Heat Should Send Marion to the Knicks

Why not?

It makes sense.

The Knicks (mainly Mike D'Antoni) have a lot of pieces that either don't fit or they don't like.

Namely every player not named Nate Robinson, Wilson Chandler or Danilo Gallinari.

Without a doubt one of the worst rosters in NBA history.

What's so nice if you are the Miami Heat is that a lot of those pieces, this team could actually use.

Center? Check. Eddy Curry while an underachiever is an upgrade over Mark Blount.

PG? Check. Stephon Marbury....yes, even with his crazy ass. He should be able to give you some good minutes on an expiring deal. If he doesn't pan out you haven't lost anything and you still have Chalmers/Quinn on the bench.

Shawn Marion isn't a long-term fit for the Heat and they could make better use of his expiring in a deal such as this one without too much affecting their cap situation.

So here's my trade thought.

Miami sends:

Shawn Marion
Mark Blount
Marcus Banks and multiple second round picks.

New York sends:

Eddy Curry
Stephon Marbury
David Lee to the Heat.

I think the value is there for both teams. David Lee will just have to be charged to the Knicks cost of moving undesireable assets. Same can be said for the Heat and their picks.

I like it for both teams in terms of balancing out their rosters. It keeps the Knicks 2010 plans of having cap space in tact as Blount expires next summer.

Miami gets a center and a PG.

I say take the risk if you are the Heat.

You aren't going to have the money to pay Boozer in the offseason the way they are currently setup financially. Go get some assets that can help you win now.

Early Blockbuster Sends Iverson to Detroit

In what is the very first blockbuster deal of the 2008-2009 season, the Denver Nuggets have offered up and agreed to trade Allen Iverson to the Detroit Pistons in return for Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess, and project bigman Cheikh Samb.

In the NBA there are very few trades (particularly when dealing big name, All-Star level players) where both teams have the potential to make out good immediately in the deal. In my opinion this is one of them.

The Nuggets have long wanted a PG with 3pt. range that could be more of a facilitator for the other players on their roster. Chauncey Billups is one of the best PG's in the NBA as well as being a clutch shooter. With J.R. Smith having been re-signed in the offseason and now making his way into the starting lineup at SG, Billups, Smith and Anthony will form a nice trio in the Nuggets backcourt.

McDyess however currently has no intention on staying with the Nuggets although they could use the help downlow, so Denver will most likely negotiate a buyout with Dice and he will either go back to the Pistons after the mandatory 30-day waiting period or to some other team before or after that. The latest rumor has the Boston Celtics expressing interest if a buyout does go down. He would be a great addition to their ball club to spell KG at the center position.

This deal also gets the Nuggets below the luxury tax threshold which they have been trying to do. But what's so cool about their deals as of late is that although they gave Marcus Camby up to clear out cap and have now dealt Allen Iverson to get below the tax, they may have done all of that and become a better TEAM. We won't know for sure until probably mid-season but as of now, Mark Warkentien and company look to be doing a pretty solid GM'ing job in Colorado.

From the Pistons perspective, Joe Dumars has apparently seen the writing on the wall. After two straight blah blah post-season performances by an aging team with no legit #1 option, he finally gets that in Allen Iverson. And his deal is cool too because Allen is sitting on one of the fattest expiring contracts in the league this year. Pair that with Rasheed Wallace's expiring contract of over 13 million then the Pistons look good capwise for the future. So good in fact that they extended the contract of Richard Hamilton immediately following the trade. They can be major players in free agency as soon as next year or wait until 2010. Many feel that Chris Bosh is their target in 2010.

As far as this year, I think Iverson gives them as good a shot at beating the powerhouses of the East (Cleveland, Boston) as does Billups so there is no real loss in competitiveness here. Perhaps a slight gain. I wouldn't underestimate a motivated Wallace and a dynamic finisher like Iverson on the same team surrounded by THE BEST ROLE PLAYERS in the NBA in Hamilton and Tay Prince. Not to mention good young players like Rodney Stuckey, Arron Afflalo, Jason Maxiell (whom they also re-signed) and Amir Johnson.

Yep. This is one deal I like for both teams.

After the Nuggets' slow start they wanted a change. The Pistons needed a change.

As a fan I know that I cannot wait to see AI in a Pistons uni. Especially come playoff time.