Submitted by
freak, a trade proposal has Chicago trading guard Larry Hughes to New York for forward Zach Randolph.
freak explains:
The Knicks have been trying to get rid of Randolph since the dawning of the Mike D'Antoni era, and the situation with Memphis has in my opinion shown that they won't be able to do it without taking on other (presumably bad) contracts.Meanwhile, Chicago is once again without a legitimate low-post threat.The proposed trade basically swaps two bad contracts (Randolph and Hughes) while ensuring that both teams get better.In New York's case it is clear addition by substraction, plus Hughes's contract expires right in time for the coveted 2010 free agency period.Chicago ends their guard logjam by trading away Hughes - having now a nice backcourt rotation of Derrick Rose, Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon and Thabo Sefolosha to accompany their frontcourt four of Randolph, Drew Gooden, Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas.My take: This is one of the better proposals I've encountered since starting the Trade Journal. It is simple, straightforward, and boasts clear benefits for each team.
There are reasons for each team to decline, but each is trumped by the many reasons to accept the deal.
New York takes a clear loss on pure talent, but moves a player who does not fit with the team's newly-instituted system, saves about $15 million in overall salary and, as freak points out, frees up space for a free agent in 2010. Randolph's exit also frees up room for rising young big man David Lee, both on the court and on the payroll.
Chicago absorbs the larger and lengthier contract, but adds a long-needed dimension to a promising team limited by the glaring absence of interior offense. And next to the considerable defensive talents of Noah, Deng and Thomas, Randolph's notoriously subpar defense could be all but masked.
The move works brilliantly as a
change of scenery and
salary dump for the Knicks and a
filling a need trade for the Bulls.
The upshot: Absolutely.
Value Added explores the history of a frequently-traded player and compiles a roster composed entirely of players for whom the featured player has been traded. In multiple-team trades, players from any team other than the one trading the featured player are eligible; and players selected with traded draft picks are eligible as well. 
