NBA free agency is about to open and the trade rumors are getting hot. Here is one trade that every NBA team should consider making.
The Finals are done, the Warriors have been coronated, and the draft just wrapped up. It’s time to look toward the future. The NBA machine has no off switch and the rumor mill now churns at full bore. A cavalcade of moves has already been consummated, including Minnesota’s heist of Jimmy Butler.
The pomp and circumstance of the offseason arguably make it the best part of the year, bringing about Twitter gems, #WojBombs, and the hope of exciting possibilities for every fan. No matter how meager your present is, salvation could come with one savvy trade. And let’s be honest, unless your favorite squad is a stanchion of continuity, shaking things up is the most fun aspect of the NBA.
Using my double-black belt in trade machine karate, I hypothesized deals that were fiscally compatible, mutually beneficial, and theoretically practical for all 30 teams. So take my hand, release the sails, and let the trade winds blow you from the safe harbor of complacency. See the move each team should make this summer. Just important to note, each of these trades exist independently within a vacuum of themselves.
Atlanta Hawks
Let’s start alphabetically with the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks are the very embodiment of “meh” on a basketball court. In a short time span, they transformed from an uninspiring also-ran, to Spurs East, back into first-round roadkill. Paul Millsap exercised his early termination option to escape the stagnation of a team muddling in mediocrity.
The good news for the Hawks is they only have about $65 million in salary commitments next season. The bad news is that $35 million of that is dedicated to just Kent Bazemore and newly-acquired Miles Plumlee. The best news is even though they lost their recent trade from a pure talent standpoint, they ridded themselves of Dwight Howard — which is an addition by subtraction.
That deal, which shipped Howard to Charlotte for essentially an order of Waffle House hash browns in return, signaled the Hawks are leaning into a rebuild. As a team going nowhere and a loaded draft on the horizon, it was a forward-thinking move.
At this point, they should go full tabula rasa to position themselves for a high draft pick and clear balance sheet. They need to find a partner that fancies themselves as an upgrade away from being a serious contender.
Atlanta would welcome back DeMarre Carroll to the place he blossomed and gets a chance to audition Bruno Caboclo. If you don’t remember Caboclo, he was famed on draft night 2014 as the Brazilian Kevin Durant, tabbed for being two years away from being two years away. If you’re the Hawks, this is precisely the type of player to roll the dice with, in hopes that a special talent can be cultivated with more floor time.
Toronto, assuming they get the band back together for another run at the Eastern Conference crown, replaces Carroll with Bazemore, a similar player who’s three years younger.
Boston Celtics
Boston added yet another future asset to their war chest by sending the No. 1 overall pick in the draft to Philadelphia for the No. 3. As Danny Ainge amasses picks and bides his time waiting for the perfect blockbuster to present itself, he should find incremental improvements as well.
After getting pounded inside in the Eastern Conference Finals, Boston’s number-one priority this offseason is addressing their weak rebounding and shot-blocking. They have a glut of backcourt talent and it’s high-time to parlay it into finding a dynamic rim-protector who can clean the glass.
The Kings, in dire need of finding guards who can play, and ripe with big men, present themselves as a natural bartering partner. Willie Cauley-Stein has been erratic in his young career, but that can be blamed on the erratic environment he dropped into. Juxtaposing his physical gifts under the tutelage of Al Horford and Brad Stevens should unlock consistency and give the Celtics the exact player archetype they lack.
Terry Rozier has shown flashes of being a starting-caliber floor general, but can’t escape the guard hierarchy in Boston. This swap would balance two rosters, each with a glaring need.
Brooklyn Nets
The Nets are the NBA’s doormat, averaging 26 wins over the past three seasons, thanks in large part to one incredibly short-sighted trade. Their roster is mostly a concert of ninth-men, devoid of any high-upside players. However, they’re only mired in their deal with the devil for one more year and own all of their first-round picks starting in 2019. The light at the end of the tunnel grows closer.
Sean Marks already began undoing the damage of the previous regime, making shrewd deals to gain draft compensation where he could. The trade he just swung with the Lakers is the exact types of moves he should be making — using excess cap room to absorb contracts and gain talent that other GM’s are looking to move on from. D’Angelo Russell has the chance to be special, something you can’t say about anyone else on the Brooklyn roster.
The afterglow of Linsanity will be forever radiant in the New York metro area. However, with the Nets’ current state, Jeremy Lin would be best served on a team where he can make a bigger impact. Leading up to the 2015 Draft, Mario Hezonja was a fiery, super-confident swingman from Croatia, who drew comparisons from J.R. Smith to Kobe Bryant. After two seasons in the league, Hezonja looks like an abject bust. Still, he’s only 22 and maybe a change of scenery would do him well.
If I’m a Nets fan, the prospect of Russell and Hezonja’s combined upside is something to get excited about.
