Let's Make A Deal

I've been playing around with the ESPN's NBA trade machine, which holds up to RealGM surprisingly well, despite being hosted by the "Worldwide" Leader (the only way ESPN is the Worldwide Leader is if you define the world as New York and Connecticut...I've never seen or heard them break anything in DC sports news) and I started getting creative. Phoenix is currently the preference of Garnett, they need to clear cap room, without getting rid of Stoudemire. The best way to get his done, therefore, is to get another team or two involved.

Here's what I was going for; a realistic trade that works for every team involved, and in since this is a DC blog, involves the Wizards. Here's the general idea of what I came up with.

A four way trade with the biggest pieces being Garnett, Shawn Marion (who's on the block as well to give Phoenix more cap flexibility), Antawn Jamison (not officially on the way out but the most expendable member of the Big Three because his defense is horrible, he's older, and he's a free agent after this season. He also has the largest contract on the team.), and Zach Randolph (also on the block). Here it is:

Phoenix gets Kevin Garnett, Antonio Daniels, and Portland's number 42 pick.

Minnesota gets Zach Randolph, Boris Diaw (whose salary goes up if he's traded as part of his contract), Darius Miles, Brendan Haywood, and two of Portland's second rounders, numbers 37 and 53, and Phoenix's pick at 24.

Portland gets Antawn Jamison, Washington's first-rounder at 16, both of Phoenix's first-rounder at 29, Marcus Banks, and Rashad McCants.

Washington get Shawn Marion, Kurt Thomas, and Jarrett Jack, and Troy Hudson.

Each team gains a bit deal from subtracting: Washington gets rid of Brenda, Portland gets rid of Randolph and Darius Miles, two malcontents/large contracts, Minnesota parts with Garnett begrudingly but at least get something for him, and Phoenix gets rid of Thomas' contract (should he exercise his option) , Marion and Banks.

Washington loses Daniels and Jamison, Jamison being a ket starter and Daniels the sixth man who is money in the playoffs, but really probably upgrades over Jamison with Marion, who isn't quite as prolific scoring wise but has a similar offensive game, is a better rebounder, and a much better defender. Washington also gets rid of Haywood, who not only sucks but also wants out, and Daniels' contract is a bit excessive. They also get Kurt Thomas' rebounding and interior defense (as well as a big contract that comes off the books in a year) and Jack as a younger, less expensive alternative to Daniels. and swallow Hudson's contract and get ride of a mid-first-rounder in order to improve as much as they do.

Phoenix gets their guy and clears a LOT of cap room as they want to, while also getting another great bench player without losing Nash, Stoudemire, Barbosa, or Bell. They lose some rebounding but add a superstar starter while maintaining most of their rotation and adding another solid guard. Let's look at Daniels splits as a starter against Clevland in this past first round:
13.3/11.8/4.5 He averaged a double-double as starting point guard and is a decent defender. It should be noted that he's played similarly in the playoffs the past few years as well. They also get a second rounder to burn on a Euro guy who won't be over for a year or two.

Minnesota gets as much as it can possibly hope for Garnett, getting a younger post player who actually puts out comparable production to Garnett, as well as a cheap veteran center who's a pretty good backup (even if he is a dick), a young still fairly cheap post/wing player in Diaw, and three more later picks in one of the deepest drafts ever. They have to swallow Miles' contract, who could still bring something to the court, but is more valuable in conjunction with Ricky Davis coming up with some kind of bizarre celebration for when they do actually make a play, or at least bringing back the atnennae/pound your head act that Quentin Richardson and him had going on in LA. Since they should blow up the entire team, they are helped on their way by dealing Garnett, who's out of their in a year if they don't, and getting rid of Hudson, who's making a lot of noise about getting out as well and is about two or three years past a prime that never really happened, and gets paid an obscene amount for what he doesn't do. The also get three later picks at 24, 37, and 53 in a deep draft.

Portland goes from cellar to playoff team gaining Jamison, losing the moneypit named Darius Miles while also changing the future Terminator-style by getting rid of him and keeping him away from Oden. The addition of Jamison to go along with Oden instantly gives them two more faces to the team along with Brandon Roy. Also, Jamison gives them flexibility since his big contract goes off the books after this season, and they could package him with the two first-rounders they pick up in order to get Mike Conley Jr. as their future point guard/Oden's best buddy. They pick up Banks as a backup guard/dealmaker for doing business.

DC moves up to the cream of the conference (they might have beaten Cleveland anyways barring the poorly timed injuries to Arenas and Butler..they certainly would've taken to six or seven), Phoenix does as well as it matches up better against Nowitzki, Duncan, Durant and Oden. Portland gets the ammo it needs to move up and get Conley if it should choose to do so, and Minnesota gets its long-needed rebuilding effort going while still getting something good in return for Garnett, and this is about the best they can do, picking up another young post with similar numbers, a cheaper veteran center who could allow them to move Mark Blount for cap space or younger players. They actually make gains in PPG and RPG by 6 and five, though it doesn't work like that exactly. They also pick up a couple of later picks.

The entire thing checks out cap wise though Kurt Thomas can throw a wrench in it by opting out of his contract. That doesn't seem to be a logical move for him though, as he'll make more money sticking with this contract as he's older and overpaid.

The whole thing makes too much sense to actually happen.