| 19 February 2009
Yesterday the Sacramento Kings finalized a deal that sent Brad Miller and John Salmons to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Drew Gooden, Andres Nocioni and Cedric Simmons. The Portland Trail Blazers were also involved in the deal sending Ike Diogu to Sacramento in exchange for Michael Ruffin's expiring contract.
The Bulls haven't had a big man that could contribute since they traded Tyson Chandler (no offense to P.J. Brown and Ben Wallace). Brad Miller isn't the low post player that they want, but he can still contribute offensively in the high post and grab 8-9 rebounds per game. John Salmons is having the best season of his career averaging 18.3 points, 4.2 boards, 3.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game on 47% from the field and 42% from three. He also has one of the best contracts in the league. He is only owed $11.3 million over the next two seasons.
The Kings desperately wanted to get under the cap this off season, and they traded away the only pieces that other teams would actually want (not named Kevin Martin or Jason Thompson). Drew Gooden was brought on as a straight salary dump which is the only good reason to trade for him. His $7.2 million contract is off the books at the end of this season. The same could be said for Cedric Simmons who has a $2.7 million team option for next season. Even if the Kings picked his option up, it wouldn't hurt their cap. Diogu should also become a free agent at the end of this season.
This deal coupled with the earlier acquisition of Sam Cassell puts the Kings over the roster limit, so they have to cut two players to get the roster back down to 15. Cassell and Douby were both cut to clear up roster space.
The real red flag in this deal is the Kings' acquisition of Andres Nocioni. Nocioni is making $8 million this season and is on the books for another $21 million guaranteed over the next 3 seasons. For a team trying to shed salary, you have to question why they would take on Nocioni's albatross contract. The one saving grace is that the contract was front-loaded by the Bulls, so his salary will at least be on the way down over the next 3 season.
It was no secret that the Kings wanted to move Brad Miller during the trade deadline. They wanted to shed themselves of the $12.25 million that would have been on the books next season, so they could make a splash in the free agent market. They have been attempting to package him with Kenny Thomas and Mikki Moore all season to find a way under the cap and get rid of some undesirable players. It was even reported that the original offer that they made to Chicago put Mikki Moore in John Salmons' place.
It looks like Salmons was the grease that got this deal moving. He is a good piece that provides great production with a very good contract situation. Any team would want a player like Salmons and wouldn't mind his contract, so why would the Kings shoehorn him into a deal just to get rid of Miller? Salmons' $5.1 million dollar contract actually translated to $7.1 million since it included a $2 million trade kicker, so this may have been too big a hoop for certain potential trade partners. The contract was still movable and could have still netted expiring deals.
The deal isn't bad if the Kings actually spend all the money they will have available this off season. They have all the previously mentioned players coming off the books along with Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Bobby Jackson's expiring contracts. They could also cut Mikki Moore this off season and only have to pay him $2 million of the $6 million that would be owed to him. They are going to have money to burn this off season, but we'll see if they use any of it.
If the Bulls wanted to move some of their long-term salaries to make a push in 2010 and compete this season, why not explore a deal that nets the Kings Gooden and Kirk Hinrich? Those two players have contracts that would equal Miller and Salmons. The Kings are still in desperate need to improve at the point guard position. The Bulls already have their long-term solution at the point and have the luxury of moving Hinrich. Hinrich is also owed more money over the life of his contract than Nocioni. Of course he is also much better than Nocioni, so I can understand why the Bulls would rather keep him.
This deal is being called a salary dump and to a certain point it is. They are now on the books for $7.5 million next season after this trade instead of the $18 million that Salmons and Miller would be owed. The unfortunate thing is Nocioni's contract will still be on the books after Miller and Salmons would be long gone. A lot of people (myself included) will be questioning that part of the deal for the next 3 seasons.
I'll hold back my judgment until after the draft and summer free agent period. At that point we'll see what the master plan is and if Nocioni's salary keeps them from potential signings and trades.
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