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| Mark D. Smith/USA TODAY Sports |
Good lord.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) February 19, 2015
In total, 37 players were involved in trades on Thursday alone and about a dozen draft picks changed hands. Here’s my best account of rationalizing and breaking down each trade in the chronological order in which they broke, in the hours leading up to Thursday’s 3pm (EST) trade deadline - outside of that last half hour to 20-minute stretch that closed out the activity, when my head might have momentarily exploded. Most of the information has been referenced from SBNation’s concise trade listings, and I’ve used the always clutch Pro Sports Transactions for any future draft picks that were moved. Portland gets: Arron Afflalo and Alonzo Gee
Denver gets: Thomas Robinson, Will Barton, Victor Claver, and a 2016 first-round pick (top-15 protected in 2016 and 2017, then turns into two future second-round picks)
Both Chris and I picked Portland as the contending team we most wanted to see make a move by the deadline, and while I threw out an unlikely Goran Dragic proposal on the Give and Go, Arron Afflalo is a perfect fit for a team on the periphery of the championship conversation. He can play either wing position (and possibly even point guard for a minute or two), tries on defense, and is a career 38.4% shooter from three with an 18.4% usage over his eight seasons in the league. He’ll presumably come off the Blazers bench behind Wes Matthews and Nic Batum, and although that might not sit well with the free agent-to-be at first, his efficiency numbers and overall effectiveness (and demeanor) should increase in playing with talented teammates who might actually like their head coach.
Afflalo might never recreate his 2013-14 numbers again (18.2 PPG, 3.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 47.3/42.7/81.5 shooting percentages on 2’s, 3’s, and free throws) and struggled in the chaotic situation in Denver this season (14.5, 3.4, 1.9 on 48.1/33.7/84.1 shooting), but should still seek a near-max-level contract in free agency and at age 29. There’s almost no chance he gets it in Portland, though, with LaMarcus Aldridge, Robin Lopez, and Wes also entering free agency this summer. His laid-back demeanor and glue-guy game should endear him to the Portland fans, and I’m interested to see how Afflalo adapts to being a role player on a good team after years of having to get his own shot on bad teams in Denver and Orlando. At worst he’s Batum insurance, in case his jumper continues to struggle or he needs to rest down the stretch with his wrist injury, but Arron Afflalo will hit big shots in a potentially deep playoff run for the Portland Trail Blazers and the only question from Blazers fans and management at the end of the season will be how they can retain Afflalo long-term.
Alonzo Gee has bounced around a couple of organizations in his six seasons in the league but has had success in shooting the ball with the Nuggets in an extremely small sample. He’s up to 41.7% on a whopping 24 total attempts from three (10/24!) in his 13.1 minutes per game, which seems entirely sustainable despite his 33.3% career mark (/s). There’s a chance that Gee struggles to adjust to Terry Stott’s offense and can’t keep up on the defensive side, but also a pretty good chance that he gains confidence playing with good teammates and for an innovative head coach after years in Cleveland with Mike Brown, and fills the “Thrill” Barton energy-role with the bench unit.
The three pieces going to Denver won’t really affect either team, as Thomas Robinson is already expected to be bought out by the Nuggets rather than come in and compete with their 20 power forwards already on the roster (I may be exaggerating). For all of Barton’s occasional high spots he’s averaging just 10 minutes a game and shooting 41.5/22.2/66.7 in triple-slash percentages, and will have to prove himself in front of a new set of coaches for playing time. Victor Claver has only appeared in 10 games this season, playing just 7.6 minutes per.
This trade was all about acquiring a first-round pick for Denver and, despite the lottery protection in 2016 and ‘17, it’s a nice return for Arron Afflalo on an expiring contract. They reportedly valued Wilson Chandler more, given his extra year of team control, and can try to get a first rounder for him either this offseason or at next year’s deadline (or re-sign him to a max-contract; who knows, it’s Denver). Moving Afflalo should open up playing time for 2014 first-round pick Gary Harris at the two guard, theoretically, but again, it’s Denver. Win-win(-win)!
