Malik Rose
Wilson Chandler
Nate Robinson

to Utah

for
Kosta Koufus
Matt Harpring
Knicks 2010 back

Done and done... that essentially amounts to Chandler for our pick back. I can't see the deal happening though, because the odds are pretty good of a Jerry Sloan/Nate Robinson homicide... and I have no idea who'd be the one to pull the trigger

How does this help Utah?

Utah could use the fire power off the bench but Deron is there and like Supreme said...Sloan and Nate would kill each other.

Posted by BRIGGS:

Posted by SupremeCommander:

Done and done... that essentially amounts to Chandler for our pick back. I can't see the deal happening though, because the odds are pretty good of a Jerry Sloan/Nate Robinson homicide... and I have no idea who'd be the one to pull the trigger

Actually I want Koufus more than the Pick--I would ask for the pick and settle for Koufus.

I like Koufos, but not more than the pick

if wanted to shoot nate, what is sloan going to want to do to him?

I like the trade idea. Although MDA probably thinks he can eventually be successful here w/o a true center, I think we're gonna have to come up with a big man somewhere along the way fellas and I like this kid Koufos a lot (Curry's just a gigantic failed experiment and it's time to move on no matter how long we have to carry him on this team - MDA's still saying all the right things about Eddy but I'm willing to bet he's been ready to move on from Curry himself ever since he took over here). Koufos is young, multi-skilled, legit 7', can play inside and out and can actually rebound and block a shot or two. Koufos wouldn't hinder anything at all in Mike's system, only enhance it. We're not talking Ewing, Olajuwon or the Admiral here obviously, but this kid's gonna be a good, productive big man for a long time. Kid has B/B+ type skills in every single area across the board. He can play.

We make this trade, we're all of a sudden very thin in the backcourt (who knows how long Harpring can keep going), so we'd have to follow up with addition moves, but to get a steady young big like Koufos, you pull the trigger on this and worry about the other stuff later. Narrow-minded Utah fans would probably have a problem with this deal, but I think it's fair. If they chose not to include the 1st rounder, I agree, I'd probably make the deal anyway - maybe we squeeze them for their 2nd rounder.

With Chandler and Nate gone in this scenario, I'd really look to add Morris Almond and Marcus Williams somehow for more backcourt depth, either this year or in the off-season when it looks like they'll part ways with their teams. Going out on a limb but I really think Almond could be a good one, maybe even a better pro than Chandler. He has size and strength and has a very good offensive game, untapped so far at the NBA level. Could be a bigtime offensive contributor and has the tools to help out on the glass as well for a wing. We've said it before, I know you have to take his prior numbers at Rice and in the D-League with a grain of salt a little, but the bottom line is you don't put up 25 a game in your senior year and multiple 50 pt. games in the D-League if you don't have any talent. Chandler, as skilled as he is, is never gonna put up numbers like that. Would love to get this kid and have Allan Houston work with him on advancing his game and realizing his potential. Same for Marcus Williams - kid has good ability to be a very nice PG in this league. All these guys need is a chance and I think they'd produce and play real well here for D'Antoni in this system. What do they say, one man's garbage is another man's treasure -- I'd love to grab these two and give them regular roles here with us. Gerald Green too if we could ever make the room, although I like Almond and Marcus Williams for us a little more...


[Edited by - finestrg on 01-23-2009 5:29 PM]

Posted by newyorknewyork:

Wilson Chandler has so much potential though. He really really needs to work on his handle. With his build if he had strong handle, opponents wouldn't be able to stop him from getting to the rack and absorbing contact. He should also work on pull ups off the dribble.

Limit the 3 ball and work on putting the ball on the floor or pull ups or taking it strong to the rack beating his man off the dribble.

You have to give to get. The draft is loaded with athletic wings and guards.

I thought the plan was to send Lee to utah?

