FanPost

How about Dalembert?

His name has been tossed around here a bit. Now that 1) Brand is making shots and playing well, 2) Dirk is rounding back into form and bringing the rest of the offense with him, and 3) RC has figured out that Kaman might not fit anywhere as shown by his plummeting minutes and Sarge getting the starting nod last night, a Kaman-for-Dalembert trade might make a lot of sense.

Earlier in the year, I wouldn't have supported such a trade cause we needed Kaman's offense - as ballstopping as it is, we needed the points especially in the half court. Now that the offense is starting to flow better (with Dirk iso in the half court, Brand and Carter teaming up off the bench, and Mayo and Collison making better decisions), Kaman isn't all that necessary. If he could learn how to play within the offense and actually pass the ball out from time to time then I still think he could be a valuable piece to this team despite his defensive and rebounding deficiencies but we have yet to see that from him at all. And his inability to protect the paint and grab boards has been further exposed with Dirk's increasing minutes. There is obviously no choice to be made between the two of them so we need to find someone that will compliment Dirk better like Brand has been able to do. I love Sarge and what he has been able to show us so far but Dalembert would certainly be a step above.

Samuel Dalembert has fallen completely out of the rotation in Milwaukee. His per game minute averages have gone from 17.2 to 18.0 to 9.7 over the last three months. The last two month averages are even further misleading as he has seen no action for 19 out of the 28 games. With the continued growth of Sanders, Henson, Mbah a Moute, and Udoh, there haven't been minutes or much of a need for the defensive center.

On the Mavericks, Dalembert would fit in perfectly as a starter. He is a career 8 and 8 guy that gets after the boards, has long arms and averages 1.8 blocks a game, and he doesn't have the Haywood hands of stone. In the defensive/rebounding center spectrum, Dalembert is much closer to Chandler than Haywood as he is lighter, quicker, and has better hands. Also he played a couple seasons with Brand in Philly so they may have some sort of rapport. He is on an expiring deal so he wouldn't affect our future cap situation and he hasn't really missed a game in the last seven years.

Milwaukee is currently sitting at 7th in the East. With Boston (the 8th seed) losing Rondo for the year and Philly (the 9th seed) 5 1/2 games back from the Bucks, it looks like they are a pretty easy playoff lock. Given their playoff aspirations and the fact that Dalembert is an expiring contract, they may be looking to add a significant piece versus taking on another expiring contract in Kaman - who knows. Maybe since Dalembert isn't even part of the rotation and Milwaukee is a small market team (looking to keep salaries low), maybe they would be happy with the offensive upgrade Kaman could bring for the playoff run since they already have a handful of good defensive big men. The Bucks are 13th in points per game but way down at 25th in field goal percentage so Kaman's efficient shooting coming off the bench could really help them in the post-season. Kaman would be second on their team in terms of shooting percentage behind only starting C Larry Sanders. Even if Milwaukee isn't interested in Kaman, the Mavs could work out a three team trade with Kaman working as cap relief to the third team and the Bucks landing their significant piece. In such a deal, Kaman would open up even more possibilities since his salary is slightly higher than Dalembert's while still small enough to hit the matching % required in trades.

The Bucks have a number of other expiring contracts that they could be looking to cash in on this year. Unfortunately for them, all the other expirings are key pieces to their playoff hopes so the trade would need to be a big splash. They only really have one bad contract in Drew Gooden's 7m per with 2 years left after this year which I'm sure they would love to include in any trade. The Mavs don't have the easy matching contracts or the incentive to take on his contract for Dalembert. The Mavericks can really only offer some combination of Kaman, Da Jones, Dojo, Wright, Roddy, Mike James, Sarge, Crowder, Cunningham, and picks. What the Mavs need to offer and where it ends up (with the Bucks or a third team), all comes down to how the Bucks value Kaman and how willing they are to take on long term salary from a third team.

With Jennings being a restricted free agent, Ellis having an ETO, and Udrih being free agent after this year, the Bucks could really use some young guards. Dunleavy is a free agent after this year so depending on what they want to do with him, they could also be interested in a SF. Given that Roddy has once again for the nth time shown some flashes in the last couple games, I would prefer not to include him unless Udrih comes back in the trade since I have seen enough Mike James for the rest of the season. And likewise it would be tough to give up Crowder for a one year rental since we don't have championship aspirations or even playoff assurance. The remaining pieces don't have all that much value and specifically less value to the Bucks since they may not want additional big men in Wright and Sarge. It could be that just Kaman or Kaman and Dojo is enough though if they like Kaman's efficient offensive punch. Or maybe Kaman, Roddy, and Dojo for Dalembert and Udrih.

What do yall think about Dalembert? And what would you be willing to give up to get him?

Reader submitted. Opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of our editorial staff.