I’ve been looking for high salaried teams sitting in the luxury tax that are most likely to underachieve and dump salary at the deadline and it appears the Charlotte Bobcats are a prime candidate. Depending on how the Melo situation plays out, I’d have to say we are the next most likely candidate. However, despite Charlotte’s recent cut of Erick Dampier, they still remain approximately $8 million above the luxury tax line of $70.3 million. They have already made it clear they intend to get under the luxury tax this year and their probable underachievement will only expedite the process.
It was reported that Michael Jordan’s stubbornness in dealing his 2008 #9 pick, DJ Augustine, contributed to the demise of the 4-team Melo trade, but it’s also likely he balked because it didn’t get the Bobcats under the luxury tax. I suspect he’ll be a more willing trading partner closer to the deadline when the Bobcats are looking up at an 8th seed.
Their roster certainly doesn’t provide a whole lot to get excited about aside from Gerald Wallace who we can assume is untouchable. I do think, however, they can be a valuable 3rd party in a potential Melo trade if the circumstances come down to that. I’ve come up with two Melo trade scenarios, one for the Knicks and one for the Nets, which involve Charlotte getting under the luxury tax and trading us Stephen Jackson and Nazr Mohammad.
While both would increase our salary for this year, our long term flexibility remains and our current lack of size is alleviated. Stephen Jackson, while a bit erratic in shot selection, provides solid defense and a consistent scoring punch. Most importantly, he’s clutch and can relied upon to close out games. Various picks can be swapped to even out the deals.
Nets Trade: http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=2ej2at5
Denver Trades: Carmelo Anthony, Chris Anderson, JR Smith
Denver Receives: Derrick Favors, Troy Murphy, Terrence Williams, Stephen Jackson, Nazr Mohammad
Charlotte Trades: Stephen Jackson, Nazr Mohammad, Eddie Najara
Charlotte Receives: Chris Anderson, JR Smith
New Jersey Trades: Derrick Favors, Troy Murphy, Terrence Williams
New Jersey Receives: Carmelo Anthony, Eddie Najara
Knicks Trade: http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=27adq3k
Denver Trades: Carmelo Anthony, Chris Anderson, JR Smith
Denver Receives: Anthony Randolph, Danilo Gallinari, Eddy Curry, Stephen Jackson, Nazr Mohoammad
Charlotte Trades: Stephen Jackson, Nazr Mohammad, Eddie Najara
Charlotte Receives: Chris Anderson, JR Smith
New York Trades: Anthony Randolph, Danilo Gallinari, Eddy Curry
New York Receives: Carmelo Anthony, Eddie Najara
What do you guys think?
