# Hornets trade Okafor/Ariza for Lewis and #46??



## girllovesthegame

> Jonathan Givony ‏@DraftExpress
> NBA source tells me Emeka Okafor and Trevor Arizona have been traded to the Washington Wizards for Rashard Lewis and the #46 pick


Really? I don't like this. Is this for Lewis' expiring contract or something?


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## roux

girllovesthegame said:


> Really? I don't like this.


why not? you just cleared a bunch of salary... the re-build is in full swing


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## JoeyJoJo

They're trading for Rashard Lewis' expiring contract obviously. Davis wasn't going to make them a contender in his first year, so looks like they're just positioning themselves to have more flexibility in building around him. It's not a bad deal unless you think Okafor and Ariza are key pieces.


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## girllovesthegame

roux2dope said:


> why not? you just cleared a bunch of salary... the re-build is in full swing


Yeah, I'm kind of understanding a bit more now.




> Jonathan Givony ‏@DraftExpress
> Rashard Lewis' 23.8 million dollar contract can be bought out for 13.7 million before July 1st. Trade saves New Orleans around 30 million?


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## roux

also the wizards are pathetic right now.. why did they need okafor and that salary when they just traded for Nene?


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## Bogg

That's a great trade for the Hornets. They basically rid themselves of the second year of Okafor's deal and Ariza(who's okay but worthless in NO), and instead of having to give up the #10 they _acquired_ a second rounder. Hornets fans should be very happy.


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## Dre

Yeah I like that deal for the Hornets...for Washington :ehhh:

I mean why take on those contracts. Do you even become better than the Knicks and Hawks much less make the Heat do anything but laugh.

This no. 3 better turn into a really good player now because that's going to be their last best chance to make a major move.


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## Bogg

Dre said:


> Yeah I like that deal for the Hornets...for Washington :ehhh:
> 
> I mean why take on those contracts. Do you even become better than the Knicks and Hawks much less make the Heat do anything but laugh.
> 
> This no. 3 better turn into a really good player now because that's going to be their last best chance to make a major move.


I think this is a pretty clear indication that Washington's going with Beal at 3 and trying to talk themselves into making the playoffs next year with Wall/Beal/Ariza/Okafor/Nene and Crawford/Vesely/Seraphin coming off the bench. I figure they might amnesty Blatche just to keep him the hell away from the rest of the roster, but that won't create too much cap space, so this is their team now.


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## LA68

Great deal for NO. Like a fixer upper home. Pull out the old furniture before you bring the new stuff. Frankly, I'd re sign Kaman to a moderate deal if you can. Either way you shed some bad salary. And can build the team in the form you want.

What is Wash thinking ? Another place for bad contracts to die.


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## Dre

Okafor does expire in 2 years I think so it's not that bad but still.

I don't like that they essentially spent their free agency money on these deals.


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## Pacers Fan

I kind of like it for both teams, but definitely the Hornets more. They're going to be atrocious next season and probably the one after that, but they'll get some good rebuilding pieces and be able to go after free agents. Only downside is they're probably going to lose Eric Gordon, but that was likely going to happen, anyway.

As far as the Wizards go, though, they owe a lot of money to Blatche, Ariza, Okafor, and Nene. It's good for them in that they have a shot at the playoffs now, but it's looking like their core is going to be those four, Vesely, Wall, and whoever they pick up at #3, which is looking like it has to be a swingman now, likely Barnes or Beal. I could see Ariza playing the 2 with Barnes at the 3. I don't know how much running Okafor and Nene are going to be able to do, though. This looks like one of the many deals Orlando made to try to keep Dwight Howard in Orlando. Instead of leaving cap space for good free agents, they traded for mediocre players on terrible contracts and never put the proper team around him. This is the deal that makes or breaks John Wall's tenure in Washington.


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## girllovesthegame

_Jonathan Givony ‏@DraftExpress
New Orleans now has unlimited cap space, in addition to the #1 pick, the #10 pick, and Eric Gordon. Not a bad time to be a Hornets fan._


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## Bogg

Let Kaman go, in a down free agent market he's a prime candidate to get overpaid. No sense in giving him 35 million over three years unless there's literally a gun to your head.


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## Dre

Bogg said:


> I think this is a pretty clear indication that Washington's going with Beal at 3 and trying to talk themselves into making the playoffs next year with Wall/Beal/Ariza/Okafor/Nene and Crawford/Vesely/Seraphin coming off the bench. I figure they might amnesty Blatche just to keep him the hell away from the rest of the roster, but that won't create too much cap space, so this is their team now.


This is the kind of deal Wall can point to if he leaves and be like "this for example...what the hell was that :hova:"


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## Bogg

Also, this is bad news for Pacers fans. I fully expect New Orleans to offer a max contract to Hibbert this summer after Deron Williams turns them down.