Charlotte Hornets
The Hornets are slated to have the third-highest payroll next season but are miles away from being the third-best team. They reside on the dreaded “treadmill of mediocrity” cul-de-sac. Their ceiling tops out at low-seeded first-round patsy, and their floor isn’t quite low enough to bring them great lottery odds. Their acquisition of Dwight Howard raised both of those, but this isn’t a group putting fear into hearts around the league.
Michael Jordan is clearly trying to put a winning outfit together. With Howard now in the middle and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist in tow, they’re gonna need some shooting to space the floor around Kemba Walker. Having Malik Monk gracefully fall to them in the draft helps a ton, but they’ll still need another marksman to keep defenses from sagging into the paint.
Allen Crabbe is sneakily one of the best 3-point snipers in the NBA. Among qualified players this past season, Crabbe posted the third-highest 3-point shooting percentage. The Trailblazers were a little overzealous in giving him his last contract and his top qualities are redundant for them. This trade gives Portland a chance to cut long-term salary and get out from under that deal.
Chicago Bulls
The scare Chicago put into Boston in the first-round was more red herring than promise for the future. The Bulls have an ill-fitting roster and floating around in perpetuity as a 6-to-8-seed isn’t a good look. The Jimmy Butler trade was the first step in blowing it up.
The fallout from the Tom Thibodeau era has not been fruitful. After a few seasons not sure whether they were coming or going, the Bulls have stepped into full rebuilding phase. Time to keep purging the vets and hand the keys to the kids.
Chicago should call Thibodeau back up and see if he wants to reunite with another one of his former players. Especially since Chicago got fleeced on the draft night trade for Butler. Rajon Rondo doesn’t have too much value around the league and almost none to a team under construction.
Rondo has been known for getting disgruntled. A reunion with his old coach might be the only way to avoid a situation of infighting caused by intense Connect 4 tournaments.
Cleveland Cavaliers
As the rumors swirl around a Kevin Love for Paul George swap, the Cavaliers need to think about what’s best in the long-term. George only has one year remaining on his deal, alongside a burning desire to pursue his manifest destiny in L.A.
During Cleveland’s Finals ruination, we found Love…in a…hopeless place. Whether fair or not, he was always going to take the fall since his slow foot speed made him the most mismatched against Golden State. Putting George in his spot would help, but it wouldn’t put them over the Warriors.
What Cleveland needs to do is round out their roster with better wing options and financial flexibility. They have nearly $130 million committed over each of the next two seasons. Cleveland’s biggest problem in the Finals was not having enough two-way support players in their lineups. While star-power propels you into the upper-strata of the NBA, the correct balance of chemistry and skills determine championships. Whatever help Iman Shumpert brings on the defensive end, quickly gets negated by every one of his jumpers that clang off the side of the backboard.
The greatest upgrade the Cavs can get is not having to choose between offensive zeros or defensive liabilities.
The Denver Nuggets have stockpiled talent for the past couple seasons. Their cache adds up to one budding unicorn, a bunch of good players, and not enough minutes to go around. The remedy for that would be packaging a bouquet for a star. Cleveland trading Love for the bundle of Wilson Chandler, Will Barton, and Gary Harris would fill the potholes in the Cavs roster so they wouldn’t have to trot out washed-up vets anymore.
Love would give the Nuggets three more years of control, along with a second building block to team with Nicola Jokic. Sure, that pairing would hemorrhage points on the defensive end, but the offense would hum with two skilled, stretch-bigs. Not to mention, the picturesque vision of Love becoming Denver’s flintlock; rifling outlets in the high altitude to spark their up-tempo attack would be a lot of fun.
Dallas Mavericks
Mark Cuban’s never been afraid of taking risks. It’s been a detriment at times, but also built a champion. He’s also never shied away from spending money. The Mavericks routinely roll out one of the highest payrolls year after year. Winning is always the goal.
The man it’s all been centered around for nearly two decades is future hall of famer, Dirk Nowitzki. This offseason, Nowitzki is restructuring his deal to give Dallas more flexibility to work with. Mark Cuban will continue to repay the face of his franchise’s loyalty and surround him with the best teammates possible for his final hurrah.
They don’t have too much in the way of tradeable assets, so they’ll have to get creative.
Brandon Knight is coming off a very down year where he scored a career-low 11 points per game. Rick Carlyle gets the most out of his players, so I’d leave it to him to restore Knight’s confidence. At their peaks, Knight is the best player. And even though he’s the longest tenured in the league, he’s actually the youngest of the three.
Dwight Powell brings energy and Seth Curry, as his name would indicate, is a marksman. Phoenix’s biggest coup in this deal is moving Knight’s contract.
