Post by ball4life on Dec 28, 2005 12:14:15 GMT -5
If there's one thing you should know about NBA trades, it's this: Often, three teams can trade more easily than two. For a great example, check out the situation with Indiana's Ron Artest.
To review, the volatile Pacers forward punched his ticket out of Indiana nearly two weeks ago when, from out of nowhere, he demanded to be traded. Considering this came after the team stood by him even when his suspension ruined last season for them, it was an amazing betrayal of both management and his fellow players.
Since then, Indy has kept the Queens native and former St. John's star quarantined on the inactive list while they play Let's Make a Deal with the league's other 29 teams. But they can't play the waiting game forever. As Indiana showed in a shellacking by Dallas Monday night, they desperately need a two-way force like Artest in order to compete with the league's elite teams. If it can't be Artest, they need to acquire somebody to fill the void, and soon.
Unfortunately, trading Artest is easier said than done, which is why he's still Indiana's property as of this writing. Not surprisingly, several teams more or less dismissed the possibility of adding a wing nut like Artest to the roster, for fear of the havoc he might wreak. But even the teams that could have an interest wouldn't necessarily be desirable trade partners for Indiana. Miami and Detroit, for instance, are the Pacers' main rivals for Eastern Conference supremacy, so the last thing Indy wants to do is send them a player who, when not self-combusting, is one of the top small forwards in basketball.
Then there are salary considerations. Indiana is already over the salary cap, and the luxury tax threshold as well. Thus, they are reluctant to take on salary in order to unload Artest. In fact, their preferred method of trading is to dump contracts themselves by attaching Austin Croshere's unwieldy contract to any deal. As you might imagine, however, the Pacers' potential trading partners are much less excited about that proposal, and would prefer to avoid acquiring contract baggage along with Artest's sizable emotional baggage.
Of course, a deal with Artest alone has its own problems. Artest is grossly underpaid for a player of his caliber, making a shade under $7 million a season. That means teams can't swap a max-contract player in return for Artest in a one-for one deal - thus, for example, it would be impossible for the Knicks to trade Stephon Marbury's $19-million-a-yeardeal straight up for Artest's.
Finally, there is the matter of how Indiana would like to replace Artest. Ideally, they need to get somebody who can play small forward or shooting guard, thus filling the void created by Artest's departure. The Pacers are shorthanded on the wings right now and are relying on converted point guard Sarunas Jasikevicius and rookie forward Danny Granger to help fill the void. That pairing can get them through a few weeks in December, but if they want to keep playing in June, it won't cut the mustard.
That makes things complicated from Indiana's perspective, but it gets even hairier once you throw trading partners into the picture. Most of the teams contemplating a deal for Artest are "one player away" types in the Western Conference - clubs like Denver and Dallas. Dealing the Pacers a competent replacement for Artest isn't really on the table for them - if that were the case, they wouldn't be one player away in the first place. Additionally, few of those clubs have oodles of young talent lying on the bench, and most of them are just as limited by salary cap and luxury tax issues as the Pacers are.
All that makes for a difficult deal, but fortunately, there's a convenient end run around all these problems - the three-team trade. This involves some complex negotiations and braincramp inducing salary cap calculations, but it's almost certainly how the deal will ultimately happen.
In this case, what it means is that a third team - likely a bottom-tier team like Atlanta or Portland - that has players (or, perhaps, draft choices) the Pacers covet will send those assets to Indiana. Indiana will then send Artest and, perhaps, Croshere, to another club. That club, in turn, sends a few unneeded players, perhaps with expiring contracts, to the bottom-tier team.
If you've been paying close attention, you'll see this means there's a way for either the Knicks or Nets to get involved in the Artest trade - even though they have no interest in Artest. The Knicks, for instance, could see if the Pacers have an interest in the expiring contracts of Antonio Davis or Penny Hardaway, and if so, could potentially acquire a useful player from a third team.
Similarly, New Jersey could see if it were possible to parlay Antoine Wright and/or Zoran Planinic into an additional frontcourt player. The odds are long on both counts, but the best NBA front offices have learned how to insert themselves profitably as conduits for trades that otherwise didn't involve them.
Who those conduits will be remains the greatest mystery. Artest is almost certainly heading West, and Denver is the leading contender to acquire his services. If Artest does head for the Rockies, Denver will almost certainly unload guard Earl Watson, injured center Nene, and the expiring contract of guard Voshon Lenard as their part of the deal. The only dilemma, then, is what third team can be brought in to make it work for the Pacers. Indiana is deep at the point and has no need for Watson, so the Nuggets need to involve a third mystery team that needs a point guard and can send a quality small forward to Indiana.
The complexities take time to iron out, which is why a deal hasn't been consummated yet. But tea-leaf readers in Indiana say Artest's departure is closer at hand now that general manager Larry Bird is back from a European scouting trip and the necessary calls to potential third parties have been made. Thus, at some point in the next few days, basketball fans will focus their attention on whatever Western team ends up acquiring Artest.
I'll be interested too, but I'm even more interested to see what other teams can insert themselves into the trade. Often, they can extort a high price for completing a trade that is of such obvious importance to the other two clubs involved, and come away the biggest winner in the deal. That's why fans must always remember: In this league, it takes three to tango.
