Trading Boozer

So, now that the Bulls finally got rid of Luol Deng, let's revisit how to rid our beloved Bulls of Carlos Boozer. Now, I've touched on this before here (click here) but that was a trade for both Deng and Boozer. If you want to trade Boozer, and do it in a 2 team trade, there are a few options:

Option 1 - Charlotte

Bulls Get: Ben Gordon, Cody Zeller, and Jeff Taylor
Bobcats Get: Carlos Boozer and Mike Dunleavy

I like this trade because the Bulls don't have to pay Boozer to leave and they get two young guys with mixed potential in Zeller and Taylor. However, it's not exactly a great haul for Rose when he returns.

Option 2 - Minnesota

Bulls Get: Kevin Love
Timberwolves Get: Carlos Boozer, Jimmy Butler, 2 first round picks (one from Chicago and the other would be Charlotte's that the Bulls currently own).

This one is obviously not something Minny would want to do unless their hand is forced. Butler is, by far, the Bulls best asset. Getting Love would give them another young, legit star to play with Rose and Noah.

Option 3 - Denver

Bulls Get: JaVale McGee, Andre Miller, and a first round pick
Denver Gets: Carlos Boozer

This one is tricky. I don't think anyone wants JaVale and his contract, but Miller is an asset that can be used off the bench next year when Rose returns and a first round pick is really what Chicago wants. For Denver, they get rid of the two guys they're desperate to rid themselves of.

So, I know some of these seem outlandish, but, remember, the Bulls just traded an all-star small forward for a top-12 protected first round pick, two second round picks, and the right to swap picks with Cleveland, only if the Cavs pick falls between numbers 15 and 30. That's not exaclty a good haul...especially when you consider that a few years ago, a trade was on the table from Golden State that involved Deng for the #7 overall pick...a pick that became Harrison Barnes...

If the Bulls were to make an offer for Barnes to the Warriors, and that offer was what they just got for Deng, the Warriors only response would be, "You mean all of this in addition to Jimmy Butler...yes?". Sad times for Bulls fans...sad times.

Omer Asik Trade

So the Rockets want to trade Omer Asik. Welp, I have an easy answer for them: trade with Miami.

Miami gets:
Omer Asik

Houston gets:
Shane Battier
Joel Anthony
James Jones
Future 1st round pick

To me, this is simple. Chicago and Indiana consistently expose Miami's need for better rebounding and rim protection. Omer Asik only does two things well: rebound and protect the rim.

For Houston, they get back Battier, who they loved when he was there, and a very good shooter in James Jones. Both of these guys are on one-year deals, so if neither work out, you can get cap relieve in return after the season. Daryl Morey probably won't want to take back Joel Anthony in the trade, but Anthony makes the salaries work and as a backup for Dwight, he's not that bad if you're only planning on playing him 8-10 minutes a night.

In general, Houston is giving up more talent, so I believe Miami will have to give up a first rounder in return. If I'm Morey, I try to get the first rounder be a 2016 or 2017 first rounder. You never know if Miami will even be any good by then.

So, to sum up, you're welcome Mr Morey and Mr Riley.

Oh, and here's a picture of me with Daryl Morey in 2010 at Dork-a-palooza!

NFL Quarterly Rankings - Q3

Here are my quarterly rankings for NFL teams for the third quarter

(note: this includes the Texans-Jaguars game from Thursday)

32. Houston

31. Washington

30. Tampa Bay

29. Atlanta

28. Jacksonville

27. Cleveland

26. Minnesota

25. Oakland

24. NY Jets

23. Buffalo

22. NY Giants

21. Tennessee

20. St Louis

19. San Diego

18. Pittsburgh

17. Chicago

16. Baltimore

15. Miami

14. Dallas

13. Philadelphia

12. Green Bay

11. Detroit

10. Arizona

9. Philadelphia

8. Kansas City

7. Indianapolis

6. San Francisco

5. New England – The Pats seem to play down to their competition but still are 9-3. If they win this Sunday and Miami loses, they can clinch the division.

