twslam07
All-Star
I've posted many times that I think our roster has talent. However, I think that talent doesn't compliment each other very well, or we have too much talent at one position (PG, SF, C) while lacking in others (SG, PF). Below are a few trades that I think helps balance this team and tailor the surrounding talent to compliment our core pieces.
Trade #1
Taj Gibson
Kirk Hinrich
for
Darren Collison
Caron Butler
Quincy Acy
Duje Dukan
It gives Chicago a solid backup PG in case Rose goes down with an injury. If he doesn't, Collison gives them a much needed scorer off the bench. Losing Gibson isn't too much of a loss considering they can have Gasol, Mirotic, & Noah pickup a lot of his minutes (not to mention they have Portis who can take on some spot minutes).
Sacramento gets a solid, veteran PF who can start next to Cousins, play defense, and knock down open jumpers on offense. Not to mention they free up their logjam at PG and still have an adequate backup PG (Hinrich) while giving Curry a chance to prove himself and take over the backup role.
Trade #2
Tiago Splitter
Kent Bazemore
for
Kosta Koufos
Omri Casspi
Bazemore is a terrific young player who can defend, shoot, & handle, but Atlanta has had to play him mostly at SF. Swapping him with Casspi gives them a more natural wing rotation between Korver, Sefolosha, & Casspi where Sefolosha can swing between both SG & SF. Although they downgrade from Bazemore to Casspi, they upgrade their frontcourt by acquiring the better defending, better rebounding, younger Koufos (not to mention his contract is a little cheaper). Koufos would pair nicely with both Milsap & Horford, and he would be good insurance in case the Hawks can retain Horford in the offseason. You also have to keep in mind that Bazemore is a UFA next offseason, so moving him for guys like Casspi & Koufos who have a little more time on their deal could be attractive considering everyone will have cap space next year.
Koufos is a very solid C, but I prefer to not play our franchise player out of position (PF). He should be logging all of his minutes at C. Splitter is worse than Koufos (thus we could throw 11-15 mpg his way), but he can still help defend the paint when Cousins needs a break. On the flip side, we get Bazemore who would slide in very nicely as our starting SG. Finally we would get a starting SG who can hit the three, defend, handle the ball, and play with high energy on a consistent basis.
Trade #3
Moe Harkless
for
Ben McLemore
Considering Portland is a young and developing team, I think they would take the flyer on the higher potential player.
With the acquisition of Basemore, it wouldn't leave room for McLemore. Trading him for a decent SF who can play some defense would be a plus.
Final Roster
PG - Rondo (37 min)/Hinrich (11 min)/Curry
SG - Bazemore (26 min)/Belinelli (22 min)/Anderson
SF - Gay (34 min)/Harkless (14 min)
PF - Gibson (28 min)/Cauley-Stein (20 min)/Moreland
C - Cousins (37 min)/Splitter (11 min)
The only weaker defenders in the entire rotation would be Gay & Belinelli. The rest of the team should bring solid defense. With 4 strong bigs on the team, I find it hard to believe that Karl would try and force small-ball. Shooting would still be solid with Hinrich, Curry, Bazemore, Belinelli, Gay, Harkless, Gibson, & Cousins all being able to hit, and swapping in Gibson into the starting lineup should give Cousins the freedom to play down low (with Gibson providing spacing from midrange).
Trade #1
Taj Gibson
Kirk Hinrich
for
Darren Collison
Caron Butler
Quincy Acy
Duje Dukan
It gives Chicago a solid backup PG in case Rose goes down with an injury. If he doesn't, Collison gives them a much needed scorer off the bench. Losing Gibson isn't too much of a loss considering they can have Gasol, Mirotic, & Noah pickup a lot of his minutes (not to mention they have Portis who can take on some spot minutes).
Sacramento gets a solid, veteran PF who can start next to Cousins, play defense, and knock down open jumpers on offense. Not to mention they free up their logjam at PG and still have an adequate backup PG (Hinrich) while giving Curry a chance to prove himself and take over the backup role.
Trade #2
Tiago Splitter
Kent Bazemore
for
Kosta Koufos
Omri Casspi
Bazemore is a terrific young player who can defend, shoot, & handle, but Atlanta has had to play him mostly at SF. Swapping him with Casspi gives them a more natural wing rotation between Korver, Sefolosha, & Casspi where Sefolosha can swing between both SG & SF. Although they downgrade from Bazemore to Casspi, they upgrade their frontcourt by acquiring the better defending, better rebounding, younger Koufos (not to mention his contract is a little cheaper). Koufos would pair nicely with both Milsap & Horford, and he would be good insurance in case the Hawks can retain Horford in the offseason. You also have to keep in mind that Bazemore is a UFA next offseason, so moving him for guys like Casspi & Koufos who have a little more time on their deal could be attractive considering everyone will have cap space next year.
Koufos is a very solid C, but I prefer to not play our franchise player out of position (PF). He should be logging all of his minutes at C. Splitter is worse than Koufos (thus we could throw 11-15 mpg his way), but he can still help defend the paint when Cousins needs a break. On the flip side, we get Bazemore who would slide in very nicely as our starting SG. Finally we would get a starting SG who can hit the three, defend, handle the ball, and play with high energy on a consistent basis.
Trade #3
Moe Harkless
for
Ben McLemore
Considering Portland is a young and developing team, I think they would take the flyer on the higher potential player.
With the acquisition of Basemore, it wouldn't leave room for McLemore. Trading him for a decent SF who can play some defense would be a plus.
Final Roster
PG - Rondo (37 min)/Hinrich (11 min)/Curry
SG - Bazemore (26 min)/Belinelli (22 min)/Anderson
SF - Gay (34 min)/Harkless (14 min)
PF - Gibson (28 min)/Cauley-Stein (20 min)/Moreland
C - Cousins (37 min)/Splitter (11 min)
The only weaker defenders in the entire rotation would be Gay & Belinelli. The rest of the team should bring solid defense. With 4 strong bigs on the team, I find it hard to believe that Karl would try and force small-ball. Shooting would still be solid with Hinrich, Curry, Bazemore, Belinelli, Gay, Harkless, Gibson, & Cousins all being able to hit, and swapping in Gibson into the starting lineup should give Cousins the freedom to play down low (with Gibson providing spacing from midrange).
