Trade Speculation Candidate: Anthony Morrow

When he gets hot, Morrow is the most dangerous 3-point shooter in the NBA

In this truncated season, Anthony Morrow hasn’t been amazing for all 35 games but has been one of the Nets’ most reliable players on the offensive end. However, he could become a casualty of New Jersey’s quest to clear cap space for this upcoming offseason as his 2-yr, $8 million contract, identical in pay and length to Jordan Farmar’s, is one that GM Billy King would love to get rid of in a trade for an (hopefully) expiring contract that might be able to fill some of the production void left by Morrow’s departure.

Honestly, Anthony is one of my favorite Nets right now and I would hate to see him go to another team but the truth is that may be necessary for New Jersey to acquire big-name free agents this summer (I think you guys know who I’m referring to explicitly). Let’s take a look at two potential trade scenarios which could benefit the Nets, and the other team involved, in both talent and salary cap perspectives:

Trade #1: Nets trade Morrow and a 2012 2nd-round pick to the Houston Rockets for SF Terrence Williams and PG Goran Dragic
This is a very intriguing trade that may favor the Nets a bit but could be considered even based on the perspective. In return for Morrow, the Nets would receive their 2009 draft pick in Williams, who New Jersey picked 11th overall and then traded to Houston last season, and a young point guard in Dragic. Williams has a ton of talent but hasn’t gotten the playing time in Houston because he hasn’t had the best relationship with coach Kevin McHale so his return to New Jersey could provide him with a second chance of sorts to prove himself worthy in the NBA. Dragic, who came over to Houston from Phoenix in a trade for Aaron Brooks, is a solid, young point guard who could sufficiently replace Jordan Farmar if he was traded as well before the deadline. The 25-year old contract expires after this season so if he didn’t help out the Nets like expected, he could be let go with little to no loss by New Jersey.

Morrow would be an interesting bench addition to a Houston team that is performing much better than expected prior to this season. At 20-14, the Rockets are 6th-place in the tough Western Conference and could surely use another knockdown shooter like Morrow down the stretch of this season and even into the playoffs. Since Williams and Dragic don’t see a ton of time on the court for the Rockets, Houston wouldn’t be trading much for a consistent scorer like Anthony Morrow who can really help a contending team if he is given the proper playing time in the right situation.

Trade #2: Nets trade Morrow to the Los Angeles Clippers for SG Randy Foye and a trade exception the Clippers got from trading Eric Gordon (worth around $3.8 million) 
Randy Foye is more of an all-around shooting guard than Morrow is because the Villanova product can handle the ball well and is better at driving the paint than Morrow. The Nets could benefit from having a versatile guard like Foye as opposed to Morrow because he can anchor a second-unit with his ball-handling, shooting, and even defensive skills. The trade exception the Nets would receive in the deal is also important as it would provide the team with more flexibility in future trades.

Morrow would be a great fit for the Clippers as the only thing that team is seemingly missing is a knockdown, spot-up shooter like Morrow is. Los Angeles is currently 3rd in the Western Conference but could presumably move ahead in the standings with another player who can consistently hit jumpshots which just happens to be Anthony’s strength. Right now, the Clippers are only in the middle-of-the-pack in the NBA in 3-point percentage but could become much more efficient with a shooter with the accuracy of Morrow. The Clippers could parlay that increase in shooting efficiency to potentially make a deep run in this year’s playoffs.