AI+AMARE=CHAMPIONSHIP

Here’s the Wikipedia entry for that movie for those that missed it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_History_X

I highly recommend the film but it’s super violent and deals with some pretty hard subject matter so it’s not for everyone.

Prince isn’t going anywhere unless Joe Dumars thinks LeBron James wants to be a Piston. I like Amare better than Boozer in a deal but I’d rather dump ‘Sheed to San Antonio and play a conservative strategy with the cap space and the roster. Portland has talent that is going to be available in trades at a reasonable cost because of future cap considerations, Dallas is going nowhere fast and might blow it up and make Dirk available, Philly might want to hit the reset button on their team. That said, I’d be happy with Maxiell and ‘Sheed and some 2nd round picks (PHX is CHP) for Amare. You need a player to deal with Dwight Howard if you get rid of ’Sheed but other EC teams need a player to cope with Amare so the wheel of life keeps on turnin’…or something.

Go Pistons! Trade of magic!

I think it would be a huge mistake to trade Max.
Dice, Stuck, Rip, Tay, and Max should stay in my opinion so this works for me. But who we really need is a center. Kwame has never proven.

I’m yet to see Amare thrive in any kind of offense outside Nash spoon-feeding him the ball. He was effective during the Suns SSOL era. But now he doesn’t even have to do the dirty work with Shaq alongside him, and he STILL complains.

Rather than try to fit in with the pieces around him and try to make the best of a situation, Amare seems intent at insisting he should be the center of attention. THAT will not work in Detroit because he will just be one of many pieces.

Right now Amare seems like a guy who is looking for personal gain, rather than team success and winning championships. And that is why I don’t like these trade suggestions. Having said that, a Stuckey-Amare combo does sound like a solid foundation for the next 5 years.

The trade should be

Iveson and Johnson for

Shaq, G. Hill and R. Lopez

========
Adding Shaq instead of Stoudemire and keeping Wallace makes the Pistons the biggest team up front in the EC.

Shaq is having a good year and has one more year left on his contract after this year

R. Lopez is a good young talent. Not as good on offense as his brother Brook but Robin is a good defender and rebounder. He is a true center at over 7 feet and 260 lbs, so when Shaq is done after next season Lopez could step in and replace him.

I think with Shaq, Wallace and Prince up front along with Dyess, Hill and Maxiell coming in off the bench the Pistons would have a great front line for the playoffs.

This trade would also allow Afflalo to get some serious rotation minutes which he would most assuredly adequately fill.

This trade would make the Pistons a serious Title contender this June.

Amare for Sheed and Amir seems like it’s too good to be true.

An aging player who’s not happy and a young player who’s never produced consistently for a big man who can dominate the pain by himself.

I can’t imagine Joe D would pass that trade up, given the chance.

Even if Amare bolted in 2010, it would give us at least a year and a half of really solid ball, and perhaps ignite a push for the second half of this season.

Shaq? really?

There’s no way I’d want Shaq — sure, he’s having a decent year, but he only plays every other game! I’d do Sheed/Amir for Amare in a HEARTBEAT.

As much as I’d like to see Amare in a Pistons uniform, I’m not convinced that such a trade would improve the team much if it had to involve Rasheed.

Rasheed isn’t a young fella anymore, but he still is a top-five defender in the league at his position, and he has fundamental skills (not least his intelligence) that should persist even as he gets a little slower and loses the ability to jump really high. Amare, for all his offensive ability, is not nearly as good on defense as Rasheed. If the Pistons trade Rasheed, they’ll lose not only one of the best personalities on the team, someone who makes Detroit a fun place to be for other players on the team. They’ll also lose an extremely savvy, extremely talented big man who is completely unselfish and who appears now to be undervalued by the market.

Could Iverson be traded straight-up for Shaq? Phoenix surely wouldn’t like the impact such a deal would have on its backcourt defense. But, then again, Iverson’s deal expires this offseason, giving immediate cap relief to Phoenix’s extremely stingy owner in a city where attendance (and thus gate revenues) isn’t great even when the team is playing well. The Suns are in worse financial shape than the Pistons are, and their owner is more likely to demand quick salary cuts to mitigate against the financial losses. Maybe Kerr would just pull the plug and regroup next year.

