How many expiring contracts do the Bucks have? Tyrus to Charlotte? [Trade Deadline Update]
Same plays as Tyrus, but Tyrus would've been 4 inches higher.
Contrary to what was widely reported last night as a John Salmons for Kurt Thomas and Francisco Elson trade, the Bucks and their neverending supply of expiring contracts will now deal Joe Alexander and Hakim Warrick ($5.53 mil combined) for the services of Mr. Salmons ($5.45 mil this year with the option of $5.80 mil next year). For those of you who still think the Bulls can make some noise in this year’s playoffs, Hakim Warrick will be the only player of use for the Bulls. Alexander has been sidelined almost the entire season with a hamstring injury and was most recently seen in the NBDL.
Warrick’s recently come off the bench for the Bucks to provide some solid, yet unspectacular play. His season averages in points and rebounds hover right around where his career averages are (10 points, 4 boards), although a strong start to this season has buoyed his stats as his most recent performances have been disappointing to say the least.
If this path sounds familiar, one could argue that he is a poor man’s Ty Thomas. Now with 3 players of similar builds (Thomas, Deng, Warrick) it seems only a matter of time before Tyrus leaves Chicago. The most recent trade rumors have the Bulls agreeing to send Tyrus Thomas to Charlotte in exchange for a future first round draft pick (yes please), Acie Law (yawn), and Flip Murray (double-yawn).
Sadly, we got the shorter one.
If you’re wondering what kind of stats these two guards are putting up this season, I’d compare Acie Law to Devin Brown and Flip Murray to Jannero Pargo. These guys are still pretty young in their careers but they’ve already been shipped around the league multiple times and show enough bright spots to get them traded to the next city. Make no mistake about it, the Bulls are trading for these players strictly for their contracts and not anything they can give on the court or the locker room. Thus giving the Bulls the Pu-Pu “See You Later” Platter of Expiring Shooting Guard Contracts to play out the rest of the season with.
Gar Foreman and John Paxson have wheeled and dealed their way to a sizeable amount of cap space for next year, while still remaining relatively competitive for the remainder of this season. It’s not clear whether the moves that the Cavs and Celtics are making will make the Lakers restless enough to pick up the phone and seek Kirk Hinrich’s services, but there’s still time. We’ll keep you posted.
*UPDATE*: The Milwaukee Bucks also get the right to swap first round picks with the Bulls in this year’s draft, so long as the Bulls’ pick doesn’t wind up in the top 10. I don’t see any scenario where the Bucks wind up ahead of the Bulls and would need to exercise this right.
Loading ...
