Alright - I've listened to the interview Jeff Bower gave the collective reporters about the trade of the 27th pick to Portland for Cash, and I've got to say I'm a bit irritated.
Irritated with the source that broke the news, and more irritated with the Times-Picayune continued coverage of the news. The T-P reporters continue to act like the deal is already done and just waiting on a soon-to-be completed call to the League Office, basically spouting what was stated by the ESPN source. That's not the case.
During the interview, Jeff Bower answers a question about when the trade will be completed, and he said, quite clearly, "Not until the draft."
He also states multiple times that they don't consider themselves out of the draft yet, and that there are other options. He does make it pretty clear that this is the most likely outcome of the draft.
In my opinion, it sounds like Bower is doing what he should be doing. He will wait until the guys he wants are off the board, and then call Portland and sell them the pick, having been convinced that there isn't anyone else in the draft that's worth more to the team right now than $1 million in money that could be spent on a free agent.
I guess I have myself to blame for running with a source-reported item, but this does make me feel better about how the Hornets are handling the draft than I did yesterday.
33 marvelous comments post your own
ticktock6
06/26/08 07:37 AM
My only issue with this would be... it seems as if Portland is stockpiling those picks to do something with. Why else would they need 5 picks when they already have a full roster with young guys? In that case, since they pick at 13, would they agree to us waiting to see who drops to 27? Wouldn't they need us to pull the trigger before then?
hornetshype.com #1
Ron Hitley
06/26/08 07:43 AM
@ticktock6: That was my first thought, too. I hope the Blazers are happy to wait that long, but it doesn't seem like good business on their part.
www.hornets247.com #2
Ryan Schwan
06/26/08 08:01 AM
Trades of that sort actually happen all the time. If-trades I call em. "If Tyrus Thomas is available at 4, you pick him and I'll trade you LaMarcus Aldridge and Serge Monia." If Randy Foye is available at 7, I'll trade Brandon Roy to you for him and cash. "If the Hornets sell us our pick at 27, we'll trade you it and the 13th plus xyz for Richard Jefferson. If not, I'll give you the 13th plus our second rounders."
www.hornets247.com #3
ticktock6
06/26/08 08:08 AM
Ryan-- But then wouldn't they have to know who to pick at 13 because it'll be different if they're picking for themselves vs. picking for another team? How much time do these guys have on the clock? My head hurts! Anyone going to the draft party anyway? We might, because we like free stuff and beer.
hornetshype.com #4
Ron Hitley
06/26/08 08:14 AM
But what if the Blazers have selected a guy with the 13th pick, then there's nobody left at 27 that we like so we sell our pick to them. Now, Portland turns to the Nets and says, "Hey, we'll give you the guy we picked at 13, the 27th pick and xyz in exchange for Jefferson." The Nets say "Yeah, we would have done that deal three hours ago, before you picked that dude at 13. He doesn't work for us. We would have picked someone different." So I imagine the only way such a deal could work is if the Blazers use the 13th pick on a guy they know the Nets like, and then hope that nobody the Hornets like is still available at 27. Either that or xyz would have to be a time machine.
www.hornets247.com #5
Ron Hitley
06/26/08 08:16 AM
@ ticktock6: I think we just made the same point, but you did it far more clearly and with less words. And I'll be at the draft party. Free stuff is my favorite.
www.hornets247.com #6
Dave
06/26/08 11:44 AM
That's very disappointing that the first round pick will be sold. I thought there was a very good chance to get a player who could contribute this coming season. There's a couple of power forwards late in the first round who would have been a nice fit. DJ White and JJ Hickson looking the two most interesting. Too bad. They gave it up for 1mil. No way is 1mil more valuable than the pick. Now they're going to have sign some free agent to a larger contract than the rookie deal and give it up anyway. I don't understand why so many teams are willing to sell picks - If Phoenix had of just kept Rondo then no 24mil to Marcus Banks. It's inviting costly mistakes.
nbaroundtable.wordpress.com/ #7
Dave
06/26/08 04:10 PM
Anybody else fuming with anger right now? Darrell Arthur. Man he could have helped this team. There were about five other prospects on the board worth picking too.
nbaroundtable.wordpress.com/ #8
Shane
06/26/08 04:18 PM
I'm very upset with this decision of selling the draft pick...Mario Chamlers and CDR were still on the board and Darrell Arthur could have helped the Hornets a lot. Hopefully we can make it up in the free agency
#9
Jason
06/26/08 04:40 PM
So it's official now? Ryan's post made me hold out hope, especially after Arthur started falling. We couldn't use that guy to score with the 2nd unit? Tell me there's a better plan ahead!
