Trade Whispers : Gooden to New Jersey

[Karma]

Newark Star-Ledger writes :

Hello Dave: Drew Gooden is a knucklehead, but I think he's a underrated player. Plus, he'll be cheap to re-sign or get in a sign and trade this offseason. I know you aren't a big fan, but would you consider Gooden in the $5-6 million range? He’s never really been around strong leadership before. LBJ and T-Mac are superstars, but not leaders. And I think with Kidd and RJ's strong personalities it could have a big influence on him.
Nas601

Nas: He’s restricted, and given that the free agent class is so weak at the four spot (Nene, Wilcox, Ely, all restricted), he might get that five or six mil. We’re hearing Gooden is available right now, and that the Nets have made inquiries, but the only possible swap to be made to match his $4 million salary would be Marc Jackson and a No. 1. At this point, the Nets have yet to make such an offer, but it’s probably something they’d consider. No idea whether the Cavs would bite, though.

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Obviously based on speculation, but a first round pick (around No.20 this year) and Marc Jackson for Gooden is tempting. Jackson is no bruiser, but a legit big man behind Ilgauskas. Talented but erratic in effort.

Thoughts....

 

[midgetstilts]

The jersey fan is clearly a little oblivious to reality. gooden will command more then 5-6 million a year wherever he ends up, unless we (or they if traded) get him cheap cause teams are scared to overpay to get a restricted free agent. I like Jackson. As many recall, he had quite a game against us last year in Philly. But I think that NJ offer is still there after the season in a sign-and-trade based on the crop of available PF's. (wilcox, ely, nene - restricted). Seeing what the Hawks did to Z and my comfort level playing Donyell for extended minutes every night makes me that much more hopeful we keep him through the end of this season at least.

 

[Pioneer10]

Gooden is worth way more then a Jackson and a maybe the 20th pick in the draft?

The only way I would do this if it is in the offseason and Gooden is about to walk for nothing

 

[midgetstilts]

while i agree.... every deal we see for gooden is gonna be favoring the opposite side in terms of talent (unless we're getting back an expiring contract) because he's in the last year of his deal and people think we don't want to spend on him this offseason. draft picks could be promising, but they're available til draft day, so i think we play it out with gooden, and see whats on the table in sign and trades this offseason. the last thing we need is a stronger nets team, being that we could very well be facing them in the first round if we slip a spot and they maintain there seed.

 

[NarlCavs]

If Gooden is traded I'd rather see him used to upgrade PG. This is just a writer speculating but I wouldn't do this deal. Jackson would be a decent backup C but I don't think he and a later #1 is enough for a younger talented PF like Gooden. The Cavs will also already have their own #1 this year which should be around the same area as this pick from the Nets.

 

[Karma]

Just a thought, but if we did get this pick from New Jersey, we then would have two picks in which to dangle for a higher pick. So we get Marc Jackson and possibly a lottery pick chance. Still though, very borderline move. We could win out, but there is just as much chance for this to bite us.

 

[Glen Infante]

I would rather keep Drew then to have Marc Jackson and yet another player to develope. I'd rather bring in some experienced players thats looking to go somewhere. We are already having trouble developing our young stars at the moment, no need to bring in anymore rookie bone heads here. Just my opinion.

 

[Troy Wingate]

I'd much rather keep Drew Gooden. 3 years ago, I would've said yes to this deal as Marc Jackson was a real nice player.

 

[The George]

I only say yes to this deal if Danny has a plan to get us a starting PF for THIS year (Reggie Evans)

 

[Coyote]

Keep Drew in regards to this deal. Marc Jackson ain't nothing. They'd be giving us a barely acceptable answer to a third-tier problem in exchange for a first-tier player. I tend to look at trades in terms of these levels. Maybe I'm wrong. But for many teams, Drew is an answer at PF. Fine. As long as we get an answer in return, which would be PG. This upcoming draft is less than impressive. For Drew we need a solid PG and a halfway decent PF or C (true) backup.

Once again Drew's name comes up and the return sucks. When I see a trade that seems worth it, I'll agree, but right now I don't see anything that replaces his constant threat of 14/10 every night. On this team, that's what we need.

 

[CleveRocks]

Boy it is tough to see any trade with New Jersey involving Gooden. While their top six are OK, the remainder is pretty bad. The only point after Kidd is Planinic, who is playing behind Jeff McGinnis. I thought maybe a three way to get Jackson and a decent point for Gooden, but New Jersey just has nothing to deal worth dealing.

