More Sixers Rumors

I'm the least interested in the Phoenix deal, and if the reports are that it's the Sixers holding that deal up, I'm happy. Barbosa certainly has some value, and would be a much better fit for this team than Williams as a spark off the bench, but he has two years left at over $7 million per on his contract after this year, which limits the salary benefits, which are the primary purpose of a trade such at this. I don't have a whole lot of interest in Amar'e outside of his contract, so the fact that he's a better player than, say, Tracy McGrady really doesn't interest me. The fact that Amar'e is apparently threatening to opt-in to the final year of his contract only dampens my interest level. I've repeatedly said I'm not trading Iguodala to get out of one year of Dalembert's contract, and this trade presents nothing for me to change that stance.

Cleveland interests me as a trade partner for three reasons:
1) They have perhaps the most to gain in a trade, and I actually think Elton Brand would fit what they need.
2) I like JJ Hickson, and have since the 2008 draft(ignore some of those comments about Jason Thompson. Oops.). At this point, I might have him rated higher in terms of value than Speights. Obtaining him in a trade would provide more than salary flexibility, which isn't something we've seen a lot of from the trade rumors floating around.
3) They have the expiring contracts to create a virtual unlimited set of circumstances.

I would probably hold off on the Cleveland deal right now, but I'm certainly interested.

As for Dallas, they immediately jump in as the frontrunner for one simple reason: they'll apparently listen to taking on Elton Brand's contract. They have little in terms of young, cheap talent (outside of Rodrigue Beaubois, who is reportedly off limits), but if the Sixers can gain the financial flexibility of getting rid of both Brand and Iguodala, that's a reboot of the franchise. Getting rid of one year of Samuel Dalembert's contract isn't worth all that much, getting rid of three years of Elton Brand's contract is.

Side-effects

There are four major potential side-effects I see in an Iguodala/Dalembert or Iguodala/Brand trade:
1) Losing
2) An excuse for losing
3) Thaddeus Young moving back to his natural position
4) More minutes for Speights

The losing is obvious, especially when you take two of the teams top 3 defensive players from an already poor defensive team. Iguodala, Dalembert and Brand are the teams top 3 players in terms of Win Shares (in order), with Iguodala and Dalembert combining for an estimated 7.8 of the teams 18 wins. The Sixers are still within striking distance of one of the 4-5 worst records for this season. If you're a glass half-full person, they'll also have the chance to play for one of the top 5 draft picks for the foreseeable future, until they strike gold with one of said picks, at least.

The downside to losing (outside of, well, losing) is the built in excuse trading away two starters for financial flexibility provides for Eddie Jordan. If a trade extends Eddie Jordan's tenure for 6-12 months (or more), regardless of the young talent or financial flexibility gained, the trade is an unmitigated disaster.

It appears that Eddie Jordan has all but abandoned Thaddeus Young and Andre Iguodala at the wings, and any of these trades would open up Thaddeus Young to move back to his natural position. I've long been a fan of Thaddeus Young, but he has obviously disappointed this year, and he's nowhere near the all-around player Iguodala is. But if you're looking for a benefit, it would be nice to see Young at his natural position full time.

Similarly, it would open up Marreese Speights to take a more prominent role in the rotation. This would serve the dual purpose of helping Speights develop and, because of his terrible defense, helping the Sixers lose. Speights has averaged only 12 minutes per game in January and 10 minutes so far in February after averaging over 20 minutes per game before that.

Less than two weeks to go until this is all over.