Denver Nuggets
Denver is a blossoming collection of players that are becoming increasingly fun to watch. The emergence of Nicola Jokic from afterthought to budding unicorn makes this squad a League Pass delight.
With whispers now bubbling to the surface that the Clippers are scanning for places to move DeAndre Jordan, Denver should throw their hat in the ring.
The major facet the Nuggets lack on the court is rim protection. Jordan, capable of clearing the Rocky Mountains in a single bound, would solve that immediately.
Denver has been non-committal to Kenneth Faried for years now. Faried, while tenacious, is a guy whose game relies on athleticism. As that declines with age, so will his effectiveness. Move him now while his value is relatively good.
The Clippers would get a melange of forwards and more manageable contracts to keep or flip. Plus, they’d garner the reclamation project of Emmanuel Mudiay. Perhaps under the wing of Chris Paul, Mudiay’s tremendous potential could be unlocked.
Detroit Pistons
Stan Van Gundy is actively standing by for calls on the two players he was supposed to be building around. However, both Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson have their blemishes. Drummond owns the lowest free throw percentage in NBA history, while Jackson seems to be a malcontent wherever he goes.
The panic in Detroit is centered around winning now, so one of these two needs to go. I think they should till their culture and then see what grows.
Detroit’s 2016-17 season was mostly a hot mess, but they started out as a respectable team while Jackson was sidelined with knee tendinitis. The Pistons found their stride on offense with Ish Smith at the helm and a better distribution of the ball. Once Jackson finished his battle with injuries, fighting with his teammates began.
While Bazemore shouldn’t be making the money he’s making, being a great teammate is his best trait. Entire montages exist to display his tremendous support of others. For Jackson’s talent, his quality as a teammate is tenuous at best. Bazemore’s not much more than a 3-and-D guy, but he might bring the best chemistry in the league.
Usually, the team who receives the best player in the deal wins the trade. In this case, Detroit would get the exact kind of presence they need to provide peace to an unrestful locker room.
Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors just got finished dismantling a team led by the best player of this generation, who averaged a nearly-34-point triple-double in five games. Their margin of victory in the Finals was almost 14 points. So what do you get a team that has it all? Let’s go with a center that doesn’t elicit imagery like this:
This team is the measuring stick for the rest of the league in the NBA arm’s race, so they might as well keep raising the bar higher. As things stand now, the Warriors are the presumptive title favorites for the remainder of the decade. But things change pretty fast in the NBA. If you’re not getting better, then you’re moving backward.
Kevon Looney represents a player brimming with upside, but it’s an upside that may never get realized in Golden State. Daryl Morey and the Rockets always have the long game in mind. Swapping Clint Capela for Looney gives them an extra year of a rookie contract while they try to reel in their next big fish.
Golden State gets their next pivot to hold down the middle and deter shots. Also, someone who’s an upgrade from their center tandem from this past season.
Houston Rockets
Ever since their miraculous comeback against the Clippers in 2015 (led by Josh Smith and Corey Brewer), the Houston Rockets have been synonymous with the absence of playoff fire.
Houston stalled out this past postseason once they lost Nene to a groin injury. Just an FYI, if your playoff life rests on the ashen-dreadlock enrobed shoulders of an oft-injured center, finding a better version of him seems like a prudent choice.
The Rockets need strength. They need toughness. They need a hammer.
Nene is an injury-prone free agent and Marcin Gortat could take his place as the crafty veteran big man the Rockets always seem to have on call.
Trevor Ariza’s shooting started to slip last season. Daryl Morey, invariably the progressive, would rather move him now and gain something of value than let him walk after the year or pay him his next big contract. Ariza is entering his age-32 season and his effectiveness will decline precipitously with his athleticism.
Going back to Washington would help their roster balance and hand the Wizards a stop-gap insurance policy if they can’t re-sign Otto Porter. The deal would also open up over $3 million in salary and one fewer year of contract obligations.
Indiana Pacers
The Indiana front office needs to wake up and smell the creamed corn…Paul George is absconding the Hoosier State as soon as his contract is up. It would behoove them to get something before he bolts, and the longer they wait, the further his value drops.
The Pacers are a team in limbo, stuck in the purgatorial intermediary of the Eastern Conference. Outside of George or Myles Turner, they don’t have much in the way of top-flight talent or high-potential youngsters. So they need to find a team that does…
While George depressed the Pacers’ leverage by making his wishes to be in L.A. crystal clear, the Lakers don’t want him getting a taste of playing on a contender and having a change of heart. Indiana takes every non-core young piece in the Lakers pantry and insists on swapping Monta Ellis’ contract for Corey Brewer’s expiring.
Los Angeles doesn’t mess around and gets its man for elements they don’t view as imperative. Indiana starts their rebuild on the fly with a bunch of solid young players to put with Turner, and probably end up with the ripple effect of a mid-lottery pick in 2018.