Denver gets: rights to Cenk Akyol
Philadelphia gets: JaVale McGee, the rights to Chu Chu Maduabum, and a 2015 first-round pick (via Oklahoma City Thunder) (top-18 protected in 2015, top-15 protected in 2016, then turns into second-round picks in 2018 and 2019)
And then Denver goes and trades an extra first-round pick (via Oklahoma City, from the Dion Waiters and Timofey Mozgov trades) to the 76ers to unload the last year and $12 million on JaVale McGee’s contract. There’s a decent chance this pick gets conveyed this season, if the Thunder can rise a couple of spots in the Western Conference playoff standings, giving Philadelphia general manager Sam Hinkie another asset in his arsenal at the cost of some 2016 cap space. There have been no buyout discussions between JaVale and Hinkie, and there’s a likely scenario where the 76ers draft a Jahlil Okafor or Karl-Anthony Towns in June, get Joel Embiid back healthy, and trot out the first all-center NBA lineup next season. Well maybe not likely to start five centers, but at the very least the 76ers will finally hit the salary cap floor.
This trade gets a little tougher to rationalize from Denver’s perspective. JaVale has mostly been a sunk cost in his Nuggets tenure but had just the year left, albeit at $12 million, and for a team stuck between rebuilding and quitting, might have valued the first rounder over the cap space. Removing McGee could be seen as a net positive for the locker room and team chemistry, as it seemingly can’t get any lower in Denver, or ownership simply wanted to save some money over the next year and a half. The Denver Nuggets could have gone all-in on the fireworks and traded Ty Lawson if they truly wanted to clean up the chemistry, but we’ll see which one of he or Brian Shaw are still with the organization to begin the 2015-16 season.
Sacramento gets: Professor Andre Miller
Washington gets: Ramon Sessions
The rare swap of cranky, veteran point guards. The Professor has a fan in new Kings head coach George Karl and will bring his #veteranpresents to Boogie and co. on the West Coast, while Ramon Sessions will come off the bench behind John Wall in Washington after struggling to adjust in Sacto (36.8/21.4/72.7 triple slash). Miller will again provide a change-of-pace option as the backup to a quick, young PG and continue doing his damage in the post, while upgrading his weather situation in Sacramento in exchange for any hope of making the playoffs this season.
Sessions has been a serviceable, if entirely unspectacular, point guard in his eight-year career, but the Wizards could have used a more athletic and defensive-minded option off the bench. They’ll also have an extra year on Sessions’s contract, for a little over $2 million next season. I’m not sure if the addition of Sessions alleviates Washington’s recent reliance on Garrett Temple, and with 15 players under contract it would all but eliminate their shot at a buyout candidate down the stretch. At least the Wizards didn’t trade for Jarrett Jack…
Minnesota gets: Kevin Garnett
Brooklyn gets: Thaddeus Young
It’s almost a shame to trivialize Kevin Garnett’s return to his first NBA home by reducing it to a paragraph or two, as just another trade write-up of many on this list. Minnesota’s situation is so wholly unique, with their complete lineup of high-upside young prospects mixed with a couple of good veterans, that adding a 38-year old future-Hall of Famer and then discussing a two-year contract extension almost supercedes logic and enters into a different kind of sentimentality and significance.
After the comments from owner Glen Taylor in 2008 concerning KG’s departure from the organization, the fact that KG exercised his no-trade clause and accepted the trade to Minnesota bodes well for his relationship with Taylor and perhaps their future together as far as business. The “Big Ticket” has clearly entered a different phase of his career the last two years with Brooklyn, playing about 20 minutes per game and sitting on the second night of back-to-backs, and it’s unclear how much he has left on the court, but he’ll be an asset as a voice in the locker room and sometimes-defensive presence for the young Timberwolves team. Outside of maybe landing Andrew Wiggins for Kevin Love, mending the relationship between Kevin Garnett and Glen Taylor and paving the way for KG to return to the organization for his post-basketball career might be Flip Saunders’s greatest move yet as Minnesota Timberwolves President.
