|
Another NBA Trade Rumor
by Patrick Austin
Mr. Austin is a freelance writer
who covers sports for a number of web sites including RealGM.com,
Hoopsworld.com, and Fanstop.com. He currently also covers
entertainment and sports for Vainquer magazine.
|
Another NBA Trade Rumor
The newest NBA trade rumor being bantered about is Vince Carter
and Jalen Rose getting shipped out of Toronto and heading to Portland
for Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Derek Anderson, and possibly Vladimir
Stepania or Qyntel Woods. This
NBA trade rumor has been reported by ESPN and OregonLive.com.
The Portland
radio station, 1080TheFan, has gone so far to say that this
deal should not be considered a rumor and is legitimately on
the table.
I still consider this an NBA trade rumor because the details
are still being worked out and nothing has become official. The
reason this deal hasnt been consummated yet is because Toronto
is trying to get Nick Van Exel in the package rather than Derek
Anderson. Why? Because Van Exels contract is expiring, whereas
Andersons deal still has three years and nearly thirty million
dollars left on it. Since this trade is basically a salary dump
for Toronto, they will want to get as many expiring contracts
as possible.
If this NBA trade rumor were to really go down, it would send
shockwaves through the league. The Portland Trailblazers would
catapult to contender status in the West, while the Toronto Raptors
would officially begin rebuilding their franchise around Chris
Bosh. The Western conference will be getting that much stronger,
while the Eastern conference falls deeper into mediocrity.
The Blazers are always apart of the NBA trade rumor grapevine.
They love making blockbuster deals and this trade is the ultimate
blockbuster of blockbusters. Adding two legitimate all-star caliber
players like Vince Carter and Jalen Rose would make them incredibly
talented and versatile. Of course, if this deal happens, another
NBA trade rumor will pop up with Portland involved, since they
would be loaded at the shooting guard and small forward positions.
Unless they plan on playing Jalen Rose at point guard, expect
a new NBA trade rumor to start up with the Blazers dealing Rose
for someone like Jason Kidd or Sam Cassell.
On the Raptors end, this trade is a salary dump, plain and simple.
They would be offloading their two biggest(and burdensome) contracts
while picking up major cap relief with Shareef Abdur-Rahims
expiring contract. This would allow them to make Chris Bosh their
new franchise player and rebuild around his talents.
Though I have my doubts about any NBA trade rumor, I believe
this one will come to fruition. It appears both sides are ready
and willing to pull the trigger.
Previous
NBA Trade Rumor
|