4. New Orleans – In a dome, this team is still very, very good. All three of their losses are in cold or windy places: New York, Boston, and Seattle. If the Saints can beat Carolina this week and get second place in the NFC, they should be able to make it to the NFC Championship game at a minimum.

3. Carolina – Right now, they’re hot. Super hot. And good news for them is that if they can win just two more games, they’re in the playoffs. And, in their final four games, they get to play Atlanta and the Jets. They are in.

2. Seattle – What a dominating win by Seattle over New Orleans. They’re poised to finish with the #1 seed in the NFC which would be huge for them. However, their next two games are at San Fran and at New York. I think there is a chance that they could lose both of those games as the Giants may still be in the race for the NFC East and the Niners need to win to stay in wild card contention.

1. Denver – They’ve had two tough losses. And I worry about Peyton’s ability to throw in the cold. However, on a neutral field, I still think they’re the best team in the NFL.

How to rebuild the Bulls...

In case you haven't noticed, D-Rose is out. Again. For the year. Again. Simply heartbreaking...

Anyways, I've decided to look forward...by trading away everyone!!!

So, here's my fake trade (I put this in the NBA trade machine on ESPN and this trade does work):

Chicago gets:
- Ben Gordon (1 year left on his contract; $13m total left on the deal)
- Quincy Pondexter (5 yr; $15m)
- Ed Davis (1 yr; $3m)
- Trade exemptions of $4.1 million and $3.2 million
- two first round picks (Memphis and Charlotte)
- two second round picks (Memphis and Golden State)

Memphis gets:
- Luol Deng (1 yr; $14m)
- Kirk Hinrich (1 yr; $4m) 

Charlotte gets:
- Carlos Boozer (2 yr; $32m)
- Tayshaun Prince (2 yr; $15m)
- Trade exemption of $5.0 million

Golden State gets:
- Ramon Sessions (1 yr; $5m)


Now, here's why each team would do this deal (in order of easiest to explain to hardest):

Golden State: Golden State gives up a future second round pick for Ramon Sessions (using a trade exemption to get him). This allows the Warriors to get an actual backup point guard on their team. Right now, they only have Toney Douglas. Upgrading to Sessions is also a low-risk venture as a second round pick in the NBA is usually pretty easy to acquire and Sessions only has one year left on his deal just in case it doesn't work out in Oakland.

Memphis: To me, this one is pretty easy. You have a team in Memphis that has high expectations for this year. However, they're stuck relying on the decaying corpses of Mike Miller and Tayshaun Prince. An upgrade to Luol Deng, an all-star, at small forward would be a major achievement for them. And grabbing Kirk Hinrich as a 15-20 minute a night guy off the bench for one year is a pretty good deal for them as well. Now, they'd have to give up a first round pick (likely between pick number 20 and 25), a second round pick, and young players in Ed Davis and Quincy Pondexter. Pondexter is a bit of a tough loss because he's a serviceable 15 minute a night guy making $2.5 million a year for the next five years. Pretty cheap really. But where I think Memphis gets really excited, is the prospects of getting Prince's $7.7m salary for next year off their books. Getting rid of Prince's deal would open up money for the Grizz next summer in case they want to (a) extend Zach Randolph and let Deng go, (b) let Randolph go and extend Deng, or (c) extend both Randolph and Deng.

Charlotte: I know some people will disagree with me, but this team is a scoring 4-man away from competing for that 7 or 8 seed in the East. Now, Charlotte isn't exactly a hub for free agents. So, to get good, they need to either (a) overpay guys or (b) trade for players. This is why I think a trade for Boozer makes a lot of sense. Boozer is under contract through next season and played college ball in North Carolina at Duke. Carlos is the type of guy you can convince to stay and play in Charlotte if the Bobcats Hornets start to show some promise. Charlotte may have to overpay Boozer to an extension to get him to stay past next year, but it would be worth it. The guy can still score and presents a threat offensively -- something Charlotte doesn't currently have much of. Now, to get him, the Bobcats Hornets would have to give up a first round pick in the future (the Bulls already have one of their first rounders, so that part could get tricky) and they'd have to take on Prince and his contract. However, I don't think having Tayshaun Prince on this team would be the worst thing. He's a veteran leader with a ring and was on the 2008 Olympic team (so was Boozer). So, even though Prince wouldn't really expect to play much in Charlotte, he could still provide some nice leadership. And don't rule out what this team could do with that $5m trade exemption to replace Sessions (to make the cap numbers work, they'd need to trade Sessions). Charlotte has a $13m expiring deal in Ben Gordon, a player that never plays. They need to use that deal to improve this team and grabbing Boozer can do just that.