Oh, Brooklyn… I was so excited for the possibility of Billy King wheeling and dealing on deadline day, and dominating the #WOJBOMBS as he set fire to the Nets’ salary commitments. Instead, in true Nets fashion, they completely disappointed. No Deron Williams trade, which was almost impossible after his recent play since returning from a rib injury. No Joe Johnson trade, despite rumors all season of interest from Charlotte or New Orleans or Detroit. No Jarrett Jack trade to Washington. Not even a Brook Lopez trade! I’m not sure if Oklahoma City GM Sam Presti was truly interested in taking a chance on Lopez and his injury history, or was just increasing his leverage in other trade conversations by manipulating the always leaky Nets organization, but Billy King was unable to get a deal done outside of swapping Kevin Garnett for the 26-year old Thaddeus Young.
All that disappointment at the lack of activity aside, this was a pretty good trade for Brooklyn. Thaddeus Young is 12 years KG’s junior and is a consistent player from the forward position, averaging somewhere between 12.7 and 17.9 points per game in every season since 2008-09. He has his issues with rebounding and shot selection as he’s transitioned to a full-time power forward at the NBA level, but it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if Nets head coach Lionel Hollins throws out a Brook Lopez/Mason Plumlee/Thaddeus Young frontcourt at some point over the last 30 games.
Young hasn’t exactly utilized his athleticism in recent years, as his percentage of field goal attempts at the rim and number of dunks have declined over the last three seasons, but will nonetheless be counted on to bring some energy and agility to a team that ranks 26th in the league in pace of play. The salary difference saves owner Mikhail Prokhorov a few million in luxury taxes this season, and there’s a chance Young opts out of his $9.7 million contract next year and cashes in this summer. If Young and Brook Lopez both exercise their player options, the Nets will have about $85 million already locked up on next year’s cap, with their first-round pick headed to Boston in the Kevin Garnett/Paul Pierce/Jason Terry trade (oh and after a first-round pick swap with the Atlanta Hawks in the 2015 Draft). Thaddeus Young will help the Nets hang around, in what could be a decent race for the 7th and 8th seeds in the Eastern Conference between the Nets, Heat, Hornets, and Pistons, who all made moves to upgrade their teams before the deadline.
Now here’s where things get crazy…
Detroit gets: Reggie Jackson
Oklahoma City gets: Enes Kanter, Steve Novak, Kyle Singler, and D.J. Augustin
Utah gets: Kendrick Perkins, Grant Jerrett, a 2017 Thunder first-round pick (top-14 protected from 2017-2020, then becomes 2020 and 2021 second-round picks), and a 2017 Pistons second-round pick
Wow. In what will be a common theme over these next few trades, there’s a lot to unpack here. Let’s start with Utah. Considering the circumstances surrounding the Enes Kanter situation, I think the Jazz did pretty well in return for the impending (restricted) free agent center. Kanter pretty much peaced out on the team after a home loss to Dallas and requested a trade after disputes over playing time going back at least two head coaches. Utah now avoids having to deal with him down the stretch or in sign-and-trade discussions this summer and picks up some future draft-pick considerations for the former third-overall pick. It would have been nice to see the Jazz keep Perkins around in the locker room and to practice against the young, Utah bigs (Gobert and Derrick Favors), although Perkins playing in the playoffs would successfully annoy every NBA fan on Twitter, so I’m all for it.
The Detroit Pistons, meanwhile, cash in some depth parts for a look at Reggie Jackson as a possible point guard of the future. It seems like a good situation for both parties, as Jackson finally gets his trade from the apparent urine-soaked hell hole that is the Thunder and can showcase his skills as a lead point guard before he hits free agency, and Stan Van Gundy can evaluate Jackson in his system and decide if he is a long-term piece or just a two-month rental to get the Pistons over after Brandon Jennings tore his Achilles tendon. D.J. Augustin played well for stretches as the starter over the last month or so and Kyle Singler started 40 games this season at the small forward position, but neither player is a significant part of the Pistons’ long-term planning.
