SBNation.com User Blog: Roll The Dyess

Bobcats shopping players

Roll The Dyess — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 06:24:07 -0000

Bobcats shopping players

Larry Brown doesn't think his players are playing:
"I had to get on them at halftime, beg them to play. That's not what I'm supposed to be doing,'' Brown told the Charlotte Observer. "No effort, no teamwork, guys don't run back. They blame it on the referees.''

Loose lips sink ships:
"It would not surprise me at all'' if the Bobcats move one of their top players, one source told the Observer. "I will say I think they're asking for a lot.''

Larry Brown for some reason still has a hard on for Rip, and we certainly like Gerald Wallace, so maybe there's something here. I also like Gortat, and Orlando could certainly use some wing help. Maybe Detroit, Charlotte, and Orlando start talking.

A possible trade scenario between the 3 teams:
Detroit gets Gerald Wallace, Marcin Gortat, and Matt Carroll
Charlotte gets Richard Hamilton, Vince Carter, and Tracy McGrady
Orlando gets Tayshaun Prince, Stephen Jackson, and DeSagana Diop
I'm sure draft picks will be involved and will be determined by a pissing contest.

Does it make sense?
Detroit gets rid of our aging veterans, gets a youngish center, and a guy we've all loved for a while in Wallace. Charlotte gets LB's boy and lots of salary dump. Orlando gets a championship.

Is it feasible?
3 way trades involving 9 players aren't the most common thing in the NBA.

The Palace has the cleanest vendors in michigan

Roll The Dyess — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 01:50:40 -0000

The Palace has the cleanest vendors in michigan

And Michigan stadiums had some of the highest rates of vendor violations. Florida was clearly the worst. It seemed like the fattest states had the dirtiest vendors, go figure.

Check it out yourself.

Kings and Cousins

Roll The Dyess — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 15:59:03 -0000

The first three picks in the draft will most probably be Wall, Turner, and Favors. Then the T-wolves pick and we've had it in our head that they just wouldn't be able to pass on Cousins. BUT, Wesley Johnson's draft stock is rising and Minnesota desperately needs a quality wing player.

So now the Kings are up with the 5th pick. Taking Cousins here makes sense in terms of their roster needs, DeMarcus' talent, and the Sactown Royalty fan support. I hope I'm speaking for all of us, that Cousins is head and shoulders above anyone else not named Wall, Turner, or Favors(going in the top three 99.99%). Swapping the 5th and 7th picks doesn't seem nearly as daunting as swapping the 2nd and 7th or even 4th and 7th, though it's just one pick higher. So, here's the trade:

Detroit gets 5th pick and Garcia

Sacremento gets the 7th pick and Hamilton

Why the Pistons do it: In a vacuum, the Pistons never ever do this trade, but there's two reasons why this makes sense in our circumstances. 1) Cousins is no ordinary 5th pick. He's a legitimate center who can score in the post and rebound. And we desperately need that. 2) Hamilton is sort of expendable since we have two starting shooting guards on our roster. Also, I don't know if it's just me, but the Pistons relationship with Rip and Tay seems like a previously good relationship realizing it has run its course. Don't sleep on Garcia though. He's young, efficient, and his offensive and defensive ratings have increased nicely since his rookie year. You didn't hear much about him, because he was out most of the year with a wrist injury. Didn't sound to serious so he should be ready for next year. And C'mon, how could we not appreciate another guy who's long, smooth, and explosive? Yes, he does have an awful contract with about $17 mil still guaranteed over the next 3 years, but on the bright side sometimes those contracts are perfect to complete big trades.