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## E.H. Munro

They might make max offers to both, they have the room. And they can probably afford to do something like an Eric Gordon for Danny Granger sign & trade while drafting someone like Meyers Leonard at ten and then using him as bait in a Hibbert sign & trade as the Pacers aren't going to want to pay Hibbert that sort of coin. And while Williams wasn't willing to stay with the Nets if they landed Davis, he might look favorably on a situation where he's teaming up with a couple of solid vets while the Hornets could still turn around and sign a role-player to man the 2.


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## Bogg

But think about how much better they'd be with Jack/Martin/Ariza/Scola/Okafor than Williams/Gordon/Aminu/Davis/Hibbert!


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## Pacers Fan

Bogg said:


> Also, this is bad news for Pacers fans. I fully expect New Orleans to offer a max contract to Hibbert this summer after Deron Williams turns them down.


I'm sure Indiana's willing to give Hibbert a near max contract. I fully expect him to come back here for less money than other teams are offering. He loves Indy.

And we're not trading Granger for Eric Gordon after the season we just had.


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## Bogg

Pacers Fan said:


> I'm sure Indiana's willing to give Hibbert a near max contract. I fully expect him to come back here for less money than other teams are offering. He loves Indy.


Well then you're about to be disappointed. If the money's all the same I see him going back to Indiana, but guys give teams hometown discounts on their last big deal, not their first. Hibbert's going to sign an offer sheet with _someone_ for the max, and it'll be up to Indy to match it.


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## TucsonClip

For the Hornets this is a no brainer, because it allows them to slot another high level free agent next to Eric Gordon's new contract (should that happen) and they save a ton of money because Rashard's contract is partially guaranteed. Also, Rashard can be packaged with the 10 pick, if the Hornets wish, in order to acquire more help.


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## Basel

Love this move for the Hornets. Future is looking very bright. 

The Wizards? John Wall is probably pissed he was drafted #1.


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## Tooeasy

Good god how much salary do the hornets have on the books for next season as of right now? 17 million dollars or someshit?? I like this deal just fine, it allows us to see what dell can do with literally a clean slate and great draft picks to work with. Okafor was getting way too much hate so Im kinda glad hes gone so he can stop being the scapegoat.


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## Tooeasy

Another interesting dimension to this trade means that if the hornets simply arent in love with any player at the 10th pick, they can easily trade it for a young player they do like and take on more salary, which is something they couldnt have done before this. Options are limitless right now.


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## Diable

If you buy out Shard that opens up a world of possibilities. You let him expire and you can try to get another high pick next year. Really if you just want to make the playoffs this move makes sense for Washington.

They don't have to be that good to get their asses kicked by the Heat in the first round next year. Probably don't have to be very good to aspire to the fifth seed or some similarly weak ambition. If you want to eventually become a really good team this is really dumb.


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## Pacers Fan

Bogg said:


> Well then you're about to be disappointed. If the money's all the same I see him going back to Indiana, but guys give teams hometown discounts on their last big deal, not their first. Hibbert's going to sign an offer sheet with _someone_ for the max, and it'll be up to Indy to match it.


Hibbert said he's just waiting on Indiana to make a move, then to sign the dotted line. The only problem I see is that Larry Bird and our entire organization are notoriously cheap. He'll probably try to get Hibbert back for anything around 9-11 mil starting. Of course, if Roy's offended, he could go out and sign a max offer sheet, which the Pacers would match, but that would also limit the space they can use to re-sign George Hill and/or sign another free agent. Roy's a smart guy. He's staying in Indiana, and I'm sure he'd rather stay here with a better shot at a championship than earn an extra $2-3 mil/year with a worse chance.


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## Adam

Bogg said:


> I think this is a pretty clear indication that Washington's going with Beal at 3 and trying to talk themselves into making the playoffs next year with Wall/Beal/Ariza/Okafor/Nene and Crawford/Vesely/Seraphin coming off the bench. I figure they might amnesty Blatche just to keep him the hell away from the rest of the roster, but that won't create too much cap space, so this is their team now.


There's no way that lineup makes the playoffs. This is a terrible deal.


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## Adam

I mean, I know exactly what they're doing, they're just wrong and failing the rebuild process.

They're trying to prolong their expiring stash until '14 and possibly make the playoffs in the interim. Cute, but stupid. They could have had another high lotto pick next year but instead they are now just good enough to get a high draft pick but miss the playoffs: NBA limbo, the worst place to be.

Is their first round pick next year owed to somebody? That's the only reason I can see for this move.


