Trade of the Day (Bulls/Bobcats)

The Bobcats are screwed in the front office and the front court.   They've got big money allocated to redundant players (Wallace and Richardson), no power forward, and two pseudo pointguards - both of whom happen to be bad.  Augustin has been physically outclassed during the preseason and will continue to be during the regular season; they view Felton as a combo guard, otherwise they wouldn't have drafted Augustin.  Confused?  So are they.

The upshot is, we're here to help.  We still love you, MJ, so we'd like to send you not only a point guard with the grittiness Larry Brown loves, but a real-life power forward and a shiny new draft pick, too. 

How about this trade?     (That's Kirk, Gooden, Gray, and a #1 for Richardson and Nazr Mohammed for those who don't want to follow the link.) 

Why it helps Charlotte from a basketball point of view

First of all, they need a power forward, and an Okafor/Gooden pairing could actually be one of the better combos in the east.  Emeka's strength is defending the basket and scoring a little from the post; Gooden is a good rebounder and jump-shooter.  

Secondly, it improves them at the point.  They've shown in numerous ways that they don't view Felton as the answer, and I don't blame them.   Augustin is going to be better served as a mighty-mouse type off the bench, somewhere between Eddie House and Ben Gordon on that spectrum.  A Hinrich and Felton backcourt wouldn't be bad because Hinrich could guard twos (as he's shown), and it would allow them to slide Felton into the slot they want him to play, anyway.  Hinrich is also a Larry Brown type player.  He's a grind-it-out-and-play-tough-D point, not a sprint-downcourt-with-your-hair-on-fire point.  In a word, he fits.           

Why it helps Charlotte from a front office of view

Money.  Filthy lucre.  The Bobcats not only have poor attendance and TV revenue, they've allocated their cap space terribly.  They're paying Nazr Mohammed six million a year to impersonate Emeka Okafor for ten minutes a game.  They're paying Richardson 12 million over the next three years to be the run-the-floor 2 they don't want, but already have (in Wallace).  This would give them a boatload of expiring deals next year (Gooden, Felton, Morrison, May) to pursue free agents, and a potential lottery pick.  

It's time to start over for the Bobcats.  They've paid big money to players who are never going to win.  Picks and capspace are the way to go because occasionally those draft picks do work out beautifully.

I'll now wipe the shit-eating grin from my face.   

Why it helps the Bulls from a basketball point of view

Richardson fits us for the same reasons he doesn't fit the Bobcats.  He is so good when he's running the floor, as he did in Golden State.  He also would give us something we don't have: some post scoring.  To the best of my knowledge there's no rule that states a big man has to be your on-the-block scorer.  Lastly, he shoots a respectable 41% from 3, so he'll be able to take advantage of those wide-open looks that Rose gets him. 

In other words, he might be the M2GWCSAD. 

In terms of the interior, Nazr could really help.  We're light inside, and so bigger, stronger dudes just kill us.  Noah can't handle them.  Nazr could.  He also brings a little nastiness to the floor, which I think we need.  No team is complete without a war daddy.

Why it helps the Bulls financially 

It doesn't, and it means we've seen the last of Gordon, which may be a mistake.  My point is this: the Bulls should go for it.  Not in 2010, now.  Get the best players you can, give Rose the ball, and run. It's expensive, yes, but only a little more so than what Hinrich was giving you to essentially back up Rose.  And six million a year isn't too bad for a backup of Nazr's quality.

* * *

Of course, there are numerous caveats.  Richardson needs to understand that he's the second wheel to Rose, the Bobcats might be loathe to acquire a point guard after they just drafted one.  And I want to see how Rose and Gordon play together before they move anybody.

The point remains, though, that the Bulls are going to have to make a move at some point, and it better be with this season, not 2010, in mind.  A guard rotation of Rose, Richardson and Gordon would be dynamic, balanced, and definitely the league's most exciting.  A center position with Noah and Nazr would provide 48 minutes of defense and rebounding.  And by moving Gooden, we're giving the pf position to Tyrus, who's been looking great, and the backup pf minutes to Nocioni, who's meshed with Rose better than any other Bull.

It's an imperfect trade.  But it would get us into the playoffs, and more importantly, the Bulls would be fun as hell to watch.