More Lance Stephenson Trade Talk with the Nets

The Lance Stephenson talks are alive again. I am not sure if the Hornets’ victory over the New York Knicks had anything to do with it. That game never saw the moment when either team reached eighty points. Al Jefferson had seven blocks in that game, think about that.

71. 27. 76. 170. Final

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports that the Hornets and the Brooklyn Nets are talking turkey again. This time Brook Lopez is not the turkey in question. The converging interests of the Hornets trying to move Stephenson and the Nets trying to be financially solvent have a new avenue. Wojnarowski reports that there is a potential deal with Joe Johnson coming from the Nets in exchange for Stephenson, Gerald Henderson, and Marvin Williams.

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First off, the thought of losing Henderson and Williams makes me cringe a little bit. Walker missed the Knicks game, and Henderson had provided reasonable offense of late.

Second, do we want Joe Johnson’s max contract for two years? It would be one thing if it was an expiring deal, but Johnson has two years left where he will make an average of $23 million a year. Have the Hornets decided the luxury tax does not matter all of the sudden? The team finally got profitable only last year.

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Johnson’s production is down this year (as are several Nets) and he is averaging 15 points a game. The Hornets currently do not have a two guard that averages that many. He is a career 37% 3 point shooter, which is where Stephenson was last year. That means he not the best fit with the Walker-Jefferson, but a bigger version of Gerald Henderson. Johnson has the body to play defense, but no reputation for it.

So I do not like this deal. I think the Hornets give up too much to take a $46 million gamble. The NBA Trade Machine Hollinger Analysis says that this trade will increase the Hornets’ projected win total by two. It would also open two roster spots. Chris Douglas-Roberts, anyone?

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