Friday, November 13, 2009

Weekend Trade

Only in the land of the Grizz are trade proposals that ship the team's leading scorer out of town a pleasant distraction 9 games into the season.



Here's my weekend trade proposal. Though it will never happen (because it requires the Grizzlies to take on long term money), it was accepted by ESPN's trade machine. So there's that.

Otherwise, I think we can use draft picks and cash to negotiate.


Cleveland gets Stephen Jackson, the disgruntled veteran, and Steven Hunter, a body off the bench to replace Ilgauskas. Cleveland probably has to give up draft picks and cash but gambles on Jackson providing enough defense and shooting on the wing to get past Orlando and Boston.


Golden State gives up the best players in the trade, but...
1. They get rid of the disgruntled Jackson.
2. They part with Monta Ellis, who hates the coach and the organization and is locked into a 5 year deal.
3. They get Ilgauskas' expiring deal.
4. They get Conley and Gay, who are cheap and may benefit from a change in scenery and a new system. It's not like the Warriors are big on defense.
5. They get long term savings.
6. Jaric is included to make the numbers work. He excels in this role. He would probably end up being Coach Nelson's favorite player.


Memphis acquires Monta Ellis, a young veteran with all star potential and local ties, and Kelenna Azubuike, a veteran small forward to temporarily fill in for the loss of Gay. (My first trade didn't include Azubuke or Jaric, but then I realized we wouldn't have any small forwards on the team or even anyone to trade later. Plus, I wanted to write "Kelenna" on the blog.)

I have advocated for acquiring Ellis before. Pairing Ellis with Mayo would make for an exciting back court. If we're ready to give up on Conley (and I think we are), then we have to do this.

How does this affect the Grizzlies' season?

How does it affect the upcoming (just-around-the-corner) draft?

Would AI come off the bench behind someone who is actually good?

These are the questions we have to ask. Discuss.

13 comments:

J-Bo said...

Man, the Grizz should sign Pops Mensah-Bonsu now that he has been waived by the Rockets.

warsaw said...

@ J-Bo

Mensah has been waived by the last 5 teams he's been with, including european ones. In less than one year.
Dunno what it is but there has to be something wrong with him.

warsaw said...

About the trade, I think is not great for the Cavs.

Ilgauskas fits in well into their system, as a big body who can shoot jumpers when Lebron feeds him. He's a decent rebounder too.

Hunter is faster, but no more than a journeyman for them.

Jackson is a great player but he would have to come from the bench, which could be a problem considering Jackson's mentality.

David Jones said...

No offense J-Bo, but I don't think "PMB" is a game changer for us.

But then again, neither is Jamaal Tinsley, so what do I know?

Warsaw, I agree Jackson is a risk, but I don't think losing Big Z is a big price to pay. Jackson could certainly derail the chemistry in Cleveland, but at this point, I don't see the Cavs beating the Lakers, Celts, or Magic.

Jackson gets them closer. (BTW Z is having his worse season by far. 6 pts on 33% shooting...) The bigger question for me is can the Cavs get something better for the expiring contract.

I think Golden State and Memphis (shoot me now) are more likely to kill the deal. GSW has to give up their franchise guy, and Mem has to effectively evaluate talent to get the deal done.

warsaw said...

But then again his talent would be a bit redundant there. The Cavs don't need ball handling having Lebron and Mo and they are already a very good defensive team (Anthony Parker is underrated). Also Jackson is a bad shooter (0,418 career fg%) which is problematic considering that the Cav's game plan is to have Lebron finding an open man.

I believe the Cavs are top-notch in the 1-2-3 positions and don't need an upgrade there.

Their biggest problem is that their bigs are slow, old or fat.
Z may be heading to his worst season considering his age and the numbers you put. Trouble is I don't see Hunter as an improvement over him.

I agree it would be difficult for The Warriors. And Ilgauskas on that running team would be hilarious. But I would love it for Memphis. I've been enjoying Monta Ellis game for years and he'll be the most exciting player that Memphis has had in years. I even think he could sell a lot of tickets by himself which would be enough for Heisley.

Shawty said...

Holy Crap, I didn't know the Grizzlies had fans outside of Memphis. And you actually cared to work the trade machine. I'm impressed. Wish you could come to town so we can stuff you with BBQ ,and you can show the folks that come to games and root for the other team how to be a real fan.

Bill said...

Holy crap, David!
You've been invited to Memphis for BBQ!
Sweet!

Curt said...

So, when we won last night, streamers and confetti came out of the sky and went everywhere!! Question: How many sets of streamers do you think they purchased to prepare for the season?

Curt said...

http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/memphis_grizzlies_continue?utm_source=onion_rss_daily

David Jones said...

Shawty, my favorite is a pulled pork sandwich from Corky's.

Curt, a better question might be: "How much does it cost to ship streamers to Seattle?"

Curt said...

Luckily, I happen to have two roomies who both push boxes to Seattle. We may be able to get them at a discounted rate.

Lurch said...

Wow, so AI is gone and Jackson is now in Charlotte and all of this before I got to comment on this well researched and well posted article. My guess on streamers is probably 35 unless they are jsut reusing old sets from seasons gone by. Anyway i am just looking forward to a week of hornets games with no chris paul. the hornets might not score 50 once this week.

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