4. March 15, 2012: Mehmet Okur, Shawne Williams, and a 2012 first-round pick (top-3 protected) to the Portland Trail Blazers for Gerald Wallace
It may be too early to call this a bad deal, but the early results are not good. In his second straight deadline deal as Nets GM, Billy King orchestrated a trade no one saw coming, obtaining Gerald “Crash” Wallace and trade exceptions for a top-3 protected 1st round pick and flotsam. For the second year in a row, King obtained a player that could walk at season’s end.
King was able to re-sign Crash, which in turn helped him re-sign star point guard Deron Williams. But while $10 million a year sounds reasonable for Wallace now, four years at that price is a bit more suspect for a 30-year-old man whose game relies on athleticism, and who plays at a breakneck pace that earned him the nickname “Crash.” (Wallace has missed 10 games this year.)
But Crash is an energizer bunny, and the lifeblood of this team, you retort. There’s tremendous value in being able to defend the opposing team’s best offensive player ever night; and bottom line, Nets play better with him on the court. True. Team stats will show that the Nets are better with him even if his individual stats don’t show it. He is the quintessential Michael Lewis “No-Stats All Star.” But there must be at least some cause for concern when a guy the Nets have for three more years and $30 million more puts up career lows in points, rebounds and PER.
The problem with this trade is not Crash so much as what they gave up. The pick the Nets shipped to Portland turned out to be number six, which the Blazers used to take Damian Lillard. The electric point guard has had a stellar rookie campaign and is the frontrunner for the Rookie of the Year Award.
Besides using one of the trade exceptions to sign Reggie Evans, trade apologists will point to the Nets already having a PG, or the fact that the Nets weren’t high on Lillard in the draft. Maybe, but if the Nets don’t trade for Crash, they don’t re-sign D-Will and then they have a need at PG. In that scenario, the Nets have their point guard of the future and a plethora of cap space. Optics matter. In a season when D-Will is having a down year, giving up a pick that turns into a potential franchise point guard, who Ian O’Connor notes is out playing D-Will now, looks bad.
And we are evaluating this trade now. Today. Not manana. Maybe Crash has an illustrious four years in Brooklyn and his contract looks like a bargain. Maybe D-Will returns to his old self; maybe Lillard is just a flash in the pan. Maybe. But today, none of those things have happened, so this trade makes the list.
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