Breaking: Hornets Trade Darius Songaila and Craig Brackins to Philadelphia

by Rohan on Sep 23, 2010 1:24 PM CDT

According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Hornets have dealt Craig Brackins and Darius Songaila to the Sixers for Willie Green and Jason Smith.

Yeah. Cue the disclaimers that come with any rapid reaction, but this trade, assuming it's not paving the way for another one, is bad.

Let's start with the guys we're getting.

Green and Smith

Willie Green is a 29 year old, 6'4" off guard who can't particularly shoot (45.6% career eFG%), or defend all that well (according to B-Pro). He'll make about $4 million dollars this season. He's coming off a flukey scoring efficiency season (53.8% true shooting). He's one of those guys that always seems to get minutes regardless of his mediocrity (which should (a) remind you of someone, and (b) make you shudder). I have literally no idea why Dell Demps would want him in a trade. He's overpaid, he's not good, and he'll take minutes away from Marco Belinelli, a guy who does have at least one above-average skill.

Jason Smith is a 24 year old 7 footer who appears to have a severe distaste for the paint. His career 9/16/12 rebounding line is mildly disturbing at best (recalling that 10/20/15 is average for bigs). But despite his paint aversions, he's not a good shooter either. His career 46% eFG% barely edges out Willie Green's. I can't think of a single way he complements or reinforces the skills of David West, Emeka Okafor, or Aaron Gray. In many ways, he's a taller, severely worse version of Darius Songaila. He'll make slightly more than $2 million dollars.

Brackins and Songaila

While Darius Songaila was certainly overpaid and is right around league average, he also brought tangible value to the team. He stretched the floor, and probably would have played better if he hadn't been stuck at center so often. Neither his 7/14/11 career rebounding line or 50% eFG% should be hard to replace, but that doesn't make him entirely value-less. At $5 million dollars, he was an example of a good expiring contract- a medium, but not crippling contract, with enough game to at least contribute on most teams.

And as far as Craig Brackins goes... we/you/I can/have/will have griped about him (a lot), but he's still a rookie on an awesome contract with a lot of potential. Sure, maybe he didn't rebound the way we would've liked during summer league. He's still 22 and has decent odds of being the best player in this deal. Some may point to the fact that New Orleans saves some salary overall (looking to next year), but throwing away rookie contracts is nothing to brag about.

If I were to rank the players in this deal in the order I'd want them (taking into consideration age, production, and market value), things would proceed thusly:

Smith < Green < Songaila < Brackins

Have I mentioned yet that I hate this trade?

I hope this is a precursor to something bigger. There's no way Dell Demps did this trade in a vacuum. There just isn't.

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Comments

Wow, that Craig Brackins pick sure was brilliant!

Not. For all of the strident posing in favor of picking Brackins over Hassan Whiteside & risking his raw tools and tremendous height (we need a BIG man) on development, rather than picking another middling can’t rebound, can’t block, jump-shooter (of which we have an overabundance of… again), how you like it now?

Taking Brackins over Whiteside just keeps on looking more stupid all the time. This is the exclamation point.

by Grand Tanyon Sturtze on Sep 23, 2010 1:52 PM CDT reply actions

Ummm

What does it matter initial optimism over the move? For all we know, Hassan Whiteside could turn into another Jason Smith. There was no guarantee with a selection of Whiteside, as evident by his falling into the 2nd round.

The guy who drafted Brackins isn’t there anymore, it’s completely irrelevant to discuss Brackins’ selection in relation to the move made today.

"You play to win the game."

by MrWayneKeller on Sep 23, 2010 2:46 PM CDT up reply actions

If I remember correctly, you were one of the most vociferous apologists donning rose-tinted lenses on the pick.

It’s completely irrelevant to discuss Brackins’ selection in relation to the move made today.

The selection of Brackins & his subsequent trade means that our selection roughly translates into 0.5 Willie Green & 0.5 Jason Smith. Could we have made better use of our draft selection than have it cumulatively produce what we’ve gotten at present? Certainly. Whiteside would be vastly preferable than this trade of team-spare-parts.

