by Stop Mike Lupica on February 18 at 11:30PM
First
off, a quick update on the Kidd trade. As we reported first in the
blogsphere, it appears the Kidd deal will be reworked with ex-Mav, Net, 76er
and Knick Keith Van Horn in the deal (along with Trenton Hassell),
replacing Devean George (blocker!) and Jerry Stackhouse (tamperer!).
The unofficially retired Van Horn will have to get signed to a new
contract first, for about $4 million for this season (pro-rated), in order for it
to meet the salary requirements for the deal to go through. He probably will never even play a minute for the Nets. Welcome to the good life.
And when the deal goes through... you can begin criticizing Rod Thorn. Because I think the amazing turnaround he orchestrated has officially crashed and burned around him. I still think highly of Rod Thorn (yes, I believe he's better than Isiah Thomas... duh), but this one looks awful. Trading Kidd for a nice young piece - Devin Harris - is not enough. Maurice Ager might be a good add, too. But the two #1 picks probably won't be very good picks. The salary cap money saved? What are the Nets going to do with it this offseason? Pray for Elton Brand like everyone else?
If they don't use the freed up salary cap space this offseason, then what was the point of trading Jason Kidd when his contract expires next season anyway? Again, just to get Devin Harris and Maurice Ager? You have to believe that if Thorn could have gotten the Nets a big man, he might have been able to keep Kidd happy for the next 12 months.
Not looking good for the Nets now.
As for the Mavs: same deal as the Suns just one week earlier. The days of those two teams ruling the West, along with the Spurs, are over. The Lakers, Jazz and Hornets all have better records than the Mavs and Suns. In fact, the Mavs were staring at a 6-seed, with the 7-seed Nuggets breathing down their necks. It's gotten super competitive out West, and the Mavs have no choice but to assemble as many weapons as possible. To add Kidd without giving up much (other than Devin Harris) in terms of the team's rotation... that's a good move. Plus the Mavs can keep Kidd happy, and sign him to an extension for a couple of years, since going over the cap and paying a luxury tax ain't no thang for Mr. Mark Cuban.
Now, for the other big trade... Mike Bibby to the Hawks. The Kings get back expiring contracts and Sheldon Williams. Two of those expiring contracts - Tyronn Lue and Anthony Johnson - illustrate the value of this trade for the Hawks.
Those were the Hawks two best point guards this season. Think about that for one second. To put it bluntly: the Hawks have had the worst point guard play in the NBA for a long time now. And that's coming from a Knicks fan!
In fact, one of the most telling signs is that the Hawks did really well when Anthony Johnson was in the starting lineup, getting over 20 mpg - they were 17-15 in those games. Games in which AJ scored at least 10 points: the Hawks were 7-3. Considering the team is 21-28 overall (including 7-16 since it's hot start), those stats reflect the importance of good point guard play to the Hawks.
Well, now they have a veteran point guard who should be able to score at least 10 points guaranteed, in Mike Bibby. He's good for about 15-20 ppg on the Hawks, and joins a pretty talented starting lineup: Bibby + Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Marvin Williams and Al Horford (and Josh Childress coming off the bench). Bibby will create shots for everyone, and the Hawks... well, they have a point guard for the first time in a long time. It might just all be coming together down there, and not a minute too soon. The Hawks are in 9th place in the Eastern Conference, but are only a game and a half behind. With the Nets sinking, the Hawks will be in prime position to make a run at a spot.
So, to recap... Billy Knight made a good deal. He finally got a point guard. He got rid of Sheldon Williams, a talented player (potentially), but someone that represented Knight's failures (i.e. the guy taken instead of Brandon Roy). Wow. Pencil them in for the 6th spot in the East.
As for the Kings, they didn't do too bad, either. They got the expiring contracts, which was key for them, not because they are trying to get under the cap for this offseason (they probably won't get under until they get rid of Brad Miller, Kenny Thomas and Shareef Abdul-Rahim's nasty contracts), but just to avoid paying luxury taxes next season and beyond. Secondly they add a potentially good young piece to a really young team - Sheldon Williams. He'll help at the forward positions, especially with Ron Artest likely to be traded next. Rumored destinations include NY (unlikely) and Denver (possibly for more salary cap relief and another young chip, namely Eduardo Najera, Anthony Carter and JR Smith).
One trade rumor for the Knick fans still left out there: Sam Smith of the Miami Sun-Sentinal reports that Eddy Curry might be on the horizon for the Heat:
"Meanwhile, what other coach would believe he could motivate and put Curry in position to succeed better than Riley? How much could it possibly cost? Curry is only 25.
Riley isn't patient enough to wait two years for his team to develop, and he needs a big center. Curry could be that player."
As Posting and Toasting pointed out, Sam Smith is notorious for trade rumor mongering. The Heat have more expiring contracts than they need right now. Let's take advantage of Pat Riley's impatience! Adding Curry to Dwyane Wade, Marcus Banks and Shawn Marion (plus a top-3 pick) would give them a pretty attractive set of pieces to build around. But all of this is highly unlikely, and probably just an excuse for Sam Smith to write something that would get him lots of links on the internet!...
