Post by donatello2424 on Apr 24, 2009 8:12:15 GMT -5
Washington, D.C., April, 23 2009- Which teams are having a Dream?
When someone mentions the best player in the league who comes to mind? Some might say Michael Jordan and his MVP trophy. I am pretty sure that Dash would say Horndog. There is also no doubt that mops would argue for Brandon. But in generally, I think it is hard to argue against Hakeem Olajuwon for best player. An MVP award is nice, but what about 3 MVP awards? How about I bump that to 3 out of the 4 seasons? Still not impressed? How about 4-time All-League first team? Yes that is 4 as in, all 4 years. Still nothing? 4-time All-Defensive first team? And how about the kicker of 4-time aka back-to-back-to-back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year. That should be enough to convince you of his status.
If he is so good, then why are there reports of Dream being shopped around the league? The Washington Bullets have made the playoffs every year since the start, and even went to the 2nd round last season after losing Vernon Maxwell to the Celtics via free agency. Why? There are many reasons as to why. His supporting cast just isn’t that good. It is very apparent that he carries the team to all of their wins. It is very often that he will score 30+ points and there is only 1 other guy in double-digits. Without a supporting cast to make the team serious playoff contenders, and a general manager that refuses to mortgage their future for slight improvements, something needed to be done.
However, where were the offers? Why don’t stars have great trade value? Could it be due to many teams not wanting to give up youth for a chance to win now? Could it be due to teams not yet feeling the contract year crunch? Could it be the age of a 31 year old? I guess an argument could be made for several of these reasons, but I think it is safe to say that the trade market for stars is not that active right now. With Dream and Robinson being both on the block and neither receiving “blow me out of the water” type of offers, could we see an end of big name players switching teams via trades?
I say all that to also say the following, there are teams interested in Dream. The criteria had to be that the team had youth to trade away, and preferably a young big man to replace Dream. Lets look at some possibly trade partners that could use Dream.
Team #1: Houston Rockets
Possible lineup after deal: Olajuwon/Duckworth/Wilkins/Drexler/Johnson
-Wow. That team is scary. 4 of their starting lineup would have A or better defense. Brining Dream’s scoring ability along with his rebounding and defense allows Drexler and Wilkins to get more open shots. You can’t double team Dream in the post because he is a pass away from hitting a slashing Nique or Drexler. The question is will Houston give up their youth in the way or Chris Webber and possibly Dale Davis to make a run at a title?
Would Houston give up a key youth piece to add the best big man?
Team #2: Atlanta Hawks
Possible lineup after deal: Olajuwon/Thorpe/Mullin/Perry/Cassell
-An interesting lineup. Two older stars paired with a young point guard is interesting. Dream will get his fair share of points and having another legit option on offense would help this team greatly. Dream and his 15 rpg would almost double what the highest person pulls down a game now. Giving up a 19 year old Antonio McDyess would be a tough bullet to bite along with possible picks, but a nice big man isneeded to go up against the Hornets.
With a contract year looming, would Atlanta push to make reset the timer by giving up key youth?
Team #3: Dallas Mavericks
Possible lineup after deal: Muresan/Olajuwon/Fox/Finley/Rivers
-Interesting. A mix of old and young would be a different view of a team. Olajuwon could easily repeat as MVP on a team line this without a true #1 option. Fox would add defense and Finley could be the #2 to Dream’s #1. However it is a lot of their good youth to give up. However dominate big men do not grow on trees.
Finley could learn a lot from a MVP.
Team #4: Charlotte Hornets
Possible lineup after deal: Olajuwon/Malone/Johnson/Gamble/Adams
-Wow, just wow. That lineup could crush any other team. Yes Gamble isn’t a stud defender, but he is serviceable. However that wouldn’t matter at all. Those two guys in the middle would dominate any other big man group…and it wouldn’t even be close. They could possibly have three guys on the All-league first team roster. The draw back would be of course losing Zo, however there would be a deeper one. The risk of losing Johnson to free agency would be a huge issue with the salary situation. But that frontline is nasty.
The risk of losing LJ for a chance to have the best frontcourt?
Team #5: Denver Nuggets
Possible lineup after deal: Olajuwon/Rasmussen/Robinson/Jackson/Brandon
-This is a bit of a wild card team. They might try and persuade Dream to come to Denver in order to keep the hope of their Houston pick being halfway decent. This is extremely unlikely but if they are banking on the Houston pick being solid, would they try and make a push to improve their team as well?
How strong is the want of a good pick?
