Updated: Feb. 14, 2005, 1:26 PM ET
Wolves, Blazers ready to make a deal?
By Chad Ford
ESPN Insider
The NBA trade deadline is 10 days away, and after last season's unprecedented high-profile wheeling and dealing, the expectations have been high for much more player movement.
With so much parity in the league, high-profile teams struggling and a high number of teams stocked with perhaps the most important commodity you can have at a time like this – expiring contracts – the trade deadline should be red hot.
So why is almost every team in the league reporting that phones have been unusually quiet?
"I've never seen a trade deadline this quiet," one GM told Insider. "Usually by now I'm getting 10 to 15 interesting calls a day. This year, there's really been nothing but small stuff. I think teams may be a little paralyzed by the thought of the new collective bargaining agreement. They're thinking twice about letting expiring contracts go when they know that free agency could become a lot more friendly next year."
Insider talked with a number of league executives who were reporting the same thing – the sound of silence. Some believe the coming CBA and the parity in the league right now is putting a kibosh on things.
Others think we're just in the calm before the storm. When GMs get together in Denver this weekend for the All-Star Game, things will begin heating up again.
"I don't know how to read things right now, but I believe that there will be some deals," another GM told Insider. "There are too many teams out there like the Timberwolves, Blazers and Raptors who desperately need to make something happen. Their demands will come down over the next week, and someone will find a way to get something done."
The big question is, who? In the Good, the Bad and the Upside this week, Insider breaks down six teams that are ready to deal, six teams that can't deal, eight teams that might deal and 10 teams that likely will sit this one out.
Since everyone wants to see trades happen, the Good is filled with a number of teams that are actually quite bad ...
The Good (teams ready to deal)
Minnesota Timberwolves: Kevin McHale's stunning decision not only to fire Flip Saunders but also to take over as coach won't save the Timberwolves' season.
McHale simply had run out of options. After failing to make a trade that could turn around the season, and after watching the team slowly descend into hell on the basketball court, what else was he going to do? Throw his hands up and tell owner Glen Taylor he had no answers?
Taylor is not happy to be paying more than $70 million this year for a team that can't even play .500 ball. He's not happy McHale couldn't make the necessary changes to turn it back into a winner. He wasn't happy the team was quitting on Saunders. The "there's nothing I can do" response likely would've cost McHale his job.
Firing Saunders won't fix the problem because he wasn't the problem. Saunders will have a job this summer the second Phil Jackson and Larry Brown make up their minds – if not before. The question is whether McHale will have one.
McHale made a huge gamble two summers ago when he brought Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell on board. The gamble worked for one year, then exploded.
McHale has tried desperately for more than two months to trade Sprewell, and even Cassell, in an attempt to get the team back on track. That he has been totally unsuccessful shows just how screwed up the Wolves are.
With Taylor now telling McHale he doesn't want to take on a lengthy contract in return for Spree, McHale has run out of options.
Taking over as coach was the only way he could continue to justify his salary. But if McHale thought it was difficult to move Spree or Cassell – try motivating them to play hard if they don't want to.
Spree now understands that he totally blew his contract negotiations and will be gone this summer. Cassell knows he's not getting a penny more, either.
We first wrote about this problem in training camp, and nothing has changed since. Both players have made it clear throughout their careers that they play for the money more than for the game. Though you'd think they would play hard with an eye toward getting a decent contract elsewhere this summer, the fact is their legs probably wouldn't cooperate even if their hearts wanted to.
McHale believed Saunders wasn't hard enough on the players. We'll see whether McHale, known as a pretty nice guy himself, can do any better given the age and disposition of both players.
Chances are McHale will realize in the next week or so (if he hasn't already) that Saunders had an impossible job.
That leaves the Wolves with some tough choices.
If the Wolves still want to make the playoffs, moving Spree is the answer, and they are still trying hard to do so. But they're going to have to accept a player with a year or two left on his contract to get rid of him.
The choices aren't great. They could get a player such as Jalen Rose, Eddie Jones, Glenn Robinson, Keith Van Horn or possibly even Michael Finley in return. But does anyone really think one of those players would put the Wolves over the top? Finley has the most potential to do something like that, but he also has $50 million left on his contract and has been in a major slump the last few months.
