Or maybe
I think I've actually got a fairly good idea as to how we can fix the point guard situation. I've been tinkering with the following trade:
Phoenix acquires:
Andre Igoudala
Philadelphia acquires:
Julian Wright
Jordan Hill
Morris Peterson
Darius Songaila
Amar'e Stoudamire
New Orleans acquires:
Larry Hughes
Eddy Curry
Sam Dalembert
Knicks acquire:
Chris Paul
Peja Stojakovic
Mareese Speights
Suns motivation: The Suns have been enamored with Iggy since Philadelphia drafted him. He's an 3 who can spot at the 2, and would provide the Suns with a dynamic player to slot in place of Grant Hill. Iggy is just entering his prime, and would look pretty good catching an oop from Nash.
76ers motivation: The Sixers have made it clear they're willing to trade Iggy for cap space, and given the fact that they are also able to move Dalembert, I imagine they would be inclined to make this move. Losing Speights hurts, but they get back Stoudamire, an all-star center/forward, as well as Jordan Hill, who despite my thinking, still could have some potential. Why not run a lineup of Holliday/Williams/Wright/Brand/Stoudamire? Sure, it's not an all-star roster, but it's passable, and entertaining. Although this limits the Sixers this offseason, in 2011, assuming Amare doesn't opt out, they will have $31.2 mil off the books from this deal alone, which is a tremendous amount of money. Let's face it, the Sixers aren't winning anytime soon, so this helps them down the road.
Hornets Motivation: Maybe Bourbon Street is too drunk to notice this deal? That would be my hope. But in all seriousness, the Hornets have made it clear that they are financially strapped, and Paul is clearly unhappy with the direction of the club. Chances of resigning him to the max deal he will require are slim to none. So why not deal now, especially with the emergence of Darren Collinson? In Hughes and Curry, the Hornets get $24.1 Mil off the books from this trade. Assuming they stand pat this offseason, with a lottery pick in this draft, and Dalembert's contract expiring after the 2011 season, New Orelans could enter the summer of 2011 with a core of Colison, West, Okafor, Thornton, and their pick from this years draft. This trade projects to add 11 losses to the Hornets' season, which could put the Hornets in a position to acquire a player such as Wesley Johnson or Al-Faroug Aminu. Not an all-world core, by any means, but solid. Factor in the fact that they would have the cap space to offer a potential max deal, and the team would be poised to come into the 2012 season quite competitively.
Knicks Motivation: Anytime you have the opportunity to acquire the top PG in the league to run a point guard based offense, you do it. I know, the Knicks don't want to add cap because of some guy named Lebron something or other, but realistically, we don't have much of a shot of signing him anyway. I know, the pipe dream is that he truly wants to sign with us, but Knicks management actually has some hesitation. There is rumbling that his ankle isn't fully healthy, and with his physical style of play, that's a scary idea. I really believe it is best for us to utilize our assets to acquire talent we can bank on, rather than clear up cap for speculative adds. But, enough defending punting free agency, let's look at the players we acquire. Paul is the best point guard in the league. Plain and simple. He comes hard every night, and is a true leader, a player you can build a championship team around. HE IS THE IDEAL D'ANTONI PLAYER. I know it's not 2003, but Peja can still drain it from deep. He would provide a guy we could give 20-25 minutes to, and can give us 15 points or so. Plus, wouldn't it be fun to see how many 3's he could actually make in the offense? His playing style in his prime is very much like what I expect Danilo's to be, so he would also bring a mentoring aspect to the locker room. And finally, one of my favorite talents in the league, the Knicks acquire Speights. Speights is one of the few players in the league who has 20-10-2 block potential. He's a big body, but he's athletic enough to stretch the floor. This trade then gives the Knicks the following rotation:
PG: Chris Paul
SG: Wilson Chandler
SF: Danilo Gallinari
PF: David Lee
C: Mareese Speights
Bench: Toney Douglas, Peja Stojakovic, Jarred Jeffries, Mike Miller (Mid-level Exception), etc (don't want to speculate too much)
I don't want to get ahead of myself, but that's a playoff team, at the very least. Here's why:
Offensively: This is a team that's going to run, and is going to score. Paul gives athleticism that few teams can keep up with. The team will be running a bunch of pick and rolls with Lee and Paul, and in so doing, opening up the perimeter for Nilo. Speights creates an issue, because teams will have to collapse on him down low, which will leave Chandler, Nilo, and Paul open. In this offense, I could easily see Speights and Lee both averaging upwards of 2.5 assists, with the multi-facetted attack. The 2nd rotation would accomplish this just as effectively, with sharp shooters in Miller and Peja. It's a multi-dimensional offense, and it really looks good.
Defensively: Paul is one of the best defensive point guards in the league, which immediately solves a big problem for us. The line-up is big, with two players (Chandler and Nilo) who appear to be getting it defensively (or at least will improve on that end). The Speights-Lee front court would be a nightmare. Lee isn't a center who can defend centers in this league effectively, but as a power forward, this problem is fixed. Speights will continue to learn defensively, and could put up 2+ block per game for us. Throw in Jeffries off the bench as a shut down defender a la Bruce Bowen, and the defense is, at worst, passable.
The chances of this trade happening are a trillion to one. I am well aware of that. But it makes sense, no? Love to hear your comments/thoughts/criticisms/personal attacks!
