Al Jefferson for Noah and Deng?

I know people might argue with me, but I just think that Al Jefferson is going to be much better than either of these players right now and in the future. Besides that, Luol’s 6-year, $71 million deal isn’t worth taking. Big Al’s actually worth it.

I justhate Joakim Noah, I have no idea why, but I do and I wouldn’t want him to play on our team and it would be a huge step down from Al Jefferson at Center.

Mainly because of Deng’s contract relative to his ability. I think Noah would be a great fit, though. I also agree that the original deal might not be something the Bulls would do (unless they think they can get Bosh next summer to replace Noah and want to move Deng’s deal).

His offensive repertoire is limited, including his free-throw shooting. Sometimes his intensity overflows into cockiness.

I like the idea, but hate the idea of having Joakim and his bad attitude.

I mean I guess he’s an above average SF. That’s what everyone says. But what does he really give you? 18 points per game on a passable true shooting percentage. some rebounds, and sound defense. That’s all great, but it’s just so boring. He can’t shoot threes. He doesn’t force a lot of turnovers. He’s not a freak athlete. He doesn’t make plays for others.

This trade is stellar value, and I’d almost reject it anyway just because it’s so soul crushing. Where’s the source of upside with Deng and Noah? Both appear to have maxed out their abilities. At least with Al we can dream about what he’ll become when he heals, surrounded by shooters, if he can pass better, etc, etc.

If Noah is passable offensively in the paint, then I think I do this trade. Having two scrappers and dirty-work guys who can score at reasonable levels as your big men works, if you have perimeter scorers.

So unless we’re getting a player who can at least partially make up for Al’s post scoring back, we don’t trade him.

this is an interesting trade. i’m on board for the wolves, less so for the bulls, but i guess here’s the long and short of it:

-al to noah is not a massive downgrade for the wolves (see my extended debate with John Doe for details), but adding deng to a hodgepodge of ineffective wing players seems like a huge improvement.

-noah is a comparable rebounder to jefferson with nearly identical per 36 rebounding numbers for their careers, and noah improved substantially from his rookie year. noah outrebounded al last year and is doing the same this year. he’s a much better defender and last year was very efficient from the floor. that hasn’t been the case this year, and he’s hardly someone you can count on for volume scoring, but he should continue to improve his offensive game. if you value the option to toss the ball into the post for jefferson enough to call him the better player, i won’t necessarily argue, but noah is no slouch.

-deng’s contract is bad. he’s an inefficient scorer and a subpar passer. he is however, a good rebounder for a wing player and a pretty good defender too. he’s also someone that defenses would pay attention to on the wing, something that can’t be said for any of the wolves current swingmen outside of gomes. but again, his contract is awful for a player of his caliber. so unless he becomes the luol deng of ‘06/’07, it has to make you think twice about the deal. it wouldn’t cripple the wolves after losing jefferson’s deal, so there’s still hope of acquiring more talent at the 2/3 slots, but don’t lose sight of that contract in discussing a deal like this.

in the end, i’d pull the trigger if i were the wolves and considering the bulls ditch the worst contract in the deal, i can see them doing it too. the wolves would be building a collection of good players who can’t be The Man on a great team, but who could be excellent role players if the right star player comes along. this sort of deal is definitely worth looking into.

always felt the Wolves should have taken him over Corey. Not sure I would make this deal though. Deng seems like kind of an enigma to me.
That being said, I think Noah would be a great compliment to Love.

Pekovic.

Giving up Al reduces our low post scoring significantly, but adding Noah upgrades or maintains everything else. Pekovic is EuroAl, so if we were to do this trade I would hope every effort would be made to bring Pekovic over.

And for what it’s worth, I don’t think Pekovic needs to score 25 points a night in the low post either. I think somewhere in the 14-20 point range between Noah and Pek combined would be enough to keep space for our wings.

I cross-posted this question at the Bulls SB site, and they are split evenly between liking it alone or with additions, and not liking it.

One kind soul over there has offered up Ty Thomas, Salmons, and Jerome James for AlJeff and Damien Wilkins.

I don’t think it’s a terrible deal, since Noah is playing well and Deng is a legitimate starting player at the 3. I just wouldn’t give up Al, since when healthy he is an All-Star caliber player.

Aside from the injury last year, Al has improved steadily since he entered the league. He was dropping 21 & 11 before Love joined the Wolves, 23 & 11 with Love, and now we just need him to get fully healthy so he can continue the upward trend as he enters his athletic prime in a couple years.

The idea that Favors could replace Al’s production down low (which assumes we’re getting a Top-2 pick—which has NEVER happened to MN) is realistic to an extent, but also risky. There are a lot of freakish athlete types that never become low-block scoring options. If you build a team without low block scoring, you had better have LeBron James or something not far behind in the backcourt. I don’t think Flynn-Deng is enough firepower to carry a team.

Oh, and the comments that Al refuses to pass or can’t pass can probably stop — anyone who has been watching this year can see that he passes a lot. He’s the main option on offense, so he gets the ball a lot and shoots a lot. But he’s been passing it out more than he used to, and occasionally dropping dimes to cutters. Still has a ways to go to become a good or great passer, but it’s no longer a noticeable weakness.