Bamba #5

The one thing Ellis can do that no one else on our roster can is create his own shot at any point in time. With the game on the line he can get a good look. I watched him a ton over the last couple of years and he has improved his range, consistency, and play making ability. I think, at the right price, he would be a very good addition.

There is one reason why I don't Chris Paul to the Knicks will happen. The Knicks don't have anyone they can offer to make the deal fair and there are plenty of other teams that can make better offers (eg. Boston). The Hornets are owned by the NBA. Can you imagine the uproar that would take place if the NBA owned Hornets shipped Paul to the largest market team for ten cents on the dollar when there were other teams willing and able to make much better offers? The small market owners would, and rightfully so, go ballistic.

I haven't posted here in years, ever since the message board conversion a time ago. For discussion sake I think I would take this course. Here are the facts that I am basing my decision on. As we stand now the team has about $78 million committed in 2012-13 salaries. This is assuming Howard is not traded and has a cap hold of approximately $20 million, Brandon Bass does not exercise his player option and remains in the books at $4 million, and Arenas does not exercise his player option and remains on the books at $21 million. 1) I exercise the amnesty clause on Gilbert Arenas but I do not do this until the end of the season. There are a couple of reasons. The first is that regardless of whether he plays on the team or not ownership has to pay him. We might as well use him especially given my 2nd point. Plus, we all know Arenas marches to the beat of his own drum and he may just be eccentric enough to opt out of his deal. He would be crazy to do so but you never know. If by some chance he did we could use the amnesty on Turkoglu, if not we use it on Arenas. 2) Second, and this is not going to be popular, I trade Jameer Nelson, J.J. Redick, Brandon Bass, and possibly Ryan Anderson for nothing more than expiring contracts. In this scenario we would not get equal talent or anything close but we could trim $21 million off of next year's payroll. Obviously I would try to trade Duhon, Turkoglu, and Richardson as well but I doubt there is a market for any of them. We know the preceeding four players have value around the league as all have drawn interest in the past and if you aren't asking for anything more than expiring contracts then I think it is possible. This is exactly what Miami did when they shipped out the number two pick in the draft, Michael Beasley, for nothing more than expiring contracts. 3) After all is said and done we have dropped $42 million off of the books and possibly more if someone would take Duhon or Richardson. That has us sitting at $36 million in committed salaries this summer including Howard's cap hold. Assuming the cap is in the neighborhood of $55-$56 million that leaves enough money to retain Howard and pursue an elite level talent. I would approach Howard this summer and tell him that the team is positioned to re-sign him and another max player. We just need him to sign on the line and recruit like Wade did in Miami. This is what he has wanted all along and it has been proven to work. I'm sure folks would hate to see guys like Anderson get traded for nothing but guys like Anderson are replaceable. If you have a chance to get a superstar player to team with Howard you take it. I am sure Miami didn't enjoy trading Beasley for nothing but it was a long term view type of move and it worked out fine. Under any scenario, if Howard leaves we are in rebuilding mode. I would rather be in rebuilding mode with a wide open payroll than be in rebuilding mode with future commitments to players like Redick and Jameer. This also allows us to play this thing out to the end rather than make a panic trade and get $.20 on the dollar. Happy Holidays.

07:07 PM: RUMOR: Chris Mannix is reporting the Wolves are contemplating trading the No. 2 overall pick for Monta Ellis. Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/nba/draft/draftnight?1308871445560#ixzz1Q91dIRC7

Wasn't there some talk when we acquired Richardson about Otis having interest in Boris Diaw?

Alex Kennedy: The Magic continue to shop Jameer Nelson, with Portland and Charlotte as two potential suitors. (Fixed the link): http://tinyurl.com/6gh8fjg now Read more: http://hoopshype.com/twitter/media.html#ixzz1Q8yJBf7Z