NBA Trade Deadline 2016: Winners and losers
By Brad Rowland
Memphis Grizzlies – I never thought I’d say this, but a team that acquired Lance Stephenson won a trade. The Grizzlies shipped Jeff Green to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Stephenson, and while Green is the better player, the key is that Memphis extracted a 2019 first-round pick from the GM disaster that is Doc Rivers.
On the floor, the Grizzlies aren’t helped by this move, but in a year where they aren’t competing for the title, adding a first-rounder helps a great deal, and they can simply move on from Stephenson at any point given that his contract expires with a team option for 2016-2017.
Oklahoma City Thunder – It wasn’t an awe-inspiring deadline performance for Sam Presti and company, but Oklahoma City made an intelligent move in sending D.J. Augustin, Steve Novak and two future second-rounders to Denver for Randy Foye. First and foremost, the deal will save the Thunder nearly $10 million in salary and luxury tax penalties.
That is not a small thing for a franchise that is notoriously cheap (hello, James Harden trade). Beyond that, OKC opens up additional playing time for rookie point guard Cameron Payne as the primary backup to Russell Westbrook, and even in a rough shooting year (35% FG, 30% 3-PT), Randy Foye provides a solid veteran that could be responsibly deployed at shooting guard in a big spot.
Phoenix Suns – The Suns rid themselves of Markieff Morris and got a legitimate first round pick in the process. That is an amazing feat. Phoenix does have the honor of paying Kris Humphries nearly $5 million in 2016-2017, but that is the only downside of a move that finally allows the organization to move on from Morris. It can’t be overstated what the Suns were able to do to fleece Washington with the pick protection, and even with Morris on a cheap contract, it was never going to work in Phoenix after what has transpired in the past six months.
Portland Trail Blazers – Neil Olshey is a genius, but only for diehards that can appreciate his actions. Portland’s trades were largely irrelevant from a basketball standpoint, but the Blazers added a top-10 protected 2018 first round pick as a part of a deal to acquire Anderson Varejao (later waived) and the team added another second round pick along with Brian Roberts in another trade.
The significant part of these moves, though, is that Portland saves money by reaching the salary cap floor, and they even improve slightly by inserting Roberts into a role previously held by Tim Frazier. It was a universally good day for Olshey and the Blazers, even if casual fans didn’t notice.
Next: NBA Trade Losers