To review, the volatile Pacers forward punched his ticket out of Indiana nearly two weeks ago when, from out of nowhere, he demanded to be traded. Considering this came after the team stood by him even when his suspension ruined last season for them, it was an amazing betrayal of both management and his fellow players.
Since then, Indy has kept the Queens native and former St. John's star quarantined on the inactive list while they play Let's Make a Deal with the league's other 29 teams. But they can't play the waiting game forever. As Indiana showed in a shellacking by Dallas Monday night, they desperately need a two-way force like Artest in order to compete with the league's elite teams. If it can't be Artest, they need to acquire somebody to fill the void, and soon.
Unfortunately, trading Artest is easier said than done, which is why he's still Indiana's property as of this writing. Not surprisingly, several teams more or less dismissed the possibility of adding a wing nut like Artest to the roster, for fear of the havoc he might wreak. But even the teams that could have an interest wouldn't necessarily be desirable trade partners for Indiana. Miami and Detroit, for instance, are the Pacers' main rivals for Eastern Conference supremacy, so the last thing Indy wants to do is send them a player who, when not self-combusting, is one of the top small forwards in basketball.
Then there are salary considerations. Indiana is already over the salary cap, and the luxury tax threshold as well. Thus, they are reluctant to take on salary in order to unload Artest. In fact, their preferred method of trading is to dump contracts themselves by attaching Austin Croshere's unwieldy contract to any deal. As you might imagine, however, the Pacers' potential trading partners are much less excited about that proposal, and would prefer to avoid acquiring contract baggage along with Artest's sizable emotional baggage.
Of course, a deal with Artest alone has its own problems. Artest is grossly underpaid for a player of his caliber, making a shade under $7 million a season. That means teams can't swap a max-contract player in return for Artest in a one-for one deal - thus, for example, it would be impossible for the Knicks to trade Stephon Marbury's $19-million-a-yeardeal straight up for Artest's.
Finally, there is the matter of how Indiana would like to replace Artest. Ideally, they need to get somebody who can play small forward or shooting guard, thus filling the void created by Artest's departure. The Pacers are shorthanded on the wings right now and are relying on converted point guard Sarunas Jasikevicius and rookie forward Danny Granger to help fill the void. That pairing can get them through a few weeks in December, but if they want to keep playing in June, it won't cut the mustard.
That makes things complicated from Indiana's perspective, but it gets even hairier once you throw trading partners into the picture. Most of the teams contemplating a deal for Artest are "one player away" types in the Western Conference - clubs like Denver and Dallas. Dealing the Pacers a competent replacement for Artest isn't really on the table for them - if that were the case, they wouldn't be one player away in the first place. Additionally, few of those clubs have oodles of young talent lying on the bench, and most of them are just as limited by salary cap and luxury tax issues as the Pacers are.
All that makes for a difficult deal, but fortunately, there's a convenient end run around all these problems - the three-team trade. This involves some complex negotiations and braincramp inducing salary cap calculations, but it's almost certainly how the deal will ultimately happen.
In this case, what it means is that a third team - likely a bottom-tier team like Atlanta or Portland - that has players (or, perhaps, draft choices) the Pacers covet will send those assets to Indiana. Indiana will then send Artest and, perhaps, Croshere, to another club. That club, in turn, sends a few unneeded players, perhaps with expiring contracts, to the bottom-tier team.
If you've been paying close attention, you'll see this means there's a way for either the Knicks or Nets to get involved in the Artest trade - even though they have no interest in Artest. The Knicks, for instance, could see if the Pacers have an interest in the expiring contracts of Antonio Davis or Penny Hardaway, and if so, could potentially acquire a useful player from a third team.
Similarly, New Jersey could see if it were possible to parlay Antoine Wright and/or Zoran Planinic into an additional frontcourt player. The odds are long on both counts, but the best NBA front offices have learned how to insert themselves profitably as conduits for trades that otherwise didn't involve them.
Who those conduits will be remains the greatest mystery. Artest is almost certainly heading West, and Denver is the leading contender to acquire his services. If Artest does head for the Rockies, Denver will almost certainly unload guard Earl Watson, injured center Nene, and the expiring contract of guard Voshon Lenard as their part of the deal. The only dilemma, then, is what third team can be brought in to make it work for the Pacers. Indiana is deep at the point and has no need for Watson, so the Nuggets need to involve a third mystery team that needs a point guard and can send a quality small forward to Indiana.
The complexities take time to iron out, which is why a deal hasn't been consummated yet. But tea-leaf readers in Indiana say Artest's departure is closer at hand now that general manager Larry Bird is back from a European scouting trip and the necessary calls to potential third parties have been made. Thus, at some point in the next few days, basketball fans will focus their attention on whatever Western team ends up acquiring Artest.
I'll be interested too, but I'm even more interested to see what other teams can insert themselves into the trade. Often, they can extort a high price for completing a trade that is of such obvious importance to the other two clubs involved, and come away the biggest winner in the deal. That's why fans must always remember: In this league, it takes three to tango.
