Trade Restrictions for Recently Traded Players

No Reacquiring:
Teams cannot reacquire a player that they traded during a given season (July 1- June 30) unless the player has been waived.

This rule was put in place to block teams from trading a player to make the salaries work with the understanding that the team would then release that player, so he could be resigned by his original team.

However, if a team waits thirty days, then they are able to reacquire that recently traded player. For instance, in the current proposed trade between the Nets and Mavericks, Jerry Stackhouse will immediately be bought out by the Nets, then will sit out for thirty days, and then will resign with the Mavericks.

On February 24, 2005, Alan Henderson was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks along with Calvin Booth for Keith Van Horn. The Bucks then waived Henderson the following day. On March 1, 2005, he re-signed with the Mavericks.

This also occured in a situation with Gary Payton. Like Henderson, Payton was also traded on February 24, 2005 to the Atlanta Hawks in a deal that brought former Celtic Antoine Walker back to Boston. The Hawks then waived Payton immediately following the trade, and he returned a week later to Boston as a free agent. Payton started all 77 games he played for the Celtics and they won the Atlantic Division before losing in the first round to the Indiana Pacers.

Trade/Claim:
If a team is over the cap and receives a player in a trade or claims a player off of waivers, they cannot trade the player in combination with other players for 2 months. The player can be traded by himself.

Some current examples of this include: Pau Gasol, Shaquille O'Neal, Kwame Brown, Shawn Marion, Marcus Banks, Stromile Swift, Jason Collins, Javaris Crittenton.

Portland-New Jersey Revised

With the Nets-Grizzlies trade occuring today sending Jason Collins to Memphis for Stromile Swift, my Kidd-to-the-Blazers trade needs to be revised.

Here is the new version:

Nets receive:
Raef LaFrentz, $12,440,787, 2 Years Remaining
Jarrett Jack. $1,217,400, 2 Years Remaining
Channing Frye, $2,487,240, 2 Years Remaining
Sergio Rodriguez, $817,000, 2 Years Remaining
2008 First Round Pick

Portland receives:
Jason Kidd, $19,728,000, 2 Years Remaining
Malik Allen, $770,610, 1 Year Remaining
Darrell Armstrong, $770,610, 1 Year Remaining

Breaking Up the Nets

After 44 games, the New Jersey Nets and Portland Trail Blazers have opposite records to most people's suprise, 18-26 for the Nets and 26-18 for the Blazers. As Jason Kidd and Vince Carter get older, the Nets need to make sure to move these players before their value dips too low.

Portland has a great deal of depth and nice, young players, but to really make a run in the playoffs they need a veteran. Jason Kidd, with two years remaining on his contract, would be the perfect fit to lead Portland into a decade of potential dominance.

This trade would allow the Nets to rebuild quickly before they move to Brooklyn and Portland would immediately become a legitimate contender this season.

Nets receive:
Raef LaFrentz, $12,440,787, 2 Years Remaining
Channing Frye, $2,487,240, 2 Years Remaining
Darius Miles, $8,250,000, 3 Years Remaining
Sergio Rodriguez, $817,000, 2 Years Remaining
2008 First Round Pick

Portland receives:
Jason Collins, $6,100,000, 2 Years Remaining
Jason Kidd, $19,728,000, 2 Years Remaining
Malik Allen, $770,610, 1 Year Remaining

This trade would give Portland a starting lineup of Jason Kidd at point guard, Brandon Roy at shooting guard, Martell Webster at small forward, LaMarcus Aldridge at power forward, and Joel Pryzbilla at center. With this trade, Portland's bench would get even deeper with Steve Blake and Jarrett Jack at guard; James Jones, Travis Outlaw, and Josh McRoberts at forward; and Malik Allen and Jason Collins at center. Portland would be two deep at each position and with Greg Oden coming back next year, they would certainly be one of the favorites going into the 2008-09 season.

For the Nets, more big talent would be the benefit of this trade. With Marcus Williams waiting in the wings, Kidd may be expendable. Plus, Rodriguez at 21 years old, has shown some flashes of brilliance at the point guard. Additionally, Frye is only 24 and has shown an ability to stand-out on the defensive end. Miles is coming off an injuy and could be a factor off the bench for the Nets. LaFrentz has two years left in his contract, and after this season, his contract could potentially become an asset to add another player down the line.

Although the Nets clearly would not get equal value for their best player, Jason Kidd, they would be moving him out to the Western Conference and would give themselves some future flexibility. If the Nets wait any longer, all they will have is a player with less value and a team that struggles to even make the playoffs.