You seriously can’t be so asinine as to actually believe you can rationally justify that statement. Elaborate how selecting Brackins over Whiteside, eg taking what we are getting as a result of this trade of Brackins, over taking Whiteside.

by Grand Tanyon Sturtze on Sep 23, 2010 7:07 PM CDT up reply actions

… how that renders the selection of Brackins in relation to the move today irrelevant?

by Grand Tanyon Sturtze on Sep 23, 2010 7:08 PM CDT up reply actions

I Did Like The Move

Always did. Therefore, I’m being consistent in not liking this trade. I won’t argue with you because you’ll continue this on forever, but I said it’s completely irrelvant simply because Dell Demps didn’t select him, therefore his trading him is not an admission of wrongdoing on his part. He had no obligation to Brackins whether or not he was a rookie. He came in, observed the roster, made a downgrade in talent in a move Brackins was involved in, so on and so forth. Your argument has nothing to do with what I said, which was basically that Demps moved Brackins and Bower drafted Brackins.

Are you seriously looking for an argument that desperately that you can’t even justifiably respond to anything that I said?

"You play to win the game."

by MrWayneKeller on Sep 23, 2010 10:18 PM CDT up reply actions

never mind, you clearly aren't coherent

it’s not worth the redundancy

by Grand Tanyon Sturtze on Sep 23, 2010 11:30 PM CDT up reply actions

Thank You

it’s not worth the redundancy

Been waiting to hear you say that for months.

"You play to win the game."

by MrWayneKeller on Sep 24, 2010 12:14 AM CDT up reply actions

For The Record

I completely understand where you’re coming from, but if you would present your stance in a non confrontational or boisterous manner, it’d be more of a topic for conversation. As it stood, I merely wanted to reiterate that the Hornets moving Brackins, whether it did or didn’t result in something productive, had nothing to do with Bower selecting him. The two regimes were different. I’m sure you’ve now seen where I’m coming from but feel as if I’m ignoring your stance that we basically took Willie Green and Jason Smith with the 20th overall selection.

Again, if you had made that point instead of “I told you all you were wrong! Hassan Whiteside is great! You’re all stupid for disagreeing with me!” then you would get more fruitful responses.

"You play to win the game."

by MrWayneKeller on Sep 24, 2010 12:22 AM CDT up reply actions

Well said

by Rohan on Sep 24, 2010 12:51 PM CDT up reply actions

rohan you're the textbook defin. of sycophant

by Grand Tanyon Sturtze on Sep 24, 2010 2:13 PM CDT up reply actions

non confrontational or boisterous

1) My initial post simply mentioned strident posing.
2) My second post indicated my bewilderment with your logic that the selection of Brackins is irrelevant in relation to the trade made yesterday
2.5) My second post also indicated the irrelevancy of “which regime” selected Brackins. The point is that Brackins’ selection was bad. It matters not who selected him. That Demps got rid of him ASAP confirmed the waste of a pick selecting Brackins was.
3) Which leads to my conclusion: For the purposes of evaluating the value of the Brackins pick, it does not matter who picked him. The only thing that matters is whether it was a smart or a dumb pick. I said it was a dumb pick, and by contrast recounted the vitriol with which you trumpeted it. Merely waving off responsibility for saying it was an intelligent pick by saying “nope, what I said has no valence anymore because a different GM picked him” is, put generously, kind of cheap.
3.5) In any case, my beef with you is that you seemingly tried to weasel out of your former, vociferous advocacy for the intelligence of the selection of Brackins by simply saying “The debate on the intelligence of the Brackins pick & my fmr. opinion re Brackins no longer matters because it was a different GM who picked him!”
4) Rohan you are a prodigious writer on this blog, but you’re also a commentary lackey who pipes in in instances like these with little to contribute.

by Grand Tanyon Sturtze on Sep 24, 2010 2:22 PM CDT up reply actions

Well

I never backed off of my claims that I liked the Brackins pick. I disagreed with more than just you that Brackins was a good selection. Everyone on here pretty unanimously agreed that Brackins was a reach. Everyone except for me. The fact that he’s now been traded means nothing in terms of my opinion on the player. I still feel he’ll develop into a really solid player, although I thought he fit a bit better here in New Orleans than he will in Philadelphia. I still like that pick. The fact that Dell Demps didn’t doesn’t mean I tried to weasel out of my championing of the acquisition, because I didn’t weasel out of it.