The other route is to go with a major overhaul. This fall, the Wolves had a deal on the table that would've swapped Wally Szczerbiak and Ervin Johnson to Portland for Shareef Abdur-Rahim.
Given the Blazers' problems, if the Wolves expanded the deal to include Spree, Wally and Johnson for Abdur-Rahim, Darius Miles and Ruben Patterson, would the Blazers bite? Portland wants to move all three, and getting the contracts of Miles and Patterson off the books would be big. The Blazers could waive Spree and Johnson immediately to avoid any personality problems and go a long way toward cleaning up their bad-boy image.
The Wolves would be taking on only about $10 million more in long-term contracts by making the trade. Wally has another $44 million left on his contract. Miles and Patterson make a combined $54 million over the next five years. Of course, the financial obligation becomes much greater if the Wolves decide to re-sign Abdur-Rahim, who is in the last year of his contract. However, with Miles and Patterson on board, they probably wouldn't need him.
Though the move could be risky (Miles and Patterson have their own issues), it's better than the alternative.
If McHale doesn't get anything done, chances are the first move made this summer will be at the top. Spree and Johnson come off the books, but the Wolves will still be $10 million over the cap. They'll have just a mid-level exception to use in free agency. If Kevin Garnett asks to be moved, it will all be over.
Portland Trail Blazers: The most dysfunctional franchise in sports had another tough week. The Oregonian got a copy of a proposed settlement that would've repaid Darius Miles for the two-game suspension he got for hurling racial epithets at coach Maurice Cheeks.
For a team trying hard to clean up its image, Portland sure gets in more than its fair share of mud-wrestling matches.
Under heavy criticism that the team hasn't done enough to right the ship, will GM John Nash and team president Steve Patterson finally make a trade? Abdur-Rahim, Nick Van Exel and Damon Stoudamire are all in the last years of their contracts. If Portland packaged a couple of them, it might even be able to move Miles (a base-year player, meaning he can't really be traded straight up) or Patterson.
If the Blazers do nothing now, they could be in a world of hurt after the season. They'll still be over the cap this summer and will have only a mid-level exception to replace the starting backcourt and Abdur-Rahim. If the goal is to keep winning, do they have any choice but to make a deal now?
Sources claim the team has several offers on the table for Abdur-Rahim, but the deals aren't as good as they were two months ago. Abdur-Rahim is coming off elbow surgery and isn't expected to come back until after the All-Star Game. The Blazers also have been reluctant to trade away one of the few players who has been on his best behavior; however, a source close to Abdur-Rahim claims the chances he'll re-sign with the Blazers are slim – so why are they hanging on?
Toronto Raptors: There's too much turmoil in Toronto right now not to do something. GM Rob Babcock looks as though he has the makings of a mutiny on his hands. While not everyone in the locker room has given up on head coach Sam Mitchell, there are enough problems that Babcock is going to have to make some tough decisions over the next week.
The word out of Toronto is that Babcock's not quite ready to give up on Mitchell and that he doesn't want to trade Rafer Alston. Somehow, I don't see that working.
Donyell Marshall (and his expiring contract) is the team's most movable piece. The Heat, Rockets and Knicks, among others, have been trying to get him. But so far, management has been insisting on a young, blue-chip type prospect in return. If Toronto would lower its demands to a player such as rookie Dorell Wright in Miami, it might have a deal.
The team also has tried to trade Jalen Rose to no avail. The Raptors would be more willing to give up Marshall in a package with Rose if a team gave them an expiring contract in return. Don't expect that to happen. No one wants Marshall badly enough to swallow Rose's contract.
Eric Williams, on the other hand, has a lot of trade value. Teams such as the Sixers, Pacers, Nuggets, Rockets and Heat have interest. Babcock says he doesn't want to trade him, but why not? Mitchell isn't playing him, Williams is unhappy, and a contender might be willing to give up a young prospect or a draft pick to get him.
At this point, the Raptors have to forget about the playoffs and start thinking about rebuilding around Chris Bosh. Any young piece Babcock can add will enhance his job security in the long run.
