Tweet
Four teams agree on trade
By Chad Ford
ESPN.com
Trevor Ariza was sent to the New Orleans Hornets and Darren Collison to the Indiana Pacers in a four-team, five-player trade Wednesday.
In the trade, the Houston Rockets sent Ariza to the Hornets, who in turn sent Collison and James Posey to the Pacers.
The Pacers sent Troy Murphy to the New Jersey Nets. And the Nets sent Courtney Lee to the Rockets.
The Hornets didn't stop there. NBA front office sources told ESPN.com's Marc Stein that in a separate deal, the team agreed to send swingman Julian Wright to Toronto for Raptors guard Marco Belinelli. That deal was expected to be completed Wednesday.
The four-team deal could fill some long-term needs for the Hornets, Pacers and Nets, as well as provide needed salary relief for the Rockets.
For the Hornets, while moving Collison leaves the team without a credible backup for Chris Paul, the addition of Ariza gives them a young, athletic wing entering his prime.
The Hornets are hoping that the addition of Ariza addresses Paul's concerns about the team's commitment to winning by showing that they're willing to spend money to get better. Ariza signed a five year, $34 million deal with the Rockets last summer.
For the Pacers, landing Collison gives them the young starting point guard they've been looking for and adds another piece to a young core of players including Danny Granger, Roy Hibbert and promising rookies Paul George and Lance Stephenson.
"We're excited to add Darren to the strong core of young players already on our roster," Pacers president Larry Bird said in a statement. "He's a dynamic young point guard and we believe that he will be a key piece of our goal of building a team that the fans in Indiana deserve."
The Pacers did take on the last two years and $13 million of Posey's contract, but the deal also sliced another $4 million off the team's overall payroll.
In Murphy, the Nets get the veteran big man that new coach Avery Johnson has been coveting. Murphy is also on the last year of his contract, which could make him an important trading chip for the Nets at the 2011 trade deadline.
"We are very pleased to add Troy to our roster," Nets general manager Billy King said. "He is a quality power forward who has the ability to stretch the floor, and we feel that he will be a very positive addition to our frontcourt rotation."
For the Rockets, the move is basically a large salary dump. This summer the Rockets spent a lot of cash signing Luis Scola, Kyle Lowry and Brad Miller to free agent contracts and their payroll ballooned. Before the trade, the team was bracing for a $8 million plus luxury tax hit. This deal saves them $28 million on the life of the contract and roughly $10 million (when you factor in luxury tax payments) this season.
By Chad Ford
ESPN.com
Trevor Ariza was sent to the New Orleans Hornets and Darren Collison to the Indiana Pacers in a four-team, five-player trade Wednesday.
In the trade, the Houston Rockets sent Ariza to the Hornets, who in turn sent Collison and James Posey to the Pacers.
The Pacers sent Troy Murphy to the New Jersey Nets. And the Nets sent Courtney Lee to the Rockets.
The Hornets didn't stop there. NBA front office sources told ESPN.com's Marc Stein that in a separate deal, the team agreed to send swingman Julian Wright to Toronto for Raptors guard Marco Belinelli. That deal was expected to be completed Wednesday.
The four-team deal could fill some long-term needs for the Hornets, Pacers and Nets, as well as provide needed salary relief for the Rockets.
For the Hornets, while moving Collison leaves the team without a credible backup for Chris Paul, the addition of Ariza gives them a young, athletic wing entering his prime.
The Hornets are hoping that the addition of Ariza addresses Paul's concerns about the team's commitment to winning by showing that they're willing to spend money to get better. Ariza signed a five year, $34 million deal with the Rockets last summer.
For the Pacers, landing Collison gives them the young starting point guard they've been looking for and adds another piece to a young core of players including Danny Granger, Roy Hibbert and promising rookies Paul George and Lance Stephenson.
"We're excited to add Darren to the strong core of young players already on our roster," Pacers president Larry Bird said in a statement. "He's a dynamic young point guard and we believe that he will be a key piece of our goal of building a team that the fans in Indiana deserve."
The Pacers did take on the last two years and $13 million of Posey's contract, but the deal also sliced another $4 million off the team's overall payroll.
In Murphy, the Nets get the veteran big man that new coach Avery Johnson has been coveting. Murphy is also on the last year of his contract, which could make him an important trading chip for the Nets at the 2011 trade deadline.
"We are very pleased to add Troy to our roster," Nets general manager Billy King said. "He is a quality power forward who has the ability to stretch the floor, and we feel that he will be a very positive addition to our frontcourt rotation."
For the Rockets, the move is basically a large salary dump. This summer the Rockets spent a lot of cash signing Luis Scola, Kyle Lowry and Brad Miller to free agent contracts and their payroll ballooned. Before the trade, the team was bracing for a $8 million plus luxury tax hit. This deal saves them $28 million on the life of the contract and roughly $10 million (when you factor in luxury tax payments) this season.
Comment