Why the Kings do it: Obviously Hamilton is a huge improvement over what they have now at the 2 spot. He'll come in and be a nice veteran voice for all their young guys, especially Tyreke. And as we've seen in Detroit, having your top guys coming from the same college just doesn't work, so naturally, they won't be too disappointed missing out on Cousins. Assuming GS takes Monroe, they'll still be able to grab Amino with the 7th pick as someone with a lot of potential that can grow along with Tyreke. A theory of the "Lebron never got a title in Cleveland, and is now looking for the first ship out" is that he never had younger players to grow up with. Sacramento is only committed to $33.2 mil next season, plus $2.2 mil for the 7th pick, pus $7.1 mil as the difference in Hamilton and Garcia's salary. This brings them to ~$42.5 mil. If the cap is at $56 mil this year it will still allow them to be about $13 mil under the cap, which should be enough to still sign a pretty good player or a couple solid rotation players.

********

This still saves us our best trade asset in Tay to go after a power forward also. Boozer anybody?

Detroit gets 5th pick and Garcia

Sacremento gets the 7th pick and Hamilton

********

This still saves us our best trade asset in Tay to go after a power forward also. Boozer anybody?

Offseason Potential

Roll The Dyess — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 04:53:17 -0000

1a) Trade Ben Gordon to Minnesota for Al Jefferson

1b) Minnesota drafts Cousins

1c) Draft Favors in 1st round

2) Draft Durrell Summers in 2nd round

3) Trade Charlie a.k.a Chunky a.k.a Chuckles to Chicago for Hinrich

4) Resign Bynum & Wallace

5) Trade Prince and Daye to Dallas for Marion and Najera

6) Sign Udonis Haslem with M.L.E.

7) Sign Jason Williams to Vets Min

8) Sell team to rich Russian guy and former rapper just like NJ.

This is what we come away with:

Stuckey/Bynum/Jason Williams

Hamilton/Hinrich/Durrell Summers

Marion/Jerebko/Dejaun Summers

Maxiell/Favors/Najera

Jefferson/Haslem/Wallace

1a) Trade Ben Gordon to Minnesota for Al Jefferson

1b) Minnesota drafts Cousins

1c) Draft Favors in 1st round

2) Draft Durrell Summers in 2nd round

3) Trade Charlie a.k.a Chunky a.k.a Chuckles to Chicago for Hinrich

4) Resign Bynum & Wallace

5) Trade Prince and Daye to Dallas for Marion and Najera

6) Sign Udonis Haslem with M.L.E.

7) Sign Jason Williams to Vets Min

8) Sell team to rich Russian guy and former rapper just like NJ.

This is what we come away with:

Stuckey/Bynum/Jason Williams

Hamilton/Hinrich/Durrell Summers

Marion/Jerebko/Dejaun Summers

Maxiell/Favors/Najera

Jefferson/Haslem/Wallace

Jonas Jerebko study Ron Artest?

Roll The Dyess — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 20:33:00 -0000

This may be the most credit ever given to a current Pistons player by ESPN. An insider story has Ron Artest as the guy Jonas Jerebko should study:

"It might seem like an odd pairing, but it will make perfect sense. Jerebko has the stuff to be a real pain in the butt to go up against -- all arms and elbows and a red-hot engine that never stops. Great teams always seem to have one guy who fires up his own team while punishing opponents with both mental and physical play.

Artest is not the player he once was (I'd want Jerebko to pull out some classic game film of Artest and maybe even get into some '90s Dennis Rodman footage), but he'll show Jerebko enough to help him reach another level on defense and the boards. No, I don't want Jerebko to look at Artest's shot selection -- just his ability to get under the skin of his opponents using his length, physicality and bone-crushing attitude" - David Thorpe

This may be the most credit ever given to a current Pistons player by ESPN. An insider story has Ron Artest as the guy Jonas Jerebko should study:

ESPN Insider Trade Story

Roll The Dyess — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 02:09:41 -0000

I guess no one has seen this yet.. or taken the time to post it so:

Trade Buzz: 5 deals that make sense

By Chad Ford

(I guess I'll just post the trade involving the pistons so i don't step on espn's toes)

2. Pistons-Jazz-Mavs

Trade Machine

Detroit gets: Carlos Boozer (from Utah), Josh Howard (from Dallas), Matt Carroll (from Dallas)

Utah gets: Tayshaun Prince (from Detroit)

Dallas gets: Richard Hamilton (from Detroit), Kwame Brown (from Detroit)

Would Detroit do it?
Yes. The Pistons want to move Prince, but not for expiring contracts -- they want a big man back. The Pistons flirted with the idea of spending their cap space last summer on Boozer, but they started looking in other directions and Boozer decided to stay in Utah. But he would be an ideal addition, assuming he would re-sign with Detroit this summer, now that the team's lack of interior talent has been exposed.