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## E.H. Munro

Pacers Fan said:


> Hibbert said he's just waiting on Indiana to make a move, then to sign the dotted line. The only problem I see is that Larry Bird and our entire organization are notoriously cheap. He'll probably try to get Hibbert back for anything around 9-11 mil starting. Of course, if Roy's offended, he could go out and sign a max offer sheet, which the Pacers would match, but that would also limit the space they can use to re-sign George Hill and/or sign another free agent. Roy's a smart guy. He's staying in Indiana, and I'm sure he'd rather stay here with a better shot at a championship than earn an extra $2-3 mil/year with a worse chance.


Hibbert isn't taking a 20% discount to help the Pacers make more money. You should accept the reality on that one right now.

You know what? I don't mind this deal from Washington's standpoint. The biggest criticism of Wall is his decision making, but part of that problem is a function of the fact that they'd surrounded him with morons. How the hell can you run set plays when you have Nick Young, Andray Blatche and That's So JaVale McGee on the floor? The Wizards are admitting that they sink or swim with Wall and are starting to surround him with pros. 

If I'm the Wiz I'm on the phone daily with Presti to work out a trade of #3 for Harden. Because that makes them a solid playoff team immediately. There's no way the Plunder can afford to give him a max deal with two max deals on the roster, a near-max deal to Ibaka looming and Perkins' out years on the books. (Seriously, they'd be over the luxury tax line with just those five, making guys 6-15 incredibly expensive). So OKC might find converting Harden into Beal or Gilchrist appealing, even if it's not what they'd like.


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## Tooeasy

Another positive is this frees up minutes for aminu/henry, ORRR if they feel like they can get their future starting 3 at #10 or via trade they can go that route as well. Wiz are going to have nobody to spread the floor if they dont select beal with their pick, their offense is gonna look mighty ugly with the pieces they have currently


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## Tooeasy

its also a shame that dwight howard has to be such a picky bitch, because a starting lineup along the lines of lowry/gordon/terrence ross or jones?/davis/howard could be a wrecking ball in the aging western conference. I want to see the hornets do what they did last offseason and toss out 1 year contracts that allow for max caproom next offseason where the FA crop is much more solid.


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## Bogg

Pacers Fan said:


> Hibbert said he's just waiting on Indiana to make a move, then to sign the dotted line. The only problem I see is that Larry Bird and our entire organization are notoriously cheap. He'll probably try to get Hibbert back for anything around 9-11 mil starting. Of course, if Roy's offended, he could go out and sign a max offer sheet, which the Pacers would match, but that would also limit the space they can use to re-sign George Hill and/or sign another free agent. Roy's a smart guy. He's staying in Indiana, and I'm sure he'd rather stay here with a better shot at a championship than earn an extra $2-3 mil/year with a worse chance.


We'll see. I'm not saying that Hibbert won't be back in Indy, he very well might be. What I am saying is that Hibbert's going to make sure he gets paid.


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## Diable

Hibbert is going to be 26 in December. He might get another chance at a huge contract, but he has no way of knowing what will happen in the next four or five years. He'd be foolish not to treat this like a business decision. Indiana isn't getting a discount unless he fails a physical.


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## ATLien

Dre said:


> Yeah I like that deal for the Hornets...for Washington :ehhh:
> 
> I mean why take on those contracts. Do you even become better than the Knicks and Hawks much less make the Heat do anything but laugh.
> 
> *This no. 3 better turn into a really good player now because that's going to be their last best chance to make a major move.*


#3 for Harden

:yep:


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## E.H. Munro

Or #3 for Gordon in a sign & trade deal.


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## girllovesthegame

E.H. Munro said:


> Or #3 for Gordon in a sign & trade deal.


You must really want Gordon heh? :laugh: I've seen at least 3 of your posts that mention Gordon in a sign and trade.


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## RollWithEm

I know three things:

1) The Hornets will now have to match ANY offer for Eric Gordon.
2) Jarrett Jack will not be on this team come training camp.
3) Rashard Lewis will be bought out before July 1st.

Everything else is completely up in the air.


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## R-Star

Bogg said:


> Also, this is bad news for Pacers fans. I fully expect New Orleans to offer a max contract to Hibbert this summer after Deron Williams turns them down.


We're already expecting to have to pay Hibbert close to max. No big deal.


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## R-Star

E.H. Munro said:


> Hibbert isn't taking a 20% discount to help the Pacers make more money. You should accept the reality on that one right now.
> 
> You know what? I don't mind this deal from Washington's standpoint. The biggest criticism of Wall is his decision making, but part of that problem is a function of the fact that they'd surrounded him with morons. How the hell can you run set plays when you have Nick Young, Andray Blatche and That's So JaVale McGee on the floor? The Wizards are admitting that they sink or swim with Wall and are starting to surround him with pros.
> 
> If I'm the Wiz I'm on the phone daily with Presti to work out a trade of #3 for Harden. Because that makes them a solid playoff team immediately. There's no way the Plunder can afford to give him a max deal with two max deals on the roster, a near-max deal to Ibaka looming and Perkins' out years on the books. (Seriously, they'd be over the luxury tax line with just those five, making guys 6-15 incredibly expensive). So OKC might find converting Harden into Beal or Gilchrist appealing, even if it's not what they'd like.