Chicago: This one is harder to explain. Why would Chicago trade three of their top 7 players? Well, because D-Rose is out again for the year and this team is paying the luxury tax (currently estimated to be $7.5m the Bulls would have to pay). Ed Davis is a young player that some stat heads really like. And Quincy Pondexter is a serviceable player making just $2.5m over the next 5 years. Bringing back Ben Gordon to where he had his most success could be a good deal. If Gordon can return to 80% of his old self, he may be a viable option for the Bulls to grab as a cheap veteran next summer as his contract expires. But, most importantly, the Bulls just need to blow this team up and start over. Getting two first round picks and two second round picks? That's a nice haul. Plus, you can package those picks to move up in the draft this summer and try to rebuild by grabbing some young player there. And adding cap space has to be the #1 priority at this point. There are multiple players who could be had via trade (Kevin Love) and the Bulls need to have cap space to make those deals. I'd fully expect the Bulls to trade Mike Dunleavy at some point as well because he signed a 2-year, $7 million deal. The Bulls wont want Dunleavy's contract on their books come this summer. 

Second Quarter NFL Rankings

Here are my quarterly rankings for NFL teams for the second quarter

(note: this includes the Dolphins-Bengals game from Thursday)

32. Jacksonville

31. Tampa Bay

30. Minnesota

29. Houston

28. Philadelphia

27. Washington

26. Pittsburgh

25. NY Giants

24. St Louis

23. Atlanta

22. Arizona

21. Baltimore

20. Cleveland

19. Buffalo

18. Oakland

17. NY Jets

16. Miami

15. Carolina

14. Chicago

13. Tennessee

12. Dallas

11. Cincinnati

10. San Diego

9. Detroit

8. New England

7. Indianapolis

6. Green Bay

5. New Orleans - They’re a good team but I question their reliance on Jimmy Graham to win games. I’ve seen it with the Pats when they lost Gronk. It’s not a good think to have that kind of a reliance on a tight end.

4. San Francisco - SF has played masterfully since they started 1-2. This team has a great defense and an offense that is really starting to click.

3. Kansas City - I know they’re the only undefeated team left, but have they even played anybody? They get Buffalo this week and will get either Buffalo’s third string QB or their newly signed Matt Flynn. The schedule has been very, very kind to this team.

2. Seattle - I still worry a lot about this team on the road. They got lucky against Saint Louis. And remember, if SF wins the division, Seattle would be the five seed and would have to play (most likely) three road games before going to the Super Bowl. Their remaining road games: Atlanta, SF, and NYG. They should win 2-3 of the three and sweep their home schedule leaving them at 14-2. If that happens, it’s highly unlikely they don’t get the #1 seed.

1. Denver - This team might be a little bit overrated as we’ve seen teams slow them down for quarters at a time this season. However, no one has done it for a whole game (they still scored 33 on Indy), so until that happens, they’re still my #1 team.

NBA Yearly Awards Predictions

In case you missed my team by team breakdown, you can click here, and in case you missed my playoffs predictions, go ahead and click here.

Anyways, here are my predictions for the yearly awards:

All-NBA First Team

G – Chris Paul – He’s the most important player on one of the best teams and will have a chance to average somewhere in the neighborhood of 23 points and 12 assists.

G – Stephen Curry – People are noticing him now. And that’s the most important part of this team. I think he can stay healthy and play 70+ games during the regular season. His 3 point percentage will be very high and he’ll score a lot.

F – LeBron James – This is easy for me, you, and everyone else involved with this decision. He’s going to put up a near-triple-double again this year.