The Dallas part of the equation could happen separately -- to execute a Prince-for-Boozer swap, the Pistons don't need the Mavs. But in any case, moving Hamilton for Howard, who has a nonguaranteed contract for 2010-11, would work well for the Pistons, for whom Hamilton's contract has become an albatross. This trade would give them the opportunity to pursue a free agent this summer. And while they would be reluctant to swallow the three years remaining on Carroll's contract, that's also the length of Hamilton's contract, which they would be shedding.

Would Utah do it?
That's less clear. Jazz GM Kevin O'Connor has rebuffed offers for Boozer that would give the Jazz only cap space, since Boozer himself has an expiring contract. Of course, that means that few teams are willing to give up a lot for Boozer, who could walk away this summer.

The Jazz like Prince, but he has another year on his contract at $11 million, he's been hurt this season and his effectiveness has declined. Still, he's a long, athletic wing who can defend and doesn't need the ball to thrive.

At the moment, the Jazz look like contenders in the West. Will they mess with a good thing? I think it's a 50-50 proposition at this point.

Would Dallas do it?
The Mavs would trade Howard, but they'd prefer to get someone younger than Hamilton in return. They've looked at Kevin Martin, Caron Butler and Andre Iguodala, but so far the Kings, Wizards and 76ers don't want to give up those players for mere cap relief. But Dallas doesn't have its first-round pick this year and owner Mark Cuban has said he's not trading rookie point guard Rodrigue Beaubois -- and the Mavs don't have much else to offer in terms of inexpensive assets. So Hamilton might be the best they can do.

His contract is ugly -- he has $34 million in guaranteed money owed to him over the next three seasons after this one. At the same time, the Mavs would be ridding themselves of the remaining $12 million due Carroll over the next three seasons. Looking at it that way, Dallas would be getting Hamilton for about $7.5 million per year for the next three seasons. While that's not a bargain, he would help them offensively, stepping in as the starting 2-guard and providing another veteran shooter in the backcourt.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

For what it's worth, I would do these deals.

I guess no one has seen this yet.. or taken the time to post it so:

Trade Buzz: 5 deals that make sense

By Chad Ford

(I guess I'll just post the trade involving the pistons so i don't step on espn's toes)

2. Pistons-Jazz-Mavs

Trade Machine

Detroit gets: Carlos Boozer (from Utah), Josh Howard (from Dallas), Matt Carroll (from Dallas)

Utah gets: Tayshaun Prince (from Detroit)

Dallas gets: Richard Hamilton (from Detroit), Kwame Brown (from Detroit)

At the moment, the Jazz look like contenders in the West. Will they mess with a good thing? I think it's a 50-50 proposition at this point.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

For what it's worth, I would do these deals.

Lottery loaded with big men

Roll The Dyess — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:40:49 -0000

Lottery loaded with big men

In Chad Ford's mock lottery, he has 8 out of the 14 players selected in the lottery to be PFs or Cs.

Got me thinking.. maybe we should hold off on the big trade for a big man until we see what we get out of the draft.

Derrick Favors would look real good in Detroit.

Tank

Roll The Dyess — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 16:29:26 -0000

1) I was one of those who thought the Iverson trade would work out. If he didn't fit, we'd still have all that cap space...

2) I was talked into believing Rip's contract extension was a great hedge to the A.I. trade.

3) I believed Dumars that signing Ben Gordon and Charlie was our best move this summer.

4) I believed it was stupid to tank and try to completely rebuild. It turns out it's probably a lot worse to be stuck in mediocrity than getting in the lottery for a few years in a row.

