What about Stojakovic?

[Chris]

It's a total failure by NO to acquire something meaningful with their biggest trade asset.

If anything, it looks like NO made this deal to acquire their PG of the future.

NO made this deal to get under the luxury tax...and getting a quality 3rd guard, who can play PG or SG is just a bonus.  It was a money motivated move by one of the cheapest owners in the league. 

With that said, it absolutely helps them, and given that there is no chance they were going to take on future salary in exchange for that contract, Demps did well to get two guys who should be upgrades in their rotation. Andersen should be at least their 4th best big, and probably 3rd, and of course Jack is a major upgrade over Bayless. 

Anyways, on topic, I don't think Toronto is going to buy out Peja.  They could use him, and he should fit in pretty well up there.  But, if they do, I hope Danny would go hard after him. 

But Andersen is no better (perhaps even worse?) than Jason Smith. NO needs size and toughness, not Andersen. Reggie Evans should have been the filler to acquire, not Banks/Andersen.

Jack is a decent player. But he's incredibly expensive as Paul's backup, and he's now, what, the 23rd SG on that roster? It's a bad deal by NO.

You're right, Chris, it's yet another deal by one of the cheapest ownerships in the NBA to save some money.

Yeah, I think Andersen and Smith are pretty comparable.  But since Smith, Okafor, and West were the only bigs they had that were even close to NBA quality, Andersen is still an important pickup.

Obviously, it doesn't fill all of their holes, but it makes them better than they were yesterday...which, frankly is a miracle given the kind of deals they have done in the past during the season.

They also still have Bank's expiring contract to move before the deadline to get more of an impact big man.

[Lucky17]

It's a total failure by NO to acquire something meaningful with their biggest trade asset.

If anything, it looks like NO made this deal to acquire their PG of the future.

NO made this deal to get under the luxury tax...and getting a quality 3rd guard, who can play PG or SG is just a bonus.  It was a money motivated move by one of the cheapest owners in the league. 

With that said, it absolutely helps them, and given that there is no chance they were going to take on future salary in exchange for that contract, Demps did well to get two guys who should be upgrades in their rotation. Andersen should be at least their 4th best big, and probably 3rd, and of course Jack is a major upgrade over Bayless. 

Anyways, on topic, I don't think Toronto is going to buy out Peja.  They could use him, and he should fit in pretty well up there.  But, if they do, I hope Danny would go hard after him. 

But Andersen is no better (perhaps even worse?) than Jason Smith. NO needs size and toughness, not Andersen. Reggie Evans should have been the filler to acquire, not Banks/Andersen.

Jack is a decent player. But he's incredibly expensive as Paul's backup, and he's now, what, the 23rd SG on that roster? It's a bad deal by NO.

You're right, Chris, it's yet another deal by one of the cheapest ownerships in the NBA to save some money.

Yeah, I think Andersen and Smith are pretty comparable.  But since Smith, Okafor, and West were the only bigs they had that were even close to NBA quality, Andersen is still an important pickup.

Obviously, it doesn't fill all of their holes, but it makes them better than they were yesterday...which, frankly is a miracle given the kind of deals they have done in the past during the season.

They also still have Bank's expiring contract to move before the deadline to get more of an impact big man.

Very true. And if this puts NO below the tax threshold, perhaps they will flip Banks and/or other expirings at the deadline for more help. Hornets fans can only hope.

Kudos to Colangelo. He picks up Bayless and a huge chip in Peja, for relatively little.

[Rondo_is_better]

He's terrible?

[The Walker Wiggle]

NO made this deal to get under the luxury tax...and getting a quality 3rd guard, who can play PG or SG is just a bonus.  It was a money motivated move by one of the cheapest owners in the league.  

With that said, it absolutely helps them, and given that there is no chance they were going to take on future salary in exchange for that contract, Demps did well to get two guys who should be upgrades in their rotation. Andersen should be at least their 4th best big, and probably 3rd, and of course Jack is a major upgrade over Bayless.  

Anyways, on topic, I don't think Toronto is going to buy out Peja.  They could use him, and he should fit in pretty well up there.  But, if they do, I hope Danny would go hard after him.

Ok, short term gain$. Although speaking of future salary, $5 million+ per season through 2012-2013 is a significant commitment to a third guard (and Sarver-esque). What I hadn't known is that Paul and Jack are close friends. So, I'll credit Demps for another franchise star appeasing move.

I agree that the Raptors will likely hold on to Stojakovic for the time being, but only to try and trade him again in a deadline deal. I don't expect him to play a meaningful role. Toronto is already one of the worst defensive teams in the league - 20th in points allowed, 25th in opponents FG% - with few strong perimeter defenders, and Bargnani and Evans offering little in the way of at the rim help. And they just dealt away their best and second best defensive point guards for the offense-only Jerryd Bayless.

He may be a savvy rifleman, but multiple back injuries have left the already slow-footed Peja the least mobile SF in the league. Which is the reason he'll be stuck behind Weems and Kleiza up north, and the reason the Celtics should pass on him even should he become available.

[LooseCannon]

My last attempted post seems to have been eaten, so I ask again....what's the difference between Peja Stojakovic and Michael Finley?  Do the Celtics really need another injury-prone veteran if Peja becomes available for the minimum?

