Trade Deadline Countdown Day 4: Brendan Haywood

With 4 days left until the NBA Trade Deadline, the Liberty Ballers crew will provide you one trade each day to bandy about. Since there are no actual games being played, we've got to keep occupied somehow.

Most of the trades we've discussed go one of two ways:

1. Acquire a serviceable, veteran big man for this year's playoff run, in exchange for an expendable, young asset.
2. Acquire young assets and/or draft picks with the future in mind, possibly at the expense of the team's short-term success.

Brendan Haywood - 6 years, 6.9 million

Dominique Jones - 2 years, 1.1 million

Ian Mahinmi - 2 years, 0.9 million

Dallas receives:

Andres Nocioni - 2 years, 6.9 million

Spencer Hawes - 1 year, 3.0 million

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Following this season the 31 year-old Haywood is owed 35 million over the next four years. The Mavs signed him to one of the worst contracts in the league this past summer, and they're currently paying him nearly seven million dollars to play 17 minutes off the bench. I imagine Cuban would be more-than-willing to part with two of his younger assets to save face.

Overshadowed by his horrific contract is Haywood's actual basketball ability. He's been a serviceable big man for the majority of his ten-year career and would provide the Sixers with the interior defense they've been lacking since trading Dalembert. Haywood is also worlds more efficient offensively than Spencer Hawes, with a career offensive rating of 113, compared to 99 for Hawes.

Not only does this trade fill the Sixers biggest need, it allows them to acquire two cheap, young players with the potential to become something more. (We briefly talked about Mahinmi and Jones in a post earlier this weekend.)

The problem – of course – is the 4 year, 35 million commitment to the 31 year-old Haywood, especially with the uncertainty of the CBA and the fact that the Sixers are still a ways away from being legitimate title contenders. The hope would be that a sixsome of Holiday, Williams, Turner, Iguodala, Brand, and Haywood (and some combination Thad, Speights, Meeks, Brackins, Jones, Mahinmi) would be good enough to compete by 2013. It'd all depend on how quickly Turner and Holiday develop, and how fast Iguodala, Brand and Haywood deteriorate. 

It's a risky proposition, but if I'm Thorn I at least consider it.