The Rationale Behind the Trade Presented

A couple of days ago I presented a trade possibility of Marcus Banks + Patrick O'Bryant + a second round draft pick for Morris Peterson. (see post below) There was a lot of reaction from the trade and most of it was negative, however reading through the comments there may of been people who may have misunderstood what I had presented. As such, I feel responsible for addressing some of the comments being made and bring some rationale for why I feel the trade might work. Ill list each subtopic by argument and try to answer it.

1. Trading Second Round Draft Picks are not the way to go, considering how many we have dealt away

I agree that trading away draft picks is not an effective way to build your team roster. In general, first round draft picks are set on the rookie scale and second round picks do not earn significantly more than the minimum which means that you usually get under-paid talent. However with respect to the Raptors situation, they are built to compete in the short-term (however flawed that strategy is) and need to compile enough depth for in-squad competition and in case of injury. Second round draft picks only sometimes evolve into rotation quality players and almost never contribute in their first season. For a team built like the Raptors, Peterson would derive more utility in the short (and probably long) term than a future second round draft pick.

2. Morris Peterson has two years left so bad trade idea

Because Marcus Banks is on a two year deal and is not even a rotation quality player, no GM would trade him for a shorter (expiring) contract. This is especially true with the 2010 off season coming up and GMs do not want to have contractual obligations going into the 2011 season. As such, the only way to move him would be for another player who has a two year or longer contract. Peterson has been marginalized in NO due to the signing of James Posey, and Peja and the drafting of Julian Wright. The team is over the luxury tax and needs to reduce salary to minimize the impact so they may consider trading Peterson for a smaller contract especially if there are enough incentives to make it worthwhile (second round draft pick, cash etc.).

3. Morris Peterson is a backing SG, not a SF

Morris Peterson has played both as a SG and SF in his career. He is 6'7 and 220 pounds, and has been in the league long enough to understand how to guard both position. Also, in the NBA the two wing positions are pretty homogeneous now with the rise of small-ball lineups.

4. Why trade for a "worse" contract?

As I stated before, the Raptors are designed to win now. They need all the depth they can get to sustain them in the long season and for insurance purposes. In addition, because the Raptors are under the luxury cap, this deal only adds roughly 500k this year and about 1.5 million next year. They will not fall into luxury tax concerns if they make the deal because they are shipping salary out. One person mentioned that the luxury tax figure might fall next year and this may pose some questions for the raptors. However, the difference would be 1.5 million (doubled up to 3 year) only for a 1 year period. I think the Raptors would consider having an asset like backup sg/sf like Peterson is worth that. In addition if the Raptors are really concerned about the luxury tax implications, the Raptors can trade the contract next season + an asset to a team under the salary cap for a draft pick or an salary exception (note: the same thing would have to be done with bank's contract).

5. There's no point wasting assets for the 15th roster spot

This deal is not so focused on filling the 15th roster spot as it is on creating a more balanced rotation. Currently, the Raptors' rotation is:

starters:
pg: jose calderon
sg: demar derozan
sf: hedo turkolu
pf: chris bosh
c: andrea bargnani

key reserves:
pg/sg: jarrett jack
sg: antoine wright
pf: reggie evans
c: rasho

deep reserves (probable DNP-CDs or getting no playing time)
pg: roko ukic
pg: quincy douby
pg: marcus banks
pf: patrick o'bryant

It is clearly obvious that we have too many dead weight point guards and too many inactive players in general. If this deal were to happen the rotation would change to:

starters:
pg: jose calderon
sg: demar derozan
sf: hedo turkolu
pf: chris bosh
c: andrea bargnani

key reserves:
pg/sg: jarrett jack
sg: antoine wright
sf: morris peterson
pf: reggie evans
c: rasho

deep reserves (probable DNP-CDs or getting no playing time)
pg: roko ukic
pg: quincy douby


Now the Raptors could now play douby (who is superior to banks) as their first option in their deep reserves. There would be 13 players on the roster so the team would not need to add any more players. But if they want to, they can now add players in other positions like: joey graham, pops or leon powe to really round out the roster.

