Charlotte - Utah

[Michael Jordan]

Charlotte Trades:

Boris Diaw (79) $9,000,000 - $9,000,000 - $9,000,000
Gerald Henderson (73) $1,957,080 - $2,103,840 - $2,250,600 - $3,101,327 - $4,267,426
DeSagana Diop (71) $6,031,800 - $6,478,600 - $6,925,400 - $7,372,200

Total Outgoing: $16,988,880
Total Incoming: $17,029,000

Utah Trades:

Andrei Kirilenko (81) $16,452,000 - $17,823,000
Wesley Matthews (70) $577,000 - $932,175

Total Outgoing: $17,029,000
Total Incoming: $16,988,880

[Michael Jordan]

I accept.

I hate to take on AK47's contract but I am getting rid of a bad contract as well. I also really hate to deal Gerald Henderson as he is one of my personal favorties but Matthews should make up for that.

I am not winning games as is so this will shake things up a little and I should defintely get better defensively as well.

[Oscar Robertson]

Is Diop seriously a 71?

[Chris Webber]

I think Charlotte wins this deal just because he is able to unload Diop lol

[Alex James]

What is Utah's aim with this move? Diaw is a player with a wide range of talents, but his contract is a negative. Henderson is considered an average level prospect at this point. And Diop's contract is past awful.

Kirilenko is the best player involved, and though he is on a terrible contract too, his ends after another season. And through one year, Wesley Matthews has shown to be a greater player than GH by a wide margin.

In my view, the Jazz seem to be sacrificing future flexibility to lower their overall talent level. If there is not a major angle I am missing, I will reject.

[Michael Jordan]

Diaw and AK both are overpayed role players at this point in their career. AK's numbers have declined more than Diaw though and AK's contract is twice as much per year.

Matthews has put up better stats than Henderson but he has also had more opportunity (both IRL and sim). Henderson will have much more opportunity this season (again IRL and sim). Henderson is currently rated higher than Matthews and has more upside IMO.

Diop's contract is bad but Diaw's $ and Diop's $ combined don't equal what AK gets paid individually. There is basically no difference $ wise concerning this trade for the next 2 years for either team. After that, Henderson will still be on a rookie contract and Matthews will need to be resigned (which will be for much more if he fulfills his potential). That will offset some of Diop's future salary.

Bottom line is I think this trade is extremely close and we are both trying to shake things up somewhat. Regardless of contracts, who will be better for this trade for the next 2 years? I really don't know. You can argue other points but ultimately, I feel this trade is clearly close enough not to warrant a rejection.

[Jerry Sloan]

I accept.

[Alex James]

Kirilenko is a greater player than Diaw. His efficiency the past season was his best in years. He may not be the player he was at one point, but he is viable offensively and great on defense. And I will argue that Matthews received a greater amount of time, on a greater team, than GH because he is a greater player.

All that said, even if I concede AK/Matthews for Diaw/GH is a push, I still cannot see how this benefits Utah. You're correct, for the next 2 years, this is basically even financially. But in the 3rd year Utah, who, as is, will have cap flexibility, will be committed to almost 16,000,000, a fourth of the cap, on Diaw, and an ineffective Diop. And another 7 will be paid to Diop the next year.

In the end, this move significantly restricts Utah's cap flexibility, and lowers, or at best, sustains their talent level. This is a move for the Jazz that I cannot see justification for. I understand a shake up, but not at the price Utah will be paying in the future. Thanks for the explanation, but I can't accept this. There are 4 others on the TC though, so if this is as fair as portrayed, you can count on this passing.

[Michael Jordan]

Fair enough and I understand and appreciate your explanation as well. I just think this is significantly more even than half the trades that have already occured in this league.

Maybe he figures that he can split that big salary of AK47 between a similar player in Diaw, and a another contract rather than having $17 million all in one player. Maybe he thinks Gerald Henderson will have a breakout season (as, being a Bobcats fan, I do). Maybe he really likes the 26 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists that Diaw got just a couple of games ago. I really can't speak for him but again, there seem to more than enough reasonable explanations out there.

[Willis Reed]

I could go either way with this, Diaw and AK47 put up pretty equal numbers last season and are the same type of do-it-all euros. Right now Wesley Mathews has shown to be better than GH but I think Henderson has a much higher ceiling and since he barely played last season it is tough to judge. The killer is Diop, his contract sucks but since both AK and Diaw have bad contracts too it kind of balances things. I guess I will accept.

[Jay Triano]

Don't really see why Utah is doing this, basically swaps AK for Diaw and Wesley Matthews for Gerald Henderson, in both cases losing both talent-wise. Then he also gets Diop who could end up as one of the worst contracts in the league. I'd like to hear more reasoning from Utah before I make a final decision.

[Michael Jordan]

Bump

[Jay Triano]

Still waiting on a explanation from Utah.

[Jerry Sloan]

I'm doing this because Henderson is the best player in this deal dawg. This kid gonna beast it up this year. Look for 18 PPG with 6 rbs. I'm calling it dawg!

[Jay Triano]

I think Utah is really grasping at straws if he thinks GH is gonna put up those numbers this season. I'm gonna have to reject this trade. He's giving up the best player while acquiring the worst contract at the same time. Don't really see how this benefits him in anyway.