Shaq, meanwhile, would be the fifth member of a newly improved Pistons starting lineup, with Stuckey, Rip, Tayshaun, and Ra (back at the four, where he prefers to be). The Pistons would be a much more interesting and dangerous team than they are right now: big, tough on defense, and versatile, with rotation patterns so obvious as to be almost Curry-proof. Then Shaq’s deal would expire in 2010, when the Pistons want to have cap space available anyway. That seems to be a smarter move for present and future than an Amare trade.

On a related but separate note, one thing I don’t know is whether a Shaq trade would leave the Pistons with room to re-sign Rasheed or McDyess after this season. We’ve all been talking as though Rasheed is gone for sure after this year, but why wouldn’t Dumars try to keep both him and McDyess? Both players are still really good, and both seem likely to be available for significantly less money than inferior alternatives. If you lose both of them, you essentially have zero frontcourt left. You are now last year’s Nets. Congratulations. And you’re banking on signing someone really big in 2010 when in 2009 you have to expect to miss the playoffs and to be pretty terrible. You would be a trying to sign a young star who wants either to be in a big market or on a team where winning is guaranteed. You’d likely be very unattractive to that young star, and then when he goes elsewhere you’re left feeling pretty alone and stupid. It doesn’t seem like a smart strategy.

I don’t know how this salary stuff works. I know that teams have a certain degree of leeway to re-sign their own guys even when those signings put them over the salary cap. I also know that at some point they break the luxury-tax threshold, at which point they start paying a dollar tax for every incremental dollar in salary. I know that Davidson is dead-set against paying the luxury tax, even though he’s one of the league’s richest owners (worth $5B+) and isn’t likely to live for many more years and you’d think he wouldn’t care all that much. But where is the luxury threshold? Could Dumars keep Sheed and/or Dyess at a discount and still have any remaining room to sign a new player in 2010, when Shaq hypothetically could be coming off the books? Or would he have to trade Shaq’s contract for someone instead? Does anyone here actually know the rules behind this stuff, or where to find the rules laid out clearly and succinctly? If so, please tell me.

Anyway. Shaq for Iverson! That’s my new favorite deal given what the Suns will demand for Amare.

We aren’t going to land Amare for Sheed and Amir. Get that out of your head. Why wouldn’t Phoenix want Iversons expiring contract? Because Nash and Shaq are too old? Come on. They aren’t going to be any better if they trade for Rasheed, so they should trade for Iverson and sign Boozer in the offseason. This is a trade I think could work.

Detroit:
Allen Iverson
Jason Maxiell
1st round draft pick

Phoenix:
Amare Stoudemire
Leandro Barbosa

They get a huge expiring contract, a young explosive power-forward, plus our draft pick. I wouldn’t throw in Amir into the deal, but I would consider Aaron Afflalo if they want more young talent in return. My reasoning behind this; there is no point of having Allen Iverson if you don’t let Allen Iverson be Allen Iverson (we will still have cap room in 2010), Maxiell isn’t getting his fair share of playing time, and we essential land someone we could go after in 2010. Our chances of landing Lebron are slim to none, Chris Bosh is still a possibility, and landing Amare now might mean he would consider re-signing here come the re-signing period. Who knows, things might work out with him.

Amare Stoudemire is good at the game of basketball. Although I also said that about Allen Iverson……..

I want to go on record saying that I want Grant Hill back.

He is a must include because although he is 36, he has the legs of a 32-33 year old from all of those injury riddled seasons in the O-town.

We Miss you Grant Hill.

I have a problem with trading Sheed because he is our best big man defender. Stoudemire has never been known for his defense.

You add Stoudemire than what you are adding is another shooter.

What good is Iverson and for that matter Rip come plyoff time if they can’t score.

What the Pistons need to win the Title this year is more size and more interior defense.