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And when the deal goes through... you can begin criticizing Rod Thorn. Because I think the amazing turnaround he orchestrated has officially crashed and burned around him. I still think highly of Rod Thorn (yes, I believe he's better than Isiah Thomas... duh), but this one looks awful. Trading Kidd for a nice young piece - Devin Harris - is not enough. Maurice Ager might be a good add, too. But the two #1 picks probably won't be very good picks. The salary cap money saved? What are the Nets going to do with it this offseason? Pray for Elton Brand like everyone else?
If they don't use the freed up salary cap space this offseason, then what was the point of trading Jason Kidd when his contract expires next season anyway? Again, just to get Devin Harris and Maurice Ager? You have to believe that if Thorn could have gotten the Nets a big man, he might have been able to keep Kidd happy for the next 12 months.
Not looking good for the Nets now.
As for the Mavs: same deal as the Suns just one week earlier. The days of those two teams ruling the West, along with the Spurs, are over. The Lakers, Jazz and Hornets all have better records than the Mavs and Suns. In fact, the Mavs were staring at a 6-seed, with the 7-seed Nuggets breathing down their necks. It's gotten super competitive out West, and the Mavs have no choice but to assemble as many weapons as possible. To add Kidd without giving up much (other than Devin Harris) in terms of the team's rotation... that's a good move. Plus the Mavs can keep Kidd happy, and sign him to an extension for a couple of years, since going over the cap and paying a luxury tax ain't no thang for Mr. Mark Cuban.
Now, for the other big trade... Mike Bibby to the Hawks. The Kings get back expiring contracts and Sheldon Williams. Two of those expiring contracts - Tyronn Lue and Anthony Johnson - illustrate the value of this trade for the Hawks.
Those were the Hawks two best point guards this season. Think about that for one second. To put it bluntly: the Hawks have had the worst point guard play in the NBA for a long time now. And that's coming from a Knicks fan!
In fact, one of the most telling signs is that the Hawks did really well when Anthony Johnson was in the starting lineup, getting over 20 mpg - they were 17-15 in those games. Games in which AJ scored at least 10 points: the Hawks were 7-3. Considering the team is 21-28 overall (including 7-16 since it's hot start), those stats reflect the importance of good point guard play to the Hawks.
Well, now they have a veteran point guard who should be able to score at least 10 points guaranteed, in Mike Bibby. He's good for about 15-20 ppg on the Hawks, and joins a pretty talented starting lineup: Bibby + Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Marvin Williams and Al Horford (and Josh Childress coming off the bench). Bibby will create shots for everyone, and the Hawks... well, they have a point guard for the first time in a long time. It might just all be coming together down there, and not a minute too soon. The Hawks are in 9th place in the Eastern Conference, but are only a game and a half behind. With the Nets sinking, the Hawks will be in prime position to make a run at a spot.
So, to recap... Billy Knight made a good deal. He finally got a point guard. He got rid of Sheldon Williams, a talented player (potentially), but someone that represented Knight's failures (i.e. the guy taken instead of Brandon Roy). Wow. Pencil them in for the 6th spot in the East.
As for the Kings, they didn't do too bad, either. They got the expiring contracts, which was key for them, not because they are trying to get under the cap for this offseason (they probably won't get under until they get rid of Brad Miller, Kenny Thomas and Shareef Abdul-Rahim's nasty contracts), but just to avoid paying luxury taxes next season and beyond. Secondly they add a potentially good young piece to a really young team - Sheldon Williams. He'll help at the forward positions, especially with Ron Artest likely to be traded next. Rumored destinations include NY (unlikely) and Denver (possibly for more salary cap relief and another young chip, namely Eduardo Najera, Anthony Carter and JR Smith).
One trade rumor for the Knick fans still left out there: Sam Smith of the Miami Sun-Sentinal reports that Eddy Curry might be on the horizon for the Heat:
"Meanwhile, what other coach would believe he could motivate and put Curry in position to succeed better than Riley? How much could it possibly cost? Curry is only 25.
Riley isn't patient enough to wait two years for his team to develop, and he needs a big center. Curry could be that player."
As Posting and Toasting pointed out, Sam Smith is notorious for trade rumor mongering. The Heat have more expiring contracts than they need right now. Let's take advantage of Pat Riley's impatience! Adding Curry to Dwyane Wade, Marcus Banks and Shawn Marion (plus a top-3 pick) would give them a pretty attractive set of pieces to build around. But all of this is highly unlikely, and probably just an excuse for Sam Smith to write something that would get him lots of links on the internet!...
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3 Comments
Comments
Gotta disagree with you on the Nets, I like this trade a lot for them. Devin Harris is very, very good, so much so that some have suggested it would be foolish for Dallas to swap him for Kidd straight up. Kidd can't shoot at all (time to bring back the Ason Kidd nickname) or defend anyone this side of Jay Williams. Don't let the triple double numbers be deceiving. As you mentioned, Ager is ok as well, and I think Diop is useful. He's not what people expected when he jumped to the NBA out of high school, but he's a very solid defensive big man.
I guess the only problem is the Nets could have saved more cap space sticking with Kidd i guess, and the fact that Harris now sort of blocks the development of Marcus Williams. In all, I really like this deal for the Nets.
I think this trade only hurts the Mavs. I don't think they'll win the title this year, and it certainly hurts them in the future. Howard (who's their best player) and Harris are a pretty nice set of young players for a team that is so close already.
So you are telling me the Earl Barron/Mark Blount Era could be over?