Eric Maynor traded to the Thunder

[mogrovejo]

http://www.rotoworld.com/images/pixel.gif
The Jazz have traded rookie Eric Maynor and Matt Harpring to the Thunder in exchange for 2002 second-round pick Peter Fehse, saving the Jazz about $13 million.

Maynor will presumably back up PG Russell Westbrook on a Thunder roster stacked with young talent. Maynor struggled to get consistent minutes in Utah, and while he has good upside, it is unclear whether his role will change much in Oklahoma City.

He's worth keeping an eye on, though. Harpring, whose career has been derailed by injury, was traded solely for his expiring contract. Fehse has never played a game in the NBA, and is unlikely to have any fantasy value going forward.

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playernews.aspx?sport=NBA

The Thunder will waive Shaun Livingston.

I like Maynor, but you gotta do what you gotta do. It's amazing that it costs so much to dump an expiring like Harpring's.

[mystargtr34]

Damn... they gave up a good prospect to shed salary.

[ginobili's bald spot]

Damn, they gave up a good prospect to get another white guy.

[tomtom]

Wow great move for Thunder. Too bad for Livingston though, I was a huge fan back when he was with the Clips

[Chieflion]

Jazz shed salary and get nothing in exchange. What a lame deal.

[Goran Dragic]

Good move for OKC, but you gotta wonder how long the Thunder are gonna stay in "stockpile as much talent as possible" mode and when Presti actually plans on constructing a team. Maynor is a great prospect, especially when you can get him for nothing, but OKC doesn't seem to really have a plan.

[KSeal]

Good move for OKC, but you gotta wonder how long the Thunder are gonna stay in "stockpile as much talent as possible" mode and when Presti actually plans on constructing a team. Maynor is a great prospect, especially when you can get him for nothing, but OKC doesn't seem to really have a plan.

I think they have like 5 picks in the upcoming draft and a ton of cap space, they're set up pretty nice. They need to get a legit big.

[My Fault]

OKC really needs a solid big to play the post if they really wanna make some noise..

[Darthkiller]

Good move for OKC, but you gotta wonder how long the Thunder are gonna stay in "stockpile as much talent as possible" mode and when Presti actually plans on constructing a team. Maynor is a great prospect, especially when you can get him for nothing, but OKC doesn't seem to really have a plan.

really, they got another huge expirer in Harpring, they can use that plus other big expirers and first rounder they have at the deadline for something really good.

[HarlemHeat37]

OKC just needs a big-time FA C in the next 2 years, and they're set..

They better not go the Portland route and stock-pile too much though, it all burns down at the end..

[tomtom]

OKC really needs a solid big to play the post if they really wanna make some noise..

Imagine if they manage to get Bosh. Oh man that would be a crazy team to watch

[HarlemHeat37]

I don't know if Bosh would be the best fit..

They could probably wait out for a few other legit bigs that play on the interior on both ends..if they could wait for Marc Gasol's contract to end in 2 off-seasons, I think it would be a great fit..

I doubt they wait that long to address it though..

[Darthkiller]

they need hamed haddadi

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Anthony Randolph is available, and he'd fit OKC's game beautifully.

[HarlemHeat37]

They seem to be committed to playing Jeff Green at PF, that's why I think they need a legit C in the middle..Bosh and Anthony Randolph would fit in very well from a stylistic standpoint, but I think they really need an actual big man, especially defensively..

Like Orlando does with Rashard Lewis at PF..

[mogrovejo]

They should have signed Gortat and then go after a better PF than Green. They have plenty of assets to get something done anyway. It doesn't make sense to rush things.

---------

Btw, anyone with ESPNinsider that can post the 2 front-page articles?

[mystargtr34]

Anthony Randolph is available, and he'd fit OKC's game beautifully.

You really think so? They dont need another big playmaker/creator...

They have Durant, Green and Harden - none of which plays much defense. I would go with a legit 7 foot rebounder/shot blocker.

[Danny.Zhu]

So not trading Boozer really hurt them.

[Goran Dragic]

They have Durant, Green and Harden - none of which plays much defense.


Pretty retarded and ignorant to say Harden plays no defense.

[My Fault]

Imagine if they manage to get Bosh. Oh man that would be a crazy team to watch
I don't know if he really helps being they already have Green. They need a big to bang and play solid defense.

[iggypop123]

they have 0 inside prescense. westbrook is a freak in defense. he cant shoot, but that can improve. druant can score but again when your only inside prescense is kristic you will fail

[mystargtr34]

Pretty retarded and ignorant to say Harden plays no defense.

He doesnt play MUCH defense. Meaning he isnt very good at it. He might try, and hustle.. but he was drafted purely because of his offensive potential and offensive game.

[23LeBronJames23]

druant

wow really?

[Spurs Brazil]

Implications of Maynor deal far-reaching
December, 22, 2009 Dec 2210:16PM ETEmail Print Share By John Hollinger

Coming into the season, we knew that the Oklahoma City Thunder would be able to demand a hefty price for the privilege of renting its salary cap space this winter, because so many teams found themselves in tight spots financially. We also knew that Carlos Boozer not opting out of his contract would likely cost the Jazz a player somewhere down the road.