Shaq would do a lot better job against Howard.
Shaq would more than neutralize Perkin’s size and remember Perkins had a very big game against the Pistons last year, I believe in the ECF,
With the Cavs Wallace would guard “Big Z” because Z shoots from the outside and Shaq would help clog the middle against Lebron. Lebron might be a little more hesitate to drive the lane agains the Pistons with Shaq in there vs anyone else that we now have on the roster.

Shaq would also give the Pistons a better low post presence than Stoudemire.

Shaq would also match up well with Bynum or Dunacan in the Finals.

This year Shaq

Game 41
MPG 31
PPG 18
RPG 9
-—————

Shaq’s contract is a little less than Iverson’s so with Shaq the Pistons would have

Sheeds $13+ million contract exiring this year
Shaq’s $20 million contract expiring in 2010 when Lebron, Bosh etc will be available. Shaq’s $20 million should be enough for Lebron, Bosh or anyone else.

In the meantime the Pistons could choose to resign Sheed this summer for less than his $13 million or go after Okur or Booser with it.

One Final Shaq thought

Shaq would have a lot of incentive to play well for the Pistons to help get them to the Finals.

Kobe, Kobe, Kobe!!!

Well said and thought out. Even so, I don’t think it will happen. The reason being is that the problems Phoenix has with Amare is that he doesn’t play D and he gives effort only when it suits him. Sound familiar? Like the 2 things Detroit wanted to eradicate at the beginning of the season.

Unfortunately, I think we have to bite the pillow ’til the end of the season… unless we can somehow get Bosh.

I’m not for trading Shaq. If he isn’t making Phoenix a contender, how could he make us a contender? They have Steve Nash, Jason Richardson, Grant Hill, Amare Stoudemire, and than the big man in the center. Shaq can’t give us big minutes, and I don’t want to see him trying to hit free throws in crunch time. We invented Hack-a-Shaq, and that’s exactly what teams will do. Boston will still beat us, and Cleveland will beat us. I’m sure we can take Orlando as we always do.

shaq and wallace together is a winning combo for the suns. sheed does not give a s*** anymore in detroit. watching the heat game the other night, you just get this sense of disinterest and complacency. even when he starts jawing with a ref, it seems half-assed. and that was probably his best shooting night on the season. still half his shots are 3s and he gets out-rebounded far too often by our guards. i feel for the guy because he’s been playing C since ben left and i think it’s wearing him down at his age. the fire in the belly has been snuffed out.

i don’t think i like amare that much, but he either works out or he still gives us cap room in ’10.

There’s no way Phoenix trades Amare to any Western Conference team. The NBA is too political now, and Amare would spot 40 on the Suns the next time he played them, especially if it’s in the playoffs. The Eastern Conference is the only place Kerr would look to dump off Amare. He could also look to New Jersey for a trade. They have a lot of young pieces and quite a few draft picks stockpiled. However, they don’t currently have the talent like we do with Sheed and Iverson. I like the idea of Sheed being traded, because he’s becoming too much of a headache right now. Even if Amare doesn’t re-sign with us, his contract comes off the books in 2010 and we could go after a guy like Chris Bosh (who we should have drafted in the first place…)

@Mark: The reason Shaq makes us a contender is that he’s back in the east again, where he has to deal with Dwight Howard and… Kenrdick Perkins? Big Z? It’s an easier load for him. And I’m sorry, I don’t know where you get that “We Invented Hack-a-Shaq” but that’s just plain wrong.

RIP and sheed or sheed and amir and maybe a 1st round pick but most likely not those are the best options. tay is young and getting better each year same with Jason maxiell and they didnt get AI just to trade him away and beside where would phoenix put him they have nash at point and just got jay rich at shooting gaurd

The one problem that I see in trading Iverson is that means that we have to rely on Stuckey and Bynum in the playoffs.

While i think Stuckey could handle it off his playoff experience last year as well as his talent and play level, I am not so sure about Bynum as his backup in the playoffs.

Iverson would be a better PG backup for us in the playoffs but I think as long as Stuckey doesn’t get hurt we gain more for the playoffs with this trade than we do by trading Wallace

Hey Mike, what about using Tay to run the point for about 10-12 minutes a night? He’s already playing 40 per, why not?

