We all know Kenny Thomas trades are impossible...

[BawLa]

but does anyone think this one has more than a 5% chance of working?

I've never been good at coming up with trade ideas so please don't torch me too hard for this one.



Kenny Thomas and Francisco Garcia to the Phoenix Suns for Kurt Thomas and their #24 pick in this years draft.


Why Phoenix does it: They are going to miss Shawn Marion heavily this year. Obviously Kenny doesn't even replace 20% of what Marion does, but Kenny will give Phoenix rebounding and hustle putbacks for an up-tempo offense. Kenny can run the floor and is good at bodying-up on defense.

They have 2 first round picks, the 24 and 29, and maybe they think that Cisco will fair about the same as either of those picks, but is 2 years ahead of the game. Phoenix is in a win-now situation and does not need to develop players, at least from scratch. Cisco is cheap and brings a bunch of energy, and could really thrive under a system like Phoenix's.

Losing Kurt Thomas does not exactly kill them either. They have plenty of depth.


Why we do it: Turning Kenny's contract from 4 years to 2 years puts us light-years ahead. We get a quality player in Kurt Thomas, but more importantly, we get another draft pick in a somewhat deep draft.

 

[ParniValjak]

Phoenix dont do it!

They want to cut down their salary, not increase it. Kurt Thomas is short contract and Kenny has another 3-4 years left.

 

[BawLa]

I'm an idiot. For some reason I thought Marion's contract was up. So obviously the whole Marion factor is not there.

But Kenny and Cisco might be able to help Phoenix more than Kurt and a rookie.

 

[VF21]

Would Phoenix do it? Not likely.

Thomas simply hasn't got any kind of trade value in the bank right now. Between his well-publicized "If I can't start I don't want to play" stance and the numerous times he simply seemed to give up, I think he really needs to try and rehab his career if he hopes to go anywhere.

I just don't see Phoenix - or any of the other 28 remaining teams - doing much to help us get rid of KT's contract.

 

[BawLa]

Would Phoenix do it? Not likely.

Thomas simply hasn't got any kind of trade value in the bank right now. Between his well-publicized "If I can't start I don't want to play" stance and the numerous times he simply seemed to give up, I think he really needs to try and rehab his career if he hopes to go anywhere.

I just don't see Phoenix - or any of the other 28 remaining teams - doing much to help us get rid of KT's contract.

Yeah, I see.

I was leaning more towards the idea that they do it to turn a draft pick into a player that can contribue now more than anything to do with Kenny, but I suppose a quality organization would not want to bring in a player like Kenny to do that.

 

[whozit]

Would Phoenix do it? Not likely.

Thomas simply hasn't got any kind of trade value in the bank right now. Between his well-publicized "If I can't start I don't want to play" stance and the numerous times he simply seemed to give up, I think he really needs to try and rehab his career if he hopes to go anywhere.

I just don't see Phoenix - or any of the other 28 remaining teams - doing much to help us get rid of KT's contract.

One of two places that I could possibly see him being moved would essentially be a swap out of two bad contracts on two players that have not worked out for their respective teams. And even then, this is a stretch. Milwaulkee chose Gadzuric over Pachula (spelling on both) and Gadzuric has been a disappointment since. There was talk during the last trade season of them trying to unload him to no avail. His yearly contract amount is less but runs an extra year and I believe has a couple million more in the total amount owed. I could see a straight out swap just to change scenery. Milwaulkee I think is far enough under the cap to absorb the salary and still be a player.

 

[Entity]

I as a Kings fan don't like it. Losing Garcia is not worth ridding ourselves of KT to me. Garcia looked alot better than Kevin Martin his second year now its time for the make or break 3rd year and I would like to witness that. Reggie Theus coached Garcia at Louisville so I have a feeling we WILL find out if Garcia is going to make it this year. I think he is ready for a bigger role. I would like to see him as the #1 man off the bench rather than Salmons.

 

[whozit]

I as a Kings fan don't like it. Losing Garcia is not worth ridding ourselves of KT to me. Garcia looked alot better than Kevin Martin his second year now its time for the make or break 3rd year and I would like to witness that. Reggie Theus coached Garcia at Louisville so I have a feeling we WILL find out if Garcia is going to make it this year. I think he is ready for a bigger role. I would like to see him as the #1 man off the bench rather than Salmons.

I don't think the front office would be thrilled about this idea of getting rid of him either. If I recall, during the Magloire speculation saga last year, another team's GM made the assertion that the Kings didn't intend to lose him or some such. It would also seem like they would be asking for disaster since Theus has spoken highly of him and appears to have plans to use him more.

 

[BawLa]

I as a Kings fan don't like it. Losing Garcia is not worth ridding ourselves of KT to me. Garcia looked alot better than Kevin Martin his second year now its time for the make or break 3rd year and I would like to witness that. Reggie Theus coached Garcia at Louisville so I have a feeling we WILL find out if Garcia is going to make it this year. I think he is ready for a bigger role. I would like to see him as the #1 man off the bench rather than Salmons.

Interesting. I didn't know of Theus's and Garcia's prior connection. Should be fun to see what develops.

I love Cisco too. But I'm thinking that for a rebuild, we should be willing to give up something good, in order to expedite the process. With the #24 pick in a draft like this year's draft, we could probably pick up a player that is going to have the same or more value than Cisco.

Who knows though, I've always thought that Garcia would become a better scoring Doug Christie.

 

[VF21]

I love Cisco too. But I'm thinking that for a rebuild, we should be willing to give up something good, in order to expedite the process.

I think people need to forget about speeding the process up and allow the front office to rebuild slowly but surely. Cisco could be a valuable asset for years to come; we've seen enough of him, I believe, to know there's a good chance he could develop into a quality player.

Why give that up for an unknown?

IMHO the best way to fix the franchise is to keep the good parts, build the foundation and then start going forward. Cisco is an excellent value right now so why risk it?

 

[BawLa]

I think people need to forget about speeding the process up and allow the front office to rebuild slowly but surely. Cisco could be a valuable asset for years to come; we've seen enough of him, I believe, to know there's a good chance he could develop into a quality player.

Why give that up for an unknown?

IMHO the best way to fix the franchise is to keep the good parts, build the foundation and then start going forward. Cisco is an excellent value right now so why risk it?

In general I completely agree. But in this case I think that there isn't much risk involved. Cisco is hardly a sure-fire prospect (although I personally believe in his potential), and by clearing up Kenny Thomas you open up a roster spot 2 years early. If the draft pick didn't work out, then you can move on to the next prospect. Either way, I see us rebuilding for at least 3-4 years so that is why I see Cisco as somewhat expendable.

If there is one thing I trust Petrie and Co. to do well is drafting. Maybe that is also why I see Cisco as somewhat expendable.

 

[VF21]

I don't think you're gonna get rid of KT by packaging him with Cisco. The very things that you think make Garcia expendable are the negatives for anyone else agreeing to accept the baggage (KT and his contract).

It's the ultimate catch-22, IMHO. I think Garcia has a lot of untapped potential but I don't think other teams see it that way...yet.

 

[HighFlyingMonkey]

Kenny Thomas to NY for Malik Rose

NY gets a guy who can actually play

We shave a year off Kenny's deal

 

[BawLa]

Kenny Thomas to NY for Malik Rose

NY gets a guy who can actually play

We shave a year off Kenny's deal

Get 'er done.