If Reggie Jackson excels in Van Gundy’s system and finds his jumper by playing off of Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe’s attention then the Pistons have his restricted rights, or can offer him the one-year tender and have point guard insurance as Jennings returns from injury. Or Jackson continues to struggle in shooting the basketball (27.8% from three this season), corrupts the young bigs with his complaining, and the Pistons refuse to match any offer sheet he signs and he walks as a free agent, costing them just two bench pieces and a second-round pick. It’s worth the (minimal) risk for the Detroit Pistons, on the chance that a change of scenery re-energizes Reggie Jackson’s career.
With the Oklahoma City Thunder, while this depth trade isn’t as exciting or high-impact as a Brook Lopez acquisition, it should work out for the Thunder as they mount their playoff push. GM Sam Presti targeted depth and draft picks when trading James Harden over three years ago but, while the young pieces (outside of Steven Adams and maybe Andre Roberson) haven’t yet developed into adequate role players, recognized that he needed an infusion of NBA talent to shore up the team’s deficiencies. Acquiring Kanter, Novak, Singler, and Augustin will all help the team at some point, and is an admission by Presti that players like Jeremy Lamb, Perry Jones, and Reggie Jackson were missed evaluations on his part.
Unfortunately it took injuries to Durant and Westbrook to expose the lack of talent on the Oklahoma City roster, and instead of allowing the young players to step up in their absence the Thunder fell into a 3-12 hole to begin the season. Now Thunder head coach Scotty Brooks will work to integrate possibly four players into the rotation over the last 30 games, while scrapping for positioning in the Western Conference standings. Enes Kanter, in particular, will be an interesting adjustment, as an offense-only center who has a total of 26 assists in 49 games this season, and who will be a restricted free agent this summer. Novak and Singler will provide some shooting options but I’m not sure if they’re significantly better than Anthony Morrow, who could use some more playing time himself (24 minutes per game in ‘14-15). D.J. Augustin is an inconsistent player who’s a career 40.4% shooter from the field but should be an upgrade over Reggie Jackson as far as running the offense and getting guys shots with the second unit.
Presti deserves credit at a certain point for realizing that his young pieces weren’t able to develop into the quality of role players the team needed to contend this season around Durant, Westbrook, and Serge Ibaka, and going outside of the organization to add more talent. It began with the surprise trade for Dion Waiters in early January, and continued with the three-way trade with Detroit and Utah.
There’s no question that the Oklahoma City Thunder increased their overall quality of talent in the last two months through trades, but had I told you before the season that Sam Presti would move Reggie Jackson, Kendrick Perkins, and two first-round draft picks by the trade deadline, would you have expected more of a return than Dion Waiters, Enes Kanter, D.J. Augustin, Kyle Singler, and Steve Novak? Had he made that Perkins-and-two-future-picks trade for a higher-upside piece at a position of need, like the available Arron Afflalo for example, I would feel a lot better about my preseason pick of the Thunder as NBA champions. We’ll see if the depth solutions are enough to withstand a Russell Westbrook off-night or another Kevin Durant matchup against a Tony Allen-type of defender in the 2015 playoffs.
Phoenix gets: Brandon Knight and Kendall Marshall
Milwaukee gets: Michael Carter-Williams, Miles Plumlee, Tyler Ennis
Philadelphia gets: 2015 first-round pick (via Los Angeles Lakers) (top-5 protected in 2015, top-3 protected in 2016, unprotected in 2018)
Umm, more wow? This transaction was pure insanity when it broke, amidst the cavalcade of craziness, and my perception hasn’t altered much since. Phoenix took the first step to shake up their point guard rotation in dealing Tyler Ennis, Miles Plumlee, and their first-round pick from the Lakers (that came in the Steve Nash sign-and-trade in 2012) and then subsequently sent Goran Dragic to Miami and Isaiah Thomas to Boston in separate deals, essentially swapping Goran Dragic’s unrestricted free agency this summer for Brandon Knight’s restricted.
