New Orleans Hornets dismissed Chris Kaman from the team last Friday after playing in 17 games. The Hornets never really gave a reason, but told the big man acquired in the Chris Paul trade to stay away so he can maintain some semblance of trade value. It seems like the Hornets are looking for a pure salary dump and are looking to get younger for their rebuilding project.
So they sent Kaman away, waiting for offers from other teams to come in.
According to Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated, the Houston Rockets have pulled ahead in the race to acquire Kaman precisely because they are offering those young prospects the Hornets want. Amick reports that most of the discussion involving Kaman have centered around Hasheem Thabeet and Jordan Hill with the possibility of adding in Patrick Patterson, Jonny Flynn or draft picks.
From these talks it becomes a little clearer what the Hornets are expecting for Kaman. A young center on his rookie contract, young prospects and draft picks. This kind of salary dump is the kind of trade you expect from a rebuilding team.
Kaman is averaging 9.2 points per game and 6.6 rebounds per game in 22.7 minutes per game. He is in the final year of his contract and is due to make $14 million this season (or whatever pro-rated amount players are getting this year because of the lockout). That kind of expiring contract is extremely valuable in the trade market. As are the young prospects and draft picks the Hornets are looking to acquire.
The only complication to any deal is that Kaman cannot be traded in tandem with any other player until Feb. 14. He can be traded on his own at any time though.
Many teams, many contenders too, are not scared away by Kaman and whatever baggage he might have. Indiana, Cleveland and San Antonio have also expressed interest in the former All Star. The Pacers, fighting with the Bulls for the top spot in the Central Division, are looking for a backup center to help spell the sometimes foul-troubled Roy Hibbert. The Cavaliers are unexpectedly in the Playoff hunt and need some bulk alongside Anderson Varejao and Antawn Jamison in the post to really get into the Playoff chase.
And, of course, if the Spurs want a player, you know they know something everyone else doesn’t.
Mark Berman of My Fox Houston reported nothing was close between the Hornets and Rockets, so these other teams can certainly jump in and make a tempting offer for the Hornets to consider.
Still, when it comes to young and expiring assets, the Rockets have the most to offer.
Hasheem Thabeet, Jordan Hill and Jonny Flynn are all on their rookie contracts. While New Orleans might have to commit to each of them for one more year, they would have their restricted free agent rights to either exercise or potentially trade. They become trading assets again next year if New Orleans finds a move the team likes.
Indiana, in a deal for Kaman, likely would offer Jeff Foster or Lou Amundson’s expiring contracts and draft picks. The Pacers are well below the salary cap, so they could make that kind of deal without having to match salaries. The other thing working in Indiana’s favor if the team is serious about going after Kaman is that Houston traded its draft pick this year to New Jersey in a deal last season. Of course, the Pacers are expecting a playoff berth this year, so who knows how valuable that pick might actually be.
Similarly, Cleveland has several expiring contracts on young players to offer if that is the route the Hornets want to go.
It seems to be that is what New Orleans is looking for. As far as potential and some measure of control to wait for the right free agent class to use cap room on, the Rockets might be the right trade partner to send Kaman away.