Los Angeles Clippers
With the Los Angeles Clippers’ latest playoff flameout, it’s time to hit the reset button. Forget that all the numbers suggest them being an elite team when their big three play together, because their big three have trouble staying on the court. Besides the health issues, basketball teams perpetuating a failing narrative can grow stale. This group permeates the musty aroma of mothballs.
Despite the writing being on the wall, the Clippers keep deciding to run it back, pointing to injuries or lack of depth for their playoff shortcomings. This trade is a reboot instead of a rebuild, and gives Chris Paul one of his best friends to play with. Carmelo Anthony escapes the toxic situation in New York to rejuvenate his career.
This deal comes with two caveats. First, the Clippers would have to make this a sign-and-trade as Blake Griffin opted out of the final year of his contract. The second being Anthony’s no-trade clause. Though, if Anthony has finally had it with all of Phil Jackson’s slights, (and by now, he should have) it would be assumed the Clippers are a team he’d greenlight.
At their apexes, Griffin was the better all-around player, but injuries probably robbed us of peak Griffin. For Anthony’s flaws, this would be the ideal situation for this point of his career. In L.A., he’d have Paul to shoulder the load with and an elite rim protector in DeAndre Jordan behind him. Anthony is at his best when surrounded by top players and the Clippers could do much worse for reshuffling their championship aspirations.
Griffin and Anthony are long past their expiration dates in their current cities. Here, we get two badly needed relocations and half of team banana boat (the banana split?) assembled. Let’s make a deal.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers already fired off one of the young asset bullets loaded in their chamber to clear long-term cap space. Dumping Timofey Mozgov’s onerous contract opens the floodgates of future possibilities. Paul George has done everything short of standing outside of Staples Center with a boombox raised over his head to make his desires known. Still, plenty of contenders inquire about the star forward.
Sure the Lakers are the frontrunner, but they can’t afford the risk of him landing with Cleveland and never wanting to leave LeBron’s side. (THE CAVS CAN TRADE KEVIN LOVE FOR HIM STRAIGHT UP RIGHT NOW.) That’s not a chance the new management wants to take as they try to bring the Lakers back to prominence as quickly as possible.
Yes, this is the same base for the trade I listed for the Pacers to make as well, only because it’s the best for both parties. Indiana trading for Love makes no sense if they’re trying to rebuild (and rebuild they should).
More than the starry hills of Southern California already does, a core of George, Brandon Ingram, and Lonzo Ball bursts with potential and will entice free agents to flock to L.A. Magic knows this better than anyone and is ready to make a splash. Stop prolonging the inevitable already. DO IT.
Memphis Grizzlies
Memphis is a team with a rapidly closing window that probably won’t ever be good enough to make a finals appearance. With its current core in place, they’re committed to doing what they can to win now. Marc Gasol sits on the wrong side of 30, while Mike Conley hits the milestone age in October.
If the Grizzlies are gonna make a push, they might as well go all in.
The Magic are another team trying to get out from under the mistakes made by previous leadership. I made this exact same trade for Orlando as well since it correlates with their timeline and need to bottom out.
Memphis gains two useful pieces for their supporting cast — a scorer with touch from outside, and a back-to-the-basket offensive force. The signing of Chandler Parsons was supposed to address the former, giving the Grizzlies the type of facilitating wing they never really had before.
Zach Randolph, Grit-N-Grind poster child, is a free agent and is no guarantee to return. Vucevic would slide into his departed role pretty seamlessly and, in time, could learn to fight Blake Griffin every time they play each other.
Miami Heat
Miami attracts big-name talent. It’s glitzy, it’s tax-free, and it has the famed South Beach. It’s also a team run by Pat Riley, the NBA’s version of the Godfather. When Riley talks, players listen.
His fingerprints are on LeBron James’ decision to join the Heat in 2010. The man carries a lot of sway. He’s also a shark who can smell blood in the water and act accordingly when he does.
This would be a classic Miami move — Riley sniffs out a team in disarray and constructs a deal where he extracts the best player. Tobias Harris is a tweener forward, but is talented and just turning 25. Under Eric Spoelstra’s vision, his quality of play could only improve. Tyler Johnson blossomed into a nice player in Miami, but he ultimately doesn’t move the needle too much.
Detroit’s a team with the aim of making the playoffs but lacks the right combination of players to do so. They have heaps of money tied up around all the wrong players. A salary reprieve of expiring contracts would be welcomed with open arms.
Besides, Wayne Ellington’s 3-point gunning would fit right into Stan Van Gundy’s spread-the-floor gameplan. It might even be the elixir that Josh McRoberts needs to rejuvenate his career.
Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks echoed Wisconsin’s dense forests when they built their factory of tree-limbed basketball players. This team’s trajectory puts them on the ascent to contend for the Eastern crown.