5) BUT, I still think Dumars is one of the best in the biz.

A few observations:

6) While going through numerous trade ideas, reading people's comments here, plus reading espn articles; I've discovered there is pretty small market for Tay or Rip.

7) We stink.

8) When we stink, it's a lot better to watch players that play hard.

9) Successful veterans hate losing, thus don't play hard.

10) When we stink, it's detrimental to our franchise's future to have long term, high paying contracts.

So, I propose:

Conclusion) Joe Dumars seeks out trades of Rip and Tay for young players on decent contracts who play hard OR expiring contracts.

Like usual I came up with a trade, but this is more of an example because there's a lot more ECs and young guys that play hard than Superstars on the market.

For those that like to be visually stimulated: http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=yzsbure

Detroit gets: Gortat, John Salmons, Brandon Bass, Kyle Korver, and Jerome James(6.6 EC)

Orlanda gets: Tayshuan and Tyrus Thomas

Chicago gets: Carlos Boozer, JJ Redick, and Chucky Atkins

Utah gets: Rip

Draft Picks: will probably be involved

With this trade we would get our coveted Gortat on a good contract. We get a backup sg who plays hard and good D in John Salmons. Brandon Bass, a guy I wanted in the summer, is a young solid pf with room to grow. Kyle Korver is more or less an expiring contract, but if Ben Gordon never gets fully healthy we'll need him. Jerome James is 100% expiring contract. Also, we'd have to buy one player out.. I don't make those decisions.

This will bring us below the cap for the summer. According to ESPN the projected cap next year will be $53.6 mil and according to Hoops Hype Salaries we will be committing to $43.8 mil, which according to math gives us about $10 mil to spend -- or not spend -- in the summer.

So why would the others make the trade:

I was snooping around the Orlando SB blog and it turns out they wouldn't mind having Tay. They also talked of Gortat as a trade chip rather than a long term player. Tyrus Thomas, I think, would be the most important piece for us to them. They do it if they covet Thomas, think he'll fit perfectly into their system, and will be the X-factor to take them back to the championship. He's also an EC.

Chicago gets a half-season lease on a guy that could give them a big push into the playoffs in Carlos Boozer. I mean, if they want Rose to get some playoff experience.. they have to make the playoffs. JJ is there to give them another sg, becuase they seem to be lacking in that position. Also Chucky Atkins and Lindsey Hunter can tell war stories together.

If money is all that's on Utah's mind, this should be a no brainer for them. According to ESPN this year's luxury tax line is $69.9 mil. Utah is currently $14 mil over the tax line. This trade would take $6 mil off Utah's books, which mean $12 mil in savings. Also, Utah wants to get something out of Boozer, and I think Rip would team well with D. Will.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4312837

http://hoopshype.com/salaries/detroit.htm

1) I was one of those who thought the Iverson trade would work out. If he didn't fit, we'd still have all that cap space...

2) I was talked into believing Rip's contract extension was a great hedge to the A.I. trade.

3) I believed Dumars that signing Ben Gordon and Charlie was our best move this summer.

4) I believed it was stupid to tank and try to completely rebuild. It turns out it's probably a lot worse to be stuck in mediocrity than getting in the lottery for a few years in a row.

5) BUT, I still think Dumars is one of the best in the biz.

A few observations:

6) While going through numerous trade ideas, reading people's comments here, plus reading espn articles; I've discovered there is pretty small market for Tay or Rip.

7) We stink.

8) When we stink, it's a lot better to watch players that play hard.

9) Successful veterans hate losing, thus don't play hard.

10) When we stink, it's detrimental to our franchise's future to have long term, high paying contracts.

So, I propose:

Conclusion) Joe Dumars seeks out trades of Rip and Tay for young players on decent contracts who play hard OR expiring contracts.

Like usual I came up with a trade, but this is more of an example because there's a lot more ECs and young guys that play hard than Superstars on the market.

