Putting rumors together, how does this trade sound

[Admin]

Atlanta Trades:

Theo Ratliff C

Glenn Robinson SF

Chris Crawford SF

Atlanta Receives:

Cuttino Mobley SG

Latrell Spreewell SF

Kurt Thomas C

NY Trades:

Kurt Thomas C

Latrell Spreewell SF

NY Receives:

Theo Ratliff C

Kelvin Cato C

Chris Crawford SF

Houston Trades:

Kelvin Cato C

Cuttino Mobley SG

Houston Receives:

Glenn Robinson SF

Here is my thinking on this 3-way deal.

Why would Houston do it: JVG reportedly has liked Dog for a long time and constantly tried to get him to come to NY and I have heard those rumors this offseason about his desire to get Big Dog. Houston is ready to move Posey to SG to give them some size and defensive intensity there to play with Franchise and they are desperate for some scoring help at the SF position. They would also rid themselves of Cato who makes far too much money and is signed through 05/06.

The Rockets starting 5 would look like this:

Franchise

Posey

Big Dog

Taylor

Ming

Why would NY do it: Well with the recent rumors that NY is interested in Ratliff and sees him as the defensive presence that they desperately need and their constant desire to move Spree, this deal makes perfect sense. They also dont mind adding the contracts of Crawford and Cato because they get a guy who can be their enforcer that they so desperately desire in the paint to play alongside Dice/Sweetney.

The Knicks starting lineup would look like this:

Williams? Not sure at PG, but he has looked good this year

Houston

Spoon?

Dice

Theo

They would definitely need to make a trade or sign a FA to play SF for them though because Spoon isnt the answer there. Also I believe that Sweetney is going to be a great PF and eventually they will have to deal with the problem of having both Dice and Sweetney playing the same position.

Why would Atlatna do it: Simple, to give our backcourt the scoring punch it needs and to give our starting 5 the overall ball handling ability and veteran leadership to put this team into the playoffs. We would definitely miss Theo's shotblocking ability, but having Thomas inside would give us a better rebounding presence and he is a decent defender plus adding Cuttino and Spree to JT and SAR makes us a very good running team that can also shoot. We wouldnt be all that great on defense, but I dont think we would be all that bad either. We would definitely be a better scoring team though with 4 legitimate scoring options.

The Hawks lineup would then look like this:

JT/Dickau

Cuttino/Hansen

Spree/Diaw

SAR/Hendu

Thomas/Nazr

This leaves us with 2 roster spots open to sign Darrell Armstrong and Kevin Willis. I really believe that this trade COULD be a possibility, but probably wont happen. I would sure love it though if it did and I ran it through the trade checker and the salaries do work. For us we also dont take on any longer contracts other than 1 additional year with Cuttino compared to Glenn but thats not so bad, so thats a real good thing.

What does everyone think of this deal? I love it personally and can see the motivation for each team to make it.

[beav]

I think that it looks way too good to be true for the Hawks and kind of bad for the Rockets, but awful for the Knicks.

The Hawks trade two bad contracts and Ratliff and just gets one pretty bad one back in Sprewell. Plus I'd just as soon have Thomas as Ratliff because he is tougher and more durable and probably even a little better offensively than Ratliff anyway.

Houston essentially trades a similar but younger gunner without a conscience and no defense in Mobley for Robinson, but Mobley's contract is about half of Robinson's so losing Cato's bad contract is washed out completely there.

The Knicks get two bad contracts and an injury prone center.

[Admin]

I dont think its as bad as you think for Houston. They really need a SF who can score and are very down on Nachbar as he is looking like a big time bust. Posey isnt fitting at SF and Griffin is a player without a position. Having both Posey and Mobley as more than capable starting SGs is not good for business. What they gain from Robinson over Mobley/Cato salary wise is that Big Dogs deal is a year shorter so they can move him easier than Mobley after this year if they need to. They also get better defensively by having Posey at SG over Mobley.

For NY I tend to agree with you because I really like Thomas, but apparently NY doesnt think he is the presence that they need considering that the rumor of them wanting Theo is very recent but has been ongoing for quite some time. Perhaps we would have to throw in a resigned Dion, if that were possible. Something that you do need to realize though is that Theo is not injury prone. He had 2 freak accidents that are extremely rare and he played 81 games for us last year and got better and better as the season went on. I would hate to lose him, but Thomas would be a decent replacement. Dont kid yourself though about thinking he is in the same league as Theo as a C though. I feel that Thomas is equally as good of an overall player as Theo but I feel that he is more of a PF than a C and I believe NY feels the same way as well.

[beav]

I'd agree with you about the Thomas post 7 years ago, but the simple fact of the matter is that half (at least) of the teams in the NBA are having to resort to PF types at center anyway. Dale Davis for example was a career PF before he came to Portland and he has been their starting center for 3 years. I believe that 8 years ago that Theo would also have been a PF and I don't think that besides the blocks that his defense is as good as Thomas' defense since Thomas is bigger and tougher.

Don't get me wrong.. I'd love to do the deal and I'll give it to you that maybe Houston would, but I just don't see the Knicks ever doing a deal like that unless we threw in a first rounder and I hope to [censored] we don't give away another potential lottery pick.

[Admin]

Yeah I totally agree with you and I had thought about including a 1st rounder, but there is now way I would try to make a trade by including a first rounder unless we had like 4 years to give it away.

The thing that I do know about NY, at least from their own peoples mouths anyway, is that they are interested in Theo and were quoted as saying that they believe he is the low post presence and intimidator at C that they need. If they felt that Thomas could be that guy I dont see any reason that they would be wanting Theo. Honestly if I were them I would stick with Thomas, but who knows what Layden will do.

[Traceman]

would be any better.

Thomas - 6'9"

Reef - 6'9"

Spree - 6'5"

Mobley - 6'4"

Terry - 6'2"

There is a lot of offensive firepower there but that is an AWFULLY small, poor defending lineup. Mobley is every bit as bad as Dog on D, maybe worse. Spree couldn't necessarily guard the best perimeter player on the other team because Mobley can't guard SFs. Thomas is a good/tough player but there is a reason NY is trying to get a bigger Center. If we did such a deal, I'd probably look to lineup:

Nazr

Thomas

Reef

Spree

JT

With Mobley as the 6th man.

From a contract standpoint, I don't like the fact that Mobley would be on the books for over $6 million in 05/06 and that would make a SIGNIFICANT dent in our available caproom that year.

If we did such a deal, it would be interesting for sure but honestly, I'd rather see either Spree or Mobley out of the deal and another player (a true SF) put back in. In fact, even though he's not a true SF, I'd rather have Griffin than Mobley. I think he and Reef could play alongside each other and we could certainly use Griffin's length on D.