The only thing I EVER said, at all, is that I liked the Brackins pick; you didn’t like the Brackins pick. You said it was stupid. However, Bower was the one that selected him. Demps comes in and trades him, therefore you take the opportunity to gloat and try and engage in arguments about the topic instead of talking about the players coming in. You used this situation to say that Brackins was a stupid pick and Demps trading him already means that it’s stupid. I said it’s situational. Demps didn’t select Brackins, so there’s no obligation to play Brackins. If Demps feels he can get more out of Brackins in a trade than he can on the court, that’s on him. He inherited Brackins. Does this tell me that Demps probably wouldn’t have drafted Brackins at 21? Yeah. Does that mean I wouldn’t have drafted Brackins at 21? I, alone, would have.

That’s all that’s being said. You still don’t need to be so confrontational in your stance.

"You play to win the game."

by MrWayneKeller on Sep 24, 2010 2:31 PM CDT up reply actions

Your posts have been consistently overaggressive

“how you like it now?”, “You seriously can’t be so asinine”, and “you clearly aren’t coherent” are all largely confrontational. MWK simply pointed this out (nonconfrontationally), and I agreed with him. To call that sucking up is pretty amusing.

Till next time.

by Rohan on Sep 24, 2010 3:07 PM CDT up reply actions

Now Now

Putting Songaila as better than anyone is a stretch. Rather have Brackins than the other two though.

As for complaining about the Brackins Pick – you do realize that the guys who made that pick have been fired, right?

http://www.hornets247.com

by Ryan Schwan on Sep 23, 2010 2:32 PM CDT reply actions

You really think Green or Smith is better than Songaila right now?

And nobody’s really complaining about the Brackins pick any more outside of Grand Tanyon… who really hated the pick haha

by Rohan on Sep 23, 2010 2:49 PM CDT up reply actions

Neither Are

I would say Green fits a bigger position of need because he can play point guard in a pinch, and at least has done it on the NBA level (unlike Shakur or Strawberry). But now that they traded both backup PFs to land him, I don’t know if that’s true anymore.

And with my boy Aaron Gray already on the roster, doesn’t Jason Smith make the Hornets exceed the “goofy, white boy” quota on every NBA team?

"You play to win the game."

by MrWayneKeller on Sep 23, 2010 2:52 PM CDT up reply actions

I agree that Green fits better

But I think he’s so poor that it’s really rendered moot to an extent.

by Rohan on Sep 23, 2010 2:55 PM CDT up reply actions

True

I’m with you. I just think we have to tell ourselves that Demps is doing this move to make another move. It’s the only way to look at this without raising your eyebrow. I still haven’t been able to rationalize it.

"You play to win the game."

by MrWayneKeller on Sep 23, 2010 2:56 PM CDT up reply actions

Yeah...

LSUHornet made a good point on twitter that overall, this won’t affect the team that much. I’m more worried about what it indicates about Demps as an evaluator of talent (if something else isn’t forthcoming)

by Rohan on Sep 23, 2010 3:00 PM CDT up reply actions

My thoughts exactly Rohan

Because if this is his evaluation of talent, what does it say about his Ariza acquisition?

Australian Atlanta Falcons Fan EST 2003

Sean Weatherspoon (Spoon), Running away with that Dish since 2010

My Twitter

Swarm and Sting - A Fansided New Orleans Hornets Blog

by Grayson on Sep 24, 2010 12:15 AM CDT up reply actions

I would say Green fits a bigger position of need because he can play point guard in a pinch,

Sorry, but after watching him for way too many years, no, he can’t play point guard in a pinch unless the object is to lose and have your ‘point guard’ take all the shots.

He also seems allergic to getting fouled when he shoots

by SportingFanaticism on Sep 24, 2010 9:46 AM CDT up reply actions

Well Yeah

I don’t think anyone’s trying to argue he’ll be a traditional back up point guard or that anyone has any faith in him running the offense for even ten minutes a game. I’m saying that’s what the team acquired him for.