 

[Dungong]

I don't know, Gooden is not naturally a rebound and defense machine like Mike Brown wants, but he has the talent to fill in this role and he has done it quite well. Also, he has the offensive tools to be a threat there when we need him. I don't see how we can trade this guy, and I'd really want to sign him to a Udonis Haslem type deal. Hes improved a lot during his time here and still has room to get better. I think he'd eventually get the defense and has already made some big strides there. Marshall is great, but we need what Gooden brings as well.

Now, the ONLY issue with resigning this guy is that a contract would put the Cavs in the luxury tax territory. Gilbert has been quoted as saying San Antonio and Detroit's payrolls dont reach that high. Detroit's will pretty soon as they have to sign both Tayshaun and Ben Wallace. For now, San Antonio has guys like Bowen and Ginobilli at below market value and then can get guys like Van Exel to sign for the minimum. Point being, both teams would be due to be over the luxury tax if they had the amount of recent contracts the Cavs do and may be over that in a couple years. In a trade, since Gooden is on the cheap, you cant really get equal value back. A deal starting at his qualifying offer (5.3 mill) would be reasonable. Could he get more? Probably, but hed have to go to Atlanta or something, and I think Gooden would go for some stability for a change.

 

[aaronr]

I wouldn't sniff at that New Jersey rumor either. Marc Jackson is over the hill, who needs a late first-round draft pick, and Gooden is playing well. In his last 14 games he's had nine double-doubles, is shooting nearly 60% from the field, averaging ten rebounds and 13 points, and playing somewhat better defensively. I'd trade him for a good point guard because that is the biggest long-term problem we have to solve, but otherwise I wouldn't shuffle the deck in a desparation play. This team is going to be real good for the stretch drive, assuming Hughes and Varejao return to form.

 

[Maximus]

Gooden's healthy, so Cavs are, too
Friday, January 27, 2006
Branson Wright
Plain Dealer Reporter
On his team's 1-5 Western trip earlier this month, Drew Gooden sat out two games with a right leg adductor strain.

The pain of missing action was more severe than the physical discomfort.

"I was frustrated," Gooden said. "It was especially frustrating because I was on a roll. I had put together a couple of good games. Sitting out also showed me how important I was to the team. That gave me more understanding. I couldn't wait to come back."

He has done so with flair. He had 16 points and 10 rebounds against Golden State. After a subpar game against Utah (two points and seven rebounds), Gooden bounced back with double doubles against both Indiana and Atlanta.

More importantly, he's continued to build his professional resume.

"He's your prototypical power forward," coach Mike Brown said.

"He's got size, strength and athleticism. Drew is playing some of his best ball since early in the season, when he came out like gangbusters. He does the little things that go unnoticed."

Gooden's season averages are 11.3 points and 8.9 rebounds, but he has double doubles in six of his last eight games and 16 overall. His 54.3 percent shooting is fifth in the league and by far the best of his career -- and he's streaking, hitting 63 percent over his last six games.

His play is especially impressive because Gooden has accepted his supporting role. Counted upon to be a go-to player with Memphis and Orlando, that's not Gooden's task with LeBron James, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Larry Hughes in the starting lineup.

He hasn't just adjusted to the situation, he's thrived.

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"I've never coached a guy with as much talent as Drew, who has embraced his role as much as Drew has," Brown said. "He could average 20 points per game if we went to him but we need Drew in this role."

Which suits Gooden just fine.

"There's no plays called for me but . . . I'll get my points within the flow of the game as a high-energy guy," Gooden said.


Reserve forward Donyell Marshall also does not have the luxury of being the focus of the offense. Marshall said Gooden has adapted well.

"He doesn't need any plays called for him," Marshall said. "Drew just has a knack for the ball, whether it's getting offensive rebounds or being in the right place at the right time. He doesn't need plays drawn up for him because he's going to find a way to score."

Search is futile:

A fan, somewhere near the Hawks' bench pointed a laser at LeBron James and Donyell Marshall while they were on the free-throw line during the second half Wednesday in Atlanta.

"I saw it a couple of times," said Marshall. "It annoyed me. You never know what it is because of how crazy things are nowadays."

Police were unable to find the culprit, but it left an unnerving impression.

"It happened a few times to A.I. [Allen Iverson]," said Cavs guard Eric Snow, about a fan pointing a laser at Iverson-RD%>. "There's nothing good out of anyone doing that because we know what those red dots on the lasers can also represent."

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

bwright@plaind.com, 216-999-6136

 

[Taiter]

Hopefully they will find the loser who did that and horsewhip him.

My only concern with resigning Gooden is how he reacts to the big-money deal. Will he lose his edge? We saw what it did to Blount, Jerome James (sapping what little energy he had), and, ahem, Boozer.