DEN trades Gilbert Arenas, Luol Deng, Paul Millsap, Marcus Camby, 11.21
DAL trades Tim Duncan, Taj Gibson, Trevor Ariza, Rasual Butler
I am stunned that this trade is being allowed.
I am a little too. There's no way nick's original trade getting Duncan could have been more lopsided than this. The highest picked player by DEN here was the 30th pick in the 2nd round. Did nick include a pick higher than that in his trade?
EDIT: I would imagine the only non-involved person who likes this trade is IP.
I predicted this argument would be made, and Faf and I discussed it. Here's the substance of what was decided:
1) The Commish can't let complaining GMs influence his decision-making process; whether he thought something is fair or not is up to him, and him alone.
2) If you go by draft position alone, Denver gave up more value than the previously vetoed trade, although in that trade the top pick offered was higher.
3) It doesn't make a lot of sense to look at players in terms of draft position. When considering pre-draft trades, the Commish can only assume what will be available. In other words, he's looking at "the average late 3rd rounder" or "the average 7th round pick". Instead, we're considering actual players, and the fact is, some very talented players slide. In past years, Arenas has had a 1st round value. If somebody thinks he's still at about that level, so be it. In short, the name "Gilbert Arenas" has more value than somebody saying "I'll give you a ___ round pick". In one, the value is concrete, in the other, it's speculative.
That said, we both agree that Dallas screwed itself.