Consolidating: A Sunny Mid-Season Trade

Portland is in an interesting position this year. A real shot at the playoffs, with expectations of growth, all the while fielding young talent and expiring contracts.

But as many have pointed out, Portland has a glut of talent, and while Paul Allen has shown willingness to pay for expensive teams that win, at some point you have to come to grips with the fact that you can't have eight players on the floor at once.

In light of this, I am going to run a series through the first few months of the season simply titled "Consolidating", where each time I take a look at a potential mid-season trade that would consolidate our roster and perhaps clear up some of the contract mystery that surrounds next year's off-season.

A Sunny Mid-Season Trade

This particular idea has been one I've kicked around for the last six months or so, and it involves perennial contender and all-around great guy Steve Nash. Just as Portland is in a unique situation this season, Phoenix is as well.

The Suns are going to be fighting tooth and nail for a top-half playoff seed, and it seems unlikely that they will be serious contenders for a ring, possibly exiting first round again this year.

A lot of the team's value is also locked up in players who are on their way down, at speeds that vary from player to player.

Shaq has been bottoming out like a seagull that's lost its wings midflight, but Steve Nash has been mostly successful at putting off his aging in a league dominated by young athletes.

These two players represent a lot of the value on the Suns roster, making it difficult for them to improve the team without either A) trading one or both, or B) taking a trip to the lottery.

This problem is compounded by the fact that Amare is a beast of a player, and if they take their trip to the lottery it will be in about two years, when they should be capitalizing on Amare's prime, not contending for the #1 pick.

Thus it leaves Steve Kerr with little choice but to gracefully let Nash and Shaq exit, getting as much value and building blocks as he can back.

Consequently, that happens to be exactly what Portland has to offer.

It is unclear if Phoenix would be most interested in value or capspace, but the good news is that Portland can provide both:

Value:
Travis Outlaw
Steve Blake
Channing Frye/Ike Diogu
2 First Round Picks over the next 4 drafts

for

Steve Nash

Capspace:
Raef Lafrentz
Travis Outlaw
Jerryd Bayless
Ike Diogu
1 First Round or 2 Second Round picks

for

Steve Nash
Boris Diaw

The thing both of these trades have in common is that they consolidate Portland's talent without hamstringing our ability to dominate in the future.

You can expect anywhere from two to four more superstar type seasons out of Nash before he has to be relegated to a bench role, and Diaw is at least a wash for Outlaw at age 26.

Both of these trades also give Phoenix what they desperately need right now: the ability to retool without taking a trip to the lottery. By having multiple first round picks AND young talent AND more capspace, they have many options, including trading up in the draft, trading away for another superstar, or drafting many prospects and growing their own "Portland Project" type team.

All the while they capitalize on Amare's prime and remain competitive.

From the Portland perspective though, these trades have almost no downside. Both get rid of a lot of the "contract questions" that will have to be answered at the end of this season by trading them away for value. Portland also gets the best player in the deal.

With either of these trades, I will go out on a limb and claim that Portland would have a legit shot at a ring this season. As in eight months from now. Wouldn't that be something, to start next season with the raising of a new banner?

In fact I think that Nash's ability and experience could easily guide Portland into contention for the next three years, after which the experience and talent of the rest of Portland's team could propel Portland into contention for the following decade.

This trade is literally a formula for instant contention that would make Portland a ring contender for at least 12 years.

Nash, as I touched on before, would also bring experience with his talent, and would greatly increase the development of both Sergio Rodriguez, who has a bit of Nash in him, and Jerryd Bayless.

The one thing that must be addressed is defensive liability. Nash has always been considered a poor on-the-ball defender, (though he certainly knows how to create turnovers and take a charge).

However, this trade allows a lot of pressure to come off of Webster and Batum, allowing them to really morph into star-caliber defenders without the worry of being a liability. I also am confident in McMillian's ability to improve Nash's defensive effort.

I don't think there's many ways Portland could say no to this trade, and I think Phoenix would have to think long and hard before turning down an offer like this, especially if they don't appear to be a real contender this year.

So if Pritchard is really considering consolidating this season, I don't think he can afford to not be talking with Kerr about a trade that both teams could benefit from.