Suns trade: Shawn Marion
Utah trades: Andrei Kirilenko, Ronnie Brewer
Why it works for the Suns: If the Suns are looking for stability, Kirilenko is the one player in the league who comes closest to filling Marion's shoes. The Suns pay less money up front while getting the security of a younger player on a longer contract.
Ronnie Brewer was universally acknowleged as a steal in last year's draft, and might wind up with a Marionesque toolbox in a few years. He'll step in immediately as the team's backup SF (ahead of Alando Tucker).
Kirilenko especially has a rep as a high-character person, and would almost certainly fit in well in the Suns' locker room. Brewer is a hard worker without any red flags off the court.
Kirilenko and Brewer have both shown tremendous athletic talent that has (so far) gone untapped in Jerry Sloan's deliberate system. There's enormous risk for the Suns in this trade, but also the possibility of enormous reward, because they'd be putting the acquired players in situations well-suited to their respective talents.
Why it doesn't work for the Suns: Kirilenko has the Shaq/Cabarkapa wrist injury on his shooting arm, which prevents full flexion on his shot. He is supposedly in the middle of a two- to three-year odyessy in which he's completely re-working his shooting stroke to compensate for this.
(Also, Brewer broke his shooting arm as a child and still can't fully extend it, resulting in a shot that has been described as Marionesque.)
Beyond current injuries, Kirilenko is injury-prone in the Marcus Camby mold--thin and narrow with huge hops, he is consistently put in situations where players undercut him, leading to bad falls.
Although he moves well off the ball, there's no guarantee Kirilenko will be able to match Marion's impact in that area.
Like a younger Marion, Kirilenko is a much better off-ball defender than on-ball, where he regularly bites on fakes. And because of his frame, I imagine he's even less capable of defending centers (or Tim Duncan) than Marion is.
Brewer has talent but is not a sure thing, either. His lack of burn under Jerry Sloan was slightly troubling if predictable.
Why it works for Utah: Marion's contract matches up with Okur's and Boozer's, allowing the Jazz to pick two of the three players to re-sign and still be able to afford extensions for Deron Williams and Paul Millsap.
Marion is more of a SF than Kirilenko, and would fill that position with an All-Star for 40mpg, 80 games per year.
Kirilenko has thrown down the gauntlet even harder than Marion, offering to void his contract and breaking all ties to the team. There is some question whether he'll show up for training camp.
There's a decent chance Kirilenko will take the Vince Carter route if he's forced to play for Sloan. If he does, the result will be almost indistinguishable from his actual performance from last season.
Why it doesn't work for Utah: They'll do this. Trust me on this one.
Utah trades: Andrei Kirilenko, Ronnie Brewer
Why it works for the Suns: If the Suns are looking for stability, Kirilenko is the one player in the league who comes closest to filling Marion's shoes. The Suns pay less money up front while getting the security of a younger player on a longer contract.
Ronnie Brewer was universally acknowleged as a steal in last year's draft, and might wind up with a Marionesque toolbox in a few years. He'll step in immediately as the team's backup SF (ahead of Alando Tucker).
Kirilenko especially has a rep as a high-character person, and would almost certainly fit in well in the Suns' locker room. Brewer is a hard worker without any red flags off the court.
Kirilenko and Brewer have both shown tremendous athletic talent that has (so far) gone untapped in Jerry Sloan's deliberate system. There's enormous risk for the Suns in this trade, but also the possibility of enormous reward, because they'd be putting the acquired players in situations well-suited to their respective talents.
Why it doesn't work for the Suns: Kirilenko has the Shaq/Cabarkapa wrist injury on his shooting arm, which prevents full flexion on his shot. He is supposedly in the middle of a two- to three-year odyessy in which he's completely re-working his shooting stroke to compensate for this.
(Also, Brewer broke his shooting arm as a child and still can't fully extend it, resulting in a shot that has been described as Marionesque.)
Beyond current injuries, Kirilenko is injury-prone in the Marcus Camby mold--thin and narrow with huge hops, he is consistently put in situations where players undercut him, leading to bad falls.
Although he moves well off the ball, there's no guarantee Kirilenko will be able to match Marion's impact in that area.
Like a younger Marion, Kirilenko is a much better off-ball defender than on-ball, where he regularly bites on fakes. And because of his frame, I imagine he's even less capable of defending centers (or Tim Duncan) than Marion is.
Brewer has talent but is not a sure thing, either. His lack of burn under Jerry Sloan was slightly troubling if predictable.
Why it works for Utah: Marion's contract matches up with Okur's and Boozer's, allowing the Jazz to pick two of the three players to re-sign and still be able to afford extensions for Deron Williams and Paul Millsap.
Marion is more of a SF than Kirilenko, and would fill that position with an All-Star for 40mpg, 80 games per year.
Kirilenko has thrown down the gauntlet even harder than Marion, offering to void his contract and breaking all ties to the team. There is some question whether he'll show up for training camp.
There's a decent chance Kirilenko will take the Vince Carter route if he's forced to play for Sloan. If he does, the result will be almost indistinguishable from his actual performance from last season.
Why it doesn't work for Utah: They'll do this. Trust me on this one.
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