F – Kevin Durant – He’s going to score a lot and be the best player on one of the most important teams. Also, with Westbrook out for the start of the year and no more Kevin Martin, his scoring is going to need to go up for this team to win.

C – Dwight Howard – He’ll get a ton of rebounds and score somewhere in the high-teens. I think this is an automatic selection if he’s the rebounding leader and the Rockets finish in the top-half of the west.

All-NBA Second Team

G – Kyrie Irving – Again, I think Kyrie will become a tier-1 point guard this year and this is where tier-1 point guards belong.

G – Derrick Rose – He’s the closer on the team with a good chance to win the most games in the NBA.

F – Carmelo Anthony – He’ll score a lot again this year and with the Knicks being good again, hard to keep him away from this spot.

F – James Harden – Yes, I know, he’s a guard, but I think people will call him a SF just to fit him in on the second team.

C – Marc Gasol – He’s going to be a very big part of the Grizzlies offense and defense. Plus, centers are a bit thin.

All-NBA Third Team

G – Russell Westbrook – He’ll miss the first couple of weeks and will probably shoot a somewhat low percentage so I think he ends up here.

G – Tony Parker – The Spurs rely on him big time but they’re too much of a good team overall for him to get any higher on this list.

F – Blake Griffin – I think he scores a bit less this year but will still put up some pretty nice numbers.

F – Josh Smith – Got to give it to him for being the best player on a team that I think will turn it around and go to the playoffs.

C – Brook Lopez – He’ll put up good numbers but nothing too spectacular since the Nets have a lot of options on offense.

All-NBA Honorable Mention

Hibbert, D-Wade, Bosh, D-Will, Klay Thompson, David West, Paul George, Al Horford, Kemba Walker (seriously), Duncan, Chandler Parsons, Dirk, Monta Ellis, Zach Randolph, Mike Conley, Kevin Love, Pau Gasol, Damian Lillard, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Anthony Davis.

All-NBA Rookie Team

(Note: this is more of a selection on who will have the most opportunities to play a lot of minutes and not who’s the best player.)

G – Michael Carter-Williams – Yes, I know, this is a bit of a hindsight selection. However, he was always going to start and play a lot for this team. I always had him as an All-Rookie Team player but now I’m thinking of his as rookie of the year material.

G – Trey Burke – He’ll be the starter for the Jazz and that’s all you need to know.

F - Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – KCP is a guard but like Harden will be put here to make him fit. He’ll score a lot and get enough chances to play for the Pistons.

F – Kelly Olynyk – Because who else is Boston going to play...no, but seriously, who?

C – Cody Zeller – I think he’ll get a lot of chances to play next to Al Jefferson, who’ll be the main focus of the defense.

Yearly Awards

MVP – LeBron James – It’s too hard not to select LeBron here. However, I think he is vulnerable to four players taking this from him if they put up crazy numbers: Chris Paul if he leads the league in assists and steals and scores over 24 points per game; Stephen Curry if he averages over 30 points per game while shooting 50%+ from three and 60+ FG % while leading GSW to a first place finish in the west; Kevin Durant or Melo if one of them averages 37+ points.

Rookie of the Year – Trey Burke – It was hard not to choose MCW here…but I think when Burke comes back, he’ll be given a lot of freedom to perform. Also, I just believe he’s a better player than MCW.

Coach of the Year – Mark Jackson – The media loves him and his team has a chance to win the west in the regular season.

Comeback Player of the Year – Derrick Rose – This one is easy.

Defensive Player of the Year – Chris Paul – He gets a lot of attention and gets a lot of steals. Plus, the new coaches in L.A. will help him become an even better defensive player.

NBA Playoff Predictions

In case you missed my team-by-team breakdown from Monday, you can click here and read all 8,300 words!

Moving on, here is how I see the playoffs turning out:

EAST

Conference Quarter-Finals

#1 Chicago over #8 Detroit

-          Detroit is building but they’re just not ready to compete in the playoffs with a dominant team in Chicago. Also, who on Detroit would guard D-Rose?

#2 Indiana over #7 Cleveland

-          Kyrie might be a budding star, but the rest of his team is not. Indiana is a complete team and will dominate this matchup.

