12/22/24
December 17, 2004
Air Swamp?: Vince Carter could be heading to New Jersey in exchange for Alonzo Mourning, Eric Williams, Aaron Williams, quite possibly Billie Dee Williams and possible picks.
(Warning: This is a Chad Ford story)
posted by lilnemo to basketball at 02:49 PM - 17 comments
How much of the money the Raptors picked up is dead money at the end of the season? If these contracts are clear, I like this deal. The draft picks should be decent ones in upcoming deep drafts, and it's entirely possible the Raptors could now package a first rounder and Jalen Rose for a stud. As for Mourning, he's being brought in to work with Chris Bosh, who I think could be a big star. He simply has had no one to teach him the in and outs of being a big man in the NBA, and if Zo is willing, he could do that.
posted by wfrazerjr at 03:08 PM on December 17, 2004
This might actually be an alright deal for Toronto. Eric Williams can be a lock-down defender and Big Red can bang the shit out of many guys (hopefully Araujo is one of them and he develops). And let's face it: when Carter gets booed almost every game -- even receiving a death threat earlier in the year -- your trade value tends to approach zero. I'd like to know more about the picks. Kidd is a quick cut away from the Nets tanking the rest of the season and that pick turning into something pretty high.
posted by smithers at 03:10 PM on December 17, 2004
"The two first-round picks the Raptors are to receive in the trade were obtained by the Nets from Denver in the Kenyon Martin trade." So the value is more dependent on how the Nuggets do (Go Carmelo!) and both have protection clauses if they're high enough, probably making them not as valuable in the near term as, say, the next two Nets first rounders. Maybe checking tomorrow's Star-Ledger will give some answer but I don't see how the Nets execs see this as a win for themselves, can someone explain? How long does Air Carter have left on his deal?
posted by billsaysthis at 03:45 PM on December 17, 2004
Carter still has 4 years, I think. The deal is through to 2007/2008, I think. Good riddance.
posted by mkn at 04:07 PM on December 17, 2004
I think.
posted by mkn at 04:07 PM on December 17, 2004
why let K-Mart go and turn around and take Vinsanity's contract. Plain infuriating.
posted by Mike McD at 04:09 PM on December 17, 2004
I think both teams benefit from the trade. Sam Mitchell gets some hardworking players who will buy into his philosophy ( and some picks). If they find a taker for Rose by the break, hell, even if they have to wait for the end of the season this is a win for the Raps. The Nets get an All-Star who can help revitalize the Nets fastbreak. They'll need both VC and RJ to go to the boards a lot but this could work out. ...why let K-Mart go and turn around and take Vinsanity's contract... K-Mart wasn't coming back. The Nets were not going to pay him MAX money. I'm not sold that he's a MAX player myself. I'm not sold that VC is a MAX player either; though they both have exhibited that quality at times. The Nets were looking to shed payroll for the impending sale of the franchise and Kenyon was the easiest chip to flip. He's a good player, no question. If Kidd wasn't on the squad at the time, I have no doubt that Kenyon would have been MAXed. In either case, they "needed" to let go of Kenyon, Lucious, Van Horn, and Kittles for the deal to go through. It's not so much a swap of Kenyon's contract for VC's, its more Zo's for VC's. Let's not forget, Zo has been grumbling since preseason about the front office's lack of commitment, and he's been talking trade ever since. Recently he has intimated that he may need to take time off. So the choice was to either let Zo continue to grumble, take time off, and get paid OR get Vince and see if a change of scenery could get him out of his funk. Its a gamble. But its a good one.
posted by lilnemo at 04:37 PM on December 17, 2004
sweet, now I can see Air Carter buzz the tower just down the street....is he dunking again?
posted by garfield at 04:58 PM on December 17, 2004
at least until he hurts himself.
posted by gspm at 05:53 PM on December 17, 2004
Zo will be shipped to MIAMI... book it. he will not play a game in Toronto.
posted by nbafanblog.com at 06:03 PM on December 17, 2004
Awesome. Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out, Vince.
posted by molafson at 06:31 PM on December 17, 2004
molafson, my sentiments exactly. but why can't they ship zo (and mebbe somebody else) to the hornets for Magloire?! me want Magloire! waaaa!
posted by memer at 10:12 PM on December 17, 2004
I think that there are two important questions to ask here: 1. What is the second trade going to look like? This just smacks of a deal half-finished. There's tons of talk that Mourning is going to keep going onto the Heat, but I would only be for that if they will take Jalen's contract as well. What would the Raptors get in return? There's not much in the Heat's cupboard. The best they can hope for is to clear a bunch of cap space, which leads to question 2: 2. Can Toronto actually sign a free agent of note? I'm going off the top of my head here, but the two most significant free agent signings in Raptors history are Hakeem and Rafer, which isn't saying too much. Can Toronto bring a big-name free agent to this city? My gut feeling says no.
posted by smithers at 11:39 PM on December 17, 2004
One thing... Mourning can only be traded by himself. League rules. No player picked up in a multiplayer deal can be dealt in another multiplayer deal.
posted by nbafanblog.com at 11:57 AM on December 18, 2004
Actually, Alonzo Mourning looks to me like one of the 10 best centers in the league. On the Nets, he was easily their best rebounder and shotblocker. One of their 4 best scorers. If he could play 30 minutes a night, he'd be an allstar candidate.
posted by mike goodman at 07:53 AM on December 20, 2004
Did Carter tip off Sonics on play selection? WTF? Vince Carter and the Raptors - 15 Memorable Moments. They grouped all the injuries in at number 10 lest there be only a couple of on-court memories.
posted by gspm at 10:38 AM on December 20, 2004
It's a done deal. Holy crap. Who the hell wants Alonzo Mourning? Those draft picks better turn out to be something good. I think this is a so-so trade for the Raptors, but better than the deals they were entertaining in the off-season.