Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't want to trade or replace Eddie. Last year he was our most productive bench player, he's a good value for his contract and he has a proven record in his role with the team.
There are by now obvious factors that lead me to suggest trading him now. It's a good time to be a contender with expiring contracts. With the economy in the tank, the 2010 free agent class looming, and owners' competitive impetus driving them to shoulder increasing luxury tax burdens to one-up the opposition, the asking price (in terms of trade assets) for talented players on long-term contracts has never been lower.
Thus, I believe we have a unique opportunity to trade in House for an upgrade. Now his contract could be used in conjunction with TA and Scal to bring in a bigger piece at a different position, but I'm assuming we add a 3 (hopefully Grant Hill), so I'll narrow my target to one combo guard I have my eye on. Given the addition of a competent 3 with the LLE, I think we could and should obtain Leandro Barbosa.
Proposed Trade (I also suggested this on the RealGM board):
Barbosa (6.6 mil, plus 7.1 mil and 7.6 mil in the following seasons) for Eddie House and TA (combined 5.36 mil) - all numbers per Shamsports.
Why for Boston: Barbosa is 27, with career averages of 13 ppg on 47% shooting (40% from downtown), 2.4 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1 steal and 1.5 turnovers in 26mpg. According to 82games.com, he boasts a 48% eFG on jumpers and a ridiculous 66% eFG for inside shots (no small sample, they make up a third of his shots). He is 6'3, blazingly fast and long-armed, making him capable of guarding the 1 and 2, even if he doesn't always do the greatest job. Though he is a poor choice for point guard, he still possesses a greater knack for the position than either House or TA. His shooting, penetrating and decent passing ability make him an multi-faceted option on pick and roll plays and his speed allows him to advance the ball faster than House. His size and shooting ability would also enable him to play off of Rondo. Given the addition of Hill, Barbosa would complete an unmatched 8-man playoff rotation for Boston.
Why for Phoenix: Phoenix is currently trapped in between luxury tax hell and rebuilding. Even with just 11 players on the roster (and most of them spare parts), the Suns payroll clocks in at 75 mil, about 7 mil over the expected luxury tax threshold. Their cap space in 2010 doesn't look that great either. Barring the unlikely event that Amare opts out of 17 mil guaranteed, they'll have commitments of around 41 mil, which I believe is only enough room for a max player if they renounce Steve Nash. Unloading Barbosa for House and TA would save them a little over 1.2 mil in salary (2.5 once you count the luxury tax) as well as bumping their roster up to 12 and saving the costs of whatever minimum player they would have dragged in for that spot. Furthermore it would shave 7.1 mil off their cap for next year, putting them at around 35 mil and carving enough space to resign Nash (or a younger PG) and a max player to team up with the still relatively young core of Stoudemire and Richardson for 1 year, with the option to reload again the next year. Of course they'd probably prefer to unload Amare or Richardson, but I think this would provide them quick, attainable savings
Topic: House Swapping: Trading House and TA for a Real Combo Guard (Read 8654 times)