Peja makes $13 million/year, which makes him a trade chip for a big trade where you acquire someone who is making $12+ million.  It makes it difficult to try and acquire someone making $7-9 million.  For example, some people wanted the Celtics to make an attempt to acquire Andres Nocioni.  It would be difficult to make salaries match if your trade asset is Peja Stojavic.

One thing the deal does is break up Peja's expiring deal into two smaller expiring deals and a trade exception.  They can still combine those contracts Voltron-style into a package for a bigger contract or they can be split up to get two players from separate teams without having to put together a three-way trade.

Big expiring contracts are overrated.  The Bobcats had to waive Erick Dampier because they couldn't find a taker for his contract.  A big expiring contract is a trade asset mainly for a lottery team which can package the deal with early first round draft picks for a star.  It's not a good vehicle for doing things like enhancing your bench.

[wdleehi]

My last attempted post seems to have been eaten, so I ask again....what's the difference between Peja Stojakovic and Michael Finley?  Do the Celtics really need another injury-prone veteran if Peja becomes available for the minimum?

Peja makes $13 million/year, which makes him a trade chip for a big trade where you acquire someone who is making $12+ million.  It makes it difficult to try and acquire someone making $7-9 million.  For example, some people wanted the Celtics to make an attempt to acquire Andres Nocioni.  It would be difficult to make salaries match if your trade asset is Peja Stojavic.

One thing the deal does is break up Peja's expiring deal into two smaller expiring deals and a trade exception.  They can still combine those contracts Voltron-style into a package for a bigger contract or they can be split up to get two players from separate teams without having to put together a three-way trade.

Big expiring contracts are overrated.  The Bobcats had to waive Erick Dampier because they couldn't find a taker for his contract.  A big expiring contract is a trade asset mainly for a lottery team which can package the deal with early first round draft picks for a star.  It's not a good vehicle for doing things like enhancing your bench.

But it makes sense to hold onto such an asset through the trading deadline.


If nothing else, it gives their young team another voice of leadership within the players.

[Chris]

I would be shocked if Toronto tries to swing Peja in another deal.  They already have about $12 million remaining on the Bosh trade exception if they want to make a deal to bring in a quality player.  And I don't see them using that AND Peja, because it would mean adding a ton of salary.

[pearljammer10]

Yeah I find this to be a terrible trade myself. Peja was one of the most intriguing contracts this season. NO could have added another superstar with his contract.

To be honest, Im actually very surprised they didnt use Peja's contract to make a run Melo. Paul and Melo want to play together anyway, and I think Melo would have approved a trade to the first place hornets.

[More Banners]

Yeah I find this to be a terrible trade myself. Peja was one of the most intriguing contracts this season. NO could have added another superstar with his contract.

To be honest, Im actually very surprised they didnt use Peja's contract to make a run Melo. Paul and Melo want to play together anyway, and I think Melo would have approved a trade to the first place hornets.

It does seem like they didn't get much, though they did solidify their bench with Jack and Andersen.

I'm pretty sure if Melo is genuinely on the block, though, it would be a bidding war that would require much, much more than an expiring contract.  Think about how many picks, prospects, and role players it took to get KG (reminder:  2 first rounders, Big Al and GGreen as prospects, and potential role players in Gomes and Banks, along with the expiring deal...). 

Melo is on that level, and not many teams have or would be willing to part with that much for one player unless it put them over the top.  NO wouldn't gut their roster to be left with CP and Melo; it looks like they're trying to win now, odd as that sounds after last season.

[The Walker Wiggle]

I would be shocked if Toronto tries to swing Peja in another deal.  They already have about $12 million remaining on the Bosh trade exception if they want to make a deal to bring in a quality player.  And I don't see them using that AND Peja, because it would mean adding a ton of salary.

That's a great point, I'd forgotten about the Bosh trade exception. I may have felt New Orleans had more pressing needs, but I now officially hate this trade for Toronto. Did the team urgently need to offload Jack's $10-11 million in remaining salary? Bayless? Even if he starts throwing up points in meaningless losses (I'd believe it). He's a bad fit and Barbosa heats up even quicker.

Colangelo does have multiple assets for one final reclamation project - Raptors and Heat first round picks, some $25 million in cap flexibility, and plenty of rookie scale players.

[Lucky17]

I would be shocked if Toronto tries to swing Peja in another deal.  They already have about $12 million remaining on the Bosh trade exception if they want to make a deal to bring in a quality player.  And I don't see them using that AND Peja, because it would mean adding a ton of salary.

Yeah, after thinking about it some more, I would have to agree.

I got the Toronto feed for the game, and they showed a clip of Colangelo commenting on the trade. They like Bayless, and the cap flexibility going forward. Peja's name never came up.

So, they probably keep Peja and let him expire, or only deal him for other expiring money (or very little future payroll). Perhaps they can help broker a big deal for other teams (Melo?).

With the Bosh TE, though, I think Colangelo has the opportunity to make some moves to improve the club. TOR can use that, bit by bit, to absorb payroll from teams looking to get under the luxury tax (Utah and Denver, for instance), perhaps netting draft picks or young prospects in return.