Fansided

NBA Trade Deadline 2019: The 30-team mega-deal that solves nothing and makes everyone mad

By Ian Levy

PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 19: Jimmy Butler #23 of the Philadelphia 76ers in action against the Oklahoma City Thunder during a game at Wells Fargo Center on January 19, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Thunder defeated the Sixers 117-115. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 19: Jimmy Butler #23 of the Philadelphia 76ers in action against the Oklahoma City Thunder during a game at Wells Fargo Center on January 19, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Thunder defeated the Sixers 117-115. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /
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All 30 teams are looking for something at the NBA Trade Deadline. So why not throw them all into one big mega-trade and see if we can’t make everyone happy?

Spoiler: We can’t

Putting together an NBA trade is a complicated business. Even if you’re just a blog boy with a casual relationship with reality, messing around on ESPN’s trade machine, it’s still a challenge to find two or three teams whose needs and surplus assets overlap enough to make something plausible. Now imagine trying to make it work with every single team involved.

Welcome to my fever dream.

For the third year in a row, I’ve constructed a massive trade including all 30 teams. I am actually not sure if this is legal under the CBA but my proposal at least works for every team from a salary-in, salary-out and draft picks owed perspective.

I did my best give each team at least something to feel good about, although it was impossible to help every team walk their most obvious or most appealing path. The haul for some teams is more reasonable than others (and I’m sure you, dear reader, will happy to let me know where I’m way off base) but I feel comfortable justifying everything in here.

So have fun. Get hyped for the trade deadline. And take comfort in the fact that I don’t actually have decision-making power for your favorite team.

Atlanta Hawks

Sending out: Kent Bazemore (DET), Dewayne Dedmon (HOU), Jeremy Lin (SAC)

Bringing in: Dragan Bender (PHX), Zach Randolph (SAC), Courtney Lee (NYK), Solomon Hill (NOP), 2020 first-round pick (HOU)

The Atlanta Hawks have the luxury of taking a longer view on winning and losing trades, given that they are just in the early stages of their rebuilding. Here they send out some of their more productive veterans, replacing them with less productive versions and adding about $5 million in salary to their books for next season, not counting whatever they might end up paying Bender who enters free agency this summer.

Bender was disappointing enough in Phoenix for them to decline his fourth-year rookie option but he’s still just 21-years-old, stands 7-foot-1, has shown the ability to hit open 3-pointers (36.7 percent last season on 322 attempts) and has the length and mobility to be an effective team defender. He could be extremely interesting in the Hawks system and this gives them the chance to try him out for a few months before deciding if they want to invest in his development this summer. In addition, the Hawks pick-up a 2020 first round pick from the Houston Rockets. Waiting a year on that pick likely gives them two first-rounders this year and next and adds the slight probability that the Rockets implode before the 2020 NBA Draft and make it more valuable.

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