the Lakers / Rockets trade would have just made the Hornets another perpetual borderline playoff team for the next 3-4 years. paying lots of money for a team but not getting a lot of wins, without any true stars.
with this trade, the hornets have a lot less money tied up in players long term, and with the right moves they could become a lot better than just a borderline playoff team within a few years.
the important thing to remember here is that the hornets need to be sold to an owner. an owner is going to want to buy a team that has a lot of potential to be shaped as the owner sees fit.
a prospective buyer won't be as interested in a team that is locked in to a certain roster and a certain fate for the near future, especially one with very little chance of acquiring a truly marketable franchise superstar any time soon.
you see the difference blake griffin made to the clippers last year? the difference durant made to the sonics / thunder? the difference rose has made to the bulls? getting a franchise superstar instantly makes your team relevant and interesting to fans in general, not just fans in your local market.
that's why a prospective owner would rather get a team with a weak roster that has the chance to draft high and get such a star than a team full of middle of the road talent.
That's an excellent analysis PosImpos, TP. It's a lot easier to sell the potential to some people that the next CP3 is just a Minny pick away, I would imagine.
It sounds like you guys are saying the Clippers trade is better for New Orleans because it makes them worse than the Lakers trade would hhve made them and therefore they will suck more for a while but have more potential to get lucky and hit the next Durant or Griffin? Do you really think this is what Stern was thinking when he rejected the Lakers trade and accepted the Clippers trade. Stern "Gee this Lakers trade makes the Hornets too good, we can't find a buyer that way. Let's see if we can't find a trade where the Hornets suck so they can have some real potential?"
The Clippers trade is better because it brings a lot more value. That's why Stern rejected it. It wasn't because it made the Hornets good or bad, that's actually secondary.
Think this way: Lamar Odom was worth a late first rounder. Kevin Martin trade value was Carl Landry just a couple of months ago. Scola isn't much more valuable than that, he's a 32 years old owed $50 million. Dragic is an average prospect.
So, with the Lakers/Rockets offer either the Hornets would be able to compete for a low playoff seed for a couple of years and then be terrible without any asset or be terrible right away with a handful of late first rounders. That at the cost of taking in $50 million in salaries.
With the Clippers offer, they get valuable young assets and they can be terrible right away with those assets or they can flip them immediately for more veteran players and be a playoff contender for a few years if they so desire. That without being buried in salaries right from the bat.
The Lakers/Rockets offer was ridiculously bad. I think Dell Demps should be investigated. No reason whatsoever to accept an offer like that one. There were dozens of offers better than that one available had he done his job properly. It's puzzling and suspicious he'd accept that offer.
Topic: CP3 to Clippers is a done deal (Read 31158 times)