#3 Miami over #6 Atlanta

-          Poor Atlanta. Easily the sixth best team in the East; easily swept out of the playoffs.

#4 Brooklyn over #5 New York

-          This is a series that would go seven games and have massive momentum swings. In the end, however, the series would be won by the Nets due to New York’s inability to matchup with Brooklyn.

Conference Semi-Finals

#1 Chicago over #4 Brooklyn

-          This would be a very close matchup. I think the Bulls’ wing players shut down the Nets’ wing players. And the Nets’ bigs would dominate the Bulls’ bigs. The difference? Who would you rather have, D-Will or D-Rose? Thought so.

#3 Miami over #2 Indiana

-          How talented is the East? Indiana is one of the three best teams in the NBA…yet, they may only be the third best team in the East. It wasn’t too long ago that the West was way, way better. Anyways, this series plays out like a lot of Miami series over the past few years – they get their backs against the wall and then LeBron unleashes hell on his opposition.

Conference Finals

#3 Miami over #1 Chicago

-          This kills me…but I have to. When Chicago was the #1 seed three years ago (the first year of the Big 3 in Miami), they dominated the Heat in game one prompting Chuck Barkley to call the Bulls the “best defensive team” he’s ever seen. Well, four games later, the Heat won the series 4-1. Every game was close, but Chicago could not finish well enough to beat the Heat. They have one closer, D-Rose, and once you single him out, double him constantly, and force him to pass, it’s all over. I think Miami still have the playoffs edge over Chicago. I think they win this series in 6, with Chicago winning games 2 and 4.

WEST

Conference Quarter-Finals

#1 Oklahoma City over #8 Minnesota

-          Minnesota will be happy to make the playoffs but they can’t hang with OKC in a seven game series.

#2 LA Clippers over #7 Dallas

-          This is where Dallas’ D kills them. Without defense, you’re nothing in the playoffs, and Dallas has no defense.

#6 Memphis over #3 Golden State

-          The matchup of the playoffs! I actually think Golden State is a better overall team but the matchup here is very interesting. Does Golden State go big? Or does Memphis go small? My guess, Golden State changes their game to match Memphis, slowing the game down and leading to a Memphis victory.

#4 San Antonio over #5 Houston

-          Houston does not have the depth or experience to truly play with San Antonio. Matching up with Tony Parker will be a nightmare for Houston.

Conference Semi-Finals

#1 Oklahoma City over #4 San Antonio

-          Here is where a healthy Russell Westbrook makes all the difference. San Antonio does not have anyone to matchup with Westbrook and he can run wild against this Spurs team. Also, I’m banking on Manu losing it this year and being a non-factor.

#6 Memphis over #2 LA Clippers

-          And here is the end of the trilogy! These two teams have met in excellent playoff matchups the past two seasons and this year will be no different.  Again, everything will depend on matchups and I love, LOVE, the Memphis bigs versus the Clipper bigs. This is why the Clippers need to go out and find a new center…and fast!

Conference Finals

#6 Memphis over #1 Oklahoma City

-          I don’t know how to pick this matchup. I’m banking on a Memphis move during the year that improves their SF position, so I don’t think this is going to be where Tayshaun Prince shuts down Kevin Durant. But I do look at the OKC supporting cast and have a lot of questions about them. So, although I think OKC can beat San Antonio, I’m not sure they beat Memphis. The Grizz are a good team with an ownership group looking to advanced statistics to find good players on favorable contracts. I believe they’ll be successful in finding those types of players this year to improve any weakness they may have. To me, that’s the difference. Someone off the bench who has a game or two where they light it up for Memphis.

NBA FINALS

So, here we are. Miami versus Memphis. The Grizz, a team you must adjust to or suffer the consequences of being dominated down low. However, the difference here is, I think LeBron can play the four man against these guys and guard Gasol -- maybe not successfully, but that won’t matter, because once you have LeBron at the 4, that creates a massive mismatch on defense for Memphis, forcing them to go smaller and try to matchup. Because of this LeBron induced matchup, I think Miami wins in five.

Look for my All-NBA selections and Yearly Award predictions tomorrow night!