Nine potential Kwame Brown trades
By Dan Feldman
Happy Trade Deadline Day!
I’ll be traveling until about 1 p.m. today, but I will try to check in when I can. Graham will likely handle some updates, too. So, don’t worry. We’ll provide full coverage of today’s happenings.
Maybe I can even get lucky and get a head start. As I said before, I think trading Kwame Brown makes the most sense for the Pistons. With that in mind, here are nine potential deals with Brown as the centerpiece.
When I have them, my fellow TrueHoop Network blogger’s thoughts are included.
A couple ideas were ruined as I was preparing this post. (Wouldn’t Brown for Al Thornton and Sebastian Telfair have made sense?)
Oklahoma City Thunder
- Brown and DaJuan Summers for Nenad Krstic
I’d be a huge fan of this deal. Krstic is a solid defender and a capable inside scorer. He’s under contract next season, which is why Detroit seems to have a chance of prying him from the cap-conscience Thunder.
"I think it makes sense. Krstic is OKC’s most expendable rotation player. However, I could see Presti sitting pat because I think he might be a little worried about screwing with chemistry and I don’t know how Kwame Brown would fit in. But overall, I think it works. Summers would be a nick pickup because currently, OKC doesn’t have anyone behind KD on the depth chart. Thabo and Jeff Green can both slide to that spot, but no one officially plays small forward behind Durant."
Orlando Magic
- Brown for Brandon Bass
The Pistons pursued Bass in the summer, but he signed a four-year, $18 million deal with Orlando instead. He hasn’t played as well as the Magic had hoped, but do they have enough buyer’s remorse to deal him for an expiring contract already?
Zach McCann of Orlando Magic Daily:
"To gain an expiring contract and save a few bucks down the line, it makes sense. But the Magic would never, ever do it. 1. They feel Bass for 4 years, $18 million is a solid deal (even if they aren’t using him). and 2. Making that trade would be Otis Smith admitting he made a mistake with the Bass signing. And I don’t see him throwing himself under the bus that way. That’s my opinion, anyway."
Atlanta Hawks
- Brown for Mo Evans, Jason Collins and a pick
Atlanta would be offering a sweetener in the form of a draft pick for Detroit taking Evans, who is under contract next season. Collins’ contract expires after this season.
"It makes sense for next year (Evans is, I believe, a sure bet to exercise his player option) but I’m struggling to think of who the Hawks would get to replace Evans in the rotation. The organization is really wary of change and, despite the Mario West fixation, I don’t think they want to give him a bigger role, thank goodness."
Toronto Raptors
- Brown for Marcus Banks and a pick.
Like the previous trade, the Pistons would get a sweetener for taking an unfavorable contract that ends after next season.
Sam Holako of Raptors Republic:
"I don’t mind that trade so much since Belinelli could defend the PG and Turkoglu could become the playmaker in the even of a Calderon injury."
San Antonio Spurs
- Brown and a pick for Roger Mason
I’m not sure if this makes any sense for the Pistons. Maybe if Richard Hamilton is traded for a non-shooting guard and Detroit becomes in the market for a backup shooting guard. Mason’s contract is also expiring.
Graydon Gordian of 48 Minutes of Hell:
"I’m not sure it makes sense for the Spurs. With Duncan, Blair, McDyess, Bonner and Ratliff, the Spurs aren’t in dire need of frontcourt depth, although it is an interest of ours. In my opinion, we’d be trading a guy we could use situationally in the playoffs for a guy who would never see the court come the postseason. Although the pick sweetens the deal, I’m not sure it’s enough."
Dallas Mavericks
- Brown for Matt Carroll and a pick
Carroll’s contract has three years left, so this would likely be a first-round pick. I covered this deal – with Richard Hamilton and Josh Howard included – in a Trade Idea post.
Denver Nuggets
- Brown for Malik Allen, Anthony Carter, Johan Petro and Joey Graham
The Nuggets would like to add another defensive-minded big man, but I think Brown probably makes too much to fit. The small plus for Detroit would be saving a couple hundred thousand dollars. The Pistons would have to cut at least two of the players they’d receive in this trade.
Jeremy Wagner of Roundball Mining Company:
"I do not think the Nuggets would even consider that. It would add too much payroll and they are not going to add payroll unless it makes them considerably better."
Miami Heat
- Brown for James Jones and a pick
Similar to previous suggestions, the Heat would offer a draft pick to clear cap room. Jones is under contract for the next three seasons, but his deal is only partially guaranteed. So, this wouldn’t be as bad a hit to Detroit’s cap as it looks.
Memphis Grizzlies
- Brown and a protected first-round pick for Mike Conley
Like the trade with the Spurs, I’m not sure what this accomplishes for Detroit. After Pistons drafted Rodney Stuckey 15th in the same draft Conley went second, they bragged about how Stuckey was nearly as fast as Conley but a lot bigger.
But Chad Ford reported Conley is available for an expiring contract a first-round pick. Conley is talented, and the Pistons seem interested in loading up on talent regardless of position. At some point that plan will change. I’m not sure if it has yet.