Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports tweeted that the Bobcats have acquired Ben Gordon and a lottery-protected first round pick from the Pistons in exchange for Corey Maggette. According to a tweet by David Aldridge of NBA.com, the conditional first-round pick will be lottery protected in 2013, top-eight protected in 2014, first pick-protected in 2015, and unprotected in 2016. Detroit will also receive a trade exception of about $1.3MM in the deal.
The Bulls look to rebound tonight against the Knicks after nearly completing a comeback at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Cavs play host to the Bobcats, a team winless in their past 12 contests in a season where the squad may not even reach double digits in victories. Let's take a look around the rest of the Central Division to catch up on the latest news and happenings.
- Bulls executive vice president John Paxson says his relationship with head coach Tom Thibodeau is "very good," despite reports stating otherwise, writes Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com. In a conversation on "The Waddle & Silvy Show," Paxson denied allegations Thibodeau was unhappy with his current contract situation in which the Bulls hold a team option for the upcoming season. After a successful run as Doc Rivers' associate head coach in Boston, Thibodeau joined the Bulls as head coach prior to the 2010/2011 season after which he was named NBA Coach of the Year.
- Brendan Bowers of The Plain Dealer says not only are the Cavs in a position to set up their 2012 NBA draft in a fashion similar to how the Thunder built a championship-caliber squad, but can do so in a way that fast-tracks the process. Armed with two first-round draft picks, Cavs general manager Chris Grant has the opportunity to reshape the current roster to the point that the team could seemingly contend for a playoff spot next season. Bowers suggests Bradley Beal and Andre Drummond as potential fits for the Cavs if they end up with the fourth pick in the draft.
- Ben Gordon didn't sign with the Pistons just for the cushy contract but rather saw the organization as a place where he could consistently contend for titles, writes Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld. Unfortunately for Gordon, the Pistons have not reached the playoffs since his arrival while the Bulls have made the playoffs each season since Gordon left Chicago in 2009. The Pistons, 21-36 on the season, currently hold the 10th-best record in the Eastern Conference, leaving them on the outside of the playoff bubble once again.
Shortly after yesterday's trade deadline, we rounded up a few near-deals that didn't quite get done. Reports continue to trickle out about offers that were turned down and trades that were close, so let's cover a few more:
- Appearing on KNBR in San Francisco, Ric Bucher of ESPN.com reported that the Nets offered Brook Lopez to the Bucks for Monta Ellis shortly after Milwaukee acquired Ellis from Golden State (hat tip to RealGM.com). Unsuprisingly, the Bucks turned it down, according to Bucher.
- Bucher added that the Warriors could have acquired Chris Kaman from the Hornets in exchange for Brandon Rush, Kwame Brown's expiring contract, and a second-round pick, but chose to land Bogut instead (link via RealGM).
- The Pistons were also in on Kaman, offering the Hornets one of their big contracts along with a future first-round pick, says Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News. Ben Gordon is the only Piston whose contract would've worked in a one-for-one deal.
- After turning down that offer, the Hornets countered with Carl Landry for Jason Maxiell and an unprotected 2012 first-rounder, says Goodwill. The Pistons rejected that one.
The Bucks have already made a big splash, and may not be done dealing, but other Central Division teams don't seem to be expecting much activity before tomorrow's deadline. Here's the latest out of the division:
- The Bulls aren't expected to make any major moves before the deadline, a source tells Neil Hayes of the Chicago Sun-Times. It seems that re-signing Mike James may be the biggest move Chicago makes this week.
- No trades are imminent for the Pistons, says coach Lawrence Frank. Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press says Detroit would love to move the Ben Gordon or Charlie Villanueva contracts if they could find a taker.
- Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer makes an argument for why the Cavaliers should trade Ramon Sessions, noting that it wouldn't necessarily ruin the team's playoff chances. The Magic are the latest team to be linked to Sessions.
Ben Wallace is expected to call it a career at season's end, and while Detroit's current roster isn't quite in the same league as Wallace's Pistons squad that won a title in 2004, the veteran big man feels like the team has plenty of promise.
"I like the direction this team is headed," Wallace told Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. "I think the future is very bright for the young guys – Greg [Monroe], Brandon [Knight]. I wouldn’t have a problem with how I left them. I would be leaving them in a better position than what I found them."
Here's the latest on a Pistons club coming off a convincing home win over the Bobcats:
- The Pistons aren't expected to shake things up much at the trade deadline, though they'd love to move Ben Gordon or Charlie Villanueva if they could, says Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.
- Austin Daye and Will Bynum are among the Pistons unfazed by the approaching deadline, writes Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News. "I don't really care, it doesn't matter where (I play)," Bynum said. "Could be Africa, L.A., Orlando, I don't care for the business…. All I do is control how I work, and I'm waiting for my opportunity."
- Langlois fields Pistons-related questions in a mailbag, including a handful that focus on trade possibilities or potential offseason moves. Langlois says a deadline deal for Detroit is possible, but a blockbuster is a long shot.
Portfolio Review: The Detroit Pistons are a mess. While their trade assets aren't entirely worthless, many of them are circling the drain, leaving them in a precarious position. The Pistons have invested more time and energy into their roster than they would likely receive back in return. If all the individual pieces were worthless, it might be easier to cut their losses, discard everything, and start over.
Right now the Pistons need to diversify their portfolio. They have some rotation pieces in the backcourt in Brandon Knight, Rodney Stuckey, Will Bynum, and Ben Gordon. But all four are essentially slightly different variations of the same inefficient scoring combo guard. The key is to figure which one, if any, fits best with Knight and dump the rest for whatever they can get.
Prime Assets: Greg Monroe and Knight are too young and promising to determine their full trade value, so short of a one-sided offer, it makes little sense to deal them. On a good team with a reasonable contract, Ben Gordon was once worth at least one playoff victory by himself a series. On the Pistons, his contract is a liability and his presence in the lineup hinders the development of younger players.
The leaves Tayshaun Prince as their best asset, whether as a standalone or packaged with one of their backcourt pieces. Preferably for a rotation quality pure point guard like Ramon Sessions or legitimate shooting guard to begin the process of figuring out how to best use Knight.
Worthless Stock: Charlie Villanueva. Villanueva is a toxic asset whose lone redeeming value lies in the possibility that he might salvage his value to the team or be freed this offseason via amnesty.
The Rest: Combo guards and forwards are a dime a dozen in the NBA, and those on the Pistons have hardly shown anything separating themselves from the pack. Knight and Monroe are the set pieces, any redundant skill sets or players that might take up developmental resources to those two (minutes, usage, etc.) should be considered in a deal, even if it only returns addition by subtraction.