For those that like to be visually stimulated: http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=yzsbure

Detroit gets: Gortat, John Salmons, Brandon Bass, Kyle Korver, and Jerome James(6.6 EC)

Orlanda gets: Tayshuan and Tyrus Thomas

Chicago gets: Carlos Boozer, JJ Redick, and Chucky Atkins

Utah gets: Rip

Draft Picks: will probably be involved

So why would the others make the trade:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4312837

http://hoopshype.com/salaries/detroit.htm

Poll

Who wins the Super Bowl?

Colts

16 votes

Saints

7 votes

23 votes | Poll has closed

Rudy Gay? Al Jefferson?

Roll The Dyess — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 18:11:58 -0000

In Chad Ford's most recent article, he says Detroit may be players for Rudy Gay. There's two problems though: the contracts aren't close, and we already have depth at small forward. Well to solve the first problem, here's what I got:

Detroit gets Rudy Gay, Sam Young, and Steven Hunter

Memphis gets Tayshaun and our 1st round pick this year :-\

Now to solve the second problem, logjam at sf, we include Austin Daye in a trade for Al Jefferson involving Detroit, Minny, and Cleveland. That would look like this:

Detroit gets Al Jefferson and Ryan Gomes

Minnesota gets Big Z, Austin Daye, Kwame Brown, and a second round pick from Detroit

Cleveland gets Richard Hamilton

Is this enough for Cleveland? It's assumed that if they trade Z, he'll be bought out by whomever and come back to the Cavs...

We would have a lineup like:

Stuckey/Bynum/Atkins

Gordon/Sam Young

Rudy Gay/Jerebko/Summers/Ryan Gomes

Wilcox/Villanueva/Maxiell/Steven Hunter

Al Jefferson/Wallace

Detroit gets Rudy Gay, Sam Young, and Steven Hunter

Memphis gets Tayshaun and our 1st round pick this year :-\

Now to solve the second problem, logjam at sf, we include Austin Daye in a trade for Al Jefferson involving Detroit, Minny, and Cleveland. That would look like this:

Detroit gets Al Jefferson and Ryan Gomes

Minnesota gets Big Z, Austin Daye, Kwame Brown, and a second round pick from Detroit

Cleveland gets Richard Hamilton

Is this enough for Cleveland? It's assumed that if they trade Z, he'll be bought out by whomever and come back to the Cavs...

We would have a lineup like:

Stuckey/Bynum/Atkins

Gordon/Sam Young

Rudy Gay/Jerebko/Summers/Ryan Gomes

Wilcox/Villanueva/Maxiell/Steven Hunter

Al Jefferson/Wallace

Poll

Should I give up on trade scenarios?

Yes

30 votes

No

28 votes

58 votes | Poll has closed

Rip to Cleveland, Jefferson to Detroit

Roll The Dyess — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 23:54:39 -0000

Rip to Cleveland, Jefferson to Detroit

I didn't want to clutter FanPosts so I FanShot it.

Very simple trade:
Detroit gets Al Jefferson
Cleveland gets Richard Hamilton
Minnesota gets Big Z

Detroit badly needs a center and Cleveland, well they don't badly or even need anything, but could use a quality 2.

The only question is Minnesota. Obviously they'd get some draft picks and possibly money from Cleveland to buy out Z. I've read that new minnesota management wouldn't mind a fresh start. If they traded Jefferson they'd only be committed to $22 million next year.

Millsap, Dalembert, Harden

Roll The Dyess — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:20:36 -0000

Trade 1)

Utah gets Wilcox, Kwame, and a second round pick then Detroit gets Millsap, Fesenko, and some trade exception.

Utah does it because they save 1.8 mil in tax money this year and 6.2 next year assuming wilcox either opts out or is bought out.

Detroit does it because I think Millsap and Villaneuva could work really well as a tandem at the 4 position.

Trade 2)

Philly gets Tayshaun then Detroit gets Dalembert and a second rounder

Philly does it to add a veteran... ESPN Rumors page had 76ers as possibly interested in Tay so..

