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Trade Proposal: Spencer Hawes as a Raptor

By Brian Boake

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So I’m taking a walk down memory lane, after a fashion – actually, I’m clicking through the Toronto Raptors transactions pages at the ever-useful Real GM site. Without going back too far (did you know that Dee Brown became a Raptor on February 18, 1998, following a trade from the Celtics which also brought Chauncey Billups to Toronto?), I thought it might be interesting to consider trades with teams whom the Raps haven’t swapped in the past. After all, we know the New York Knicks, or at least their buffoonish owner Jim Dolan, are frightened to deal when Masai Ujiri is on the other end of the phone line. Maybe there are other teams who think our GM is too clever for them, so there’s little point in me devising a Trade Proposal involving those weenies franchises.

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May 12, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard Jason Terry (31) celebrates his three point shot against Los Angeles Clippers forward Spencer Hawes (10) in the second half in game five of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Rockets won 124 to 103. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports

My gut tells me I should find more trades with Western Conference teams. If one team clearly “wins” a deal with an in-Conference (or worse, in-Division) rival, the repercussions can be grave. Eastern teams play each other four times a season, but only face Western squads three times. A General Manager’s worst nightmare is seeing a player he dumped on a Divisional rival kick sand in the face of his former team.

Cherry-picking our trade history, I recall the deal with the Detroit Pistons which brought us Jerome Williams. The New Jersey (at the time) Nets received Vince Carter for scrubs and picks in late 2004. San Antonio was happy to take Matt Bonner in 2006. But if we’ve ever done a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers, I can’t find it in my admittedly less than comprehensive search.

Let’s move the unfortunate Greivis Vasquez once again, this time straight up for Spencer Hawes. He’s a beefy, well-traveled power forward with occasional success shooting the 3-ball. Spencer’s career has cratered since going to La-La-Land, but he’s well down the depth chart there. That’s hardly surprising; he’s behind Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. A legitimate question, to be asked every time there’s a trade, is this: why should the other team take this deal, or any deal? In the Clips’ case, there’s got to be a feeling that the current group has gone as far as it’s going to, and a shake-up is due. The entire organization is still feeling the pain of their Conference semi-finals defeat to the Houston Rockets, lowlighted by the Clips’ Game 6 meltdown. How do you blow a 19-point Q3 lead at home, and a 3-1 lead in games, to lose? Whether trading Hawes truly constitutes a shake-up is not for me to say; I’d just like him starting at power forward for the Raptors next season. The Trade Machine shrugged when asked about the deal’s impact on either team.

What do you think, Rapture Nation?

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