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2011-12 Off-season moves (pt. 3) “Smooth in Easy”

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Published: July 28, 2011

 

Hey Hornets fans. Continuing the daily journals with another trade I think would make us a better.

A common theme with my posts will be trading Okafor.  I think he’s a below average center with a really bad contract. This trade is merely for the purpose of getting him off this roster.

This is a simple two team, two player trade.

Here goes.

ATL

Acquires E. Okafor

NOH

Acquires J. Smith

This trade is pretty much even money so each team will be the same cap wise.

ATL

Pro’s- They clearly aren’t overly impressed with Big Smooth.  Picking up a “true” center allows them to move Horford to his natural position at PF.

Con’s- It just depends on how they feel about Smith vs. Okafor.

NOH

Pro’s- We move Okafor bad contract. We also pair Smith with Paul. We haven’t had  anybody with J. Smith athleticism on teams in years. His help side defense is something that would be a huge plus for us. And if West leave which is likely that’s one less hole.

ATL-  C- I really don’t respect Okafor’s game and when you factor in his contract I hate him on this team.

NOH-  C+ We are slightly better, but I’m not sure how much this impress CP3.

We would still need a C and a SG. I have already express my desire to sign DeAndre Jordan.  I also listed a group of very capable FA SG’s.

 

 

This post was submitted by da ThRONe.

12 comments
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Jacob
Jacob

Just throwing this out there, deandre jordan has an amazing chance to be a hornet if this deal is in fact done. Not only will Chris paul average about 15 assists with josh smith and deandre jordan but Paul has shown that he wants Jordan to be a hornet for a while now, all the hornets would need is a knock SG and Chris Paul would probably break the record for assists in a game cuzz the hornets are at there best when everyone is scoring and not just paul(go look at the stats, some of pauls best scoring games the team lost cuzz no one could make hardly anything which wold transition to not many assists). Having this kind of a team would open the floor tremendously for the team. This is all if the hornets can get this done and the lockout ends.

da ThRONe
da ThRONe

@504forever If you haven't noticed all talks right now is assuming. Of course I hope we would be able to out bid other teams for Jordan. My point is he's worth it. We only have 5 guys under contract(6 if you count Belinelli) we're going to have to bring players in either through trades or free agency. IMO he is a major upgrade at the center position. On top of the fact that whatever we pay DeAndre is sure to be much less than what we're paying Emeka. As for shot blockers it's not all about blocking shots it's your ability to deter guys and have a presense in the paint. You know when you play Orlando Howard or ATL Smith is there and have to be mindful. While Okafor is an above average shot blocker players aren't worried about him in the paint. And Okafor averaged 6 more mins a game than Jordan this season.

da ThRONe
da ThRONe

@crazyb1125 Yeah to get D. Jordan we would have to commit to him. Being a GM means taking chances like this. Once again I rank my center wishlist like this Howard/Oden(if he can stay healthy)/Jordan. So I would bet the house on DeAndre.

504ever
504ever

So how does this trade fit in with managment's oft stated goal of "getting longer"? It doesn't. It also violates (for the Hornets) the NBA maxim of that, all things being equal, size is better. By the way, have you been following the NFL's super short off season? That has lead to abnormally high retention rates of free agents and very few trades. With a super short off season, it's better to keep players you know then gamble on integrating someone else. Also, players, and their families, like stability of the same city, teammates, coaches, etc. That NFL reality may be the NBA's future after its new CBA. So I see less, not more, player movement this off season, once it arrives

da ThRONe
da ThRONe

1st we need to get better. Longer would be nice but J. Smith leaping ability which makes him one of the best shot blockers in the league is a upgrade over Emeka. As for D. Jordan he's almost an inch an a half taller than Okafor and like Smith is quickly becoming a feared paint defender. That in itself makes him more valuable than Emeka. Yeah Smith and Jordan may not be the tallest, but when you factor in wingspans Jordan 7'6 and Smith 7'0, their quick/high leaping ability and athleticism it's a much better option than what we currently have. As far as the NFL what are you talking about? Player are moving from teams at the same rate as any free agency period.

504ever
504ever

You respond to my comments on your trade by assuming we can sign DeAndre Jordan over his other suitors. That basically says my criticisms of the trade are on target. Also, you say Smith is a better shot blocker than Okafor, and imply Jordan is too, but the 2010-11 season numbers say otherwise: Smith 1.6/game, Jordan 1.8/game, and Okafor 1.8/game. As far as the NFL goes, just look at the Saints among others. If that's not good enough. this article agrees with me: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/don_banks/07/29/resigning-trend/index.html?sct=nfl_t11_a7

crazyb1125
crazyb1125

yeah I can see at least him being paired with one J.Simth. whaT could be better than that? ooh yeah being paired with two J. Smiths (Josh Smith(F) & J.R. Smith G/SF), and by the way "da thorne" I would rather see Javale McGee on this tem then D.Jordan. not to have anything against Jordan but JMG cost less, and besides he's in the top 5 for BPG, he's athletic, and he can put up a 10-10(10ppg-10rpg). we need athletism in defense. that's the key in defense mixed w/offense "Athletism."

da ThRONe
da ThRONe

McGee is still under contract so he may be more expensive then Jordan(that just depends on Wash.) And like I mentioned Javale is a low hoops IQ player and doesn'r really have a lot of physical strength. Just from my assessment of the two Jordan is substantially better and is available without having to trade away asset we don't have.

crazyb1125
crazyb1125

and the only one we need to trade away no matter what is Okafor but he cost too much for Wash. so we will need a three or four team trade to get rid of Okafor's big contract. I really wish their was a way to get both of them, but wishes don't come true you make them come true!!!

crazyb1125
crazyb1125

True that! true that! but both the clippers and the Wiz are definitely not gong to give up neither one of them! besides D.Jordan is a restricted FA.

Hornetsworldwide
Hornetsworldwide

Out of your 3 trade scenarios this is the most likely. Since David West opted out, I have been thinking that this is a trade I would like to see happen rather then Dell Demps overpaying David West. We really need to surround CP3 with some athletic guys, can you imagine CP3 & J-Smooth running the fastbreak? If Atlanta really wants to get rid of Josh Smith this could go down as Atlanta will be getting a true centre.

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