Posted by BRIGGS:

Posted by Finestrg:

I like the trade idea. Although MDA probably thinks he can eventually be successful here w/o a true center, I think we're gonna have to come up with a big man somewhere along the way fellas and I like this kid Koufos a lot (Curry's just a gigantic failed experiment and it's time to move on no matter how long we have to carry him on this team - MDA's still saying all the right things about Eddy but I'm willing to bet he's been ready to move on from Curry himself ever since he took over here). Koufos is young, multi-skilled, legit 7', can play inside and out and can actually rebound and block a shot or two. Koufos wouldn't hinder anything at all in Mike's system, only enhance it. We're not talking Ewing, Olajuwon or the Admiral here obviously, but this kid's gonna be a good, productive big man for a long time. Kid has B/B+ type skills in every single area across the board. He can play.

We make this trade, we're all of a sudden very thin in the backcourt (who knows how long Harpring can keep going), so we'd have to follow up with addition moves, but to get a steady young big like Koufos, you pull the trigger on this and worry about the other stuff later. Narrow-minded Utah fans would probably have a problem with this deal, but I think it's fair. If they chose not to include the 1st rounder, I agree, I'd probably make the deal anyway - maybe we squeeze them for their 2nd rounder.

With Chandler and Nate gone in this scenario, I'd really look to add Morris Almond and Marcus Williams somehow for more backcourt depth, either this year or in the off-season when it looks like they'll part ways with their teams. Going out on a limb but I really think Almond could be a good one, maybe even a better pro than Chandler. He has size and strength and has a very good offensive game, untapped so far at the NBA level. Could be a bigtime offensive contributor and has the tools to help out on the glass as well for a wing. We've said it before, I know you have to take his prior numbers at Rice and in the D-League with a grain of salt a little, but the bottom line is you don't put up 25 a game in your senior year and multiple 50 pt. games in the D-League if you don't have any talent. Chandler, as skilled as he is, is never gonna put up numbers like that. Would love to get this kid and have Allan Houston work with him on advancing his game and realizing his potential. Same for Marcus Williams - kid has good ability to be a very nice PG in this league. All these guys need is a chance and I think they'd produce and play real well here for D'Antoni in this system. What do they say, one man's garbage is another man's treasure -- I'd love to grab these two and give them regular roles here with us. Gerald Green too if we could ever make the room, although I like Almond and Marcus Williams for us a little more...


[Edited by - finestrg on 01-23-2009 5:29 PM]

IF and of course any fantasy trade scenario is a 1-10000 if:) If we can acquire a 7 footer like Koufus using a combination of salary/luxury tax relief and two young athletic wings to sure up their very spotty bench---I'd be very much inclined to try to take a high pick and move down to grab a combination of Patrick Patterson and Nick Calathes as they are so-called spotted later in round 1 on many boards. I think they are both top 10 lottery talents.

If we honestly take a hard look at Chandler who has never had an efficient year in college or the pros[granted he is 21] but I don't think he is Granger 2 Shawn Marion 2 etc... I think he is a solid guy who will get better but i dont think he is the smartest player and I dont like his shot selection which is VERY hard to change. You also do have to give to get in this league

Trading our 1st rounder for 2 lower picks might very well be a favorable option but as of right now, I'd be looking to hit a homerun with the pick myself. Hopefully we're within striking distance to grab Jeff Teague - I like this kid so much that I'd work him out privately and if everything went well I'd guarantee him our pick, again provided we're within range to grab a player of his caliber - we'd have to be at least at 8 or better to have any kind of a realistic shot). We probably won't be (Teague will wind up going top 4 before it's all said and done I would think) but if there's a small chance he slipped to the 5-8 range, I'd like to be there to grab him. Kid's got Allen Iverson-type offensive talent with even more atleticism and better PG ability. Lethal combination of skills. Incredible... Something tells me though that with Gallo back and actually contributing (he's slowly gotten better every game so far) and the team clicking we'll win a few more games now than first thought and actually settle into the 10-12 range - not what I would want really but it's the reality of the situation (there's no tanking involved with Walsh and MDA I'm afraid - they're looking to win now, even at the expense of our draft positioning). Can't really make a call on what to do with our pick yet until we see what position we'll be drafting at and what talent's projected to go at that spot. I'm not sold on Patterson from KU - he plays real hard and is putting up the numbers but he's slightly undersized and I think there might be better options out there for this same type of player much lower in the draft, provided we could acquire an additional lower pick w/o too much trouble. I wouldn't be that excited if all we got outta this upcoming draft was Pat Patterson with our own pick around #10 say.

