Trade proposal NO/CLE/MIN
I'm have been preaching patience for this team every since we traded Paul. Now that we have what many believe is the franchise cornerstone player I think it's even more vital to build slowly around that player.
So here's my trade idea to get more young talent on this team.
NO sends
E. Gordon and R. Lopez to Wolves; G. Vasquez and J. Smith to the Cavs
MIN sends
D. Williams and 2013 unprotected pick to Cavs; A. Kirilenko and L. Ridnour to Pelicans
Cavs sends
A. Gee to Wolves; 2013 unprotected pick to Pelicans
NO receives
A. Kirilenko, L. Ridnour, and Cavs 2013 unprotected pick
MIN receives
E. Gordon, A. Gee, and R. Lopez
Cavs receives
D. Williams, G. Vasquez, J. Smith, and Wolves unprotected 2013 pick
Pelicans- Gordon has not lived up to the pretty much all due to injuries. With an opt out clause the FO only has control over EJ's rights for two more years. So we move him and other pieces that aren't likely to be apart of this teams future(Vasquez, Lopez, and Smith). In return we get what is a guaranteed top 5 pick to pair with our own guaranteed top 8 pick. Which almost insures we get 2 of the top 6 prospects(Noel, McElmore, Porter, Bennett, Burke, Oladipo). Kirilenko and Ridnour contract expire at the end of 2013-14. We'll have more cap space after this deal to acquire any player/s this year than before the trade. Most importantly we will have the cap space to lock up those young guys on rookie contracts moving forward.
Wolves- Kevin Love signed an extension that only locks him up through the 2015-16 season(same as Gordon). So the sense of urgency in Minnesota is going to be much higher for the Wolves than most teams. While Williams started showing flashes of being a really good NBA player, do the Wolves have the time to wait? Insert Gordon a guy with a ton of potential can take much of the scoring pressure off of Love and enough of the ball handling duties to help Rubio. Provided Gordon can pass a physical and give the Wolves team doctors no indication any of his past injuries are lingering. Lopez gives them some security if they aren't able to re-sign Pekovic. Alonzo Gee will fill the void left by losing both Williams and Kirilenko. With this expected to be a weak draft I don't think the Wolves will mind giving up what is likely a bottom of the lottery pick.
Cavs- If we are planning to surround Davis with talented players that are his peers Cleveland will be looking to do the same thing with Irving. Adding Williams to a cast of Irving, Thompson, Waiters, Zellers, and who ever they draft this year with there guaranteed lottery pick from MIN can be very special in about 2-3 years. Right when the Heat should be either breaking up or cooling down. Giving up what could be the 1st overall pick isn't really that big of a deal. Most analyst feels they would trade down even if they got the 1st pick. With Varejao and Zellers there's no need for Noel and Waiters makes picking McElmore very unlikely. Those are the consensus top two players. The only player that would interest the Cavs is Porter, but getting Williams in theory would make that no longer a need. Vasquez will become a nice insurance policy for Irving who has had some durability issues. While Jason Smith adds some needed depth to their front court.