Trade Idea: Would a Rip Hamilton for Andris Biedrins swap work for either team?

This is trade deadline week, so each day PistonPowered will bring you a trade idea post. Although we’ll try to keep some parameters in mind — a realist idea of the value of Pistons’ players to other teams, cost and the fact that the Pistons most likely can’t add short or long term salary with the team sale pending — we fully encourage you to bring on your half-baked and ill-conceived ideas in the comments.

Rip Hamilton has little trade value because of a poor contract, the fact that he’s now well into his 30s and his statistics that have declined for three straight years. If the Pistons move him, the most likely scenario involves them taking a bad contract back in return. I don’t see a Troy Murphy-style deal where Hamilton is miraculously moved for an expiring deal coming to fruition.

The Warriors have a bad contract tied up in an unproductive player in Andris Biedrins. Could a trade that flips one bad contract for another help either team?

Trade

Pistons receive:

• Andris Biedrins
• Charlie Bell

Warriors receive:

• Rip Hamilton
• DaJuan Summers

Salaries

Data from ShamSports.com

Pistons receive:

Warriors receive:

• Not fully guaranteed
• Qualifying offer
• Early termination

Pistons’ perspective

The Pistons have too many wing players. They have two wing players in Hamilton and Ben Gordon who are difficult to move because they are highly paid and signed long-term. Moving one of them for a big man, albeit a flawed one, along with Tayshaun Prince most likely leaving either via trade or free agency, thins things out on the wings, allows more playing time for Gordon and Austin Daye, as well as possibly opening up room to re-sign either Tracy McGrady or Rodney Stuckey and give them minutes off the ball and it gives the Pistons a still-young center in Biedrins who at one time was highly thought of enough that Golden State reportedly turned down the Pistons when they offered Chauncey Billups for him.

Plus, even though Biedrins has been terrible the last couple seasons, but there are still things to like about him:

"But just two years ago, Biedrins averaged 11.9 points (on 57.8 percent shooting) and 11.2 rebounds in just 30 minutes per game. And he’s carrying a 1.2-blocked shot average for his career. Did we mention he’s still just 24?"

At his best, Biedrins was an active, athletic big man who fought hard on the glass and came up with baskets without ever having a play called for him. At worst, he makes Ben Wallace look like Mark Price at the line.

As for Bell, he’s simply a throw-in in this deal, as much as my Flint connections want him to be more. He’s signed for one less year than Hamilton, so the Pistons save a little bit of money down the road, and Bell’s contract is reasonable enough where they could offer him a buyout if they don’t feel he’d be a good use of a roster spot.

Warriors Perspective

Similar to the Pistons, the Warriors would be simply swapping one bad, under-performing contact for another with the simple hope that Hamilton’s bad contract fits their needs better than Biedrins’.

The Warriors are said to be in the market for a bigger name small forward. Hamilton certainly isn’t the guy at the top of their list in all likelihood, but he’s a former All-Star, a player who led his team in scoring just last season and since he’s a big guard, he gives the Warriors more flexibility and size in the backcourt should they decide to deal Monta Ellis at some point. Trading Biedrins also opens up more time for Ekpe Udoh, who has the team excited about his contributions after missing much of the season due to injury.

Money-wise, Hamilton and Biedrins make nearly the same amount of money over the lives of their contracts, but Hamilton’s is for one less year than Biedrins, and the final year of Hamilton’s deal isn’t fully guaranteed, so conceivably, the Warriors could save a bit of money down the road by making the deal.

Conclusion

The Pistons likely aren’t going to find much interest in Hamilton. The Warriors are a young team that has played better lately, so who even knows if they are feeling any pressure to make a deal. And since the Pistons likely can’t take long-term salary, the Pistons would most assuredly need the Warriors to pay the difference in salaries this season, roughly around $200,000. Since the Warriors aren’t in the greatest financial shape either, I don’t know how likely it would be that they would acquiesce to that request.

But this is the type of deal that Pistons fans should expect in the unlikely event Hamilton is moved: one that involves another bad contract coming to Detroit. If it’s for a player like Biedrins, a bad contract who might fill a role better than Hamilton does, it might be worth considering. But outside of that type of exchange, I’m not sure there’s a suitable trade partner when it comes to Hamilton.