Knight is an interesting piece for Suns GM Ryan McDonough to evaluate over the last couple of months of the season. The 23-year old will play for his third organization in four seasons and has established career highs in assists (and turnovers), rebounds, steals, and three-point percentage (40.9% on 4.9 attempts per game) as the leading scorer on the (30-23) Milwaukee Bucks. He’s a completely different player than Dragic and prefers to inflict his damage from the perimeter, whereas Goran is a slightly shakier shooter this season (35.5% from three) who excels at finishing around the rim (70.5% shooting within three feet of the basket, compared to 58.1% for Knight). Knight has a higher usage rate than both Dragic and Suns survivor Eric Bledsoe, but has the jumper to play more off-ball around Bledsoe and should excel in head coach Jeff Hornacek’s two-point guard offense. Kendall Marshall will be bought out and the Suns might ironically find themselves lacking in point guards after blowing up their backcourt.
The Suns’ audition of Brandon Knight will cost them the Laker’s first-round pick that was finally about to pay off in the next couple of NBA Drafts. The Lakers might be bad enough without Kobe Bryant this season to keep a potential top-five pick, and who knows what free agency this summer or next could mean to a Lakers first rounder in 2016 (top-three protected) or 2017 (unprotected). It’s a risk, as are all draft picks, but one that Sam Hinkie felt was worth his 2014 Rookie of the Year, Michael Carter-Williams.
Just when the trade for JaVale McGee removes a bullet point from the anti-Hinkie argument (“rabble rabble, salary floor, rabble rabble”), he turns around and deals one of his few recognizable, name-brand players for another future draft pick. The takes will be scorching, concerning the Philadelphia 76ers and their approach to team-building (more like team re-rebuilding, amirite?). The team will be back to being awful after a few months of mediocrity and might not have a point guard with Tony Wroten injured, MCW traded, and Isaiah Canaan on his way from Houston, but all it takes is one bit of lottery luck for things to blow up in Philadelphia. And when it does, it’ll either spectacularly succeed or fail, but it’ll be entertaining.
Michael Carter-Williams is a 23-year old nightly triple-double threat from the point guard position who excels in transition and on the boards. Magic Johnson’s tweets aside, MCW has stagnated in his second-year of development after dealing with injuries early in the season and has one of the weirder and most deceiving stat-lines in the league (15 points per game, 7.4 assists, 6.2 rebounds, 1.5 steals, 4.2 turnovers and a *NSFW warning* 41.2/25.6/64.3 triple-slash on 2’s, 3’s, and FT’s).
The Milwaukee Bucks will gladly add MCW’s size to their stable of lanky, young athletes and hope that Jason Kidd’s tutelage and emphasis on defense will maximize his potential as their new starting point guard. It’s a huge risk to take on, in downgrading from Brandon Knight to MCW two-thirds of the season deep and with Milwaukee solidly locked into the sixth position in the Eastern Conference. Their 7.5-game lead over Miami or Charlotte might be tested by the end of the season, as Brandon Knight was not only the Bucks’ starting point guard but their best and most efficient (and clutchiest) scorer, and I’m not sure if Carter-Williams can transition on the fly to suddenly make big shots after struggling so significantly for the 76ers.
He’ll instead offer other areas of influence, as a passer, rebounder, fast-break-starter, and possible defender. Kidd will slow things down a bit compared to Brett Brown in Philadelphia, and MCW will go from the 6th-fastest offense by pace to the 14th. Milwaukee made this move with an eye towards the long-term outlook and will have Carter-Williams under contract for two more seasons and then restricted free agency in the summer of 2017, while Knight was about to make real money at the end of this season. I can understand Milwaukee wanting to push back their timeline a bit in acquiring a less expensive player with upside (especially with Jabari Parker out for the season with an ACL tear), but Brandon Knight meant a lot to their offense and is actually two months younger than MCW. I might prefer Brandon Knight at $15 million next season over Michael Carter-Williams at slightly more than $2 million for the Milwaukee Bucks, exploding salary cap caveats and all.
