Posted 2/18 at 11:45 AM
Yesterday the New Orleans Hornets traded center Tyson Chandler to the Oklahoma City Thunder for power forwards Joe Smith and Chris Wilcox. This trade could have an impact on the Grizzlies as both the Hornets and the Thunder are young Western Conference teams that the Grizzlies could be fighting for playoff spots (and advancement) in the next few seasons (as Phoenix, Dallas and San Antonio age).
The trade should work out well for Oklahoma City. They’ve got a core of Chandler, Jeff Green, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook for the next 2-3 seasons. That lineup scares me as a Grizzlies fan as long as Chandler can stay healthy, which is the one concern I have about him.
New Orleans got rid of Chandler to save money but it’s hard to justify exporting your best interior defender, rebounder and shot-blocker when you’re trying to compete for titles, which the Hornets had aspirations of going into the season. While the Hornets should be able to compete this season with Smith and Wilcox as replacements, I don’t see how they’re going to go into next year with David West and Hilton Armstrong as their only big men on the roster. They’ll obviously have to fill some roster spots with big bodies, but they don’t have the cap room to get quality replacements.
New Orleans is going to be paying over $26 million to Peja, Morris Peterson and James Posey next year. How can you pay $26 million to three swingmen when you have such a glaring hole in the paint? Obviously, they need to shed one of these players for a low post presence, but with those contacts and today’s economic climate, it’s going to be hard.
I try (and sometimes fail) to stay away from talking about media members opinions concerning the Grizzlies. However, last year everyone wanted to talk about the “fire-sale” Pau Gasol trade (which doesn’t look half as bad now with Marc Gasol and Darrell Arthur showing potential and several more draft picks to come) and how the Grizzlies were reluctant to spend their cap room.
However, as this season as shown, a majority of teams are trying to shed some salaries due to bad contracts. The Hornets had to essentially give away a young center in Tyson Chandler because they spent too much money on Peja, Posey and Mo-Pete. The Suns have been looking to move Amare Stoudemire to save money. The big free agent signings in the offseason (Corey Maggette, Baron Davis and Elton Brand) have all had neutral or negative impacts on their team this season.
The same people that rail against the Grizzlies for being cautious with their cap space aren’t defending the move now, but maybe they should be. (And the Grizzlies did try to land Josh Smith at a shrewd, discounted price, by the way).
The bottom line for almost every business right now is financial responsibility due to the recession. We’re seeing it in the NBA as well. Most owners are trying to avoid the luxury tax unless they’re in a major market. If you’re going to spend your money on big free agent acquisitions, you better be right, because your team doesn’t get a do-over the next summer when your prize free-agent doesn’t pan out. Most teams only have the ability to put one or two max contacts on their roster. You better make sure that money is spent on perennial All-Stars or else you’re going to be in trouble.
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