Drop kwame, give up sheed and ai, we need a big man not one that hangs around the arc to hit 3s when he need to be down low.

“We aren’t going to land Amare for Sheed and Amir. Get that out of your head.”

Why? Kerr has put himself in a position where he just about has to get a deal done. Utah could probably make a more substantial offer, but that would mean trading him to another contender in the West.

Here are my pressing concerns:

1) This season might represent his ceiling without coach D’Antoni. Both Nash and Stoudemire (and just about everyone else) thrived in his system. That said, I think he would be a much more prolific rebounder on our squad.

2) In order to avert a dropoff in production, Curry will need to coach an uptempo style. For someone who doesn’t understand the sport, this is counter-intuitive. Stoudemire is a big man, after all. Also, a side deal for a three point specialist wouldn’t hurt.

Nice article Kevin. I guess it depends on what the key for Kerr is out of this trade and how desperate he gets…we know Phoenix wants some combination of young talented players (preferably a forward), expiring contracts and draft picks. If Kerr wants to potentially salvage this season then he won’t see a better package then Sheed, Amir plus a pick…with Bynum going down for LA maybe Kerr sees an opportunity this year?

As Kevin said, Sheed would be a great compliment to Shaq while Amir would likely be the 1st big guy off their bench. With Shaq posting, Phoenix can spread the floor even more with Sheed standing around the 3 point line with Nash, J-Rich, Barbosa, and Barnes. If Kerr would rather start the rebuilding process then other teams could offer a better combination of picks and young players.

*Meant to say “then he won’t see a better package out of any eastern conference team then Sheed, Amir, plus a pick”.

My point was, they aren’t going to trade Amare for just Rasheed and Amir. That trade isn’t going to make them a contender, it will get Rasheed off the books and than are they supposed to hope Amir will turn into a good player one day? If they want an expiring contract (such as Rasheeds), why not go for Iversons? They can package Amare and Barbosa together, we can offer up Maxiell and a draft pick as well. Trust me, I want Amare here. But I don’t think Phoenix would bite on the Rasheed trade. Besides, I would rather have Rasheed and Amare as our front court, in hoping Rasheed can teach him to be a better defender. As long as we have the rotation problem of Stuckey/Iverson/Hamilton, I don’t see us improving. In my opinion, Hamilton or Iverson needs to go before the deadline.

Phoenix isn’t trading Shaq for AI. Kerr brought in Shaq specifically to become a more slowdown in the paint team plus the reasons mentioned above.

Sheed + ? will get Amare because 1) it stretches the defense for Shaq down low and also helps Hill, 2) Sheed plays great defense against Duncan, 3)is another big defensive player against the Lakers, 4) they have a better chance if it works out to resign Sheed next year perhaps at the MLE+ because of Shaq/Nash are signed 1 more year + weather & taxes.

Phoenix has a crowed backcourt so Rip is out. I think rightly so Joe D thinks Tay/Sheed for Amare is too much and will refuse. If, for no other reason, than if Amare doesn’t resign, 2010 he won’t have anything to show for this trade and the only players are Rip & Stuck to offer potential FA to build around. Dyess is out because it leaves us too thin in the front court and Phoenix has Lopez/Admunsen (??). Max’s contract kicks in next year for 5 years and I don’t think Phoenix wants that. So we are left with Amir. With Shaq and/or Sheed out, Phoenix can have Lopez at the 5, Amir at the 4, and Richardson/Hill at 2/3, Barbosa 1/2, it won’t be SSOL with Nash’s age, but it does pose an incredible fast 2nd unit where Nash/Barbosa operate at their best.

From Kerr’s perspective you’ve Shaq/Nash last two years of contract and this puts you in the best position to win now and next year if Sheed resigns. It generates buzz and helps with cash flow either way. Of course, barring something unforeseen the cupboard could potentially be bare in the summer of 2010, but you’ve got alot of cash and the weather.

If you’re the Pistons you can go Stuck/AI/Tay/Amare/Dyess or Kwame with Max/Rip/Dyess or Kwame off the bench + AA. AI can deform the defense easier with Amare who will finish stronger at the basket. But with AI and Amare, our defense motto will become “HEEELLLPP!!.”