"You play to win the game."

by MrWayneKeller on Sep 24, 2010 10:39 AM CDT up reply actions

clearing capspace?

it’s a lateral move at best, and removes the obligation to brackins next year, when the hornets will be under the cap.

i wonder if this is just one of a series of (lateral) moves that’ll clear up more caproom.

after scanning salaries, i think milwaukee would be a good candidate for a trade:

Michael Redd’s expiring contract, Carlos Delfino, Ersan Ilysasova, and #1 pick Larry Sanders

for

Peja Stojakovic (and his expiring contract) and David West

Reasoning:

Okafor is insurance for Bogut. He’ll back Bogut and West up, along with PF with Drew Gooden. A Bogut-West frontcourt tandem very respectable.

For NO, they great value in Ilyasova and Delfino. Team option next year. Sanders probably has just as much upside as Brackins, if not more. Redd can also be flipped for a star-quality player at midseason, just like Stojakovic, but I believe his contract is more attractive, as it will be covered by insurance.

"I've hacked into your brain. You're throwing a party and no one's showing up."

by ignign*kt on Sep 23, 2010 4:03 PM CDT reply actions

does this affect cap space?

i’d be curious, i haven’t checked the cool cap graphic someone posted here a while back

by Grand Tanyon Sturtze on Sep 23, 2010 11:30 PM CDT up reply actions

I Think

That it frees cap space in the short and long term. If I’m not mistaken, both Green and Smith are a cheaper combo than Songaila and Brackins, and moving Brackins frees up the four year commitment the team has to give to a first round rookie, while Green and Smith both expire this offseason.

"You play to win the game."

by MrWayneKeller on Sep 24, 2010 12:50 AM CDT up reply actions

The expiring contracts are like 30 grand more and brackins was on a rookie deal, assuming the hornets don’t extend Smith it’s not a huge savings

by SportingFanaticism on Sep 24, 2010 9:47 AM CDT up reply actions

Exactly

Point I was trying to make.

"You play to win the game."

by MrWayneKeller on Sep 24, 2010 9:52 AM CDT up reply actions

I dont like the trade either, but letting it sink in for the last I realize its not the end of the world. As far as backup PF, arent Pops and Joe Alexander still with the training camp roster? Both are capable of playing the PF position and have way more upside than Darius and could probably bang more down low than Bracks. At least Pops has shown on the international stage that he can rebound and block shots. I think this only means that both these guys are very probable to make the team. Comsidering we still have these two guys in the backhand, makes the loss of Bracks easier. Financially its a wash and for next season even an improvement.
It seems like I am starting to not hate the trade anymore.

by berlinhornets on Sep 23, 2010 6:13 PM CDT reply actions

Basically...

We just swapped the expiring contract of PF Songaila (a position we have a few in) for the expiring contract of SG Green in the position we need help in most SG/maybe backup PG. Green will bring about the same value to the SG that Darius would at the PF.

In training camp we’ve brought in a couple of ‘tougher’ PF’s than Songaila would have been in the first place. When West is out of the game i think we want a tall who can actually rebound effectively, rather than what Songaila and Brackins were going to provide for us. Smith doesn’t appear to fill that need, but he does add much needed size.

I’ll call this move a break even, and some likely preparation to give the roster more flexibility for next season and beyond.

by Fench on Sep 23, 2010 7:38 PM CDT reply actions

Lol there must of been quite a few people asking why this trade was made because Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted a response after reporting the trade:

For those asking about Hornets motivation for today’s trade, GM Dell Demps believes SG Willie Green can move over and back up Chris Paul.

So i guess Green is going to be 2nd string PG?

by thecobb8 on Sep 23, 2010 8:38 PM CDT reply actions

this sounds ominously like the failed Justin Gray experiment at Wake Forest

by Grand Tanyon Sturtze on Sep 23, 2010 11:31 PM CDT up reply actions

Sad times ahead...

Australian Atlanta Falcons Fan EST 2003

Sean Weatherspoon (Spoon), Running away with that Dish since 2010

My Twitter

Swarm and Sting - A Fansided New Orleans Hornets Blog

by Grayson on Sep 24, 2010 12:14 AM CDT up reply actions

No Kidding

It’s bad enough that Willie Green is going to be a regular in the rotation, but if they expect him to be the back up point guard, it could be Bobby Brown or Mike James all over again; except for a prolonged period of time.

"You play to win the game."

by MrWayneKeller on Sep 24, 2010 12:16 AM CDT up reply actions