The latest ESPN Insider talks about Atlanta and looks for trades for their big three, Reef, Ratliff and Terry, to give them cap space. I found interesting points in what they said about all three.
Reef:
Ratliff:
Terry:
Reef:
I think this means Trader Bob can forget about getting Reef any time soon.Whatever the Hawks do, they shouldn't move Rahim until they have deals in place for Ratliff and Terry. They'll become even more unruly if Rahim goes and the team takes yet another step back. Trading Rahim is the last move, not the first one.
Ratliff:
The second trade may be simpler but then we would REALLY HAVE to play Stoudamire.There's talk the Blazers want Ratliff and would be willing to swap Rasheed Wallace for him if the Hawks also included Terry. Terry is a base-year player, which makes that trade more difficult, but it is doable with the right add-ons. It might be simpler for Portland to offer a combo of Wesley Person's expiring contract, Jeff McInnis and a prospect like Travis Outlaw straight up for Ratliff.
Terry:
We do have the expiring contracts and I would rather not have Terry so I was trying to come up with a trade of Rasheed to Atlanta, Terry to Indiana, Ratliff, Harrington and Tinsley here and filler all over the place. With Terry's BYC status, I couldn't get it to work, anyone else want to try to help me?The Blazers could get it done. The Jazz could too, except the Hawks aren't allowed to trade Terry to Utah for one year, because the offer sheet they matched was from the Jazz. The Pacers have had plenty of interest in Terry in the past, but they don't have the expiring salaries to get it done.