Wizards want to get rid of guys, Lakers apparently want to get rid of Fisher - this can reconcile things out.

I pulled out a similar trade before, but we're about to have a fire sale of some sort, and LA wants to get rid of Derek Fisher according to many NBA insiders:

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=yjzrehh

New Wizards
Ron Artest, Derek Fisher, Adam Morrison, Shannon Brown (11 mil in expiring deals)

Though it's not on the trade machine, I propose that we get a 1st round from the Lakers as well. It's not like their rookies get to play much anyway.

New Lakers
Caron Butler, Randy Foye, Mike James (10 mil in expirign deals)

Why it's good for the Wizards
They get a legit #1 scoring option in Ron Artest, to team with Nick Young, Andray Blatche and Zydrunas Ilgauskas (if Jamison's gone) along with a legit starting PG to shore up our perimeter defense which is horrible. They will send a message to Nick Young to stop messing up or you're outta here. Morrison gets a chance to threaten Nick Young's job as well since he never got minutes in LA; Shannon Brown also threatens Nick Young's job security but will also get a lot of PG minutes too if Fisher's hurt. Boykins remains a mini Wiz. The trade keeps the Wizards competitive on paper for the rest of the season. Fisher is an expiring deal but will provide valuable minutes to keep the PG position respectable or we'd see Nick Young at PG.

Why it's good for the Lakers
They get a legit #2 option to Kobe and a guy who can play as Kobe when he's injured so Caron will be a good Robin AND be a good gecko at the same time. The triangle allows wing players to handle the ball more which fits Caron better. Foye gives them long term stability at the PG position and Phil Jackson gets a good scoring point guard, something he never really had before. Mike James is basically there to match out the numbers so the Lakers can waive him if they want. Also Lakers fans love Caron Butler more than Ron Artest even though he was there for one year, partly because Kobe liked him very much as a teammate. See the interview clips here:

http://www.csnwashington.com/pages/wizards

Note
The trade works as well even if Shannon Brown stays a Laker

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=yjpesxq

About the Hollinger numbers you see in trade machine:
I say throw them out of the window. First of all, the Wizards have bad chemistry with Flip's system, which is why Caron and Randy apparently will make the Lakers lose more games. These guys will get to play with Kobe, the best guard in all of basketball right now and he MAKES them better. So Caron is playing D or Kobe is whooping his ass, contrary to what everyone is saying. As with the Wizards, I can see Derek, Ron Artest, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas (if and when Jamison is with the other MVPuppet) as the new three captains, and they will make Nick Young and Blatche play stifling D if Flip can't. If Z is not a Wizard and Mike isn't somewhere else, Mike, Derek, and Ron are captains.

What do you think? Since our team sucks and is losing at least Butler or Jamison and LA will still be in the Finals with or without Artest, I say go for it.

Interesting speculation.

Im a little perplexed at the wizards in this deal cause i thought they woulda preferred cap space for 2010 but Ron can get back to his form in washington.

Im also unsure why LA would do this cause they loose their main defender in artest, and defense is the main reason they signed him. Offensively I think Caron and Ron are pretty much even cause they wont get many touches in LA and caron isnt playing well this season (his shooting percentage is way down plus spot ups are really all he will get in LA) I do like that LA can get Foye but IMO if they have to give up shannon i wouldnt do it

I voted for the last option

While the Lakers would like to get rid of Fisher....I don't see them shaking up the entire roster in the middle of a championship caliber season...

er. no. artest > butler. and the wiz get brown and a pick. just not a fair trade. at all. smart for the wizards, because they would win big time, but really dumb for the lakers. dumping fisher for foye is not worth the downgrade from artest to butler.

Chosen One wrote:

Interesting speculation.

Im a little perplexed at the wizards in this deal cause i thought they woulda preferred cap space for 2010 but Ron can get back to his form in washington.

Im also unsure why LA would do this cause they loose their main defender in artest, and defense is the main reason they signed him. Offensively I think Caron and Ron are pretty much even cause they wont get many touches in LA and caron isnt playing well this season (his shooting percentage is way down plus spot ups are really all he will get in LA) I do like that LA can get Foye but IMO if they have to give up shannon i wouldnt do it

Well, I see why LA got Artest for the perimeter defense and another open shot guy. Foye has been pretty gritty on defense since starting for Gilbert, but Kobe himself is also a Top 5 perimeter defender. If this trade happens (with or without Brown), Kobe still may very well defend the other team's top perimeter player, but on offense, he has Pau Wow and Bynum down low, and Caron and Randy on the perimeter and the wing. Those five could drop a lot consistently and to keep points up they should just speed up the game, like Phoenix. Season averages could be like this assuming Brown is not a Wizard after trade goes through:

G - Foye, 13 ppg, 3 rpg, 4 apg
G - Bryant, 25 ppg, 4 rpg, 5 apg
F - Butler, 15 ppg, 6 rpg, 3 apg
F/C - Bynum, 13 ppg, 9 rpg, 1 apg
F/C - Gasol, 16 ppg, 10 rpg, 2 apg

Odom 11 ppg, 8 rpg, 3 apg
Farmar 7 ppg, 2 rpg, 2 apg
Brown - 7 ppg, 1, rpg, 1 apg
Walton - 5 ppg, 2 rpg, 1 apg

Lakers could score 110+ ppg consistently with this starting five..... As Kobe grows older, Foye becomes a bigger monster, as does Bynum.