Detroit does it to add a tall athletic guy in the middle that I feel would pair really well with Millsap.

Trade 3)

Oklahoma City gets Rip then Detroit gets Harden and Etan Thomas

OKC does it because they're relying on too many young guys. Rip would add veteran leadership and stability.

Detroit does it to take away the logjam at SG. Even though Harden also plays the 2, there won't be any griping between him and Ben Gordon. Which reminds me.. I'd rather keep Rip and trade Gordon, but someone mentioned the possibility of a locker room rift involving Hamilton and I see what they're sayin.

We would look like:

Stuckey/Bynum/Atkins

BG/Harden/

Jerebko/Daye/Summers

Millsap/CV31/Maxiell

Dalembert/Wallace/Fesenko/Thomas

Combine this with a high draft pick and the MLE this summer, and we could be a decent team next year.

Trade 1)

Utah gets Wilcox, Kwame, and a second round pick then Detroit gets Millsap, Fesenko, and some trade exception.

Utah does it because they save 1.8 mil in tax money this year and 6.2 next year assuming wilcox either opts out or is bought out.

Detroit does it because I think Millsap and Villaneuva could work really well as a tandem at the 4 position.

Trade 2)

Philly gets Tayshaun then Detroit gets Dalembert and a second rounder

Philly does it to add a veteran... ESPN Rumors page had 76ers as possibly interested in Tay so..

Detroit does it to add a tall athletic guy in the middle that I feel would pair really well with Millsap.

Trade 3)

Oklahoma City gets Rip then Detroit gets Harden and Etan Thomas

OKC does it because they're relying on too many young guys. Rip would add veteran leadership and stability.

We would look like:

Stuckey/Bynum/Atkins

BG/Harden/

Jerebko/Daye/Summers

Millsap/CV31/Maxiell

Dalembert/Wallace/Fesenko/Thomas

Combine this with a high draft pick and the MLE this summer, and we could be a decent team next year.

Poll

Which trade do you like best?

Trade 1 Millsap

18 votes

Trade 2 Dalembert

12 votes

Trade 3 Harden

5 votes

35 votes | Poll has closed

Joe D do-over

Roll The Dyess — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 06:03:08 -0000

What if Joe D could do-over the last couple years? Start the New Year fresh.. with a blockbuster trade that would set the basketball world spiraling back to how it should be.. I think.

Players: Detroit, New York, Houston, Indiana

Detroit Gets:

Danny Granger
Jordan Hill
Jermaine Taylor
Eddy Curry
Jared Jeffries

Detroit Sends:

Ben Gordon
Charlie Villanueva
Kwame Brown
Chris Wilcox
Austin Daye
Jonas Jerebko
2011 protected 1st round pick

New York Gets:

Tracy McGrady
Kwame Brown
Chris Wilcox
Earl Watson
Chuck Hayes

New York Sends:

Eddy Curry
Jared Jeffried
Jordan Hill
David Lee
Danilo Gallinari
Nate Robinson
2010 protected 1st round pick
2011 2nd round pick
2013 2nd round pick

Houston Gets:

Ben Gordon
Charlie Villanueva
Austin Daye
David Lee
2011 2nd round pick from New York
2013 2nd round pick from New York

Houston Sends:

Tracy McGrady
Chuck Hayes
Jermaine Taylor

Indiana Pacers Get:

Danilo Gallinari
Jonas Jerebko
Nate Robinson
2010 protected 1st round pick from New York
2011 protected 1st round pick from Detroit

Indiana Pacers Send:

Danny Granger
Earl Watson

Why Detroit would do it:

Some people in Detroit believe in Championship by Committee. I believe in Championship by Star-Player. Danny Granger is a budding top 5 NBA player. For Detroit, this is the biggest piece of the puzzle. Then you look at Jordan Hill, who's done nothing thus far, but still has great "potential". Hill would basically become Joe's 2010 first round pick.

Now for the appeasing. In order for Detroit to grab Granger and Hill, Joe has to take on the salaries of Eddy Curry and Jared Jeffries. Yeah they suck, but their contracts only last another 1.5 years.

