the obvious trade

by kerem on Aug 15, 2010 8:45 AM EDT

Every serious Orlando Magic fan has contemplated the idea.

Marcin Gortat is arguably the best player in the league to average under 14 minutes. Brandon Bass, our 11th man, previously averaged 20 minutes for a contending Dallas team. They are respectively 26 and 25, and both are yet to hit their peaks. Each could start for about a dozen teams in this league, and have expressed a desire for a larger role. Additionally, we have several wings that would serve as excellent trade pieces. We have a lot of flexibility here, with multiple players that can play both the 2 and the 3.

It seems painfully obvious, to me at least, that we should package Bass, Gortat and a wing for an all-star caliber wing and a passable backup center. Someone like Danny Granger, Andre Iguodala, Gerald Wallace, Stephen Jackson or Kevin Martin could be targeted.

I realize that there are logistical problems with acquiring each of those players. It's not easy to find a team that needs to fill their 4 and 5 spot, and is willing to part with an all-star. But big men are in demand these days, and despite last season's poor showing, Bass' contract is still nothing short of fantastic. There are several teams looking to get better now. This would undoubtedly be a complicated trade, but it would seem that a GM as creative as Otis should be able to work something out, perhaps by involving another team or two.

So what's the holdup?

This seems so obvious. Am I missing something?

This FanPost was made by a member of the Orlando Pinstriped Post community, and is to be treated as the opinions and views of its author, not that of the blogger or blog community as a whole.

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The Magic don't need a "passable" backup center.

Given their arrangement, they need an above-average rebounder and defender at backup C. (If Anderson’s defensive rebounding keeps improving, the rebounding thing might not be QUITE as crucial… but they’re still going to need a strong post presence on D.) It’s going to be tough to find a replacement for Gortat who can do these things but cost less (in money/trade value) than Gortat.

And honestly, I don’t think Bass has that much trade value. He’s making $4-5 million a year. He’s clearly not a starting-caliber player; this year has exposed that. So the best-case scenario involves $4-5 million for a solid backup. Which is something like the going rate for one of those lately.

But if you’re going to do that,. don’t you want a guy who is definitely going to be a solid backup? Given Bass’ struggles with pretty basic stuff on the Magic, he has top have a question mark next to his name at this point. So you get a guy who could be a solid backup, or you get a guy who can’t play because he can’t figure out your defensive rotations. I’m not saying nobody would do it… but would anyone give up substantial trade value for it?

(Also, I don’t think Jackson or Martin is an upgrade over Carter. But that’s another matter.)

I call him LeBron Jim for short.

by 3.3seconds on Aug 15, 2010 6:38 PM EDT reply actions

All good points,

but I do think you are underrating the market for Gortat and Bass. Not to mention the attractiveness of of Carter’s expiring contract, or Pietrus’ very decent, low-risk contract. For the right team, these guys would be huge assets.

OKC would be a good trade partner – Gortat would fit great, and they can’t afford to hold on to all of their young assets.

this is a very rough draft of something along the right lines, though it’s really problematic, and another team would likely need to get involved.
magic
get andre iguodala
jason kapono
nenad krstic
james harden

give marcin gortat
mickael pietrus
brandon bass
vince carter
1nd rd draft pick

thunder
get marcin gortat
brandon bass
mickael pietrus
ORL & PHI’s 1st rd picks

give jeff green
james harden
nenad krstic

sixers
get jeff green
vince carter

give andre iguodala
jason kapono
1st round draft pick

by kerem on Aug 16, 2010 11:14 AM EDT up reply actions

If anything, I'm overestimating the market for Bass.

I’m not saying there aren’t some teams out there who might see Bass as a solid, reliable backup. (A solid backup, at this point, goes for around $4-5 million on the open market.) But why exactly are they giving up trade value to get that backup, when so many are available in free agency? It’s not like Bass is a bargain or anything.

I call him LeBron Jim for short.

by 3.3seconds on Aug 17, 2010 3:53 PM EDT up reply actions

The holdup

Is that none of those guys are available for anything less than an All Star in return.

There’s a reasom it’s so obviously – it’s completely unrealistic. It’s also obvious that Orlando would trade Pietrus for Chris Paul, or Bass for Nowitzki, but these things don’t happen.

Granger and Wallace are absolutely core parts of their respective teams. Martin’s seen as one of the future pieces of the Rockets, and whilst he’d be available in the right deal, there’s no way they’d accept Bass and Gortat for Martin.

Jackson’s a poor fit for Orlando.

If there were an easy way for Orlando to upgrade, we’d have done it already.

by eltharion_doa on Aug 16, 2010 10:26 AM EDT reply actions

I agree with this fanpost completely. And I think Gortat, Bass, Magic wing player X, Picks, is more than enough for these guys. The problems gotta be something like maybe negotiations, that the other team doesnt have both 4 AND 5 with holes, and taking on the slightly similar, but still less, salary payroll over the years (but thats good money for the two young guys here, and is garantueed no matter what kind of seasons they go thru good or bad. Losing Gortat will hurt a loooot, but a Martin, Iguodala, Granger is better still. Bass is stuck, picks dont matter to a contender usually, and w/e wing player lost is not at that level.

by derekk on Aug 17, 2010 2:44 AM EDT reply actions