New Jersey Nets: With the way Jason Kidd and Vince Carter are playing right now, the Nets are starting to get serious about the playoffs again. The team has a $10 million trade exception that makes it a serious player at the deadline as long as new owner Bruce Ratner is willing to write the checks.
The team needs a power forward badly. Who's out there?
The Nets' pursuit of Cliff Robinson and Donyell Marshall has been well-documented. Other possibilities include P.J. Brown, Brian Cardinal, Joe Smith, Brian Skinner, Malik Rose, Maurice Taylor and Juwan Howard if the Nets are willing to take on someone with more than one year left on his contract.
Golden State Warriors: The Warriors are a mess again this year. They've received a ton of interest in Dale Davis and Cliff Robinson, because their contracts expire this year, but they aren't the problem in Golden State and won't fetch much in return.
That's why the Warriors have been exploring ways to package them with younger talent such as Mike Dunleavy, Eduardo Najera and possibly even Mickael Pietrus in an attempt to add another big piece.
The only two positions they're really set at are shooting guard (Jason Richardson) and power forward (Troy Murphy). If they could get a major upgrade at the point, center or small forward, they'd be willing to make a deal.
They got close earlier in the year with Eddy Curry, but since then, things have been pretty quiet.
Philadelphia 76ers: Jim O'Brien has been thinking big all year, but he has struggled to get GM Billy King to pull the trigger. You can't blame King. If O'Brien had his way, Samuel Dalembert would be gone by now. King has held firm, and O'Brien has slowly warmed to Dalembert.
Glenn Robinson has been available since day one, but the Sixers have been unwilling to take back a bad contract in return or package him with a younger player. The team has passed on opportunities to swap Robinson for Keith Van Horn and Latrell Sprewell.
On the latter trade, the team would've had to give up prospect Willie Green in addition to Robinson. That ought to tell you how low Sprewell's stock has sunk.
O'Brien also has been after King to get Mark Blount, Antoine Walker, Eric Williams or anyone else from his old Celtics team. So far, King has balked at that too.
While the general feeling is the Sixers will close a deal before the deadline, you wonder whether King and O'Brien will ever see eye-to-eye enough on a player for a deal to make sense.
Wolves, Blazers ready to make a deal?
By Chad Ford
ESPN Insider
The NBA trade deadline is 10 days away, and after last season's unprecedented high-profile wheeling and dealing, the expectations have been high for much more player movement.
With so much parity in the league, high-profile teams struggling and a high number of teams stocked with perhaps the most important commodity you can have at a time like this – expiring contracts – the trade deadline should be red hot.
So why is almost every team in the league reporting that phones have been unusually quiet?
"I've never seen a trade deadline this quiet," one GM told Insider. "Usually by now I'm getting 10 to 15 interesting calls a day. This year, there's really been nothing but small stuff. I think teams may be a little paralyzed by the thought of the new collective bargaining agreement. They're thinking twice about letting expiring contracts go when they know that free agency could become a lot more friendly next year."
Insider talked with a number of league executives who were reporting the same thing – the sound of silence. Some believe the coming CBA and the parity in the league right now is putting a kibosh on things.
Others think we're just in the calm before the storm. When GMs get together in Denver this weekend for the All-Star Game, things will begin heating up again.
"I don't know how to read things right now, but I believe that there will be some deals," another GM told Insider. "There are too many teams out there like the Timberwolves, Blazers and Raptors who desperately need to make something happen. Their demands will come down over the next week, and someone will find a way to get something done."
The big question is, who? In the Good, the Bad and the Upside this week, Insider breaks down six teams that are ready to deal, six teams that can't deal, eight teams that might deal and 10 teams that likely will sit this one out.
Since everyone wants to see trades happen, the Good is filled with a number of teams that are actually quite bad ...
The Good (teams ready to deal)
Minnesota Timberwolves: Kevin McHale's stunning decision not only to fire Flip Saunders but also to take over as coach won't save the Timberwolves' season.
McHale simply had run out of options. After failing to make a trade that could turn around the season, and after watching the team slowly descend into hell on the basketball court, what else was he going to do? Throw his hands up and tell owner Glen Taylor he had no answers?
