Saltzman Says...Who do you want for Monta Ellis?

Let's play the ever popular, WHAT IF GAME??

We all think tomorrow will be better than today.  It's the life of a sports fan.  Every trade proposal is viewed solely from your team's perspective.  Of course it can be pointless, but fan is short for fanatic, so why not do things that make little sense once in a while.

Monta Ellis is a 6'3" shooting guard who would be best served as the deadliest 6th man in basketball history with his combination of speed and scoring ability.

Which of these 5 trades makes the most sense for BOTH teams and is the most likely to ACTUALLY happen.

Remember, with Jerry West and Bob Myers running the Warriors now, we might actually do this:

1. Trade Scenario #1
Trade Monta Ellis to Philadelphia for Andre Iguodala
Reason for Philly - With Evan Turner, the 76ers have their shooting guard of the future, but tagging him with Ellis means that they finally have a closer at the end of games.  They couldn't score in the 4th quarter in the post season this past year, and Ellis can be the guy that gets them over the hump.

2. Trade Scenario #2
Trade Monta Ellis to Chicago for Luol Deng
Reason for Chicago - The Bulls have a very good defensive system and great team defense.  Despite Deng's value on defense, the team can make up for his loss on that end, to get what they've been missing since Ben Gordon signed with Detroit.  Gordon could light up the scoreboard, and that is what Ellis can bring to a Bulls team on the cusp of a Finals appearance this year.

3. Trade Scenario #3
Trade Monta Ellis to Memphis for Rudy Gay
Reason for Memphis: The Grizzlies proved two things in the playoffs.  If they re-sign Marc Gasol, they have a team they can build around Zach Randolph and Gasol.  If they re-sign Gasol, they might need to clear some money.  Moving Gay and possibly O.J. Mayo in separate deals could clear enough space to sign Gasol and bring in a replacement for Mayo in Ellis.  Ellis is what they want from Mayo, which is a dominant offensive presence.

4. Trade Scenario #4
Trade Monta Ellis to Portland for Brandon Roy
Reason for Trailblazers:  Brandon Roy's knees are to the point where he may never play again.  With Greg Oden and Roy, the team has 2 pairs of knees that are keeping the Blazers from succeeding in the post-season.  Ellis is a sure thing at this point for 20 PPG, and adding Ellis would allow the Blazers to build around LaMarcus Aldridge instead of Roy.

Saltzman Says...With Bob Myers as our new Asst. GM, Roy is an intriguing option considering he is his former agent.  If anyone knows Roy's health status, it's Myers.  If we can bring in one of the best players in the NBA, who is a 6'6 guard we can team with Curry, it might be worth the health risk.  Worst case scenario is we can clear the money to bring in a big name free agent big to build our team around.

Saltzman Says...2011 Dunk Contest is the 2nd Worst Ever

Andre Iguodala was robbed in 2006.  It was by far the worst dunk contest ever.  Nate Robinson tried over and over and over, etc... to do a dunk where he flipped the ball through his legs, but in the end, it was a simple dunk.  Iguodala had two of the best 10 dunks ever. Period.

2011 saw Serge Ibaka get robbed almost as badly. Ibaka dunked it from the foul line further back than anyone in history and he got a 45.  Brent Barry and Dr. J. were among the judges and they didn't give 10s for a fellow free throw-dunker. That's cold.  Blake Griffin, despite all the hype, ended up doing a simple 360.  It wasn't hard at all.  The initial attempt looked incredible, but he missed it.  His 3rd attempt was simply a 360.  Nothing more.  It was a 40 at best.  He got a 49.  Everyone in L.A. wanted to see Griffin advance.  Javale McGee gets an 'A' for creativity, but an 'F' for execution.  He made a dunk on his 1st attempt, yet because he was trying to dunk on two separate hoops, he kept being allowed to try it.  The same thing happened when he tried dunking three balls.  He kept getting one or two.  It was pathetic.  Ibaka's 2nd dunk was a play on the Gerald Green birthday cupcake dunk.  He grabbed a toy Oklahoma City Thunder mascot off the rim with his teeth and dunked it.  Again, a 45.  His lips were at the rim.

Ibaka's creativity wasn't awarded at the dunk contest.

Ibaka deserved to get to the final.  He didn't, and Blake Griffin, for all the buildup, ended up winning because he jumped over the hood of a Kia.  Not a Hummer, not the top of a car.  He did a regular two handed dunk over the hood of a car.  Every single contestant in the history of the dunk contest could do that dunk.

Nate Robinson stole the title in 2006. Griffin stole it in 2011.

This was a great dunk, but Blake Griffin didn't deserve the title