The negotiations opened with a Ben Gordon for Anderson Varejao offer early in the day. I rejected this as I have never been a Ben Gordon fan. He's a quality baller, but he isn't a Golden baller. Just like Boris Diaw rubbed me the wrong way last season and will NEVER be back.
Anyways, French is concerned about his rebounding numbers. He offered up Ben Gordon because of his 3PT% abilities. And since Golden is last in 3PT%, this offer made a great deal of sense. (See Idaho - this is how you evaluate the other teams' needs and the offer something of value to them).
French's team through their first 83 man games is averaging a paltry 4.37 rebounds. That's not enough and Hildy knows it. He was out for rebounds and Varejao is averaging over 10 a game right now. So, Varejao made sense from his perspective. Also, at just $7 bucks, Varejao could have some value beyond this season.
Also, French has Corey Maggette and Anthony Morrow on his bench right now. So, losing Batum isn't that big of a deal...
Late Wednesday evening, after much deliberation, I offered Varejao for Nicolas Batum. We all know it's rare to trade big for small (like I did) but I do have an ace up my sleeve. That ace is Carlos Boozer. Look, I hated giving up Varejao's boards but I can replace those boards in a couple of weeks with Boozer (assuming he's healthy).
So, why Batum? There are a couple of reasons. I know it's week 3 and there is plenty of time left in the season - but - it's never too early to think about potential keepers for next season. Especially when your team is struggling. Batum is $1 dollar and has become an integral part of the Blazers team. Plus, with the news that Brandon Roy could be rested a bit more to save the wear and tear on his injured knee I am hoping that Batum picks up some of the offensive slack.
Also, more than half of my future starting lineup was in the Central division. I would have 3 Bulls, 2 Pacers, and 2 Cavs. That was too much. Adding another player from my favorite team makes those 7:30pm Blazer games more interesting.
So, this appears to be a win-win for both Fantasy teams. French has improved his rebounding while Golden adds another weapon for this season and maybe more. I think it's pretty rare that both Fantasy teams feel satisfied with the deal...
In the big picture, once the principles are moved and the bench guys are activated, the trade for French means he will have Varejao and Morrow/Maggette in his lineup. And for Golden, once Boozer is healthy, this will be Boozer & Batum.
No comments:
Post a Comment