Phoenix gets: Marcus Thornton and a 2016 first-round pick (via Cleveland Cavaliers) (top-10 protected in 2016-18, then unprotected in 2019)
Boston gets: Isaiah Thomas
This is a great example of my ability to immediately hate every Boston Celtics trade before gradually and eventually talking myself into liking it. My natural inclination is to balk at the inclusion of a pick, no matter how insignificant, and when LeBron James retires next season to pursue his baseball career I’ll really be upset at trading away a Cavs draft pick. Otherwise next year’s first rounder won’t hurt the Celtics or put a dent into their trove of other picks, nor will the loss of Marcus Thornton and his expiring contract this season. He’s a great and inconsistent bench-scoring option who can catch fire and help you win a playoff game (17 points in 20 minutes in Game 7 against the Raptors last season) or catch a DNP-CD the next night out (Game 4 against the Raptors). Thornton was massively overpaid in Sacramento after some crazy scoring outbursts in the second half of a lottery season in 2011, and surely won’t match his $8.7 million salary next year, but he’ll make threes if he can find minutes. I’m not sure if he’ll catch on in a crowded Phoenix backcourt, although I want to see he and Gerald Green play together on the wing, badly.
For Celtics President Danny Ainge, this trade is basically a layup. Next year’s Cavaliers should be more comfortable and generally better than this year’s version, and Thornton didn’t exactly figure into the team’s long-term schemes, and at that point the only deterrents to adding Isaiah Thomas are any salary issues or roster/personality fits. Thomas’s descending contract peaks at $7-ish million this season and ends in 2017-18 at a little more than $6 million, and at the least has shown that he can create his own offense either as a starting player or off the bench.
There have been whispers as to some chemistry issues between he and Boogie Cousins in Sacramento and general discontent in the locker room in Phoenix, which can be argued either way depending on your point of view. Boogie’s sometimes-abrasive personality can be pointed to as a potential cause of the friction with the Kings, and the whole “I want the ball!” dynamic is always tricky between bigs and point guards. In Phoenix, Dragic has already shown how unhappy he was with the whole three-point guard experiment and his concerns over his own ball-usage as he enters his free agency summer, and I’m not ready to blame any Suns struggles on Isaiah Thomas.
Thomas with the Celtics is a much better situation for him as a point guard, where he’s the only true ball handler or go-to scorer on the roster. Avery Bradley and Evan Turner (UGH) can handle a little bit but will certainly get caught over-dribbling, and are capable of handling pick-and-rolls and kicking out to Isaiah for catch-and-shoot opportunities. Marcus Smart’s viability as a potential starting point guard should be the focus for the Celtics in the next season or two, and as to whether Thomas’s presence or personality would conflict with that remains to be seen. I’m actually kind of curious to see how the two playing together would complement each other, and how much higher Isaiah’s usage rate can rise from his 26.3 in 2013-14 and 25.8 this season. If there are any conflicts on the court or off, Danny Ainge wouldn’t hesitate to re-trade Thomas and I’ll be kind of shocked if he finishes his contract with the Celtics by 2018.
Philadelphia gets: Isaiah Canaan and a 2015 second-round pick (via Denver) (lesser of Minnesota, Denver pick)
Houston gets: K.J. McDaniels
Of all the trade deadline deals, this was the most difficult to rationalize and defend from Philadelphia’s perspective. Isaiah Canaan is a tough, young point guard who is a rotation player with some upside and Philly GM Sam Hinkie gets a second-round pick with which to find the next K.J. McDaniels down the line, but #analysis: K.J. McDaniels is good.
He’s still just 22 and is shooting an ugly 29.3% from three on 2.9 attempts per game, but has definite skills at the NBA-level and was a trendy Rookie of the Year pick earlier in the season. His impact is still primarily on the defensive end, although I wonder how his familiarity with some similar offensive concepts in Philadelphia (threes and free throws are good) will help him acclimate to the Houston Rockets. Just like MCW with Milwaukee, going from a lottery situation to playing for a playoff team will be an interesting influence on his development path.
