SOURCE
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Posted By Eric Freeman 12:25 PM
As noted last night in this space, the Jazz and Timberwolves are on the verge of pulling off a deal that would send big man Al Jefferson to Salt Lake City in exchange for a large trade exception and several draft picks. And it boggles my mind.
If this deal goes down, the Jazz will have saved their offseason. Yesterday, I wrote about how Deron Williams has expressed frustration at his team's lack of summer moves. Well, this more than makes up for it. Jefferson is a marginal defender, but he's an excellent post scorer and quality rebounder who put in 17.1 ppg and 9.3 rpg in what can be considered in off-year. He might not be as productive as the departed Carlos Boozer, but he's an excellent replacement considering the other available options.
In other words, he's not the kind of player you get rid of in what's clearly a salary dump. The Wolves have a logjam at power forward with Jefferson and Kevin Love, but those two are also the team's best players. I'm all for opening up a spot for the cheaper, younger player, but it shouldn't be done for any offer of any value. And David Kahn has essentially just traded one of the team's best assets for peanuts.
Kahn has been shopping Jefferson for a while now, so it shouldn't come as much surprise that he was dealt. For all we know, this actually was the best offer on the market. But as Tom Ziller wrote earlier today, if this is the best offer, just don't take it and hold on to Jefferson until his trade value increases. As far as I know, no one held a gun to Kahn's head here. Although if that were the case, it'd certainly clarify this decision.
Then again, it's also possible that Jefferson's value only sunk to this low level because other GMs could so clearly sense Kahn's desperation to trade him. When it becomes obvious that someone really wants to trade a player, potential partners aren't going to give up fair value. It's a simple rule of business.
Congratulations to the Utah Jazz. They appear moments away from pulling off the most lopsided trade of the summer. Send all "thank you" notes to the Target Center.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Posted By Eric Freeman 12:25 PM
As noted last night in this space, the Jazz and Timberwolves are on the verge of pulling off a deal that would send big man Al Jefferson to Salt Lake City in exchange for a large trade exception and several draft picks. And it boggles my mind.
If this deal goes down, the Jazz will have saved their offseason. Yesterday, I wrote about how Deron Williams has expressed frustration at his team's lack of summer moves. Well, this more than makes up for it. Jefferson is a marginal defender, but he's an excellent post scorer and quality rebounder who put in 17.1 ppg and 9.3 rpg in what can be considered in off-year. He might not be as productive as the departed Carlos Boozer, but he's an excellent replacement considering the other available options.
In other words, he's not the kind of player you get rid of in what's clearly a salary dump. The Wolves have a logjam at power forward with Jefferson and Kevin Love, but those two are also the team's best players. I'm all for opening up a spot for the cheaper, younger player, but it shouldn't be done for any offer of any value. And David Kahn has essentially just traded one of the team's best assets for peanuts.
Kahn has been shopping Jefferson for a while now, so it shouldn't come as much surprise that he was dealt. For all we know, this actually was the best offer on the market. But as Tom Ziller wrote earlier today, if this is the best offer, just don't take it and hold on to Jefferson until his trade value increases. As far as I know, no one held a gun to Kahn's head here. Although if that were the case, it'd certainly clarify this decision.
Then again, it's also possible that Jefferson's value only sunk to this low level because other GMs could so clearly sense Kahn's desperation to trade him. When it becomes obvious that someone really wants to trade a player, potential partners aren't going to give up fair value. It's a simple rule of business.
Congratulations to the Utah Jazz. They appear moments away from pulling off the most lopsided trade of the summer. Send all "thank you" notes to the Target Center.
