In the absence of a roster shakeup to counter the moves the other teams in the Atlantic made this summer, I have come up with two scenarios, that will make the Raptors instant Eastern Conference contenders:
Scenario 1
Phoenix sends Shawn Marion to the Raptors for T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic and Joey Graham.
Phoenix gets the backup point guard for Nash, with both Nesterovic and Graham coming off the books at the end of the year (about $10 million). The Raptors get a young, versatile, athletic big, who is just a monster.
Scenario 2
Utah sends Andrei Kirilenko to the Raptors for Kris Humphries, Rasho Nesterovic and Joey Graham.
Phoenix moves Kirilenko to the East, while taking on contracts that all expire at the end of the year. The Raptors also get a beast who will address both rebounding and low post defensive deficiencies.
Getting Marion would costs Ford, who will be a tough pill to swallow, but you can’t have two point guards flip flopping minutes to each other. Ford would be the clear # 2 in Phoenix behind Nash. Calderon will be getting a big contract at the end of the year (in the $6 to 7.5 mill per year range).
Both these deals give me warm sensations down south, as well as getting rid of Joey Graham. They do add a high priced player to the payroll, but the possibilities far out weigh the costs, in my little world anyways.
Technorati Tags: Andrei Kirilenko, Joey Graham, Kris Humphries, Phoenix Suns, Rasho Nesterovic, Shawn Marion, Steve Nash, TJ Ford, Utah Jazz
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September 24th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
I would rather have Marion because he only has two years left on his contract, but the trade for Kirilenko would cost the Raptors less in terms of talent going out the door (I would rather keep Ford than Humphries, that’s just me), but more in terms of payroll - he has 4 years, and like $50 mill left or something.
September 25th, 2007 at 7:07 am
I think AK47 is more of a reality, but at the same time the Raps will have to give up more than Humphries, Rasho and Graham. There would have to be enough guys to soak up the contract, but there would need to be some draft pics included. as much as i would love to see AK in the east with the raps i dont think it’ll happen, but stranger things have happened
September 25th, 2007 at 9:39 am
the salaries actually match up, if you click the link, it takes you to the espn trade machine, that says this trade passes. that being said, i am sure that a couple draft picks would have to be given up, but if this team is serious about making a push, then the first round pick would be a low one, which means not much could be expected of the player who would be drafted.
i think both trades have an equal chance of happening. phoenix cant win with the team they have, and are grossly over the cap. kirilenko wants out of utah. granted the players i proposed for kirilenko arent the best, but they would give utah about $13 million in expiring contracts…at the end of the day, this is a business.
September 25th, 2007 at 5:49 pm
i would love to see AK in a raptors uniform. i think he’ll be on the move, but to who is still in the air. there were rumours of Jefferson for AK. what may benefit the raps is that utah will wany to get rid of AK and some teams may shy away. Ak does have what the raps need and i’d like to see him out of Utah
September 25th, 2007 at 11:42 pm
AK would fit in great in the Raps system, but his problem this season was that he was stuck behind a better power forward. That wouldn’t change in Toronto.
September 26th, 2007 at 10:54 am
he would probably start at center for the raptors if we got him, or bosh would move to 3, and kirilenko at 4. lots of options.
September 26th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
marion wants to move on. bc should be lighting the phone lines up.
September 26th, 2007 at 7:56 pm
If AK ended up on the raps i think he would start at the 3 or 4 and bosh would play the 4 or 5. i wonder where AK and Marion are going to end up? i heard a rumour that they may be traded for each other or the typical “LAKER” trade for either of them.
September 28th, 2007 at 10:30 am
it would be interesting, however, bosh cant play 5 for his life, so i think kirilenko would have to play the 5.