Baron Davis is supposedly on the verge of accepting the Hornets' offer.
And it's starting to look like the Clips have dropped out of the running for Andre Miller. They are going to have a hard enough time re-signing Olowokandi and Brand (and Maggette, too?) next offseason, and besides, they have two young PGs, Marko Jaric and Keyon Dooling, to work with, surely one of these two dudes will work out, right?
Besides, why would the Clips give up an Odom or a Miles for Miller when they can go get a short-term replacement PG for NOTHING right now--they could re-sign Jeff McInnis, or they could pick up Chris Childs or Travis Best or Rod Strickland--and wait a year or two for either Jaric or Dooling to inherit the job?
I think that if ANY team is going to make a move for Andre Miller, it's the Wizards. Washington suddenly has about 15 or 16 guys on their roster who deserve to play. Would any team put together a better package than, say, Jared Jeffries and change for Miller? Maybe not! If MJ would agree to take on Zydrunas Ilgauskus, he could get Miller for not very much at ALL; how about this trade:
Andre Miller and Zydrunas Ilgauskus to the Wizards; Jared Jeffries, Chris Whitney, Christian Laettner, Etan Thomas, Tyronn Lue, Hubert Davis, and Rod Grizzard to the Cavs
Here's the Wiz after this trade:
PG Andre Miller--Juan Dixon
SG Michael Jordan--Larry Hughes
SF Richard Hamilton
PF Popeye Jones--Kwame Brown
C Jahidi White--Brandon Haywood--Zydrunas Ilgauskus
Hopefully, MJ can help Hughes fulfill his potential in this league (I can't believe other teams gave up on this guy so quickly!), Rip Hamilton will come to his senses sometime over the next 12 months and realize he's not worth the max, Kwame Brown will start playing like a former #1 overall pick, and that the Wiz get SOMETHING out of Ilgauskus over the next three years.
Here's what the Cavs look like after this trade:
PG Dajuan Wagner--Chris Whitney--Bimbo Coles
SG Ricky Davis (re-signed)--Hubert Davis--Tyronn Lue
SF Lamond Murray--Rod Grizzard
PF Tyrone Hill--Jumaine Jones--Jared Jeffries--Carlos Boozer
C Christian Laettner--Chris Mihm--Etan Thomas--DaSagana Diop
The Cavs would rid themselves of Ilgauskus' huge contract ($12.4 mil next season, $13.5 mil in 2003-04, then $14.6 mil in 2004-05). Lue's contract is up after next season, Whitney and Hubert and Etan Thomas each have two seasons left on THEIR contracts. Jeffries and Grizzard are, of course, both rookies. The only undesirable contract is Christian Laettner, who has three years remaining on HIS contract--but hell, he's a LOT cheaper than Ilgauskus, isn't he?
The Cavs are obviously getting really ripped off here, but hell, at least they get SOMETHING for Andre Miller--if the Clips are out of the picture, and if the Pacers are happy with Tinsley as their PG (not to mention the fact that Indiana will have a big enough problem re-signing Jermaine O'Neal AND Reggie Miller AND Brad Miller AND Jonathan Bender AND Ron Artest AND Jeff Foster next summer), well, who else out there can put together a better package than Washington? Here are some other possibilities:
Trade with Bulls: Marcus Fizer and Jamal Crawford for Andre Miller and Bimbo Coles (Washington's offer is better)
Trade with Warriors: Lots of possibilities, including a) Mike Dunleavy, Bobby Sura, and Chris Mills for Miller and Ilgauskus, and b) Dunleavy and Mills for Miller, Coles, and Lamond Murray (any package for Dunleavy seems better than Washington's offer)
Trade with Grizzlies: Stromile Swift, Jason Williams, Tony Massenburg, and Cezary Trybanski for Miller and Ilgauskus (I don't like this deal because I don't like Swift)
Trade with Jazz: Andrei Kirilenko, DeShawn Stevenson, and Raul Lopez for Miller (not a great offer, obviously)
The deals above DO work on RealGM, by the way.