☆®¥ån☆ wrote:

er. no. artest > butler. and the wiz get brown and a pick. just not a fair trade. at all. smart for the wizards, because they would win big time, but really dumb for the lakers. dumping fisher for foye is not worth the downgrade from artest to butler.

I can argue that the trade wouldn't work for the Wizards either. First Fisher may get waived and resign a month later to the Lakers. Morrison may get waived as well. So basically we get Artest for Butler, which seems like a win for the Wizards. However, Ron Artest would probably be livid to be on a losing team unless this team goes on a streak between today and 2/18. So he may be another cancer on this team. As with Shannon Brown, I can see the Wizards not going after him if dealing with the Lakers and asking for Artest, Fisher, Morrison and a pick, even if the pick is a 2011 one.

Kinda off topic but are the cavs still the number one trade option for jamison

Right now, that's the only major team I can see Jamison and the answer is yes. He has been mentioned to go to Utah and even Houston (Butler has been rumored to Houston too), but if Jamison goes anywhere, it's to a top contender, Cleveland being one of them. I don't anticipate seeing Jamison in Cleveland until 2.18 though, because there is still a lot of bad blood between Grunfeld and Danny Ferry which started with Larry Hughes, and then of course the three playoff appearances. A Jamison trade to Cleveland would send Zydrunas to DC, along with J.J. Hickson, and perhaps a 1st round pick, which Cleveland probably doesn't need anyway, unless LeBron signs with another team next year. It is likely that Z would refuse to play for the Wizards, or there prob is an agreement between the two teams that the Wizards would waive Z soon after getting him, and then in one month, he's back in Cleveland.

The Wizards lineup could then be like this with this Artest trade

Derek Fisher, Nick Young or Mike Miller, Ron Artest, Andray Blatche, Brendan Haywood or JJ Hickson

Worst case scenario if Butler and Jamison (and Miller AND Haywood) go elsewhere and we waive the new signees who would presumably be expiring deals. This is a good possiblity though:

PG - Earl Boykins (he would stay in DC for this season)
SG - Nick Young
SF - Dominic McGuire
PF - Andray Blatche
C - JaVale McGee

I don't see why LA would do this at all, for numerous reasons.

1) Besides Kobe, Shannon Brown is hands down a fan favorite in LA. You can't replace that.

2) Artest wouldn't need to leave either. Lakers need defense, and that's precisely what he's best at. Butler, James, and Foye aren't premier NBA defenders at all.

3) Morrison is a scrub, so screw him. However, people do pay to see his sexy long Jesus hair. You can't replace that either (damn you, Vujabitch!).

4) Lastly, the bond between Kobe and Fisher is unbreakable. Separating these two guys would be like separating Darko and Oden. Their hearts would be broken and play would decrease. Not to mention, Fisher brings DEFENSE.

It works out salary cap wise, but realistically I just couldn't see this trade happening.

The Gross Liar wrote:

I don't see why LA would do this at all, for numerous reasons.

1) Besides Kobe, Shannon Brown is hands down a fan favorite in LA. You can't replace that.

2) Artest wouldn't need to leave either. Lakers need defense, and that's precisely what he's best at. Butler, James, and Foye aren't premier NBA defenders at all.

3) Morrison is a scrub, so screw him. However, people do pay to see his sexy long Jesus hair. You can't replace that either (damn you, Vujabitch!).

4) Lastly, the bond between Kobe and Fisher is unbreakable. Separating these two guys would be like separating Darko and Oden. Their hearts would be broken and play would decrease. Not to mention, Fisher brings DEFENSE.

It works out salary cap wise, but realistically I just couldn't see this trade happening.

DJ Mbenga is also a fan favourite, and you can certainly replace him. Shannon Brown isn't that good and he is definitely replaceable.

Same with Caron Butler and he got traded to the Wizards because they thought Kwame Brown was going to be a better fit if he tried (he didn't). There is no such thing as irreplaceable players in the NBA minus these guys:

1. LeBron
2. Kobe
3. Dwyane
4. Dwight
5. Tim
6. Kevin (though the argument for him as an irreplaceable is going down south as of late)
7. Paul Pierce
8. Chris Paul
9. Steve Nash
10. Dirk

Everyone else is a replaceable piece to the house, which will be my metaphor to a team (window, wall, pipe, toilet, whatever). These guys I mentioned are the best cornerstone foundations to a house/team. Some other guys like KD, Brandon are young foundations, and it's a little early to see if they're going to be "irreplacable" as of now.

Also Adam Morrison cut his sexy long Jesus hair off.

just don't like it at all for the Lakers. because Artest is a better (and cheaper) piece for them than butler can be. while Foye i think would be a great fit as a replacement for Fisher, the diference just isn't worth giving up Artest, when they've already got Farmar as a hopeful replacement.