We all expect one of our better players to be moved this offseason (which sucks, honestly) so I'll just jump right into this.
The obvious choice a few months ago was Tyson Chandler, but his trade value is (or should be) extremely low right now due to the rescinded trade with OKC because of concerns for one of his toes and also because of the ankle injury that kept him on the sidelines more often than not. So who's the guy with the most trade value not named Tyson Chandler or Chris Paul? Pains me to say it, but I believe it's the Fluffmeister himself: David West.
I made a list (if you can call it that) of trade scenarios that work financially that I'd like to see the Hornets explore. Here are the few that I came up with:
David West to Miami Heat in exchange for forward Udonis Haslem and forward James Jones
- Upside for the Hornets- We get a very solid (slightly undersized) PF with championship experience and add another solid 3 pt. threat coming off of our bench or who can step in and start in case Peja has back trouble this season. For the Heat- They improve offensively and get a great young player in David West to play alongside Dwyane Wade and Jermaine O'Neal.
- Downside for the Hornets- We lose our best scoring threat. For the Heat- Some would say it would hinder the development of young forward Michael Beasley BUT I've read rumors that the Heat are exploring moving Beasley to SF. If they do, all the more reason for them to consider this trade.
David West to Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for guard Thabo Sefolosha, forward DJ White, and forward/center Nick Collison
- Upside for the Hornets- We get a solid big man who would bring some hustle and solid rebounding, a young guard who could give us more depth, and DJ White who hasn't made his NBA debut yet. For the Thunder- They get a great player who is a solid rebounder and can help smooth out the kinks in their halfcourt offense.
- Downside for the Hornets- see above. For the Thunder- No downside as far as I can see.
David West to Sacramento Kings in exchange for forwards Kenny Thomas and Jason Thompson
- Upside for the Hornets- We get a young power forward in Thompson who is coming off of a very solid rookie campaign (11.4 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 50% FG). As for Thomas, his contract would come off the books after the season. For the Kings- see above plus they finally get rid of Kenny Thomas.
- Downside for the Hornets- Kenny Thomas' contract ($8mil per?!?!?) makes the deal work. I honestly can't say the last time I remember seeing him play. Had to be at least 2 or 3 seasons ago. For the Kings- see above.
*David West to Chicago Bulls in exchange for guard/forward John Salmons and forward Tyrus Thomas (The reason I have an asterisk next to this trade is because if it had any chance of happening, I'd like to think it would be based on what Bulls G Ben Gordon (UFA) does this offseason. I'd like to think that if he re-signs, Salmons MAY be expendable. If not, I can't see them letting both Gordon AND Salmons get away)
- Upside for Hornets- We get a legit scoring guard and an athletic shot blocker/rebounder. For the Bulls- They get a proven power forward who can help improve their halfcourt offense.
- Downside for the Hornets- We lose West. For the Bulls- I think they'd miss Thomas' athleticism.
This time around, I tried to look at the trades from both sides. Part 2 will be all about Peja.
12 mighty comments post your own
bigindian15
05/09/09 01:38 PM
I think the Bulls would be more likely to trade Tim Thomas rather than Salmons. Tim Thomas comes off the books after next season and would give us a backup big, so maybe something to consider
#1
Andrea
05/09/09 05:38 PM
Bigindian: That would work. He and Salmons have similar salaries.
#2
Niall Doherty
05/10/09 04:24 PM
I really like Salmons after he played well against us this season and balled well in the playoffs. I think the Bulls may be able to get even better value for a package of him and Tyrus Thomas though.
I wouldn't be opposed to any of these trades really, but if the Hornets do decide to trade West, I really hope they focus on becoming more of a running team.
www.ndoherty.com #3
Mikey
05/11/09 12:48 PM
While I'm not opposed to any of those scenarios, I would want to package Peja and David West in any trade talks. IMO, if you want one of these guys, you have to take both.
But in all honesty, the Hornets have no leverage in most (if any) of these trade talks. They need to shed salary, and everyone and their grandma knows it. That press coference last week was an attempt to gain some pseudo-leverage for negotiating purposes. The Hornets are publically letting it be known that they are not afraid to pay the luxury tax, IF if comes to that. Personally, I refuse to believe that stance until I hear it from George Shinn himself. In the meantime the Hornets have to at least try to put themselves in a better position to make deals, and need to make any trade they execute this summer NOT look like a cost-cutting move or firesale. Make no mistake about it though, that press conference was not for the Hornet-faithful here in New Orleans. It was an attempt to send a message to the other teams in the Association. Time will only tell how they receive it.