They deploy the most untouchable/incredible/”are we sure he’s not an alien?”/”how are his arms THAT long?”/”wait, he just got to the rim from halfcourt in three steps!” player in the league, in Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Thon Maker is an embryonic unicorn, who is just scratching the surface of his what he can become. Khris Middleton can definitely be the third-best player on a championship team. And Malcolm Brogdon was a great second-round find. Plus, they still have Jabari Parker, though he’s not the ideal second-banana for Antetokounmpo.
While Parker is a great scorer, he’s a ball-stopper who plays suspect defense. He looks like this generation’s Carmelo Anthony, which is meant as both a compliment and an insult.
The playoffs exposed their need for another assertive presence. While we all love Jason Terry and his unflappable confidence, the 39-year old vet shouldn’t be your crunch time answer in elimination games. Milwaukee should find a secondary creator and keep adding to their collection of pterodactyl wingspans in the process.
The Jazz find themselves in a tough spot. They could be losing their leading scorer to free agency and start toppling down the Western ladder as a result. Parker would mitigate the effects of that and give them a new player to build around. Just three years removed from being taken second overall, someone will take a chance on Parker’s pedigree and chalk up his pair of ACL tears as bad luck.
Donovan Mitchell isn’t a pure point guard, but in Milwaukee, he wouldn’t have to be. He just needs to take pressure off Giannis, create some shots for others, and knock down an open look every now and then. He already has the requisite ridiculous wingspan to fit in with the Bucks.
Injuries and ineffectiveness have kept Dante Exum off the court a lot in his short career. Still, he’ll be 22 this July and was once called the Australian Kobe Bryant. Maybe the relief from the constraints of living up to that comparison will help jostle loose some magic for him. He’d also be another long guard for Milwaukee to add to their arsenal.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Tom Thibodeau didn’t come to Minnesota to toil in sub-zero conditions or hang out at the Mall of America. This fledgling team busting at the seams with promise was supposed to melt his icy heart like the spring thaw.
His debut season didn’t go according to plan. After pulling the trigger on the offseason’s first blockbuster and netting Jimmy Butler, the Timberwolves now look primed to fulfill the prophecies of yesteryear, when FiveThirtyEight projected them to win 46 games.
They are far from a finished product and could still use a little more help with the supporting cast, and preferably someone who can play above average defense.
Courtney Lee has been undervalued as a role player and passed around the league throughout his career.
If they catch Phil Jackson at the right time, he might see the name “Jordan Hill” and misconstrue it as two separate last names during a peyote flashback. Or maybe he’ll even start dozing off in the middle of negotiations.
Minnesota uses its extra cap space to absorb the surplus of Lee’s contract and New York gets relief with Hill’s expiring deal and a second rounder to grease the rails.
New Orleans Pelicans
New Orleans didn’t have much success following their wave-making acquisition of DeMarcus Cousins. But integrating a huge piece like that and creating an unconventional lineup (for today’s game) takes time and practice. Most NBA fans saw the 11-14 results of the 25-game sample, coupled it where the league currently resides, and would say the Pelicans twin-tower model won’t work.
In most cases, I’d agree. However, not when you have the two most talented (and mobile) centers in the league combining forces. The plight of New Orleans is poor roster construction with their dearth of help on the wings and an overabundance of lumbering traditional centers down the bench.
This is basically a classic “your trash for my garbage” swap, but Portland gets to clear almost $6 million annually from their books and dump two contracts that already look bad one season removed. New Orleans brings in players more conducive to them winning. With Jrue Holliday questionable to return to the Big Easy, Evan Turner would provide the Pelicans with someone to run the offense and Allen Crabbe as the floor-spacer to bomb 3’s.
Turner needs the ball in his hands to be effective. The best trait he brings to a team — aside from a pristine social media presence — is facilitating. He’s wasted in Portland with two ball-dominant guards ahead of him, but would thrive with the Pelicans by feeding Anthony Davis and Cousins all game.
New York Knicks
The Knicks are tricky. Ever the grain mill of incompetence, dozens of reports leaked that they’re fielding trade offers for Kristaps Porzingis, sending nearly every Knicks fan I know into catatonic shock. Even when they stumble upon a unicorn paradigm of the NBA, the apex building-block teams are falling over themselves to get… they appear determined to screw it up. With the Knicks, anything is possible, in the worst way possible. I wrote a short letter to Phil Jackson.
Dear Phil,
Please stop.
Love,
Knicks fans everywhere
Speaking of situations Jackson screwed up, they’re well past needing to move Carmelo Anthony. He has that pesky no-trade clause (and trade kicker) baked into his contact for reasons still unexplained. There is one place, in particular, Anthony would probably waive it for…
In this deal, the Knicks get the best return possible for a player whose value they diminished. They are, however, forced to take back the increasingly ineffective Iman Shumpert.