Today, their destinies collided. A full two months before the trade deadline, the Thunder made their move when the Jazz dangled rookie point guard Eric Maynor as the prize for taking on the contract of soon-to-be-retired forward Matt Harpring.

Let's start with the obvious stuff: The Thunder used their strong cap position to purloin a promising young point guard. Maynor has played reasonably well for Utah in his first season and the next year of his deal, at $1.4 million, barely dents the Thunder's projected cap space for next summer. He fills a clear need as well. Oklahoma City desperately needed a pass-first point guard to back up Russell Westbrook and to occasionally play with him in small backcourts, especially with Shaun Livingston not working out. Maynor doesn't offer great upside, but he's going to be solid for several years.

Additionally, some subtle aspects of this deal make it particularly juicy for the Thunder. Harpring makes $6.5 million this year, but Oklahoma City is on the hook for only $1.78 million while insurance will cover the rest. And since Harpring has an expiring contract, the deal won't cut into their projected $10 million-plus in cap space next summer. Finally, the Thunder can trade Harpring again if they so choose, either alone or as part of a package: Teams under the cap aren't bound by the league's two-month rule on re-packaging acquired players.

Utah effectively donated Maynor to Oklahoma City because of the mind-boggling financial savings. The Jazz retain more than $10.46 million by removing $7.8 million in luxury tax payments, another $884,452 for Maynor's salary the rest of this year, and $1.78 million in payments to Harpring that wouldn't have been covered by insurance. The trade also opens the door for the Jazz to eventually slip under the luxury tax threshold entirely -- they're now only $4.8 million over. More on that in a minute.

Utah acquired the rights to German forward Peter Fehse in this trade but he has no chance of ever playing in the NBA. He's only in the deal because league rules require both teams to receive something in a trade, and this was the least valuable asset the Thunder found in the recesses of their cupboards. In another bit of housekeeping, Utah will need to sign a 13th player at some point in the next two weeks to meet league roster rules.

The big question for Jazz fans, however, is whether this portends a trade of Carlos Boozer. The Jazz could conceivably slide all the way under the tax line by trading Boozer and receiving a player or players with non-guaranteed contracts, especially if they included Kyle Korver's expiring contract in the swap.

To offer one such example (this is NOT a rumor, mind you, just an example), Utah could send Boozer, Korver, and C.J. Miles to Dallas for Drew Gooden, Erick Dampier, Rodrigue Beaubois and a 2012 first-rounder; the deal would save $3.5 million in salaries and another $2.6 million by cutting Gooden prior to Jan. 15, putting the Jazz under the tax threshold.

Another more plausible way is to deal Boozer or Boozer with Korver to get most of the way under the tax, and then pay a team to take Ronnie Price or Miles into a trade exception to finish the job. The point is that the Jazz now have paths available to avoid the luxury tax, something that seemed a long shot prior to the Maynor trade.

For other teams looking to dump salary, however, this deal is terrible news. Only a few doors remain open for dumping salary, and one of them just slammed shut. While opportunities remain available -- witness my Boozer example above -- the likes of Washington and New Orleans have to be disappointed that the Oklahoma City option is off the table.

That they took it off the table this early, prior to most of the serious horse-trading beginning, says something about the quality of the deal dangled before them. Boozer's opt-in proved costly for Utah, depriving the Jazz of Maynor's services while further strengthening a potent division rival. Meanwhile, Oklahoma City's inexorable rise continues apace -- today the Thunder nabbed a good young point guard, and because of the insurance provisions, they got him for peanuts.

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/11675/implications-of-maynor-deal-far-reaching

[Allanon]

Next summer could get interesting for the Thunda

Dirk
Amare
Bosh
Boozer

Pryzbilla
Amir Johnson
Brendan Haywood
Tyson Chandler

[ElNono]

Well, at least Matt Harpring was useful for something this season...

[Goran Dragic]

He doesnt play MUCH defense. Meaning he isnt very good at it. He might try, and hustle.. but he was drafted purely because of his offensive potential and offensive game.


No one is ever picked 3rd overall because of their defensive potential. I've watched probably 30+ James Harden games, and he plays plenty of defense.

[IronMexican]

They traded a black guy and a white guy, but get ONE white guy in return. The Jazz feel like they won this trade:tu

[Goran Dragic]

They traded a black guy and a white guy, but get ONE white guy in return. The Jazz feel like they won this trade:tu


From their perspective, they just persuaded another team to take a black guy off their hands.

[Chieflion]

Next summer could get interesting for the Thunda

Dirk
Amare
Bosh
Boozer

Pryzbilla
Amir Johnson
Brendan Haywood
Tyson Chandler
No way Tyson Chandler opts out of his contract.

[Girasuck]

This just sets up a bigger trade involving Boozer. I expect the Jazz to make a hard push to get Anthony Randolph from the Warriors. There was talk this past off season that the Warriors were interested in Boozer. I'm sure other players will be involved but hopefully a Boozer for Randolph trade will happen soon.