PROPOSAL: Odom to the Magic

Submitted by jaceman, author of the blog Poor Man's GM, a trade proposal has Orlando sending Hedo Turkoglu, J.J. Redick and Brian Cook to the Los Angeles Lakers for Lamar Odom.

(Update: Ben Q. Rock of Third Quarter Collapse breaks down this deal in considerable detail.)

jaceman explains:

Orlando gets a rebounder - a very, very solid rebounder. With all the talk of Hedo playing himself out of the Magic budget and opting out next year, it's not a bad idea to trade him. Especially if you're getting value in return. Odom has never thrived as a go-to option. He was perfectly happy playing behind Kobe and Gasol last season, here he has Rashard Lewis and Dwight Howard. If the Magic are going to try some more unconventional matchups for the forwards, then you might as well get one that rebounds as well as Odom does. As much as Odom's offensive game plays like a 3, his game is actually best utilized when he's playing at the 4 position, I think. That being said, you'd replace for Orlando at the 3 a Rashard Lewis clone with, well Rashard Lewis.

For L.A., I understand that they just traded away Brian Cook, to Orlando, but if you look at him as an expiring contract, then it's not so bad. Redick and Cook really are just in there to make the money work, the real deal here is for Hedo. Hedo is fairly tenacious defensively and has a respectable three-point shot, the two exact things that Phil Jackson is looking for to fill his offense. The biggest question would be if he can mesh with the team, a hyper-effective offense that would limit his shots.

My take: I like the way this trade swaps ill-fitting parts in a straightforward filling a need deal for each team. The two headliners are both excellent players, and jaceman makes strong points that the talents of each would be maximized if they switched situations. Cook and Redick are assets, but not significant enough to prevent this trade from happening. My only concern is the fact that Odom, like Turkoglu, will be a free agent this summer, and Orlando has invested so heavily in Howard, Lewis and Jameer Nelson that it might have trouble signing Odom to an acceptable long-term deal.

The upshot: If the Magic will pay to keep Odom, it works.