Just yesterday, Project Spurs writer Shawn Kirsch entertained the idea of a trade for Clippers center Marcus Camby.
A trade for Camby makes sense since center has been the Spurs weakest position since Davd Robinson hung up his #50 jersey.
However, the latest trade rumor has the Spurs swapping half the roster to acquire Vince Carter and Sean Williams.
According to Dave D’Allesandro of NJ.com, “(the Spurs are) contemplating whether Vince puts them over the top in the West, and the key component to any discussion would be Roger Mason ($3.5M) coming East. But the SA payroll is very top-heavy, so that makes it very complicated: They’d have to pile on some contracts to make it add up, and not even throwing in Bruce Bowen ($4.0) and Michael Finley ($2.5) would accomplish that. Still, at least one side believes some creative accounting can get it done (we doubt the Nets would also be able to land George Hill, a kid they like), though it would obviously involve a body count – probably with Bowen/Fin returning to the Alamo after the Nets cut them.”
I got a chance to record a quick roundtable last night to discuss this trade with Jeff Garcia and Shawn Kirsch and we all resoundingly said NO to this trade.
Mason and Hill are two players I would want to be around in the transition from the Duncan era. They have been nice surprises this year and have helped the Spurs to actually improve from last season’s roster.
Right now the sky is the limit with Hill, and I think trading him would end up coming back to haunt us. He still has several areas of his game that he needs to work on, but I’ve seen enough of him this year to want to keep him around.
A few of the other players mentioned I would not mind giving up as much, but clearly Carter is the wrong choice here. He has had loyalty issues, is oft-injured and I don’t know if he’d help or hurt. Chemistry is often underrated, but it’s a big part of the Spurs success.
Don’t get me wrong. I recognize that Carter is an all-star caliber player, but he is on the wrong side of 30 and I’m not so sure that he would be willing to take a backseat role to Duncan and Parker, and possibly Manu. Aside from that, Carter’s current contract would kill the Spurs salary cap and ruin any chances of picking up a premier free agent in the next couple of offseasons.
Tthe Spurs should hang up on the phone call with Rod Thorn unless it nets us Brook Lopez, and get on the phone with a team willing to trade a serviceable big that can rebound and block shots.
A few days ago, Marc Stein talked about Rasheed Wallace coming to the Spurs and just yesterday, mlive.com mentioned Stein’s article with the headline, Rasheed Wallace wants to play for Spurs.
While. it’s a step in the right direction, I’m not sure Wallace is the right fit for the Spurs. H would greatly improve the Spurs defense in the paint, but would he put team first and himself second. If there’s any coach that could make that happen, it’s Pop.
I also like the Sheed plays with heart, but he also often plays without brains, and the Spurs can’t afford having a lockerroom cancer that has had his share of on-court meltdowns.
But Wallace’s $13 million contract expires after this year, and that might be something Spurs front office executives might find appealing.
We’ll keep you updated as soon as we find out more information, but as Shawn, Jeff and I said last night, we don’t expect to see much happening when the trade deadline comes and goes next week.
