Imagined acts of Prestidigitation
If they ever do a biography of Thunder general manager Sam Presti, the title you’re looking for is Inscrutable Man: his moves invite you — in fact, dare you — to second-guess him, and eventually you have to concede that the kid (he has yet to hit 32) was right all along.
Which is why the two deals most speculated about are probably not going to be the deals, if any, that actually come down by Thursday afternoon. Chris Wilcox, Joe Smith and a draft pick for the Hornets’ Tyson Chandler balances out salary-wise, and the Bees, never the most financially-secure of operations, find themselves staring into the grim visage of the luxury tax next year. Unloading Chandler’s $24 million over two years makes perfect sense financially. What I want to know is this: how much of Chandler’s value is due to the fact that he’s been working with the likes of Chris Paul and David West? Chandler was a fairly indifferent reserve big at Chicago before heading south. Under Hornets coach Byron Scott, Chandler has blossomed, although he’s been out for a month now and is questionable for tonight’s game at Oklahoma City. If Presti doesn’t see him play, I’m betting Presti doesn’t offer the trade.
The other much-bandied about swap involves Kings swingman John Salmons, who, like everyone on the Sacramento roster not named Kevin Martin, is up for grabs. Salmons’ price is barely over $5 million a year, so he’s not overly expensive for a guy averaging 18 points a game. Then again, he’s also got a trade kicker, so the deal (Smith again?) will have to be sweetened a bit. More to the point, while Salmons is usually your solid role player, he seems to worry about that role being diminished under Kenny Natt, who replaced sacked coach Reggie Theus earlier this season, and I’m guessing Presti sees him as a toothache waiting to happen.
Of course, this was written last night at 8 pm, so everything could have changed by now.
CGHill »
17 February 2009 · 1:12 pm
As of 1 pm, the Chandler trade is a done deal, says Darnell Mayberry in the Oklahoman.
Presumably the league can’t approve it until tonight’s game is over.And a New Orleans fan reminds me that Mrs. Chandler is from around here.