Anthony, I’d have to imagine, is tired of the front office antics in New York. With this deal, he gets to go fight for a ring alongside one of his best friends, LeBron James. It would also put us just one Chris Paul sign-and-trade and Dwyane Wade buyout away from the dream of assembling team banana boat – a proposition I’d be delighted about.
I have another short letter I wrote:
Dear Carmelo,
Waive the NTC and run into LeBron’s arms like Andy and Red at the end of Shawshank Redemption.
Sincerely,
Paul
Oklahoma City Thunder
The clock is ticking on Russell Westbrook. I’m sure Sam Presti is acutely aware.
It feels like since the dawn of time, the Thunder have unfruitfully searched for a 2-way backcourt partner for Westbrook. They’ve filled the slot with guys who can defend but can’t shoot, guys who can shoot but can’t defend, and guys who can’t really do either.
In a perimeter-oriented league, shoring up the spot opposite Westbrook should be top priority.
I know Westbrook and Patrick Beverley have a history, but people normally fight with those who are the most like them. Finding each other on the same side of the brawl would probably make them fast friends.
Beverley is used to fitting the parameters of a point guard, but hardly ever touching the ball. Going from playing with James Harden to Westbrook would be old hat. He’s known for his dogged defense but dramatically improved his 3-point shooting, putting up percentages beyond the arc of 38.2 in the regular season and 40.4 in the playoffs. He’d finally give the Thunder a player they wouldn’t have to take concessions with on either side of the ball. Beverley is small of course, but Westbrook has the length and strength to matchup with bigger guards, allowing the pairing to flourish.
Trevor Ariza would also provide a stable 3-and-D veteran to lean on as a secondary option. Hopefully, he’d be able to take Oklahoma City’s coterie of swingmen under his wing and teach them consistency.
You don’t normally see embroiled conference foes make trades with each other. For that reason, the Thunder really have to sweeten the pot for the Rockets to comply.
Steven Adams would give the Rockets a reliable option in the pivot and an injection of some sorely needed toughness.
Victor Oladipo never really found himself in a great situation thus far in his career. He’s just 25 though, and getting immersed in the invigorating waters of the Houston system should be revitalizing. Essentially swapping Ariza for Oladipo gives Houston a chance to develop a similar player who’s seven years younger.
Orlando Magic
The Magic are a franchise clearing the debris from the helter-skelter dealings of a GM on the hotseat. New Orlando GM, John Hammond, knows from his days in Milwaukee that bottoming out is the best path to acquiring transcendent talent.
Starting a new tenure, especially with a franchise accustomed to losing, comes with a long leash. Hammond would have the slack to blow things up and play the long game. Orlando owns all their future picks, so they should accumulate as many ping pong balls as possible.
There are shadow tanking moves, there are regular tanking moves, and there are blatant, spit in the face of convention tanking moves. This trade definitely fits the latter. It might not make sense on paper, but ask yourself: would you rather win 30 games and get the sixth pick or win 15 and have the inside track for first overall? I’m in the second camp. If you’re gonna be bad, might as well be really bad. Plus, this would also open up space on Orlando’s cap sheet.
The Grizzlies’ top players aren’t getting any younger. Marc Gasol’s 32 and Mike Conley will be 30 at the start of the season. If they want to give it a real shot with this group, they need complementary pieces around them.
Memphis handed Chandler Parsons quite the handsome deal last summer, making him the 15th highest paid player in the league. It’s already an albatross. Parsons was (in theory) the extra piece to help the Grizzlies become true challengers for the Western throne, but his injury-plagued 2016-17 was a net-zero and no one knows if his knees will ever hold up. Evan Fournier would give them most of what Parsons was supposed to, without the health question marks. Memphis has done well with post-up specialists and Nikola Vucevic can slide into Zach Randolph’s current vacancy. D.J. Augustin comes as the price of doing business, but he can give useful backup minutes.
For the Magic, this would be a radical move along the fringes of Sam Hinkie’s darkest fever dreams.
Fournier and Vucevic are fine players, but they’re not franchise-altering forces. Take a step back to take two steps forward. And who knows, maybe coming back home would be a healing tonic for Parsons. If his body continues to fail him, the probability of landing a high pick in the loaded 2018 draft goes up.
Do what’s right, John, steer into the skid.
Philadelphia 76ers
The 76ers cashed in some of its Process chips to get the top pick from Boston and draft Markelle Fultz. Fultz not only represents the best talent in the 2017 draft pool, he lacks the holes in his game that other prospects get picked apart for. He’s yet another promising young pillar to build on (whose injury luck will hopefully be better than their other two).