If Joe D can have a little luck like the Lakers last year and swap AI for JO, we become a very dangerous basketball team for the last two months of the season, everyone returns intact next season and I think it gives us a great chance to resign Dyees this summer.

It will certainly be interesting.

Forgot to ask: Wasn’t Porter an assistant so has ties with Sheed (and everyone else) but this helps Phoenix when weighing other offers.

The only uptempo teams that have won an NBA Title within the last 30 years have been Showtime which played great 4th quarter defense and possibly the Bulls with Michael, but they also played great defense.

You win NBA Titles with defense not with uptempo

Right now I would say that the Cavs have the best team in the NBA.

The biggest improvements for them this year have been

1. The addition of Mo Williams
2. The integration of the players obtained last year in their big trade.
3. Lebron’s defense which is now among the best in the league.

The Cavs defense when West is playing is as good as the Celtics. Those two teams have the best defenses in the league.

MarkButter, I was actually going to mention that I wonder which players were close to Porter.

The only other team that I think can offer Phoenix is Port with a combo of Aldridge/ ?? perhaps Outlaw. Aldridge could be a piece they could build around in 2010 with Lopez at the 5, can probably hold his own against Duncan and Laker frontline and has a nice outside jomper, though not as deep as Sheed at this this point in his career. The thing is, does Portland do this deal. Oden won’t draw as many double teams to allow Amare to operate easy as Shaq does, but I don’t think it hurts offensively and Oden can match up against Duncan rather than Amare.

Hell, I’m even excited about the deadline for other teams as I’m typing this.

@MB:
“The thing is, does Portland do this deal.”

I can’t see Portland making a move for Stoudemire. If I had to choose between two players, two personalities and two contracts, I’d likely opt for Aldridge over Amare. If Portland makes that move, they likely do it for Amare + another nice name— in other words, Amare alone doesn’t really make Portland an instant contender. And while I don’t know Portland’s squad well enough to analyze, their biggest need is at the point. The only way I could see Portland moving Aldridge is for a trade that would involve a solid PG.

Also, I agree with your comments about Sheed and Phoenix. IMO, he fits better in the frontcourt with Shaq than Amare.

@Kevin:
First, awesome post (as always).

“1) This season might represent his ceiling without coach D’Antoni.”

I know you thought this through, but I figured I’d say it anyway for the discussion— it might have more to do with Shaq than D’Antoni. I’m hoping Joe D. feels that way too.

@others, commenters who voiced concern about Amare in our locker room:

The last time we traded for a big ego, an outspoken, technical-prone post player… we won a championship. I’m not saying that’s the recipe for a championship, but it took us no time to love Rasheed— because he was OUR asshole. Same will happen if we trade for Amare.

“If I get traded, I get traded,” Wallace said prior to the Pistons’ shoot-around this morning. “If it happens, can’t cry over spilled milk. I just know wherever I go, wherever I get traded to, you gotta go and ball.”

http://www.mlive.com/pistons/index.ssf/2009/02/rasheed_wallace_talks_about_be.html

i think the a.i. for shaq should still work……letting amare go would decrease nash and the team’s scoring. suns bread and butter is still nash/amare. so im sure kerr is would be open to what he can get by trading shaq, we do know that kerr would love the paint to be defended by someone similar to shaq….what can the pistons offer without including rasheed in the trade? to match shaq’s salary, pistons would have to include a.i., what about defending suns’ frontcourt? amir and a true center kwame could close that gap, and pistons could include a reserve who can match lopez and amudsen energy, walter hermann. so here it is, its a win win, 3 expiring contract that suns have, a.i., kwame and johnson, and a reserve sf. for the pistons? the new starting line up would be:

shaq
sheed
prince
rip
stuckey

a match made in heaven.

also, in news of no interest to us, the Lakers sent Vladi Radmanovic to Charlotte for Adam Morrison and Shannon Brown.

suns would have to include barbosa, or anyone who could match the salary of the deal.