#10
Mo
06/26/08 04:49 PM
The Hornets aren't done. The trade hasn't even been approved yet. What if the trade includes another team and a 2nd round pick?
#11
Mo
06/26/08 04:49 PM
And the bigger question is while they're now at #34, why hasn't anyone picked CDR yet? What's wrong with this guy?
#12
steven
06/26/08 04:53 PM
CDR still not picked !?! WTF is wrong with these teams i thought we traded our pick because he wouldnt be available , big mistake on our part if you ask me because he looks to be a player that is going to play with a chip on his shoulder.
#13
Mo
06/26/08 05:05 PM
CDR has finally been picked by the Nets. I'm really surprised he lasted this long.
#14
Ron Hitley
06/26/08 05:22 PM
There's some confusion at the moment. I presume Portland would have been on the draft board at 27 if the trade was official, but New Orleans was still up there. But then, I'm hearing reports that Portland have already gone ahead and traded Arthur to Houston for Nicholas Batum. So I really don't know what the real story is. Time will tell.
www.hornets247.com #15
Ryan Schwan
06/26/08 05:27 PM
Well, I was hoping the Hornets would keep ahold of their pick once they realized a player they did want had slipped to them. However, I just saw a report that the Trailblazers are already planning a trade with Darrell Arthur to the Houston Rockets for Batum. Looks like the Hornets got out and stayed out. Me not happy.
www.hornets247.com #16
Ron Hitley
06/26/08 05:32 PM
Yup, they just announced it on ESPN. It's officially official. We gave up Arthur for cash.
www.hornets247.com #17
ticktock6
06/26/08 05:52 PM
Yeah, I am now thinking this is kind of B.S. We couldnt' have made it a contingency deal? We were SO SURE we didn't want anyone? It doesn't even matter if we didn't want anyone-- we could have gotten value for that pick.
hornetshype.com #18
jdub
06/26/08 07:11 PM
I dont understand everyone's angry reaction, we traded a pick that has a very low chance to contribute at all for 3 million dollars worth of cap space plus the 1 million we wouldve used on the rook and one extra roster space. Now we have more money to add on veterans that can all contribute to our bench and that are proven and also gives us money to resign pargo. Yes we might have gotten lucky and picked up a gem but I can't wait to see what the player we get from this trades production is as compared to any rookie we couldve picked.
#19
Yatin
06/26/08 07:21 PM
Whats the point of having the extra cap room? We're still right up at the cap, meaning all we have is the mid-level, which we would have had even w/o selling (let's not call it "trading" cuz thats not what it is) the pick. What are we gonna use the money on? Bonzi Wells? Please. Hopefully Bower saw enough fadeaway air balls and frustration fouls in the Conference Semis to give him his walking papers. You're telling me CDR couldn't possibly improve our rotation IMMEDIATELY as a #8 or 9 guy???
#20
jdub
06/26/08 07:51 PM
Yes I am we are one player away from winning a championship and the coaching staff and managment felt that the one player they needed would not be aquired at the 27th pick so instead they traded thier pick (by getting more money to spend and more roster flexibility) and have put themselves in position to become a bigger player in the market. They have 4 more million dollars to offer now, they think having chris paul and the nuecleus of our team plus being championship contenders make us a very appealing team for any free agent. This extra 4 million may not seem like much but thats a huge difference for any FA that we may be wanting to pursue. We have put ourselves in position to add the one already proven player to our roster that could put us over the top. We could not have gotten that player in the draft with the 27th pick. maybe in 3 years the rook could be that guybut not next year and the coaches and management thinks we are ready to win it all this year not three years from now.
#21
jdub
06/26/08 07:58 PM
Personally i love the move and cant wait to see who bower and scott think can put us over the top, maybe ben gordon, ricky davis, alonzo mourning really intrests me and even mutumbo as a reliable backup big, we really couldve used thereD against SA. We need a reliable scorer and a reliable backup big so lets wait and see what we can do with the extra money in FA
#22
Anonymous
06/27/08 03:37 AM
Ben Gordon, Ron Artest and Corey Maggette are the 3 big names on FA. I think all 3 can be convinced into taking the MLE but it would definitly be a stretch as they are all worth more. In one of the quotes Byron made he said that if we get the free agent we want we would be contenders, which makes me think that we are looking for a specific player. We know the Hornets tired picking up Ben Gordon at the deadline last year but were not able to. So maybe he is the main guy they are targeting. Ben Gordon would add a lot of scoring and would open things up even more for CP, Peja and West how would our defense be affected. Gordon also does is strictly a jump shooter so we again have no slashers. But than again maybe byron thinks it can work and he feels that good team defense wold be enough to make up for such a short backcourt.
