Big Trade in the Works
Posted by Brett on 07/27/2009
I first saw the rumblings on twitter and verified on ESPN.com - the Bobcats and Hornets are discussing a potential swap of Emeka Okafor for Tyson Chandler. New Orleans is seen as getting the better end of this one (at least on the court), as Emeka is a career 14 and 11 guy to Tyson's 8 and 9 (even his best season was 12 and 12, the only time he averaged more than 10 points a game). Financially, the Bobcats shed a long-term commitment and pickup a medium term one: Emeka has 5 years and about $52.5 million left and Chandler 2 years, $25 million. Why make this deal if you're the Cats? Well, Tyson Chandler may not score much, but he is an elite defender, even this past season playing on a gimpy toe (and he is a legit center at 7-1 to Emeka who stands "just" 6-10). To the numbers:
Here are Chandler's defensive numbers for this past season.
If you do not notice anything else, catch the net PER he allowed: a 3.74 under expectations for his opponent. The best mark on the Bobcats this past season was Raymond Felton's 2.18, with Boris and Gerald both just over a 1. Emeka? 0.54. Here's Emeka's chart again, in case you were curious:
(And the full End of Season post for Emeka is here)
As you may have expected, having Tyson on the court was a big benefit for New Orleans (though part of that was the miserable depth behind him). Here are his on and off efficiencies:
Just to present the full story, here are Tyson's offensive and net numbers: Click to enlarge.
Yes, the Bobcats will be giving up some offense. The upgrade Tyson represents at the defensive end, from a solid defender to a great one, may make this trade a bit less uneven than some fans may initially think. I certainly felt better when the numbers start processing and I saw these results in the works.
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| Jackson Says: | |
That's great news to see what your numbers show. I suspected his defense might be better than Okafor's numbers and casual sport pundit commentary suggest. This sounds like a total Larry Brown trade. Okafor was solid but signing him to a big deal when his likelihood of improving was almost nil. Chandler could be more useful to us defensively, and we may even be an elite defensive team this year. Offensively, we have pretty solid overall passing on our roster and Chandler is actually a better finisher than Okafor IMO. We still could use a post-up presence though. I expect we may run a few more post plays for Diaw now. |
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| Tue Jul 28, 2009 9:53 am |
| Jonathan Says: | |
I actually like this deal a lot simply because Chandler gives us a legitimate shot a single covering Dwight, KG and Shaq, where with Okafor that wasn't even a possibility. |
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| Tue Jul 28, 2009 4:32 pm |
| Rooshil Says: | |
Tyson Chandler does not give the Bobcats any more of a chance at stopping Dwight Howard.
In the past, Okafor has done well with KG and Shaq, so I don't know why you're bringing them up. |
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| Tue Jul 28, 2009 8:12 pm |
| Rooshil Says: | |
Chandler's advanced defensive numbers weren't nearly as good a year ago, either.
If you compare Chandler's last healthy season to Okafor's past season, Okafor was probably the better defender. |
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| Tue Jul 28, 2009 8:15 pm |
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