Taylor is not happy to be paying more than $70 million this year for a team that can't even play .500 ball. He's not happy McHale couldn't make the necessary changes to turn it back into a winner. He wasn't happy the team was quitting on Saunders. The "there's nothing I can do" response likely would've cost McHale his job.
Firing Saunders won't fix the problem because he wasn't the problem. Saunders will have a job this summer the second Phil Jackson and Larry Brown make up their minds – if not before. The question is whether McHale will have one.
McHale made a huge gamble two summers ago when he brought Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell on board. The gamble worked for one year, then exploded.
McHale has tried desperately for more than two months to trade Sprewell, and even Cassell, in an attempt to get the team back on track. That he has been totally unsuccessful shows just how screwed up the Wolves are.
With Taylor now telling McHale he doesn't want to take on a lengthy contract in return for Spree, McHale has run out of options.
Taking over as coach was the only way he could continue to justify his salary. But if McHale thought it was difficult to move Spree or Cassell – try motivating them to play hard if they don't want to.
Spree now understands that he totally blew his contract negotiations and will be gone this summer. Cassell knows he's not getting a penny more, either.
We first wrote about this problem in training camp, and nothing has changed since. Both players have made it clear throughout their careers that they play for the money more than for the game. Though you'd think they would play hard with an eye toward getting a decent contract elsewhere this summer, the fact is their legs probably wouldn't cooperate even if their hearts wanted to.
McHale believed Saunders wasn't hard enough on the players. We'll see whether McHale, known as a pretty nice guy himself, can do any better given the age and disposition of both players.
Chances are McHale will realize in the next week or so (if he hasn't already) that Saunders had an impossible job.
That leaves the Wolves with some tough choices.
If the Wolves still want to make the playoffs, moving Spree is the answer, and they are still trying hard to do so. But they're going to have to accept a player with a year or two left on his contract to get rid of him.
The choices aren't great. They could get a player such as Jalen Rose, Eddie Jones, Glenn Robinson, Keith Van Horn or possibly even Michael Finley in return. But does anyone really think one of those players would put the Wolves over the top? Finley has the most potential to do something like that, but he also has $50 million left on his contract and has been in a major slump the last few months.
The other route is to go with a major overhaul. This fall, the Wolves had a deal on the table that would've swapped Wally Szczerbiak and Ervin Johnson to Portland for Shareef Abdur-Rahim.
Given the Blazers' problems, if the Wolves expanded the deal to include Spree, Wally and Johnson for Abdur-Rahim, Darius Miles and Ruben Patterson, would the Blazers bite? Portland wants to move all three, and getting the contracts of Miles and Patterson off the books would be big. The Blazers could waive Spree and Johnson immediately to avoid any personality problems and go a long way toward cleaning up their bad-boy image.
The Wolves would be taking on only about $10 million more in long-term contracts by making the trade. Wally has another $44 million left on his contract. Miles and Patterson make a combined $54 million over the next five years. Of course, the financial obligation becomes much greater if the Wolves decide to re-sign Abdur-Rahim, who is in the last year of his contract. However, with Miles and Patterson on board, they probably wouldn't need him.
Though the move could be risky (Miles and Patterson have their own issues), it's better than the alternative.
If McHale doesn't get anything done, chances are the first move made this summer will be at the top. Spree and Johnson come off the books, but the Wolves will still be $10 million over the cap. They'll have just a mid-level exception to use in free agency. If Kevin Garnett asks to be moved, it will all be over.
Portland Trail Blazers: The most dysfunctional franchise in sports had another tough week. The Oregonian got a copy of a proposed settlement that would've repaid Darius Miles for the two-game suspension he got for hurling racial epithets at coach Maurice Cheeks.
For a team trying hard to clean up its image, Portland sure gets in more than its fair share of mud-wrestling matches.
Under heavy criticism that the team hasn't done enough to right the ship, will GM John Nash and team president Steve Patterson finally make a trade? Abdur-Rahim, Nick Van Exel and Damon Stoudamire are all in the last years of their contracts. If Portland packaged a couple of them, it might even be able to move Miles (a base-year player, meaning he can't really be traded straight up) or Patterson.