#23
Jason
06/27/08 03:52 AM
I'll have to admit, I was just as puzzled in '06 when we passed on an outside shooter (Rodney Carney/Shawne Williams) to take Cedric Simmons, but then we followed that up by getting Peja on the FA market. So if this means there is a Ben Gordon in our future, Iguess I amcool with that.
#24
Ryan Schwan
06/27/08 07:26 AM
I'm sorry. There's not a chance we're getting any of those three without a trade being involved. Like I said in my last post, the Hornets have $9 million to spend on players. They have 10 players under contract, and usually like to carry 14. The most we can offer any single free agent is about 6million a year. Gordon turned down a bigger contract already, Cory Maggette opted out of a contract that paid him even more, and Ron Artest is most likely not opting out of his contract and will not be a free agent. Considering Pargo is going to take probably 3 million, a pair of minimum contracts will eat another 2 million, we'll be able to offer someone 4 million to come and join the Hornets. You'll need to set your sights lower than the big free agents this off-season, unless an unlikely trade occurs.
www.hornets247.com #25
ticktock6
06/27/08 08:20 AM
Artest has changed his mind like 3 times this week. Personally I'd like to see us sign Sam Cassell-- then he could take ill advised threes repeatedly and early in the shot clock, and it would be like having two Pargos, except one's an ALIEN! (aka I have nothing useful to say, except that I can't wait to see what rumors pop up closer to next week...)
hornetshype.com #26
Jason
06/27/08 09:26 AM
OK, Ryan...so we passed on Darrell Arthur, a legit froncourt scoring threat, so we could pocket some cash and sign a B-list free agent for about $4 million? In order for me to start feeling better about that move, what kind of players CAN we get for the money we have left?
#27
roland
06/27/08 09:49 AM
hornets have a big name player in mind. not sure who it is but im told that it is a sg or sf. my guess would be Gordon, Artest or Maggette since they are the best big name wing players out there on FA.
#28
Mark
06/27/08 12:41 PM
Okay, so admittingly I'm following the media on this one, but isn't Darrell Arthur some sort of an amazing player? Sure we might have little real need at the position, but with such an esteemed player, shouldn't we have kept him, at leastfor practice fodder (I doubt all the money saved would equate a player who wasprojected ~15. At 27, his salary must have been relatively low)? Oh well, it's been done, so I shouldn't be spectulating anyway. Bah. Go make some calls Bower.
#29
Dave
06/27/08 01:01 PM
How much will it cost in free agency to replace Darrell Arthur? Answer: A heck of a lot more than they got by selling the pick. I'm thinking a Marcus Banks contract looks good right now because we all know bigs make more money. $4-6mil per annum for a player that won't have the potential of Arthur. Oh that's going to be good. I've almost got all the bitterness out of my system ... a few more days perhaps
nbaroundtable.wordpress.com/ #30
mW
06/28/08 07:42 AM
I'm through second-guessing the Hornets management. They've done a pretty great job in the past several years. They want to move into contention now, so I can see letting the 27th pick go. I too am reading between the lines that they have someone specific in mind in free agency, and I dare say they may have that person on board already and are just waiting for the days on the calendar to tick off. I guess we'll see...
hornetshype.com #31
the real roland
06/29/08 08:15 AM
hey guys it looks like there has been imposter of me the last few weeks. I haven't spoken to my "source" in weeks so i had no idea what hornets were doing in draft or what they are doing in FA. I'll try and get in touch because I want to know if my Grizz are close to making any big time moves. Conley-Mayo-Gay-Arthur-Darko is a gonna be really good in 3 years. I'll try and get back to you as soon as possible.
#32
hornetz
06/29/08 09:55 AM
May I re-post what i wrote 10 days ago? hornetz says: What's the chance that the Hornets attempt to acquire James Posey? He is rumored to be leaving Boston and joining a contender. Mind you, he will be highly sought after, as he has been a key contributor for two championship teams...
#33