If there are indeed talks between the Pistons and Suns, I think we should all keep a close eye on the game tomorrow, where we will be playing Phoenix. For instance, if Amir or Maxiell play heavier minutes than normal, perhaps one of them are involved in whatever deal they are “discussing”, that is if they are discussing anything at all.

To add to MP’s comments about potential issues with Amare in our locker room…if it doesn’t work out he still comes off the books in 2010 and we can re-enter the 2010 sweep stakes. If it does work out we can sign him to more money then anyone else. IMO it’s a chance we have to take IF Phoenix would take a package of Amir/Sheed/draft picks.

mike, do u have a link of that news?

I would trade Ai for shaq in a heartbeat, but I agree that Phoenix wouldn’t do that. They would the worst/smallest defensive backcourt of all time. Plus, Nash needs the ball in his hands, so how is AI going to be Ai. Kevin is right that any trade that happens is going to involve sheed.

I have mixed feelings about Stoudemire, mostly because of his defense and attitude but IMO, Sheed+Amir+1st round pick is a deal you absolutely have to do. I’m pretty on the fence for a Sheed+Tay for Amare+Hill/someone else. I don’t think I could deal with losing tay, although, I do love Grant Hill. Also, I think that adding Sheed would make phoenix a contender. Good match for both teams.

@ric:
http://lakers.freedomblogging.com/2009/02/07/radmanovic-traded-for-morrison-brown/11380/

what in the world are the bobcats doing?

So A. Sherrod Blakely, thinks it’s preposterous that Phoenix would want sheed.

http://www.mlive.com/pistons/index.ssf/2009/02/amare_stoudemire_a_piston_rash.html#more

Maybe we’re deluding ourselves, but I think he’s wrong.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3891214
The Bobcats must be really desperate. Radmanovic stinks…

Chris Sheridan agrees with us:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=amaredealscenario-090207

Then later he discusses Shaq trade scenarios and says that the Suns only want cap space. He even proposes Jason Kidd for Shaq, but not AI for Shaq. Kind of makes me think he’s full of shit.

Oops, that was Chad Ford, not Chris Sheridan

Laker trade I think is a prelude to something else. Perhaps Charlotte sees Vladi starting and trading Wallace? Vlade doesn’t play nice when he’s on the bench. Morrison never sees the light of day, he’s got a rook contract and I think he’s up this year. Is S. Brown – a former Spartan?

MP: I don’t see Portland doing it either. But in ESPN there was an article about LM and his “quirky” personality so maybe it’s a push when compared to Amare’s.

I think both Oden and Roy don’t have demanding personalities or egos so 1) they wont have a problem with Amare being the man in the spotlight, 2) the franchise is on the back of Oden media-wise but enough will be on Amare so he’ll be happy, 3) he’ll be option 1 or 1A behind Roy and 4) I think they play a bit more uptempo than Phoenix (where Amare thrives). Doesn’t Port have Raef LaFrentza’s contract? I don’t know the salaries but does LM + that or Outlaw work or is there filler?

I think the Suns/Pistons trade tomorrow with Sheed going against Amare and they switch teams at half time. We’ll immediately know which team got the better deal.

how about sheed and iverson for amare and a pick if needed
neither of them will be back next season anyways might as well get something out of them

Reading all those Amare articles you’d think he was JR Rider and he didn’t have skills any more. Amare could be a total beast for us.

Amare will never be a key figure on a championship team. Perhaps, the most overrated player in the game. I don’t know if I’d even put him in the Top 10 at his position.

Kevin – I don’t get the logic of Phoenix being unwilling to take Iverson, but willing to take Sheed. If you think Phoenix is playing for the future, it doesn’t matter (cap space is cap space). And if you think they are playing for now, Rasheed stinks. I’m not saying Iverson is that great either. But I don’t think they’re separated by a chasm. They are both in serious decline.

If we could somehow get rid of our SG logjam and add Amare, I would wet my pants. So there that is.

Amare for Sheed, Amir, Max…. DONE. I wouldn’t even care if we threw in a couple of 1st round picks. Amare is a rare find- proven young big man that is AVAILABLE for a below-market trade. The only thing harder to find is a proven young Point Guard…. we there is only a little work left on the “proven” part with stuckey.

