The Deals That Never Happened

 With it finally being revealed that we were the ones asking for the 1st round draft pick in that Cleveland Cavaliers/Gerald Wallace trade rumors (I knew it wasn't us offering them a 1st rounder, shame on those that wanted that version of the deal to go through), my confidence has once again been restored. Although some of the things that I write on this site suggest that we should just keep this team together, deals that net us decent draft picks and money are the ones that I would go for and this is one that I would've taken. Gerald is a franchise player and all, but that Cleveland pick could very easily turn out to be a lottery pick, and if it was for their pick this year, it would have, more than likely been a top 5 pick. That with the trade exception? There is no better deal you can get for Crash at this point in time and it was probably just too good to be true. So, this makes me reflect on deals that I've seen "close to completion" for the Bobcats over the past few months that have all fallen through and I if it was for the better that none of these deals happen. The "Dead Trades" after the jump.

Jose Calderon and Reggie Evans for Tyson Chandler and Boris Diaw

I'm kind of "iffy" about this trade, but not really. To understand the positives and the negatives of this trade, we would need to take into account all of the outside factors that come to mind. Such as how Tyson Chandler was ultimately dealt in a salary shedding move, how D.J. has blossomed, Calderon's resurrgence (10.3 ppg, 8.4 apg) , and Diaw's sudden usefulness. Ultimately, I'm sure Jordan is glad he didn't pull the trigger on the trade because he was able to enjoy instant savings on Erick Dampier 's expiring/unguaranteed contract and D.J. has turned out well. But at the same time, if his point was to shed salary, this deal would have opened up other doors. The plan should/ could/would have been to make this trade, and then flip Calderon for an expiring contract or a trade exception. I think ultimately, Jordan just felt like he would get a better deal for Boris and Tyson and the need for the PG upgrade wasn't that great. I don't know how well Calderon would have fit and if he would have been a backup or a starter, but Reggie Evans is a very good rebounder (not much else) on an expiring contract.

Michael Beasley and Jared Jeffries to Charlotte, Tyson Chandler to Houston, Cash Considerations to Miami

The "Beasley Heist" by the Timberwolves reminds me of a situation I was in a few years ago in McDonalds. With roughly $5 in my pocket, my cousin and I took a trip to the fast food chain for a meal. I like to take care of those around me, so I was paying for his meal as well. I had water bottles in the car, so a small fry and double cheeseburger would be sufficient orders for us both. I don't know what was going on in the drive thru line, but it was backed like hell and people began cutting out of line. Somewhere in between the 1st window where I paid and the 2nd window where I picked up the food, they got my order mixed up and ended up handing us several bags of food and three large teas. Now that I have matured, I would have told them it was the wrong order. That day though, all I could think about was leaving ASAP before they found out their error. It was a wonderful meal. And that night reminds me of this deal. This is one trade that I really hate we didn't make, but given our reasoning at the time, I understand. We're in a little pickle at the moment with Tyrus Thomas being out with a knee injury, so the need for a backup PF that was haunting our team around the deadline last year is back. At the time of this rumored trade though, we were in the process of trying to get Thomas locked in to a long term deal and weren't really focusing our efforts anywhere else. Beasley has turned out to be awesome for Minnesota (21 ppg, 6 rpg) and was ultimately shipped away for nothing more than two 2nd round picks to make way for LeBron James and Chris Bosh in Miami. Given how the Tyson Chandler trade ultimately turned out, I would've been more happy having Jeffries at PF/C than I would have been Dampier (for those few moments where I thought he would), but I'm fine living with Kwame and Nazr. The only question here really is if the Heat would have been a better team with Beasley at PF and the rest of that cap room (9 mil) being used to sign another 2 willing role players instead of Bosh.

Devin Harris to Charlotte, Boris Diaw to Utah Jazz, Carmelo Anthony and D.J. Augustin to New Jersey Nets, Andrei Kirilenko, Derrick Favors, draft picks to Denver Nuggets

This deal, as originally constructed, had only Boris Diaw leaving for Devin Harris. That's the part of the deal I still wished would have happened as we then would have been able to use Harris as a better trade chip or even as our starting PG (as everyone felt was our hugest concern at that time). Later on it was revealed though that New Jersey was wanting D.J. as well (causing M.J. to pull out of the deal) and that the Nuggets felt like that were taking on too much salary. With D.J. blossoming, I think we came out good not making this trade, but his defensive limitations are going to forever have the good people of Rufus on Fire wondering if he'll ever be a starting caliber guard. Although he's more than silenced my criticism of him, the jeers continue that we need more size at the point and Harris surely represents that. It just makes you wonder how much different the year would have been had this trade gone through. Would Larry still be with us? Would Tyrus had been given the consistent minutes he deserved to start the year? Would we still be contemplating getting rid or Stephen Jackson and Gerald Wallace? All questions we'll never know the answer to, but definitely some to ponder, if you're bored.

Andre Miller and Marcus Camby for D.J. Augustin, Gerald Wallace, and DeSagana Diop

I'm glad we pulled out of this trade as well, but I can see Michael Jordan making a similar deal to this before the deadline, with D.J. not being a part of it of course. Though Diop was able to show some usefulness once Paul Silas took over, his contract is still a burden to whoever's payroll he is on and should be moved at the first opportunity. I liked this trade "somewhat" because it allowed us to remain competitive in the short term while shedding salary for the long term. The only thing that I really never liked about this trade were that we were giving up D.J. and Crash just for the opportunity to not pay Diop, which I felt wasn't worth it at all. Had it just been one player or the other, I would have been fine with it, but not both. Add in the fact that Camby started threatening to retire if he was traded here and the fact that it didn't happen is probably best for everyone. However, this trade would have given the Bobcats major payroll flexibility in the future and would have provided an instant boost to the rebuilding project we're all looking forward to seeing. But, ya know, Miller, Gerald Henderson, Jax, Thomas, and Camby looks like a sure bet for the playoffs in the east. I can't lie.

Gerald Wallace to the Cavaliers for TPE and 1st Rnd pick 

I feel like a confused soul when it comes to Gerald nowadays. The more time that passes, the more you hope he'll revert to his All-Star form of last year and the the more it  becomes doubtful. Gerald has put up a few performances in the past couple of weeks to make me think that he can get back to that level, but he's also had some of the worst performances I've seen from him in the past few years. I like where M.J.'s head is at trying to trade acquire draft picks from teams like Cleveland and it shows me that he's really looking out for the team's best interest and has similar goals in mind. But as far as this trade goes, I KNEW that the initial proposition of us giving them a 1st rounder and Gerald for the TPE was a ridiculous move (some people said it's the best we could get, SMH!!!), trading Gerald for the TPE's effects are debateful, and trading Gerald for the TPE and a 1st round pick would be wonderful. Like I say, though I still see Gerald as the face of the franchise (until D.J. gets a few more games under his belt), this offer would have just been too good to pass up from an organizational standpoint.