We’re just three days away from the Trade Deadline and the suddenly Playoff-determined Bobcats are on the clock. We return with Part Two of our plausible trade scenarios list (find Part One here) …
The Righting the Wrong Fit Scenario
TRADE: Charlotte sends Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Brendan Haywood and Portland’s 1st Round Pick to the Warriors for Harrison Barnes and Marreese Speights.
Barnes is a volume scoring distance shooter miscast as a backup in Golden State. Kidd-Gilchrist is a rim slashing defensive stopper stuck on a team desperate for spacing. They’ve both struggled this season and this trade would not only upgrade their respective teams’ needs today but could also raise the ceiling on both of their careers long term.
The Warriors have made defense a priority and MKG’s tenacity on that end either as a sub for Iggy at the three or as a small-ball four could do wonders for Golden State come Playoff time, especially when Andrew Bogut checks out. On offense, Kidd-Gilchrist would have a tremendous amount of space to slash to the rim or post up while playing with the Splash Brothers – easy buckets and a reduced offensive role could build MKG’s confidence as he works on his perimeter game.
In return, the future Hornets receive Jamal Mashburn 2.0, a multi-talented scorer who can both stretch the floor and create his own shot. They’d also be betting Coach Clifford can extract some of the defensive potential Barnes has flashed since playing at North Carolina.
The cost of this swap – sending out a late first rounder and taking on an extra year of Marreese Speights – is more to the ego than it is to the team. The Cats’ front office would be admitting that it made a mistake in the 2012 Draft and is now paying interest on the penalty.
The Helping a Friend Hit Restart Scenario
TRADE: Charlotte sends Ben Gordon and Portland’s 1st Round Pick to the Cavs for Luol Deng.
Cleveland basically paid the same price for Deng just a couple months ago – back when they had a different general manager who thought (or was instructed to think) his team was on the verge of something. The Cavs are currently three games back of Charlotte for the 8th Playoff spot and sports an ugly -5.3 point differential. Deng has also let it be known through back channels that he will not be re-signing with Cleveland in July so if the Cavs are going to recoup anything on their investment, they’ll need to do it quick.
The Cats do the deal betting that a combination of Al, Kemba, Clifford and cap space will be enough to lure Luol back in July. In the meantime, Deng instantly becomes the best small forward in the franchise’s history (I’m not discounting Crash, Deng is that good). His defensive skills are well known and, having played under fellow Van Gundy alum Coach Thibs in Chicago, should be able to fit right into Clifford’s scheme in Charlotte.
Offensively, Deng can hit from distance often enough to keep teams honest (career 33%) and has the right combination of personality and chops to either drop twenty a night or facilitate for other players. Deng turns 29 in April and the Cats would likely pursue a two year extension at around $12m per – timing it perfectly with MKG’s restricted free agency.
The Intriguing Salary Dump Scenario
TRADE: Charlotte sends Ben Gordon, Bismack Biyombo and Portland’s 1st Round Pick to the Celtics for Jeff Green and Brandon Bass.
The Blazers pick should be enough to get this one done – as perpetually intriguing as Green’s talent is, he turns 28 in August and is owed $18 million for the next two seasons. The Celts fast forward their rebuilding efforts by dumping a combined $25 million and add yet another late first rounder to their stockpile – if any team can make a run at Kevin Love this summer, it will be Boston.
Charlotte gains a Small Forward who loves the corner trey and who has traditionally defended that position well. We covered Bass’s pick & pop capabilities in Part One. Charlotte’s overwhelming needs heading into the deadline were to upgrade the Power Forward position and add floor spacing. This trade does both at a relatively low cost.
–ASChin
There is no way I can get behind trading MKG. However, I would move Kemba ‘Tightrope’ Walker and whatever else it takes for Rondo. I would run with a Rondo/Sessions PG-situation all day long.
Kemba-“haters” are rare. I don’t feel the same but commend you on taking a unique viewpoint. My only issue with Rondo is that Charlotte has problems enough scoring already – replacing Kemba’s shot-creating for Rajon’s troubled stroke could hurt as much as it helps. Thanks for reading.
The Bobcats are primed to lose their own 1st Rd Pick and there is no “sure-fire great talent” outside of the 8-10 Pick at best. Also, I will never trust the Bobcats with their draft selections (they are as bad as bad can be at drafting). In addition, the next two summers provide very little “really-good upgrades” in Free Agency that could have a REAL chance at signing with the Hornets, so the best way is to trade for an upgrade.
There are basically two separate deals that could work very well for the Bobcats/Hornets and give them a pretty solid team and some credibility for the next two year and still set them up very well after that (unless we can get Harrison Barnes, I would prefer this, even with the salary implications):
Bobcats – Bucks – Clippers:
Bobcats get: G. Neal, E. Ilyasova & Z. Pachulia from Bucks, and J. Dudley from Clippers.
Bucks get: B. Gordon, B. Haywood, J. Adrien, Portlands 2014 Pick from Bobcats (and huge Salary Cap flexibility).
Clippers get: B. Biyombo from Bobcats (they are craving some defensive frontcourt help).
That would leave the Bobcats with:
PG: Kemba, Sessions, Pargo
SG: Henderson, Neal, Taylor
SF: MKG, Dudley, CDR
PF: McRoberts/Ilyasova/Tolliver
C: Jefferson/Pachulia/Zeller
The spacing provided by Neal, Dudley and Ilyasova; plus the rebounding and size from Ilyasova and Pachulia, is exactly what the Bobcats need to be a Top 5 Team in the East for the next 2 years, when combined with their current Top-10 defense.
I’m with you on the lackluster 2014 Free Agent crop – there really isn’t an intriguing unrestricted player outside of Lance Stephenson (unless you think Melo’s leaving NYC).
As for the trade, it speaks to your idea that a Neal/Caron Butler was actually discussed between the two teams according to Yahoo!
Illyasova’s poor play has probably placed him squarely in the “untradeable” bin – too bad b/c he has shown ability as a stretch four in the past but the contract is UGLY and could hurt a team long term. Like the direction though. Thanks again for reading.
I would do the Barnes trade in a second. I like Speights as well and we could use a PF. Please do that Charlotte.
They ended up doing something a lot less explosive. Neal will help with spacing and Ridnour will be fine in limited minutes. Still concerned with Cody getting a ton of minutes down the stretch though. He’s 15-20 pounds of muscle away from being ready. As for Barnes, I’d do that deal today but seems like Cats are invested in MKG for the long run. Both have their moments, both risky in different ways.