6. Why trade another team's dead weight for our own?

When you consider this trade, please think back to the Rafeal Araujo / Kris Humphries trade. Both of these players were not contributing to their respective teams, so both GMs took a chance on a player to help them. The beauty of these deals are that they have little risk but the new addition could turn into a serviceable player. We can all agree that Aruarjo was not a rotation worthy player but he turned into Kris Humphries, an efficient player with rotation potential. This Morris Peterson deal is to trade two players who do not figure to be in our rotation for a 15-18 mpg guy who could provide significant value to the Raptors.

Conclusions

In all likelihood this trade is not going to happen, and I have probably spent way too much time on the topic, but I want to be sure that what I present is clear and understandable and the debate is focused on the issue.

Raptors Trade Possibility

The Raptors have had a pretty impressive off-season and have completely changed the make-up of the roster. Last year within the starters, the Raptor lacked a player who could create and make that 'dagger shot' and also lacked athleticism. BC addressed the go-to-man concerns by adding Hedo Turkolu, a player the Orlando Magic entrusted with taking their final shots and Colangelo addressed the athleticism issue by drafting DeRozan and trading for Antoine Wright (in particular for the shooting guard position.) Last year, our bench consisted of the likes of Kapono, Pops, and Humphries but it has been completely revamped with the additions of Jarett Jack, Rasho, Reggie Evans and Marco Bellinelli. There have been some questions about the Raptors back-up small forward, and this article attempts to identify a potential trade that is (slightly far-fetched) but possible.

The Trade: Marcus Banks + Patrick O'Bryant + Second Round Pick To New Orleans for Morris Peterson.

Does it Work Financially?

Because both teams are over the salary cap, the total salaries being traded must be within 125% of each other. The total salary Toronto is taking in is 5,993,240 and the total salary NO is taking in is 5,408,982. They are within 125% of each other.

Marcus Banks earns 4,553,793 this year, 9,401,379 over life of contract (2 years)
Patrick O'Bryant earns 855,189 this year and over term of contract (1 year)
Morris Peterson earns 5,993,240 this year and 12,384,480 over the life of his contract (2 years)

Note: I took these figures from ShamSports.com

Why the Raptors Makes this Trade?

The Raptors would make this trade because they instantly convert two pieces of dead weight off their roster for a serviceable backup shooting guard. Banks and O'Bryant do not figure to play much this year and this trade would provide us with an asset in return.

Peterson has shown in the past that he is a good defender, is not afraid to drive and loves the city Toronto. The roster would be complete for this year and there would be no need to sign Delfino.

Over his career Peterson has averaged 3.6 rebounds a game in 27 minutes, giving him a per-36 rebounding rate of 4.8 which seems below-average for a small forward, but solid nevertheless for a backup. Peterson plays good man-to-man defense and is capable of playing 15-18 minutes a night. At the age of 31, he can provide a veteran's presence while still being able to contribute.

Why New Orleans Makes this Trade?

New Orleans is currently roughly $8,000,000 above the luxury tax and have been making moves to try and lower their cap number this year and for the short-term (such as the Tyson Chandler trade). With this trade, they are able to reduce their salary obligations by $500,000 this year and $1,544,654 next year. Since they are most likely to be over the cap both year, this would translate into a savings of $4,089,308.

Peterson has had declining minutes with NO, and only played 12 mpg last year. He only played in 43 games and started 2. On NO's roster, there is Peja Stojakovic, James Posey and possibly Julian Wright ahead of him on the depth chart.

Conclusions

I think Toronto would definitely make this trade as it is an effective way to remove two useless bodies off of the roster for a productive backup while still remaining under the luxury tax.

I think New Orleans might make this trade because of the significant luxury tax savings and because there is no room for Peterson in the regular rotation. The addition of a second round pick would also sweeten the transaction for New Orleans.