Please quit telling us what Hibbert is going to do. We kind of pay a little more attention to the situation than you.

He's back in Indy.


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## R-Star

Diable said:


> Hibbert is going to be 26 in December. He might get another chance at a huge contract, but he has no way of knowing what will happen in the next four or five years. He'd be foolish not to treat this like a business decision. Indiana isn't getting a discount unless he fails a physical.


People try to pull this shit all the time with "There's no way xxxx does xxxx!" No ones saying Hibbert is going to sign for 10 mil a year. But he's made it clear he wants to be back, and hasn't come out asking for max like most assholes do. He'll get paid what he gets paid, the Pacers aren't letting him go. But I wouldn't be surprised to see him sign for a couple mil under his fair market value.


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## Tooeasy

Indy has the caproom and has to spend the money, they won't let an rfa of hibberts quality walk. After the number crunching the hornets won't have full benefits until next offseason, Which is fine with me. All these little moves Dell has done are adding up, this teams in line for a bright future.


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## Dre

I would be surprised if Hibbert came into next year making anything less than 12.5..that seems like a good over/under


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## R-Star

Dre said:


> I would be surprised if Hibbert came into next year making anything less than 12.5..that seems like a good over/under


Sounds about right. Hell, I'm prepared to pay him max, anything less is just gravy. Hes one of the top centers in the league and hes still got a few years of getting better.

He's a cornerstone of the current Pacers, who are quickly turning into legit contenders. Just need a quality pass first point guard and we're making noise.


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## E.H. Munro

girllovesthegame said:


> You must really want Gordon heh? :laugh: I've seen at least 3 of your posts that mention Gordon in a sign and trade.


I don't think I've mentioned him in the context of one of my teams at all. But, I don't think he's a great shooting guard, just a good one, and if I were New Orleans I'd be hesitant of giving max money to someone with his encyclopedic injury history. And if I could cash him in for Barnes or Gilchrist I'd really think long and hard about it.



R-star said:


> Please quit telling us what Hibbert is going to do. We kind of pay a little more attention to the situation than you.


Sorry, he's not taking 20% discount (because that's what the poster I was responding to was claiming). You really do need to live with it. He's going to get Marc Gasol money.


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## Bogg

Yea, if you can get a top-six pick in this years draft for Gordon it may be worth it to draft another youngster and roll the big financial commitments back a few years. It'd be a tough sell to the fan base to go ahead and be bad for another year or two, but Gordon breaking down in the middle of a max contract would be worse.


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## E.H. Munro

I mean, bring in someone like Harrison Barnes, and then try and pry Lowry out of Houston and you have the foundation of a _really_ good team.


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## Bogg

E.H. Munro said:


> I mean, bring in someone like Harrison Barnes, and then try and pry Lowry out of Houston and you have the foundation of a _really_ good team.


How much do you think Houston can ask for Lowry, given that he's asked out? I figure if New Orleans steps to the plate with the #10 pick Houston probably takes it, but the Hornets may prefer to go _really_ young. Would the Rockets look at Jack, Aminu, and Dallas' second rounder?


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## RollWithEm

Interesting mostly because Jack isn't _that_ much of a downgrade from Lowry.


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## E.H. Munro

I was thinking something along the lines of Jack/#10 for Lowry/#16, leaving the Hornets in a position to grab someone like Terrence Ross.


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## Bogg

RollWithEm said:


> Interesting mostly because Jack isn't _that_ much of a downgrade from Lowry.


Jack's one of those guys who leaves you in good shape if he's coming off the bench, but you don't want him starting if you plan on going anywhere, similar to Ramon Sessions(not necessarily in style, but in impact).


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## Diable

Jack is good, but he's not good enough. He's probably right at the top if he's your backup point guard, but too close to the bottom if he's your starter.


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## Adam

E.H. Munro said:


> I don't think I've mentioned him in the context of one of my teams at all. But, I don't think he's a great shooting guard, just a good one, and if I were New Orleans I'd be hesitant of giving max money to someone with his encyclopedic injury history. And if I could cash him in for Barnes or Gilchrist I'd really think long and hard about it.
> 
> 
> 
> Sorry, he's not taking 20% discount (because that's what the poster I was responding to was claiming). You really do need to live with it. He's going to get Marc Gasol money.


Roy was on Le Batard's show a few months ago and said that he still clips coupons out of the paper. I wouldn't expect him to give up millions when he makes sure that he's getting 2 for 1 toilet paper.


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