A little more on Koufos - really like this kid a lot. Even for a guy like Mike D'Antoni who has excelled w/o a 7 footer as part of his successful run the past few years, what's not to like? Only 19 yrs. old, 7 footer who can shoot well with great range, shows nice touch inside, can run the court (a key if you're gonna play from MDA) and also bang inside and muscle up for rebounds and blocks. Kid contributes in ever facet of the game. Utah would be crazy to trade this kid to be honest, but we would be giving up some nice talent in this deal as well as saving Utah some money as you've outlined so I don't think they'd hang the phone up on Donnie if he called and presented this idea. Before it's all said and done, between Koufos and Greg Oden, Koufos might actually have the more productive career. Sounds crazy I know, but when you take into account Oden's raw game, rough start in the NBA so far and his cranky, surgically-repaired knee, is that statement really that much of a stretch??

As of right now if it were up to me, this would be my plan - I'd make this deal, make it a point not to go crazy with the wins the rest of this year in order to maximize our draft position, then go homerun with the pick, look to acquire a few inexpensive options by the deadline and in the off-season, shed salary naturally as guys come off the cap and try like heck to shed Curry and Jeffries any way possible along the way. If we could ever do that, maybe it makes sense to keep Lee and add to him.

I might look to piece it together like this now:

5 - Kosta Koufos
4 - David Lee
3 - Bigtime 2010 FA - hopefully LeBron James or at the very least Joe Johnson - I want a difference maker
2 - Morris Almond (will probably become available for league minimum or LLE type money. Could he be made part of the Koufos deal?)
1 - Jeff Teague

Bench:

Danilo Gallinari
Marcus Williams (could become available for league minimum or LLE type money)
Gerald Green (could probably become available for league minimum or LLE type money)
Chris Duhon (keeper only if the money makes sense)
Eddy Curry
Jared Jeffries
Taj Gibson - saw him again last night and I just love this kid. He shows me something new every single time I watch him. Last night another solid game - 15/13 & 3 and that was with Wash. doubling him after only a few minutes into the game, forcing him to give it up in the post. USC lost a tough one on the road last night @ Washington but this kid played well and once again had a solid impact on the game. He rebounds the ball like a demon, can score with either hand inside as well as make faceup jumpshots out to 15-17', runs the court, actually helped bring the ball up mutiple times when Wash. started trapping Danny Hackett in the backcourt (Gibson surprisingly has a VERY good handle for a big guy), can pass and makes very good decisions with the ball (he'll be a low turnover guy in the NBA for a big man), and he's long and can jump making him very adept at blocking/altering shots. I know he's projected to go late but to me, he's middle of the 1st round type talent - he's that good. VERY GOOD POSSIBILITY this kid becomes an even better pro - it's obvious to me that he has the ability to be doing so much more yet the system he plays in, his teammates and his coach are holding him back IMO. Hopefully the Knicks are paying attention - I'd look to acquire a late pick somehow and get this kid on board. One of the most underrated college basketball players in America. Gibson's a much better value going anywhere from 25-35 in this draft than Patrick Patterson will be at 10 IMHO...
3 spots left - Maybe a 2nd tier 2010 FA (Steve Nash?), two 2010 2nd rounders we own - our own and the additional pick we acquired in the Balkman deal, and maybe one more young defensive-minded player for more depth along the way - maybe another guard, a wing or a cheap shot-blocker like a Justin Williams.

It's all hypothetical, but if we assembled that roster, we're competing for a trip to the finals.


[Edited by - finestrg on 01-24-2009 03:25 AM]