This article was actually unplanned, but since I don’t have anything better to do during the 
lockout, I was having some trade machine fun. Instead of finding another way to trade San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker, I decided to take another stab at trading Richard Jefferson. Last time I did this, I included 10 trade ideas, but now I’m back with two more that are realistic and will not make you excited unless you really hate Richard Jefferson or really love comb over hair cuts or big beards.
1. Richard Jefferson & Antonio McDyess for Andres Biedrins & Dorell Wright: Here’s the thing about Andres Biedrins. He’s seven feet tall and averaged a double-double a couple of years ago, averaging 12 points and 11 boards a game. Here’s the other thing about Andres Biedrins. Last season he averaged five points a game and seven rebounds and made 9 million dollars. He also fouls like crazy and isn’t consistently healthy. But he’s seven feet tall and can be really good when he’s healthy, especially if he’s not your team’s primary defender. However, he, like Richard Jefferson, has three years and close to 30 million bucks left on his deal. Getting Dorell Wright would be a bonus because of his shooting and ability to run the floor. He’d be a good starter until Kawhi Leonard is ready for that role, then he’d make a great back up.
Golden State would do this deal to rid themselves of Biedrins, but more importantly because they could use Antonio McDyess’ partially guaranteed contract to throw more money at Nene or Tyson Chandler. Currently Golden State is $7 million under the current cap, but buying out McDyess would get them to $12 million in cap space, which should be enough to net you Nene or Chandler. This trade isn’t the perfect situation for either team, but it certainly helps and looks like a fair trade on paper.
2. Richard Jefferson & Antonio McDyess for Baron Davis and Semih Herden: It’s the D, the I, the D, the D, the Y it’s Diiiiddddyyyy, it’s Diiiidddyyyy. You want to know how you get rid of Richard Jefferson? You take a slop contract back. Cleveland is desperate to unload Davis and would probably take a bad contract back to do it. Jefferson would fill a need at small forward, especially if the Cavs are looking to run with Kyrie Irving at point, Jefferson becomes a pretty good option. And maybe you can convince the Cavs to give you Ryan Hollins, who is a serviceable center (and kind of a punk) instead of Herden.
Why would the Spurs do it? Well they need a back up point guard and it also gives them a starting point guard if the team did decide to move Tony Parker. Here’s the thing about Baron Davis, he’s really not that bad. He’s a big point guard who can guard both the one and the two and can punish smaller point guards in the post. The problem is he can get unmotivated very quickly in the wrong situation and takes some awful shots. Here’s ESPN’s John Hollinger’s assessment of Diddy before the start of the 2010-2011 season:
“Big, athletic point guard who can overpower small guards in post. Good shooter with feet set but takes horrible shots, especially in 2-for-1s. Outstanding defender when motivated, but often hurt or distracted.
OK, Baron, this is getting ridiculous. Davis launched four 3-pointers a game and connected on only 27.7 percent of them. If he had done virtually anything else with those possessions — passed to somebody else, driven the lane, quick-kicked, anything — he probably would have been an All-Star. Instead, he’s descended into the league’s “honorable mention” category at the point guard position, because you can’t waste this many possessions on such a low-likelihood proposition.”
Still, when was the last time Baron Davis felt like he was on a team that could win 50 games? Maybe finally playing for a winning team and playing under a winning coach could be the motivation Baron needs to get his act together. Also, having Baron Davis’ beard on your team is never a bad thing.
So what do you think Spurs fans? Is your hate for Richard Jefferson enough to take on the likes of Andres Biedrens or Baron Davis?
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