#4
Andrea
05/11/09 01:19 PM
Mikey: I wouldn't be disappointed if Peja and David were packaged together but that's $21 mil. Not a lot of teams looking to make trades have players who make even an ounce of that amount. If we made a deal like that, it'd be these 2 for 4 or 5 guys unless we could get a big name who'd be off the books soon. Only teams that come to mind who may be able to make that deal are maybe Charlotte or Phoenix.
#5
BeesGivingEffort
05/11/09 03:30 PM
Something to keep in mind when thinking about these trades. Just because we are ready to clean house with certain players and we think them hinderances to us as a team, does NOT mean that other teams and their fans don't want these guys. If you go and read Detroit boards etc, you will see plenty of fan support in acquiring Chandler and/or David West and a suprising bashing of Rip/Tay from their ends. So just keep in mind perspective when thinking bout how realistic these trades are.
#6
Mikey
05/11/09 03:39 PM
Andrea: Hey, if you want David West that bad, what's it worth to you? West would definitely have to be a packaged with other players though. Also, I think T-Mac's contract expires sometime soon (bad idea by the way).
#7
SavageHenry
05/11/09 04:17 PM
Nice work, Andrea.
I like the Chicago proposition the most, although I have to agree with Niall about them probably being able to get a better deal elsewhere.
Also, did everyone see this?:
http://news-herald.com/articles/2009/05/11/sports/nh878698.txt
Cites unnamed sources as saying the Hornets are making everyone available except CP3 and D-West. It also briefly mentions that the Cavs could have interest in Tyson, hinting that Ben Wallace's $14.5 million expiring contract would be the centerpiece to Cleveland's offer.
After reading it over, I tried a few different NO-Cle scenarios with the trade machine, and didn't really like what I came up with. Varejao is likely to opt out and become a free agent after this year, leaving Cleveland with few attractive pieces for us. I came up with this, though I'm not sure how realistic it is:
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=py4orf
I'm still holding out hope that JuJu will work out for us, so I'd like to see something like this go through involving Hilton or someone else instead.
#8
bigindian15
05/11/09 07:42 PM
@SavageHenry: Cleveland won't trade Delonte, he's really important to them. Also, I can't find any reason why they would want JuJu when they have the ultimate sf in Lebron...
#9
saltandcarbon
05/12/09 01:12 AM
Love Delonte. Love his character and his play and his hair. Such spongey hair. But I'm with bigindian that Cle probably wouldn't want to part with the other Mr West. Although I don't think they'd be averse to picking up Julian, because they shuffle the PF, SF and SG positions around a lot. JuJu can play all three and could compliment Pavlovic/Wally in a second unit setup where they switch nominal positions. I baulked at Cleve taking Tyson as a Big Z backup too, but Tyson could essentially slot in where Wallace is always injured - I mean plays. Risky for them but it lines up better than first glance suggests...
#10
Andrea
05/12/09 01:09 PM
Other than Peja, who should we try to package with David IF he's being moved? I'd probably try to go with JuJu, Hilton, AD, or Mo Pete
#11
bigindian15
05/13/09 12:12 AM
I'd say we can trade Daniels by himself or with Hilton or Juju just because I think the contract might be worth something now to a team looking to clear cap space for Amare or Bosh (LeBron is off the list, I think he's staying now) in 2010. I say we package West with AT LEAST Mo Pete and maybe Hilton or Juju to sweeten the package a little. There must be some team out there who still believes Hilton can make it...right?
There are a lot of borderline teams that West could really, really help. He would be great in:
Detroit - package around Tayshaun
Chicago - package around Ty Thomas
Miami - I know this one is a longshot, but it works and I'd be really, really happy:
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=q8eb8d
Maybe Toronto if we could get another team or 2 involved in a blockbuster
Maybe Phoenix if the same applies
That's why I think trading West might not be the end of the world, unless he and CP have a much stronger Bromance than any of us realize
#12