the teams that are interested now that want Artest is gonna still be interested in him but will move on any trade offers if they get anything that will help them out ( thus effectively eliminating themselves from the Artest sweepstakes ). I wouldn't be surprised if Denver pulls out of the Artest sweepstakes by the end of January as they can get an acceptable starting quality SG in exchange for Watson. With Watson out of the picture and playing only with "Nene" as the only player that they can move......I don't see them as viable trading partners.

      2 ) I seriously think that Walsh/Bird is gonna drag this out until the last week of the Trade deadline in February. The supposed offers on the table suck and I think that Walsh/Bird are expecting alot more ( hence Walsh's comments about "Expiring Contracts / Draft picks ain't gonna cut it" comments ). As we get closer to the Trade deadline......there is a chance that desperate GMs clamouring for Artest's services will get much more
      desperate as we get closer to the deadline. Does this mean that we are gonna get a better offer? There's a part of me that hopes so....but the other "realistic" side of me believes that we will be disappointed in the end.
      Ash from Army of Darkness: Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the gun.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: NYSun: As the Pacers Dawdle, Other Deals Develop

        If Nene is a FA next year why in the world would we trade for this guy? He wont play a game for us.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: NYSun: As the Pacers Dawdle, Other Deals Develop

          Originally posted by Jermaniac
          If Nene is a FA next year why in the world would we trade for this guy? He wont play a game for us.
          He's a RESTRICTED free agent, with the team getting him holding his Bird rights AND able to match any offer.

          Few teams could offer him over the MLE, and most of those teams are LOSERS.

          Probable worst case scenario: you lose him in a sign-and-trade.

          More probable: The Pacers re-sign him by matching any offer, unless he really really wants to wind up someplace like Atlanta.
          The poster "pacertom" since this forum began (and before!). I changed my name here to "Slick Pinkham" in honor of the imaginary player That Bobby "Slick" Leonard picked late in the 1971 ABA draft (true story!).

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: NYSun: As the Pacers Dawdle, Other Deals Develop

            Originally posted by pacertom
            He's a RESTRICTED free agent, with the team getting him holding his Bird rights AND able to match any offer.

            Few teams could offer him over the MLE, and most of those teams are LOSERS.

            Probable worst case scenario: you lose him in a sign-and-trade.

            More probable: The Pacers re-sign him by matching any offer, unless he really really wants to wind up someplace like Atlanta.
            A few other possible scenarios might be 1) after the injury he is a shell of his former self as a player and no one wants him, even us, or 2) a team under the cap signs him to a big offer sheet that we can't afford to match and so we have to just let him go.
            "I'll always be a part of Donnie Walsh."
            -Ron Artest, Denver Post, 12.28.05

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: NYSun: As the Pacers Dawdle, Other Deals Develop

              That's not a very good list of names is it? Looks like everyone is just trying to pawn off their crap to other teams and WE'RE holding THAT process up?

              That doesn't bode very well for us does it?

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: NYSun: As the Pacers Dawdle, Other Deals Develop

                Originally posted by blanket
                A few other possible scenarios might be 1) after the injury he is a shell of his former self as a player and no one wants him, even us, or 2) a team under the cap signs him to a big offer sheet that we can't afford to match and so we have to just let him go.
                Mullin...in his brilliance....overpaid Foyle 50mil in hopes that he can start at the C Spot for them. Okur and Boozer got similiar if not bigger contracts.

                Keep in mind that GMs are notorious for overpaying for Big Men that are either worth it or mediocre at best.....regardless of injury or not. Nene is going to get a big enough contract offer next season that I am pretty sure that the Pacers will not match.
                Ash from Army of Darkness: Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the gun.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: NYSun: As the Pacers Dawdle, Other Deals Develop

                  I counted 6 digs at the Knicks - not too shabby.
                  The poster formerly known as Rimfire

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: NYSun: As the Pacers Dawdle, Other Deals Develop

                    Originally posted by Harddrive7
                    That's not a very good list of names is it? Looks like everyone is just trying to pawn off their crap to other teams and WE'RE holding THAT process up?

                    That doesn't bode very well for us does it?
                    Those aren't players being offered to us...
                    "George's athleticism is bananas!" - Marc J. Spears

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: NYSun: As the Pacers Dawdle, Other Deals Develop

                      Originally posted by tadscout
                      Those aren't players being offered to us...

                      Yeah I know. I was talking about in general, what's out there. Curious as to how you got that I was talking about all those guys possibly coming here.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: NYSun: As the Pacers Dawdle, Other Deals Develop

                        Originally posted by Harddrive7
                        Yeah I know. I was talking about in general, what's out there. Curious as to how you got that I was talking about all those guys possibly coming here.
                        Actually I'm not sure now... I have a migraine so I must have mixed things up...
                        "George's athleticism is bananas!" - Marc J. Spears

                        Comment

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