If the Blazers do nothing now, they could be in a world of hurt after the season. They'll still be over the cap this summer and will have only a mid-level exception to replace the starting backcourt and Abdur-Rahim. If the goal is to keep winning, do they have any choice but to make a deal now?
Sources claim the team has several offers on the table for Abdur-Rahim, but the deals aren't as good as they were two months ago. Abdur-Rahim is coming off elbow surgery and isn't expected to come back until after the All-Star Game. The Blazers also have been reluctant to trade away one of the few players who has been on his best behavior; however, a source close to Abdur-Rahim claims the chances he'll re-sign with the Blazers are slim – so why are they hanging on?
Toronto Raptors: There's too much turmoil in Toronto right now not to do something. GM Rob Babcock looks as though he has the makings of a mutiny on his hands. While not everyone in the locker room has given up on head coach Sam Mitchell, there are enough problems that Babcock is going to have to make some tough decisions over the next week.
The word out of Toronto is that Babcock's not quite ready to give up on Mitchell and that he doesn't want to trade Rafer Alston. Somehow, I don't see that working.
Donyell Marshall (and his expiring contract) is the team's most movable piece. The Heat, Rockets and Knicks, among others, have been trying to get him. But so far, management has been insisting on a young, blue-chip type prospect in return. If Toronto would lower its demands to a player such as rookie Dorell Wright in Miami, it might have a deal.
The team also has tried to trade Jalen Rose to no avail. The Raptors would be more willing to give up Marshall in a package with Rose if a team gave them an expiring contract in return. Don't expect that to happen. No one wants Marshall badly enough to swallow Rose's contract.
Eric Williams, on the other hand, has a lot of trade value. Teams such as the Sixers, Pacers, Nuggets, Rockets and Heat have interest. Babcock says he doesn't want to trade him, but why not? Mitchell isn't playing him, Williams is unhappy, and a contender might be willing to give up a young prospect or a draft pick to get him.
At this point, the Raptors have to forget about the playoffs and start thinking about rebuilding around Chris Bosh. Any young piece Babcock can add will enhance his job security in the long run.
New Jersey Nets: With the way Jason Kidd and Vince Carter are playing right now, the Nets are starting to get serious about the playoffs again. The team has a $10 million trade exception that makes it a serious player at the deadline as long as new owner Bruce Ratner is willing to write the checks.
The team needs a power forward badly. Who's out there?
The Nets' pursuit of Cliff Robinson and Donyell Marshall has been well-documented. Other possibilities include P.J. Brown, Brian Cardinal, Joe Smith, Brian Skinner, Malik Rose, Maurice Taylor and Juwan Howard if the Nets are willing to take on someone with more than one year left on his contract.
Golden State Warriors: The Warriors are a mess again this year. They've received a ton of interest in Dale Davis and Cliff Robinson, because their contracts expire this year, but they aren't the problem in Golden State and won't fetch much in return.
That's why the Warriors have been exploring ways to package them with younger talent such as Mike Dunleavy, Eduardo Najera and possibly even Mickael Pietrus in an attempt to add another big piece.
The only two positions they're really set at are shooting guard (Jason Richardson) and power forward (Troy Murphy). If they could get a major upgrade at the point, center or small forward, they'd be willing to make a deal.
They got close earlier in the year with Eddy Curry, but since then, things have been pretty quiet.
Philadelphia 76ers: Jim O'Brien has been thinking big all year, but he has struggled to get GM Billy King to pull the trigger. You can't blame King. If O'Brien had his way, Samuel Dalembert would be gone by now. King has held firm, and O'Brien has slowly warmed to Dalembert.
Glenn Robinson has been available since day one, but the Sixers have been unwilling to take back a bad contract in return or package him with a younger player. The team has passed on opportunities to swap Robinson for Keith Van Horn and Latrell Sprewell.
On the latter trade, the team would've had to give up prospect Willie Green in addition to Robinson. That ought to tell you how low Sprewell's stock has sunk.
O'Brien also has been after King to get Mark Blount, Antoine Walker, Eric Williams or anyone else from his old Celtics team. So far, King has balked at that too.
While the general feeling is the Sixers will close a deal before the deadline, you wonder whether King and O'Brien will ever see eye-to-eye enough on a player for a deal to make sense.
