Steven A Smith mentions Shawn Marion’s $17 million expiring as a possible way to lure Bosh to Miami, but what about the Cavs? Marion’s 30-years old. The Heat don’t have any young big man prospects that the Raptors would be interested in. The Cavs, however, have J.J. Hickson and Anderson Varejao at their disposal, as well as Wally Szczerbiak’s $13 million expiring deal.
They can also give up both their 2009 and 2011 first-rounders (can’t give up sequential picks, for those of you not in the know) and combine it all to put together a very, very lucrative package for Colangelo as he tries to build from the ground up.
Bosh is making $14.4 million this year. A deal including Szczerbiak, Hickson, Daniel Gibson, and two first-rounders makes sense contractually, especially considering Gibson’s status as a Base Year Contract (BYC) player for this year. (Don’t try this trade on the four letter’s or Real GM’s trade machine because they don’t take Gibson’s status into account.)
It would be pretty similar to what the Lakers did for Pau Gasol at this time last year: Expiring contracts, draft picks, young players. The Cavs keep their entire starting lineup in tact while just sliding Bosh into power forward. The Raptors, who are already struggling and face losing Bosh for nothing in two years, get cap room for this summer as well as draft picks and a young big man to work with and develop in Hickson.
Trust me: Dallas and Miami really can’t do any better. Unless the Mavericks throw Dirk Nowitzki into the equation, which I doubt they will considering Mark Cuban’s love affair with him.
It’s something to think about. But remember, Cavs fans: This could have easily been LeBron being shopped if the Cavs weren’t having the kind of season they are right now.