If everything went to shit for Detroit, in the summer of 2011, they would only have $32.4 mil committed to 4 players: Stuckey, Hamilton, Granger, and Maxiell.

Or, even if all didn't go to hell, Joe could try to flip all that expiring paper before the deadline next year.

A depth chart would look like so:

Rodney Stuckey/ Will Bynum/ Chucky Atkins
Richard Hamilton/ Jermaine Taylor
Danny Granger/ Tayshaun Prince/ Dejuan Summers
Jason Maxiell/ Jordan Hill/ Jared Jeffries
Ben Wallace/ Eddie Curry

Why New York would do it:

Simple. They get tons of cap space, thus tons of attention until summer. Plus, they get it in the way of T-Mac/ticket sales. Oh yeah, and Nate Robinson is taken off their hands...

Why Houston would do it:

They flip T-Mac into talent. Yeah, it's not the star they could "potentially" get if they held on to his expiring contract, but it is a breadth of young talent. It gives them a chance to win Now. This Year. David Lee will fill in Yao's spot for the year and be gone by early July. Perfect so long Yao can come back next season.

Why Indiana would do it:

This one is a little trickier. The main reason is taxes. Indiana is projected to be over the tax line next year with a non-playoff team and no real identity. So how could you convince Larry to start over? How about a young Gallinari with lots of "potential" + another white guy with some talent + a nationally adored guy that got benched for no reason in NYC. Throw in 2 first round picks, protected in some way -probably top 3, and Larry has a great foundation for rebuilding. Indiana will have cap space either way for the 2011 summer, but it is probably easiest for the Pacers to take talent via trades and draft than lure a top flight free agent to come there.

What if Joe D could do-over the last couple years? Start the New Year fresh.. with a blockbuster trade that would set the basketball world spiraling back to how it should be.. I think.

Players: Detroit, New York, Houston, Indiana

Detroit Gets:

Danny Granger
Jordan Hill
Jermaine Taylor
Eddy Curry
Jared Jeffries

Detroit Sends:

Ben Gordon
Charlie Villanueva
Kwame Brown
Chris Wilcox
Austin Daye
Jonas Jerebko
2011 protected 1st round pick

New York Gets:

Tracy McGrady
Kwame Brown
Chris Wilcox
Earl Watson
Chuck Hayes

New York Sends:

Eddy Curry
Jared Jeffried
Jordan Hill
David Lee
Danilo Gallinari
Nate Robinson
2010 protected 1st round pick
2011 2nd round pick
2013 2nd round pick

Houston Gets:

Ben Gordon
Charlie Villanueva
Austin Daye
David Lee
2011 2nd round pick from New York
2013 2nd round pick from New York

Houston Sends:

Tracy McGrady
Chuck Hayes
Jermaine Taylor

Indiana Pacers Get:

Danilo Gallinari
Jonas Jerebko
Nate Robinson
2010 protected 1st round pick from New York
2011 protected 1st round pick from Detroit

Indiana Pacers Send:

Danny Granger
Earl Watson

Why Detroit would do it:

If everything went to shit for Detroit, in the summer of 2011, they would only have $32.4 mil committed to 4 players: Stuckey, Hamilton, Granger, and Maxiell.

Or, even if all didn't go to hell, Joe could try to flip all that expiring paper before the deadline next year.

A depth chart would look like so:

Rodney Stuckey/ Will Bynum/ Chucky Atkins
Richard Hamilton/ Jermaine Taylor
Danny Granger/ Tayshaun Prince/ Dejuan Summers
Jason Maxiell/ Jordan Hill/ Jared Jeffries
Ben Wallace/ Eddie Curry

Why New York would do it:

Simple. They get tons of cap space, thus tons of attention until summer. Plus, they get it in the way of T-Mac/ticket sales. Oh yeah, and Nate Robinson is taken off their hands...

Why Houston would do it:

Why Indiana would do it: