Monday, June 16, 2008

Motown Rumor Mill

The radio stations in Detroit have been abuzz with speculation that our own Carlos Boozer might be coming to town with a couple of his Jazz pals. As far as I can tell, there are two possible trades being discussed in the media.

Here is the first from http://www.realgm.com/

http://www.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=788723

Detroit trades: RIP Hamilton Jason Maxiell #29 Utah trades: Carlos Boozer Ronnie Brewer

Why for Detroit? They get younger. They get a legit 20 and 10 big man in Boozer. Boozer would average 12+ Rebounds per game on Detroit. They get a solid young SG who's athletic and can defend. Would be a great SG to pair with Stuckey for a future backcourt. Sheed can cover up Boozer's sub par D.


Why for Utah? Boozer is a poor defender. He was outplayed by Scola and Landry in round one, and been outplayed big time by Gasol and Odom. Boozer's D makes Okur look like a defensive stud. Boozer's playoffs have been sup par and the Jazz have done better with him on the bench than playing. They have a solid young PF waiting in the wings in Paul Millsap. Jason Maxiell will also be great for them and they'd have a great you duo of PFs who can both play defense. Rip gives them a legit 20 PPG scorer and ton of big game experience.

And here is the second, courtesy of http://www.espn.com/

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=Detroit-080612

2. Utah's Carlos Boozer, Ronnie Brewer, Jarron Collins and Morris Almond for Hamilton, Prince and Arron Afflalo

As a contender without the right pieces to get over the top, the Jazz are in a similar boat as the Pistons. Could this swap help both teams?

Utah would get two veteran wing players to shore up its two weakest positions on the floor. The Jazz would lose an All-Star in Boozer, but the move would allow them to shift Andrei Kirilenko back to the 4, where he thrived before Boozer joined the team -- and they have Paul Millsap to back him up. Also, Boozer has an early termination option after the upcoming season. I think the Jazz are concerned that he'll bolt Utah for a bigger market.

Detroit would be giving up two key wings but getting back a low-post scorer and rebounder in Boozer, something the team has needed the past few years. Stuckey would step in as the starting 2 guard. Brewer would give the Pistons a long defender who can play both the 2 and 3, and Almond showed a lot of promise in the D-League last year. The Jazz would still need to find someone to play the 3, but they have trade bait like Jason Maxiell or Antonio McDyess to make that happen.

This is a trade that would shake up the core of both teams while allowing them to compete for an NBA championship next year.

What’s your take? Would you pull the trigger? Does this really make either team better?

3 comments:

Ryan said...

I'll get the ball rolling. I like Boozer and Brewer for Maxiell and Rip. I like Boozer but think he is over valued right now. He is very polished on offense and is strong on the boards, but his defense is terrible and he struggles against tall, athletic defenders. I also think there is a good chance the Booze doesn't resign with us in a year. In my opinion, the Jazz could trade Boozer and start Milsap without losing a lot at the 4. Add Maxiell off the bench and I think you have two young, aggressive PFs that play hard on both sides of the floor.

I love the idea of RIP in a Jazz uniform. He comes off screens as well as anyone in the game and with Deron feeding him he could be a 20ppg guy for the Jazz. He could also mentor Almond, who has the tools to mature into a similar player. Although I like Brewer, I think he will always be limited offensively because of his shot.

When you insert Prince instead of Maxiell the trade takes on a different dimension. I would take Prince over AK, but neither one of them can play the 4 consistently and I don't think we can bring either off the bench. Unless we are planning to move AK as well, I don't see how we can bring in Prince.

Orlando said...

Trade 1: Very interesting. The Jazz would basically be saying that Millsap/Maxiell = Boozer, and hoping that we win it all with Hamilton in the next two years. But, Rip isn't what he used to be. We'd be trading away a good young guy (Brewer) for a great old guy. And does Rip Hamilton put us over the top? I doubt it. I'm not sure the upside is worth the risk.

Trade 2: Rip/AK/Prince would be the thinnest team ever. We would be LONG, however. That team would get killed by teams with heft, like the Rockets or Spurs. If people think Kirilenko can D up Gasol or Scola they are wrong. AK is a great help side defender, but an average man-on-man defender of real power forwards.

Orlando said...

I guess I should have just waited for 00Tag's post and said, "I agree."