What’s In It For Us?

Five trades that should happen before the ’11-12 season kicks off.

Trade No. 3:
Clippers Acquire: Josh Smith, Marvin Williams
Hawks Acquire: Chris Kaman, Al-Farouq Aminu, First-Round Pick

The Financials
The Clippers are way under the cap, so they have the ability to take on a lot of money in any deal. They do just that here, taking Marvin Williams’ big contract off of Atlanta’s hands. Kaman and Smith’s money is just about even this year, and Kaman’s deal expires after this season.

What’s In It For Los Angeles
A huge step forward. Pairing Smith with Blake Griffin down low would add a completely new dimension to the lesser LA team. By mixing the two highflyers alongside Eric Bledsoe and Eric Gordon, they’ll really have something cooking out West. Promising center DeAndre Jordan is a free agent, so they could either bring him back as a bench player or slide Smith over to small forward, giving them a ton of flexibility. They could also let him walk and spend the dough elsewhere. Williams would be a capable role player for a team lacking guys at small forward, especially if they don’t have Aminu. Owner Donald Sterling isn’t known for bringing in big-time talent or spending any money, but this deal would be a franchise-changer.

What’s In It For Atlanta
They’re getting the short end of the stick talent-wise here, but it’s a deal they probably have to make. They’re in a terrible financial position and there have been conflicting reports as to whether Smith wants out of Atlanta for a while. They’d much prefer to get Gordon from the Clippers, but Aminu is a solid piece and Kaman allows them to stay competitive in the East in the short-term. Long-term, the Clips’ pick is likely to be in the lottery and dumping Williams’ contract would be big for them. Add in that Kaman’s contract expires at year’s end, and the deal means that they could be in a great financial situation pretty soon.

Trade No. 4:
Raptors Acquire: Monta Ellis
Warriors Acquire: Andrea Bargnani, Jarryd Bayless

The Financials

This one’s easy. Both teams are under the cap, so they can make an unbalanced deal if need be. However, Ellis is only due about $2 million more than Bargnani this season, and Bayless’ $3 million does nothing to throw the deal off.

What’s In It For Toronto
The Raptors drafted center Jonas Valanciunas with the 5th overall pick this season, and with Ed Davis cemented at power forward, they’re set down low. This leaves Bargnani as something of an odd-man-out. They have a young star in shooting guard DeMar DeRozan, and pairing him with Ellis would be really scary. Plus, if they want to go small, they’d still have point guard Jose Calderon, who they could start with Ellis at the two and DeRozan at the three.

What’s In It For Golden State
It’s beginning to seem like an inevitability that Ellis will be leaving the Warriors either via trade or free agency a year from now, so they might as well deal him while they can. Bargnani is a horrific defender, but the team is full of them, and pairing him with David Lee in the post would be an awesome move. Bayless hasn’t shown much in his NBA career, but could do something if he got a shot at guard alongside Stephen Curry while being coached by former point guard Mark Jackson. With rookie Klay Thompson and Dorell Wright ready for boosts in minutes, this trade makes a lot of sense.

Trade No. 5:
Mavericks Acquire: Andre Iguodala
76ers Acquire: Andreis Biedrins, Ekpe Udoh, Rodrigue Beaubois, Dominique Jones, Mavericks Second-Round Pick
Warriors Acquire: Jason Kidd

The Financials
This is the most money-centric deal on the list. Dallas is way over the cap, so they need to make a dollar-for-dollar deal. Iguodala is due $13.5 million this season, so they need to ship out a big contract to make it work. Kidd is due $9.6 million in the final season of his deal, so he goes to Golden State. The Warriors are able to dump Biedrins’ three years and $27 million on Philly, but have to cough up Udoh in the process.

What’s In It For Dallas
Teams rarely add big pieces after winning the title, but what the hell, they could use another scoring threat alongside Dirk, and Iggy brings a nice scoring ability and much more. They’d be giving up picks and some young talent in the trade, but it’s a no-brainer on their end, as long as they can re-sign point guard JJ Barrea.

What’s In It For Philadelphia
Like Josh Smith, Iguodala hasn’t formally asked for a trade, but there have been rumors surrounding him for a long time. The more years left on his contract when they trade him, the more they’ll get in return, so a move makes sense now. They’d pick up some nice pieces in Udoh, Beaubois and Jones, and with Evan Turner waiting in the wings, they can afford to move Iguodala. Taking on Biedrins’ money is far from ideal, but he’s still a productive player and would help them contend for a playoff spot.

What’s In It For Golden State
Cap relief. Biedrins and Kidd are both due around $9 million this season, but as Kidd’s contract expires after this season, they’d be totally ridding themselves of Biedrins’ contract a year from now. Trading Udoh would be no fun, but he wasn’t great in his rookie season last year and they could certainly overcome his departure. Kidd is from California so probably wouldn’t mind a trade there, and him working with Mark Jackson would be a great fit.