Around the NBA in 15 trades: Day 5, Hawks and Pelicans
In the lead up to the Feb. 8 trade deadline, we’re taking all 30 teams and finding mutually beneficial partners. Every day will offer up a new deal with two new consorts. It’s kinda like the 12 days of Christmas, but instead of hens-a-laying and pear trees and other useless nonsense from your true love, you’re getting fake trades from me for a much higher holy day: the NBA trade deadline. Strap in tight, it’s trading season!
In the NBA, there’s no room for half measures. You either get busy livin’ and compete for a title or you get busy dyin’ and steer hard into the skid of tanking.
Bad contracts are the theme of Day 5. This is a classic “your trash for my garbage” trade proposal. But from the standpoints of our bartering partners, one man’s trash is another man’s starting small forward.
Why the Hawks do it:
This would give Atlanta four first round picks in the upcoming draft while making them slightly worse this season. The Hawks are already among the worst teams in the league, but gaining pole position in the Luka Doncic sweepstakes should’ve been their New Year’s resolution.
Kent Bazemore, a bench mob towel-waiver turned low-end starter who rakes in $17 million per year, is the best player in this trade. He also has the highest usage rate of the group. The Hawks don’t have much use for a role player, and all of his touches could go towards their young guys. Besides, Darius Miller could be a decent Bazemore facsimile and his contract is non-guaranteed for next season.
Omer Asik and Alexis Ajinca combine to form over $15 million per year in dead money. Ah, if only I could have been 7-feet tall with rudimentary motor skills.
Solomon Hill’s missed the entire year thus far with a hamstring injury and they shouldn’t rush him back. Keep gathering those Doncic ping pong balls.
Why the Pelicans do it:
New Orleans is currently in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race. Assuming they can hold down a spot, deploying two of the NBA’s best players makes them a scary matchup for anybody. Reinforcing their supporting cast could go a long way for one of the shallowest teams in the league.
There aren’t many levers the Pelicans can pull to bring in help, so they need to be creative. Swapping unwanted contracts to get upgrades and depth at the cost of their first rounder is a fair price.
Next: Around the NBA in 15 trades: Day 4, Hornets and Timberwolves
DeMarcus Cousins’ expiring contract looms large on the horizon. If the Pelicans don’t put up a fight in the postseason and maximize the roster around their twin towers, they might nosedive into irrelevancy next year. Now’s not a time to play it safe.