I think nearly everyone agrees that Rudy and Martell really need to be rotation players, and that Bayless has looked somewhat deserving of some burn the last couple of games. An obvious partial solution is to not play Blake heavy minutes, and I'm really hoping this is just a transition move as there's no way Blake's guarding real SG's on a regular basis and Rudy or Webster could contribute so much more in that role...

However, how could we go about consolidation? If we were looking to trade who would we send out and what would we target coming back?

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Any chance of Blake/Outlaw (both expiring) for Prince on Detroits end? They save money and retain some flexibility for sure and remove a player largely unproductive for them?

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We already have some log-jams and I think long-term Rubio might fit perfectly here for a nice three guard rotation of Rubio, Roy, and Fernandez (with some Batum thrown in at 2 perhaps). We're one of the only teams in the NBA that can give up value for someone two years out and still be in win-now mode. Imagine Roy, Aldridge, Batum, Fernandez, and Oden maturing over the next couple of years with Miller and then as Miller falls off Rubio (with seasoning) steps into the fold. I love it.

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While there are rumors out that he wants a lot of minutes and a multi-year deal, who's gonna give it to him?

Des has had terrible stats and injury plagued last couple of seasons, but he's always been a role player and recently has played on teams that played rat-ball and all isolation where role players look terrible. He's supposedly an incredible character guy, a very hard worker, a lockerroom leader, and a very good team and individual defender.

I know his agent is asking for much more than he is worth (money and playing time wise) but I doubt he can get it anywhere else, and we might make a lot of sense for him.

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Milwaukee just signed Hakim Warrick and blew some cap space...and they now have about a million 4/5's on their roster. 

Bogut/Gadzuric/Johnson/Warrick/Illyrsiac etc.

A vet like Kurt Thomas serves no purpose for them right now, and could help us out a lot as far as adding basketball IQ, toughness in the 2nd unit, and playoff experience. He also might fit the second unit well as he knows how to play on running teams and half-court teams. 

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Steve Nash

1.) The suns are exploding themselves and starting over.

2.) Nash doesn't make sense to an expiring team.

3.) We could use some vet leadership on our team.

4.) Nash wants a contract extension badly.

5.) Suns might want young local talent that can score to build with Amare (Bayless)

Iverson

1.) Likely will sign in Memphis

2.) Leaving Conley Jr mostly useless with Mayo there.

Conley Jr

1.) Friends with Oden

2.) Improving jumper

3.) Still young

4.) They like Outlaw

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I find these two quotes very interesting.

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Our backcourt is simply too inefficient. Roy is a top 10 player in the NBA, we've seen that this year, so I think we need to look at the backcourt from a standpoint of how best to fit him. Roy is an incredible drive and kick player, very strong rebounder for his size, and good ballhandler. But he is not a great distributor as his court vision is lacking, he doesn't push the tempo at all, and he isn't a great post-entry passer. However in this draft one player really stands out as a fit: Stephen Curry. While everyone knows about his fantastic shooting ability, what is underrated about his game is his incredible court vision and passing skills. Bob Knight's offered him very high praise calling him "the best passer at the college level" he's ever seen, I don't take that lightly. Curry is very good at pushing the ball in the open court and playing off the ball. He's a natural fit next to Roy and could space the floor incredibly. And he could be had too in the 8-15 range it seems.

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Currently the divisions mean nothing at all, and winning one is pointless as it doesn't guarantee anything. Not to mention the obvious hangups of POR, OKC, and Minnesota being in the same division, and NO being in the west. 

By changing to two large divisions winning one would be very significant, and it should get a large reward. I think a bye in the first round of the playoffs would really help the league as it could trim playoff teams to 12, and fans of each team would really think they had a shot.

The playoff's are so overblown right now everyone (nationally) is bored by the time they're half-way done. If the top four teams don't play in the first round there will be some holdover anticipation, and all the teams that face them will have won a series first (making their fans confident), this would add tremendously to the drama.

While we're at it the season's way too long now to hold national interest, and has so many games it really takes a toll on injuries, energy levels to teams, and really messes foreign players up. Too many stars take tames off, and with the rise in foreign popularity many players are playing in the offseason (which is good for global interest). 

Realistically a number of things can be done to correct these problems that generally contribute to a lot of teams/players taking games lightly and playoff series being blowouts. 

In entertainment the concept of "leave the people wanting more" is a big deal, and realistically the league should trim its playoffs, total # of games in regular season, exhibition games to increase the importance of each game and reduce injuries, WHILE making the divisions more regional to encourage rivalry AND reward division winners to make it meaningful.

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http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=bgnqr5

POR In: Prince

POR Out: Raef/Bayless

DET in: Raef/Amare

DET out: Prince/Wallace

PHX Out: Amare

PHX In: Wallace/Bayless 

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