Philly needs to just let it breathe. They don’t possess any bad contracts. Their cornerstones all have massive upside. And their supporting cast is young and talented as well. They shouldn’t do anything drastic that could disturb their ecosystem. With a pair of high-usage ball handlers and a modern 7-footer in the middle, Philly could use the right role-playing veteran presence around them. Mentoring the kids and teaching them about NBA life will be just as important as hitting the open corner-3.
Jared Dudley is known as one of the most respected locker room guys across the league. He’s been around the block and a part of five different teams in his ten-year career. He’s also a 39.7 percent career shooter from 3 compared to 32.7 percent for Gerald Henderson.
For Phoenix, they get to shave $1.5 million off their books and gain an expiring contract – a commodity rising in value with the salary cap not growing as high as it was projected to.
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are an outfit with a clear plan of building toward the future. After failed attempts at three point guard lineups and whiffs in free agency, they’re taking the prudent road of accumulating fledgling stars and holding fast the promise of tomorrow.
While the hope of a superstar is a powerful thing, a more powerful thing is actually having one. Fortunately for the Suns, their compilation of young talent is what it takes to pry an idolized player from another franchise.
Phoenix rapidly goes from talent cultivator to frisky playoff challenger. In addition to Anthony Davis, they’d roll with Devin Booker, Marquese Chriss, Tyler Ulis, TJ Warren, the Brandon Knight reclamation project, and whatever Tyson Chandler has left in the tank. That’s a formidable bunch. And hopefully, the Suns’ maestro training staff can keep the Brow healthy.
New Orleans nets a bounty for Davis, and rightfully so. They’d get Eric Bledsoe to keep them competitive in the present, two potential stars and a pick to help them later on. The Pelicans, although would lose one of the best players in the league, becomes a better team overall.
Portland Trail Blazers
Every Portland fan probably knows, deep down in their hearts, that the marriage of their best two players, while exciting and explosive, isn’t conducive to winning — at least without being surrounded by defensive-minded players.
The Trail Blazers were fast and loose last summer, serving up opulent contracts to sub-opulent talent like hotcakes. They’re strapped for cash and need to find the right complements to help them climb the Western Conference pecking order.
Portland created a logjam at center with the draft. Zach Collins is the future and Festus Ezeli is around to soak up minutes. Nurkic was a steal at the deadline and exceptional in his short time wearing black and red, but will demand a hefty paycheck next season — one the Trail Blazers can ill-afford to give him. Boston could use his size and strength in the middle, either off the bench or starting alongside Al Horford.
Jae Crowder is one of the biggest bargains in the league, showing himself to be an invaluable role player over the last few seasons. He’s coming off a down year and now sees a pair of back-to-back No. 3 picks who play his position. His time in Boston might be waning. Finding a new home where he can continue as a starter is best for all involved. The Trail Blazers are parched for someone who can play his level of defense.
Meyers Leonard comes over to fill the tall, goofy, white guy void left by Kelly Olynyk (assuming he doesn’t re-sign). Honestly, if Leonard grows his hair and a beatnik chin beard, I don’t think anyone would notice. Pat Connaughton is included to make the money work. He never sees floor time for the Celtics, but sells a lot of jerseys in the Irish-heavy Boston area where he grew up.
Sacramento Kings
Rudy Gay opted out of the last year of his deal, Arron Afflalo’s final year got waived, and Tyreke Evans’ contract expired. Sacramento’s highest paid player right now is Kosta Koufos at a shade over $8 million per. The Kings are in sterling financial standing, their books a cornucopia of rookie deals and a smattering of mid-level vets. As long as the killer V’s, Vivek and Vlade, don’t start launching free agent contracts this summer like a t-shirt cannon at halftime, the Kings are on the road to recovery.
The Sacramento front office took a lot of heat with the last trade they made. Sending their star player out of town for 60 cents on the dollar was not well received. So far though, it’s actually worked out okay. Buddy Hield isn’t the next Steph Curry, but he’s part of a nice young core that now includes his perfect running mate in De’Aaron Fox. They measure up as the poor man’s version of the Washington backcourt. How quickly the Kings can go from afterthought to playoff team directly aligns with their development.
In the meantime, Sacramento should use their copious cap room to help out a team in dire monetary straits and pilfer assets for their trouble.
I think the Wizards would be so floored that someone would take Ian Mahinmi off their hands, they wouldn’t even think twice about packaging Kelly Oubre Jr.
Oubre Jr. just started exhibiting the qualities that made him a 5-star recruit out of high school.
By the time Sacramento could realistically become a contender, Mahinmi’s contract will either be expiring, rolling off the books, or maybe won’t be as much of an albatross. If Oubre ends up as a legitimate starting swingman, it would have been worth the price paid.
Sacramento has the space to burn, stack up as many assets as possible.
