Suns And Blazers Complete Jones, Fernandez Trade

[ducks]

Suns And Blazers Complete Jones, Fernandez Trade
July 11, 2007 - 2:06 pm
RealGM Staff Report -
The Phoenix Suns today completed the trade that sends forward James Jones and the draft rights to Spanish guard Rudy Fernandez, the 24th pick overall in the first round of the 2007 NBA Draft, to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for cash considerations.

Jones, a fourth-year NBA veteran, averaged 6.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 18.1 minutes in 76 games for the Suns last season. The 26-year-old, who was originally selected by the Pacers in the second round (49th overall) in the 2003 NBA Draft, averaged 5.0 points and 1.4 rebounds in 11 games (six starts) in the 2007 NBA Playoffs.http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/47058/20070711/suns_and_blazers_complete_jones_fernandez_trade/

[TxJudsonRocketTx]

So the Suns are bringing who off of the bench?

[CubanMustGo]

Damn the blazers are loading up!

[lotr1trekkie]

Are their limits to "cash considerations"? James Jones, who started for the Suns many of games and Fernandez for $$$. Seems to me the Suns knew that they had the inside track on Hill before the draft. Fernandez will not be coming to sit on the bench He can do better in Europe. Seems to me the Sonics will be looking for a trading partner.

[alamo50]

Damn this is complicated:

"The Trail Blazers have just made official what was reported last evening. Steve Francis has been waived, and the other part of the Zach Randolph trade to New York has now been completed, and officially released. By that I mean, it can now be made official that the Trail Blazers have acquired James Jones and the draft rights to Rudy Fernandez from the Phoenix Suns.


This is confusing, so stick with me here while I try to explain it to the best of my abilities. I have spent a lot of time with assistant general manager Tom Penn trying to understand exactly what he executed on draft night. Basically, let me first say that this is why you hire a "capologist." Penn has already demonstrated his worth to this franchise in this deal.


This was a very rare trade, in that the Blazers sent a player out and got nothing in return. The fudge factor in a trade, as far as getting back what you send out, is 25 percent. In other words, if you send out 12.5 million, you only have to take back 10 million. Because of this factor, the Blazers created a trade exception in the Zach Randolph deal with New York.


Look at it this way. Zach and Dan Dickau were traded for Channing Frye and Steve Francis. The reason the Blazers were able to then pull the second part of the deal was where Fred Jones entered the equation. By adding Jones to the deal, the Blazers were able to then approach Phoenix and take a player off their hands (James Jones) and give them nothing but a cash in return. The Suns, who are trying to cut payroll, were so excited about this opportunity, they threw the 24th draft pick into the deal. That, of course, turned out to be Rudy Fernandez, who was considered by many the "steal of the draft" even though he won't play for the Blazers next season. Several execs said that if not for the buyout in his European contract, Fernandez would have most certainly been a lottery pick.


You don't see this kind of a deal very often because it really can only be executed in bigger trades, like this one. It took the creativity of Penn to discover a way to make this happen. Kevin Pritchard has publically given a lot of credit to Penn for making this deal possible. Another Western Conference executive was earlier quoted as saying, "there are maybe one or two guys in the league who could have pulled a deal like this off." It's about knowledge of the rules, and then having and owner and general manager willing to offer the support to execute the deal.


Once again, the Blazers basically gave up Fred Jones to the Knicks and didn't take anyone in return. By doing that, for one year, the team had the ability to replace Jones' salary plus $100k. They told Phoenix they'd take James Jones off their hands and the Suns wouldn't have to take anyone back. That's why I've termed it as the Blazers "created" the trade exception. I've seen it written a lot that the Blazers traded for a trade exception. That's not accurate. It is difficult to understand, however, and I had to have Penn explain it to me about 10 times to even get this much of an understanding of it. As Penn has told me, he had to do the same thing in the war room on draft night. It actually seemed too good to be true, and that's why he was asked to repeat himself about a dozen times.


This then can be actually viewed as two different trades, even though it came across as one big trade. It's basically, Zach and Dickau for Francis and Frye. Freddie for James Jones and Rudy Fernandez. When you add the second piece, and consider what's coming in the future, as far as cap room in two seasons, and the potential of Fernandez, the deal really gets attractive for Portland.


Then you have to consider your future at the power forward spot, LaMarcus Aldridge, now will be a starter, and any question marks about Zach are gone. The two extra years he had, and all the additional money on his deal, are gone. You had to buy out Francis to make it happen, but it was well worth it. Also consider that Francis gave up 4 million bucks, on draft night, to make the deal happen. And, the Blazers will get a portion of what ever Francis signs for next season, and then will continue to get a portion of any new contract he signs after that. So, the buyout isn't as bad as it seems after that.


I hope this helped in your understanding of what exactly went down on draft night. We had to wait until now to officially release it, including all of the details. It's a deal that took creativity, and vision, and showed that you can outwit and outhustle on draft night. That's what Pritchard, Penn, and the staff was able to do. The total value of this deal, of course, won't be seen for years to come. It gave the team huge flexibility, as far as cap room is concerned, removed a player who perhaps stood in the way of a potential all-star in Aldridge, opened roster spots, and brought in Frye, James Jones, and Fernandez. And, despite the way the buyout looks at this point, saved the team millions down the road".

Link (http://mikebarrettsblog.blogspot.com/2007/07/francis-gone-ny-trade-finalized.html)

[Johnny RIngo]

Who cares? D'Antoni will still be using his flawed 8-man rotation come playoff time.

[LavaLamp]

And, despite the way the buyout looks at this point, saved the team millions down the road".

Link (http://mikebarrettsblog.blogspot.com/2007/07/francis-gone-ny-trade-finalized.html)


Got it but only at a high-level. Thanks for the post.