Likely forget about Battier for Nazr now

[Admin]

The Grizz acquired Bo Outlaw and Big Jake from the Suns today. This really sucks but I guess we shouldnt have gotten our hopes up too much that someone would trade Battier for a broken unproven big man like Nazr.

Grizzlies acquire Outlaw, Tsakalidis from Suns

MEMPHIS, United States (AFP) - The Memphis Grizzlies made a move to strengthen their frontcourt by acquiring forward Bo Outlaw and center Jake Tsakalidis in a five-player trade with the Phoenix Suns .

The Grizzlies shipped point guard Brevin Knight, forward Robert Archibald and center Cezary Trybanski to the Suns.

Outlaw averaged 4.7 points and 4.6 rebounds in 80 games, including 20 starts, last season. A solid defensive player and shot blocker, Outlaw also has played for the Los Angeles Clippers and Orlando Magic .

Tsakalidis was projected to be Phoenix's starting center after playing just 33 games last season due to back problems. The Greek native averaged 4.9 points and 3.7 rebounds.

"We are certainly happy to acquire the experience, defensive skills and high energy of Bo Outlaw," Grizzlies president of basketball operations Jerry West said. "In addition, we have an opportunity to add some real size and strength with Tsakalidis on our team."

Memphis was willing to part with Knight, a backup point guard, since first-round pick Troy Bell is expected to step in behind Jason Williams.

The Suns appear to have made the move primarily for financial reasons. Outlaw has two years remaining on his contract worth approximately 11.3 million dollars and Tsakalidis has two years left on a deal worth nearly 4 million dollars.

"The structure of this deal ensures greater flexibility for the organization as we move forward while keeping our young core of players intact," Suns general manager Bryan Colangelo said. "We are sorry to see Bo and big Jake move on and we greatly appreciate their contributions to this team."

Knight averaged 3.9 points and 4.2 assists last season and is expected to compete with Brazilian rookie Leandro Barbosa for the backup point guard job behind Stephon Marbury.

Archibald and Trybanski both are entering their second seasons after seeing limited action as rookies.

The loss of Tsakalidis is expected to give the Suns' starting center job to Jake Voskuhl, who averaged 3.8 points and 3.5 rebounds in 2002-03. Voskuhl made the winning hook shot in the Phoenix's Game Four triumph in its first-round series with the eventual NBA champion San Antonio Spurs .

[Diesel]

I don't know...

Big Jake is not much better than Trybanski...

I would say that Nazr is still on the list...

[Gray Mule]

Diesel, I hope you are right about the Hawks proposed trade.

[Lascar78]

Once again, is there any reason to believe that the grizz want to part with battier? I know we want him but I don't see them pulling that trade off. I mean they just improved at C (big jake really isn't that much worse than Nazr) and only had to part with Knight. Would they want to part with a good hustle player to get a slight improvent at C that isn't a proven talent?

[Diesel]

Yes, Memphis do have a good Hustle player in Battier.

However, they also have:

Dickerson - 6 million.

Miller - 8 Million

Person - 7 Million

Jones - 1 Million

Posey -5 Million

And the word is that West really likes Theron Smith...

I don't know how you justify keeping Battier when he is not the top guy. There will be another trade out of Memphis and it will involved either Battier or Dickerson. Everybody and their mama knows that Dickerson's contract is not going anywhere so here comes Battier.

I think the big mistake was trading away Gooden for Miller. Miller is not much more than a one dimensional player... However, West wanted him. Also, picking up Posey sent a message that he was their SF. That leaves Battier without a spot.

I expect:

JW/Miller/Posey/Gasol/Big Jake...

The thing is that Nazr is better than Big Jake and has more stamina. It's possible that they got Big Jake so that they could move Lo back to BU PF. That would mean that Swift was on the table as well.

[Lascar78]

Don't get me wrong, I definitely see it as a possibility, but you seem to speak of it as if it's a done deal. West seems harder to predict these days, I don't think anyone saw the miller trade coming. They do have plenty of swingmen, but perhaps West would still prefer to keep the current squad rather than trade one of them for a C. Talented centers are a rare commodity these days, but Battier is more talented than Nazr. So again, it could happen, but I think expecting it to happen is setting yourself up for a disappointment.