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs have made their hay by investing in the infrastructure. They employ the best coach ever, revolve and evolve their system around bedrock players, unearth talents from every corner of the globe, incubate from within, and turn guys on the scrap heap into useful contributors…
But even master alchemist, Gregg Popovich can only turn chicken crap into chicken salad for so long. It’s only a matter of time before he finds a bucolic vineyard to retire to. The Spurs need to get another star to go into battle with atop the Western Conference food chain.
Yes, I realize this deal directly plays devil’s avocado to the trade and argument I made for New Orleans, but hear me out. A) They have no guarantee to keep DeMarcus Cousins past this season. B) If the front office thinks his 25-game stint in the Big Easy served as any indicator, they do not have nearly enough help on the wing to compete. C) Aldridge can give them 70 percent of Cousins’ stats and Danny Green would step in as their best swingman and outside shooter from the get go. D) They get to ditch Omer Asik and his worthless contract.
On the other side, this trade would be a homerun for San Antonio. After this past postseason, Spurs fans are ready to drive LaMarcus Aldridge to the airport. A trade for the supremely talented upgrade would have them ecstatic.
The Spurs coup a second foundational piece to fight the Warriors with. If any man on the planet can harness both Cousins’ tremendous gifts and mercurial personality, it’s Coach Pop. It wouldn’t be the first time Popovich took on a player with Cousins’ temperament, but it would certainly be his greatest feat. And I’m sure within their lush basketball ecosystem, Asik would put up averages of 8/8 in 15 minutes per game.
Toronto Raptors
Toronto is in abeyance. They fancied themselves as a legit challenger to LeBron James, but got dismissively swept by Cleveland in the second round. Now, both of their major deadline acquisitions are free agents and putting matters even more in flux, Kyle Lowry opted out of his contract to test the open market. The emergence of Norman Powell in this year’s playoffs softens the blow if Lowry doesn’t return, but they’ll have to decide which direction to go. Either way, this squad isn’t toppling the Cavaliers.
The Raptors need to look toward the future and not get bogged down in the present. In order to re-sign their own guys or make a splash in free agency, the more flexibility at their disposal the better.
The Raptors have been tepid on Jonas Valanciunas in the long-term. His lumbering style and lack of rim protection proved untenable for the majority of the playoffs. Of course, big men of his cut face diminishing value in the current state of the league.
While this trade brings in vastly inferior players, the Raptors immediately gain $1.4 million in space this year, long-term relief, and three contracts that will be easier to flip. Plus shipping out Valanciunas opens up more minutes for Toronto’s young centers.
The Timberwolves do it to add more talent to their roster, as well as someone who can play alongside or behind Karl-Anthony Towns. Tom Thibodeau is ready to push his team to a postseason berth and was always partial to having a traditional center.
Utah Jazz
No team in the league has a higher ceiling or lower floor depending on how this offseason shakes out than the Utah Jazz. Even though they just started feeling the warmth of the spotlight from putting together an up-and-coming Western Conference powerhouse, they could potentially fall right back into the shadows. The NBA can be a cruel world.
Gordon Hayward is their best player and George Hill is their starting point guard. Both could bolt this summer, leaving Utah with massive holes to fill. Whatever they do, they shouldn’t panic. They took the long road to where they are and they shouldn’t take any detours now. Find a team looking to move a veteran on a short contract and pick up a young piece or two along the way.
Utah’s best asset is cap space to use in brokering negotiations and Chicago is looking to offload veterans. Take Dwyane Wade and Cameron Payne off their hands.
Wade, as he’ll tell you, can still get buckets and while he won’t play every night, the Jazz need scorers. Now that the Bulls traded for Kris Dunn and Zach Lavine, Payne becomes VERY expendable. We still don’t know what he can do once afforded the opportunity of regular minutes, and it wouldn’t hurt the Jazz to find out. Fetching Bobby Portis for their troubles would be a nice bonus.
Washington Wizards
Ian Mahinmi’s bad-at-the-time-somehow-worse-now contract is the latest in a long line of questionable decisions Washington’s brain trust devised over the years. Combined with starting center, Marcin Gortat, the Wizards expend $28 million per year for the pair. That large of an allotment for two guys who can’t play at the same time is an abysmal use of resources. To build sustainable success, one of them has to go.
Gortat has greater value both as the superior player and possessing a more palatable contract. But it’s so hard to say goodbye to the Polish Hammer.
Washington should call another team who also made a lot of bad choices in the 2016 free agent summer of love.
Washington gets better roster balance, as well as a backup center who gets paid like a backup center. Portland get’s about $3 million trimmed off their books in the swap of anchor contracts.
Next: NBA Free Agency 2017: 20 best players available
They both get to reminisce about a magical age when everyone thought the cap was climbing to the stars and overpaying marginal rotation players didn’t mean anything. Ah, 2016 was such a simpler time.