This is a pretty fantastic trade from Rockets GM Daryl Morey, in acquiring a high-upside rookie for an extra second-round pick in the 2015 Draft and a former second-round pick in Isaiah Canaan. Due to Hinkie’s failed thriftiness, McDaniels was himself a second rounder who signed a one-year guaranteed contract with an opt out and can enter (restricted) free agency as a sophomore (similar to Wesley Matthews’s situation with the Utah Jazz in 2010). Houston will get McDaniels for half a million dollars this year and then can match any offer sheet he signs in free agency, and will be able to go over the salary cap to re-sign him. For a team that might not otherwise have the cap space or draft capital (possibly excluding the New Orleans first rounder from the Omer Asik trade) to add a difference maker with upside this summer, K.J. McDaniels will get every opportunity to contribute to a Rockets playoff run. Suddenly, after the Josh Smith signing and Corey Brewer/K.J. trades, Houston is kind of deep on the wing and forward spots. Let’s get Dwight Howard back healthy for the playoffs, please.
Detroit gets: Tayshaun Prince
Boston gets: Jonas Jerebko and Luigi Datome
AGAIN WITH THE BLOCKBUSTERS! Okay well not really, but this trade deadline has given us everything: playoff teams cashing in picks for upgrades (Portland, OKCity), rebuilding teams blowing it up (Philadelphia) or taking a step forward (Boston), and ho-hum, generally meaningless transactions (this one). Tayshaun Prince will either be bought out by Detroit or play some small-ball power forward down the stretch and will join (at least) his third team in three months. He’s a veteran and stuff and has played off-and-on under Brad Stevens in Boston, and Stan Van Gundy will hope Tayshaun is more dialed in under him than he was for John Kuester in his last tenure as a Piston.
Jonas Jerebko is a versatile forward with a solid offensive game, who can both run and screen in the pick-and-roll and post-up and face-up a little bit. His contract expires at the end of the season, as does Luigi Datome’s, and is a nice bench piece on a good team, but I hope he doesn’t intrude on James Young’s playing time in the last 30 games of the season. If the Celtics are actively trying to make the playoffs, though, I have a feeling that Brad Stevens might like Jerebko’s game.
Miami gets: Goran Dragic and Zoran Dragic
Phoenix gets: John Salmons, Justin Hamilton, Danny Granger, a 2017 first-round pick (top-7 protected), and a 2021 first-round pick (unprotected) (both via Miami)
New Orleans gets: Shawne Williams and Norris Cole
LEGITIMATE BLOCKBUSTER! The Goran Dragic discussions over his displeasure with the Phoenix Suns led most of the NBA’s trade deadline coverage on Wednesday, and then gave way to renewed Brook Lopez-to-Oklahoma City rumors Thursday morning before the avalanche of trade activity began that afternoon. Somehow it was one of the last deals consummated, and for a minute there the conversation turned to what Phoenix would do if McDonough was unable to find a decent Dragic trade. There was no need for contingencies, as a trade was announced minutes before the 3pm (EST) deadline involving the Miami Heat, New Orleans Pelicans, and Phoenix Suns.
Phoenix managed to get its two desired first-round picks for Goran Dragic, and the most common rationale from Miami’s perspective has been something like “Pat Riley doesn’t need draft picks!” If so then this is a huge talent upgrade for a Miami Heat team barely hanging on in the Eastern Conference playoff standings, in adding Dragic for four role players and firsts in 2017 and ‘21. Miami will hold his Larry Bird rights this summer and can offer a five-year, $100 million contract in free agency, and while there’s a chance Dragic flees for New York or Los Angeles, the Heat have to feel pretty good about being able to lock him in long-term after being included on his pre-trade wish list.
There’s maybe some fit issues with a starting backcourt of Dragic and Dwyane Wade, as neither are great catch-and-shoot players, but head coach Erik Spoelstra has made those kind of issues work in the past and having two dynamic slashers should open up Miami’s spacing. Unfortunately, in what is a sad, sad story, Chris Bosh’s season could be finished after doctors may have discovered a blood clot in his lungs. The All-Star big man missed a stretch in December with a calf injury but otherwise has been excellent as either The Man or the co-The Man with Dwyane, averaging 21.1 points per game and taking 3.8 threes per game at a 37.5% mark! Chris Bosh will be missed this season, on and off the court for the Miami Heat and the NBA, and hopefully any clotting issues are spotted and fixed (the same with Mirza Teletovic! Come back in 2015-16, Mirza!)
