Millsap for Bledsoe?

[b_line]

Here is what I see happening:

Jefferson to the Celtics. Garnett to the Clippers. Bledsoe to the Jazz.

Here is why:
1. Jazz like Millsap better than Jefferson because he is going to be a more valuable guy to re sign in the offseason. The DL era Jazz are all about value contracts, and having Bledsoe and Millsap on the Jazz would be awesome, especially if we can get Paul for around 10 million.
2. Celtics have talked about Jefferson, and to be honest, it would probably be one of the only places in the league that he could be better than he is now.

Anyway, that gives us a future core and possible starting five of Favors, Kanter, Hayward, Burks, and Bledsoe. Fill out the rotation with Millsap, Demarre, Mo, and whoever you want, but that is a pretty solid team. I don't think it is a championship team, but maybe they can add another piece with the two draft picks this year, or a free agent.

 

[bigmike]

I think LAC would be smart to move Bledsoe to supplement their frontcourt. However, the BOS trade does not make sense to me. I don't think they'd be smart to move Jordan in any way, shape or form, even if meant getting KG in return. KG is done in two years and 24 y/o athletes like DeAndre don't come along often. Let him and Blake grow together. Personally, I think Sap would be a great third big in that frontcourt, and while LO might be an emotional leader, they could still use someone a little more serviceable. I think he'd be the most likely trade target. Trading Caron leaves the Clips a little thin on the wing.

Sap + Raja = Lamar + Bledsoe? Then we buy out Lamar. I'm not a cap expert, do the $'s synch up there?

 

[Tony]

1 Bledsoe - Tinsley - Watson - Williams
2 Hayward - Foye - Murphy
3 Turner - Carroll
4 Favors - Kanter - Evans
5 Kanter - Jordan - Bynum

We don't resign Bynum next year and we can use DeAndre Jordan as trade bait.

 

[The Midnight]

Here is what I see happening:

Jefferson to the Celtics. Garnett to the Clippers. Bledsoe to the Jazz.

Here is why:
1. Jazz like Millsap better than Jefferson because he is going to be a more valuable guy to re sign in the offseason. The DL era Jazz are all about value contracts, and having Bledsoe and Millsap on the Jazz would be awesome, especially if we can get Paul for around 10 million.
2. Celtics have talked about Jefferson, and to be honest, it would probably be one of the only places in the league that he could be better than he is now.

Anyway, that gives us a future core and possible starting five of Favors, Kanter, Hayward, Burks, and Bledsoe. Fill out the rotation with Millsap, Demarre, Mo, and whoever you want, but that is a pretty solid team. I don't think it is a championship team, but maybe they can add another piece with the two draft picks this year, or a free agent.

Boston says no. Here's why:

1. Value: They can get Bledsoe & Jordan for Garnett. That's much better value than Big Al.
2. Bad fit: Their front court of the future is Sullinger. Big Al + Sullinger is a defensive nightmare for the Celtics who pride themselves on defense.

 

[NAOS]

I still think Odom would be the chip.

LAC gives him an emotional role so that he stays grounded and focused, but it is a marginal role. CP3 and Griffin fill any vacuum. Instantly.

 

[b_line]

Boston says no. Here's why:

1. Value: They can get Bledsoe & Jordan for Garnett. That's much better value than Big Al.
2. Bad fit: Their front court of the future is Sullinger. Big Al + Sullinger is a defensive nightmare for the Celtics who pride themselves on defense.

Why would Boston want Bledsoe? That would mean that they plan on trading Rondo. I personally don't see them trading Rondo.

 

[The Midnight]

Why would Boston want Bledsoe? That would mean that they plan on trading Rondo. I personally don't see them trading Rondo.

Rondo will be out for a while.

They can use Bledsoe as a fill-in until Rondo comes back. They can trade him later on next year for other pieces.

Jordan is a match made in heaven for Sullinger. That's an exciting pairing right there. Explosiveness & Skills. Defense & Offense.

 

[Thee Jazz Fan]

Why would Boston want Bledsoe? That would mean that they plan on trading Rondo. I personally don't see them trading Rondo.

Seems like they've been looking for an excuse to trade Rondo for years. Rondo is out for a year, this gives Bledsoe a half year tryout as a starting pg. If Boston likes him they'll have a great reason to trade Rondo, to make the rebuild easier as Rondo should at least get a good player and a draft pick.

 

[The Midnight]

From Sheridan Hoops' - Deals that Make Sense:

https://www.sheridanhoops.com/2013/02/18/bernucca-why-the-lakers-have-to-trade-dwight-howard/2/

3. Clippers trade Eric Bledsoe and spare parts to Jazz for Paul Millsap

This deal is nowhere near as simple as the previous two. Bledsoe is still on his rookie contract and is making $1.7 million while Millsap is an impending free agent making $7.2 million, so some creativity is required.

Without engaging a third team under the cap or with a trade exception, the Clippers could package Bledsoe with Willie Green ($1.375 million) and Grant Hill ($1.957 million), use the 150 percent window and get to just under $7.4 million.

Before the deal could be done, the Jazz would have to waive two players. Or they could add Kevin Murphy to the trade and waive just one player – like Raja Bell, who hasn’t played this season.

It would be a tremendous dice roll for the Clippers, who haven’t gotten Chris Paul’s word that he will re-sign with them this summer and would be trading away his young, extremely promising insurance policy. They also would be getting back another impending free agent in Millsap.