I don’t know about Amare. Dude plays NO D. I feel like we already tried that with AI. I mean, I know AI has gotten better, but there’s not a lot of time to teach Amare to care a little before the playoffs.

If we could keep Sheed, on the other hand, I would do it in an instant- so long it didn’t involve Stuckey or Tay. But they’ve got too many guards, and we don’t have enough small forwards, so I don’t see a move that doesn’t involve Sheed. (Not that I don’t want to get rid of Sheed at the moment. But he DOES play defense.)

Forty,

You really don’t think Sheed could help the Suns? His ability to D up Duncan w/o help is pretty significant, I think. Furthermore, he fits much better in a half-court offense than Amare. I don’t think they need him to replace Amare’s offense. The upgrade on defense and his ability to stretch the floor could make them very dangerous, imo.

To anyone who thinks Amare plays no D, and Chris Bosh is kidding themselves.

Colin – Rasheed used to be very good and plays Duncan very tough, I agree

JesseC: Amare for Sheed, Amir, Max…. That’s paying over-market value and decimates our front court.

If it’s Sheed/Amir for Amare, then Kwame picks up minutes. Wonder if this has anything with MC discussing Dice starting the last 20 games or so. And wonder if this puts AI at 6th man? The 1st 5 definitely loses something defensively swapping Amare for Sheed.

I agree that AI would REALLY have to come off the bench if we brought in Amare. He wouldn’t have Sheed to help him when his man loses him. With the second unit, Dyess would be able to make up for that.
Not a great defensive frontcourt, but Kwame would be able to focus on D instead of trying to play offense.

I think it’s funny that so many people are saying we lose so much in D by swapping Amare for Sheed. Sheed has been HORRIBLE on D (and offense) this year, so I’d much rather have the young legs of Amare down low than lazy, ol’ Sheed. Amare can’t be THAT much of a downgrade. Sheed’s best defensive years were with Ben by his side, and it’s been a long time since then.

Honestly it would be funny to see us in the finals with them after the trade and have Detroit win because Sheed got hit with a technical!

Honestly it would be funny to see us in the finals with them after the trade and have Detroit win because Sheed got hit with a technical! Tell me that wouldnt be funny!

totally agree garret. amare gives us an identity can you imagine stuckey prince rip and amare in the open court. Amare would help a lot more with rebounding and give us a low post scorer something we need instead of sheed chucking up 3’s

Erick – can you imagine them being coached by Michael Curry? Yikes!

AI to Toronto; J-O’neal to Suns; Shaq to Pistons

Why for Toronto: They get to pull the plug on the Bosh/Oneal experiment and get a great scorer and ticket draw out of it.

Why for the Suns: They pay a little more this year to have a better defender at center position. Jermaine comes off the books after this year so that works for Steve Kerr.

Why for the Pistons: Yes, I want Hamilton back in the starting lineup. And a Shaq/Sheed frontcourt would be amazing. Shaq fits right in with our slow pace and wont gobble up too many minutes from any of our young guys.

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=366~614~615&teams=28~8~21&te=&cash=

so then do the deal and get rid of curry if you think he’s that bad

so then do the deal and get rid of curry if you think he’s that bad

“Kevin – I don’t get the logic of Phoenix being unwilling to take Iverson, but willing to take Sheed. If you think Phoenix is playing for the future, it doesn’t matter (cap space is cap space). And if you think they are playing for now, Rasheed stinks.”

I think they will try to get better now and the future. Sheed and AI are approximately equal on offense (0.9 PER separates them), but Sheed is a much better defender. Sheed’s VORP for the Suns would be much higher.

If AI took Barbosa’s minutes, that would be a downgrade, AND Robin Lopez would be starting at the 4. If I thought Phoenix were willing to give up on this season, I might agree with you, but I don’t think they are.

Of course, the rumor du jour is Mitch Lawrence’s of:

Tay -> Phoenix
Amare -> Toronto
Bosh -> Detroit

I’d say it makes sense for all concerned. Dave Dial spins three possible scenarios.