The Bosh absence obviously is a devastating blow, even more so for a Miami team that’s not necessarily deep (especially after just dealing four players for the Dragics) or generally healthy (*cough* Dwyane Wade *cough*). Dragic’s ability to freestyle and carry an offense will help to compensate for the loss of Bosh’s scoring, and sustained dominance from Hassan Whiteside would also help the Heat improve upon their eighth-seed in the East. Dragic and Bosh pick-and-rolls, with Dwyane Wade cutting from the weak side and Whiteside lurking baseline, would have been fun, but expensive veterans like Wade and Luol Deng will have to stay healthy and provide some spacing without their big man.
For a team in Miami’s position, that’s just good enough to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference but without any real means to upgrade the team once at that level, they have to take risks to add talent, and that usually means draft picks. Their 2017 first-round pick is top-seven protected and probably won’t land in the lottery, assuming the Heat can re-sign Dragic and Wade and Deng are still walking, but the 2021 pick is so far in the future that I’m not sure you can count on Pat Riley magic in six years to keep it out of the high-lottery.
For Phoenix, it’s worth a shot to take an unprotected future first back for a free agent-to-be who openly requested a trade to the media and provoked a retaliatory barb by the GM. All four of the players from Miami could very well be cut or bought out and the two picks were the real incentive to trading Dragic. If Arron Afflalo returned just a single future first with lottery protections for Denver, then I’d say Phoenix did well to get two firsts for two months-plus of Goran Dragic. The need to trade Dragic may have forced their hand in surrendering the Lakers’ pick to Philadelphia for Brandon Knight and while they’re different players, maybe this situation will benefit all parties. Goran Dragic has an offense to run (at least when Dwyane Wade’s not on the floor) in Miami, Knight and Eric Bledsoe might give the Suns better spacing, and Sam Hinkie gets another lottery pick in this draft, or the next one, but definitely the next one.
Heyyyy, the Pelicans joined the party! I don’t get the cutting of Shawne Williams, unless the Pellies are really secure with Dante Cunningham at the small forward, but I’m not sure how much he or even Norris Cole moves the needle, overall. Cole still has some upside left before he hits restricted free agency in 2016 and can at least play backup point guard in New Orleans. If he’s forced to play extended minutes with Jrue Holiday out with injury it might not be ideal, but Norris Cole is a sure upgrade over Austin Rivers (traded in January), Nate Wolters, or Jimmer Fredette (*sigh*).
Houston gets: Pablo Prigioni
New York gets: Alexey Shved, a 2017 second-round, and a 2019 second-round pick
And with the last trade of the afternoon, the Houston Rockets and New York Knicks gave us all a sort of a cool-down, after the adrenaline rush from the last 20 minutes of the trade deadline. Alexey Shved is probably a buyout candidate who can try his luck at another NBA franchise by season’s finish, and the Knicks get a no-brainer offer of basically two second-round draft picks for a 37-year old guard with another year left on his contract. Prigs was a fan-favorite in the last Knicks good season in 2012-13, due to his willingness to move the ball and hit the occasional spot-up three, and on the completely optimistic side, maybe he could fulfill that Jason Kidd on the 2011 Mavericks-role with the Houston Rockets, as a ball-swinging guard who rarely ventures into the three-point line. Prigioni hasn’t played competitive basketball all season, but this is a nice win-win(-win!) trade for both teams, albeit incredibly lackluster.
So that was actually fun (and exhausting). More than half of the league called trades into the league office Thursday afternoon, and at one point the two three-team trades looked to be a gigantic six-teamer that would have been unprecedented and amazingggggg. Instead we got systemic mayhem, piece by piece until Adrian Wojnarowski’s programming began malfunctioning. Maybe there is a benefit to shorter contract lengths and the oncoming “age of free agency” in the NBA, if it results in more fantasy NBA days like Thursday’s trade deadline.
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