But if the Clippers are serious about winning a championship, they have to fill their biggest need, which is a scoring big. DeAndre Jordan protects the rim but is an intentional foul target late in games. And for all his versatility, Lamar Odom has scored in double figures once this season.

In the offseason, the Clippers can decide whether to keep Odom or Millsap, then use the savings on a backup point guard if Chauncey Billups isn’t brought back.

The Jazz would have a point guard with All-Star potential to team with fellow youngsters Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter, who will play more in Millsap’s absence. Utah takes on an extra $2 million for Hill next season but still has phenomenal flexibility as incumbent point guards Mo Williams, Jamaal Tinsley and Earl Watson all have expiring contracts.

It's an option we haven't discussed here yet. They get to keep Odom. Millsap can play with Jordan when Blake sits. Finish the game with Blake, Millsap, Odom, Crawford, CP3. That's a pretty good offensive team when you need a bucket. It'll also be able to rival the Heats.

 

[A-Train (old)]

Tidbits from ESPN's article today:

Amid all the crazy scuttlebutt going around the league, there emerges a rumor that makes sense: Eric Bledsoe to the Utah Jazz; Paul Millsap to the Los Angeles Clippers. In this case, you have two teams motivated by very different things, or at least they should be.

First, the rumored Clippers-Jazz trade can't happen in its most basic form. Millsap makes $6.9 million more than Bledsoe, and both teams are well over the cap. In fact, the Clippers are hard-capped at $74.3 million. A package of the Clippers' lesser contracts would gut the roster and really, the only player that makes sense is Caron Butler, who is due to make $8 million this season and next season, and is expendable.

Utah can easily absorb Butler's dollars if it means landing its point guard of the future. And the Clippers are covered at the 3 with Grant Hill, Matt Barnes and even Millsap in stretches. The move keeps the Clippers under the hard cap and even reduces their tax bill a bit, so that's the deal: Bledsoe and Butler for Millsap.

Adding Paul Millsap would likely enhance the Clippers' chances of keeping Chris Paul long-term.
We start with the Jazz, because if this deal is really on the table, it's a no-brainer from Utah's perspective. The move allows the Jazz to balance a frontcourt-heavy roster in the long term, while plugging a big hole at point guard. The Jazz currently roster three veteran point guards -- Jamaal Tinsley, Mo Williams and Earl Watson -- and all those deals expire after the season. They've got recent lottery picks at each of the other four positions on the floor. Bledsoe is already better than any point guard on the Jazz. The fit is almost too good to be true.

The Jazz could be looking at a young lineup of Bledsoe, Alec Burks, Gordon Hayward, Favors and Kanter, with Evans off the bench. All of those players are on rookie contracts or, in the case of Evans, a cheap second-round pact. Other than that, you're obligated only to Butler and Marvin Williams, who has a player option for next season. The Jazz could have more room under the cap than any other team in the league while still featuring a full lineup of promising young players.

On top of all that, the Jazz will likely have two first-round picks in the coming draft, its own and Golden State's. For years, the Jazz have been accused of being willing to settle for a place in the league's upper middle class with winning records and playoff berths ensured but championships out of the realm of possibility. This is Utah's chance to escape that cycle.

There have been and will be other trade whispers about Utah, involving Millsap, Jefferson or both. However, no team can offer the Jazz an asset more exciting and more fitting than Bledsoe. With or without a Bledsoe trade, the Jazz can complete the makeover former general manager Kevin O'Conner started by dealing Deron Williams to the Nets two years ago. There is virtually no way they can make a bad trade, especially since no trade at all is a viable option. There is no downside to acquiring Bledsoe.

Why would you want to mess with that? In the long term, there is concern over the large contract that Bledsoe will eventually earn. That's not going to come until the summer of 2014, when he hits restricted free agency. While Bledsoe's trade value may be at an apex right now, there is also a possibility that it's going to go even higher after a high-profile playoff run.

The Clippers may be poking around the trade market just to send this message to Paul: They are doing everything possible to win now. Veteran players love other veteran players, and maybe L.A. sees a high profile acquisition like Millsap as a way to enhance their chances to keep their best player.

 

[Stifle Tower]

^^^
Millsap and Murphy for Butler and Bledsoe. Clippers end up getting a 2nd-round prospect. Give them another 2nd-rounder if they insist.
The real question would be if they wanted a first-rounder or Demarre Carroll instead of Murphy. I'd probably tell them they could have the lesser of the Utah and GS picks, but Caroll is off limits. Jazz need to re-sign him next season. Of course, with Butler AND Williams on board, maybe Carroll wouldn't even want to come back to the team.

 

[The Midnight]

^^^
Millsap and Murphy for Butler and Bledsoe. Clippers end up getting a 2nd-round prospect. Give them another 2nd-rounder if they insist.
The real question would be if they wanted a first-rounder or Demarre Carroll instead of Murphy. I'd probably tell them they could have the lesser of the Utah and GS picks, but Caroll is off limits. Jazz need to re-sign him next season. Of course, with Butler AND Williams on board, maybe Carroll wouldn't even want to come back to the team.

I think it's the fillers they have to think about here. Is it Butler? Is it Odom? Or is it Green & Hill?

Personally I think it's Green & Hill. They already have Barnes as the back up SF. Millsap & Odom can fill in at the SF if need be.