Trade idea w/ NJ- Mike James and JaVale

by yop32 on Oct 18, 2009 1:37 PM EDT

for Keyon Dooling, Eduardo Najera, and Brook Lopez. We get extra depth where we need it at point guard, power forward, and center. The Nets get Dooling and Najera's salaries off their books to get extra cap space for 2010. The teams swap young, talented centers: Lopez is more polished and a better fit for a "win now" team like us, while JaVale is more exciting and has more upside for a rebuilding team like the Nets.

This represents the view of the user who wrote the FanPost, and not the entire Bullets Forever community. We're a place of many opinions, not just one.

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Nets aren't trading Lopez

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Mike Prada on Oct 18, 2009 2:28 PM EDT reply actions

Especially not for James and McGee

by lj15 on Oct 19, 2009 2:48 PM EDT up reply actions

Right ... otherwise ..

I might do that in a hot second.

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by Kyle Weidie on Oct 19, 2009 5:06 PM EDT up reply actions

i do love me some eduardo najera though.

he’s the exact opposite of mcgee, if you think about it.

"a crab dribble is when you travel" - caron butler

by little stevie colter on Oct 19, 2009 3:29 PM EDT reply actions

Salary cap

If the cap drops by a lot, trading away Dooling and Najera for expiring contracts could be necessary for the Nets to have space to sign a second max free agent. Which do you think they’d choose: (a) Dooling, Najera, Lopez, and one max free agent, or (b) JaVale and two max free agents?

It remains to be seen just how valuable expiring contracts will be. If league revenues are even worse than projected, expiring contracts may turn out to be very, very hot commodities.

by yop32 on Oct 19, 2009 5:42 PM EDT reply actions

Option A

Lopez is too good.

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Mike Prada on Oct 19, 2009 6:03 PM EDT up reply actions

The nets might consider it

if Jay-Z could promise Lebron, and they still had money to bring in Bosh. Devin Harris, Lebron, and Bosh could be a scary team and worthwhile letting Lopez go….but that would be HUGE risk, banking on Lebron.

I agree with Prada here, Lopez is too good to risk losing him and not getting 2 big free agents. Even if they decided to shop Lopez for get rid of other long term contracts, I think they can get more than McGee and expiring contracts

by Blatche4MVP on Oct 20, 2009 9:17 AM EDT up reply actions

Surprised

at the lack of love for JaVale. He’s going to be an absolute monster if he can develop his physique and learn the subtleties of the center position. Wasn’t he a small forward coming out of high school? He’s not lazy or stupid, he’s just inexperienced and late coming into his size. Brook Lopez, on the other hand, is a much more of a finished product already, so he has much less upside. In spite of his lack of polish, JaVale’s superior athletic gifts already allow him to put up numbers at essentially the same rate as Lopez. Imagine what he’ll be capable of when he gets a clue. When their careers are over, it’s likely that Lopez will be remembered as a good but not great player, while JaVale could potentially be a HoFer.

by yop32 on Oct 24, 2009 6:47 AM EDT reply actions

That doesn't add up to me

Lopez is a really good defensive center already, has post moves, shoots a good percentage from the line, and has more experience than McGee. That we know Lopez can put it together doesn’t mean that we know his ceiling, but what is does mean is that he is much more valuable than McGee at this point.

by Manimal Smith on Oct 28, 2009 2:53 AM EDT up reply actions

Lopez is good, he may become very good, but I doubt he'll ever be great

I see him as a lot like Juwon Howard. (The player, don’t think about the contract.) Lopez is a nice player, might make an All-Star game or two. But not a great player. When you think about how he was used in college, always down in the post, it’s worrisome that he hasn’t had more of an immediate impact with his back-to-the-basket game. Look how polished his outside stroke and defensive play are. Maybe the problem with his post game isn’t inexperience and lack of polish, maybe he just doesn’t have enough talent. He might be a little too stiff and might never have the combination of balance, strength, and touch to be a truly great low post player— you know, kind of like Juwon Howard.

JaVale, on the other hand, I can imagine becoming a lot like Dwight Howard. Add some muscle and a bit of brains, and he too could dominate the paint at the defensive end. Add muscle to be able to single cover the Yao/Shaqs in the low post. Add some brains to know how and when to leave his man to help stop penetration. From there, he has the hops and quickness to cross the lane and alter shots on one side of the rim and still get back to grab the rebound on the other side of the rim. Currently, Dwight Howard is the only player who owns the paint like that. JaVale might be in that class some day. And we haven’t even touched on offense yet— adding anything at the offensive end might just be getting greedy.

Anyway, that’s how I’d spin it for the Nets’ GM. Send us the guy who looks like young Juwon, and we’ll give you what might turn out to be young Dwight. Juwon was a candidate for ROY and was an All Star the following year, but he never made another All Star team. He was a good, productive player, but he never became great. We want Brook Lopez because a young Juwon would help our team over the next few years while the Arenas/Butler/Jamison window is still open. JaVale, on the other hand, might someday be the next Dwight, a true franchise player for a young struggling team like the Nets to build around for years and years to come.

by yop32 on Oct 28, 2009 5:47 PM EDT up reply actions