This past Thursday was the NBA trade deadline, one of the more important dates for NBA front offices every year and this year's fireworks did not disappoint. Cleveland overturned half of their roster, the Lakers are attempting to monopolize all cap room come this summer, and I think some other things may have happened as well. For posterity's sake I will tackle some trades that happened during the week not just last Thursday.
This is the Basketball Hall of Fame's own Joe Dumars, holding two phones at the same time. When he was President of Basketball Operations for the Detroit Pistons he assembled the roster that won the NBA Finals in 2004. He also chose Darko Milicic over Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Steve Blake, and Dwyane Wade in the 2003 draft.
New Orleans Pelicans receive: F Nikola Mirotic 2018 second-round pick
Chicago Bulls receive: C Omer Asik G Tony Allen G Jameer Nelson Trade exception* 2018 first-round pick (top 5 protected**)
Disclaimer: Nerd stuff Incoming
*A trade exception is created when a team sends out a player whom makes more salary than the player or pick coming back, in this case the Bulls received two trade exceptions for Tony Allen and Jameer Nelson. Trade exceptions can be used up to a year later to facilitate transactions between teams that are attempting to trade players which do not have matching salaries.
**A protected pick is a draft pick which will not be received by the team who traded for it if it falls inside the range of its protection. This specific pick is 'Top 5 protected' which means the Pelicans' pick would have to fall into the top 5 during the draft lottery in order for the Bulls to not receive it this year( A very unlikely event, the Pelicans' pick will most likely be in the late teens). Teams protect picks so that they do not look like big dummies later when a first round pick they traded a couple years prior turns into someone like Kyrie Irving.
I like this trade for both teams. The Bulls move a player who was actually helping them win games in Nikola Mirotic ( the Bulls want to get the best draft pick possible--losing is good) while also picking up a first round draft pick, and New Orleans is able to transform Omer Asik's terrible contract into a player who can actually play playoff basketball. Two franchises with different goals this season working together in harmony.
Nikola Mirotic is a scoring front-court player who can theoretically play both forward positions, though his primary success has been as a power forward who spreads the floor with his shooting. He has shot above forty percent from three this year, meaning he should provide some nice spacing for Anthony Davis to operate in the lane. He won't replace Demarcus Cousins, but he is the best the Pelicans can do given the circumstances. He will start at power forward and Davis will move to center, due to Cousins' injury.
Side Note: Nikola Mirotic looks like a Lumberjack.
Side Side Note: You may have read Nikola Mirotic's name and vaguely remembered that he was in some type of drama this off-season. And you would be right because his teammate, Bobby Portis, punched him in the face. Hard. As in missed double digit games hard. I feel like a joke here would be in bad taste so I will just move on...
This graphic was used by the Chicago Bulls local broadcast. Apparently I was beat to the...punch.
Sorry.
BUCKS BOOST DEPTH WITH ZELLER (Feb. 5)
Milwaukee Bucks receive: C Tyler Zeller
Brooklyn Nets receive: G Rashad Vaughn 2018 second-round pick (protected)
This trade is about Milwaukee getting a backup center for their second round pick, seeing as how Vaughn and Zeller make basically the same amount this year and neither are guaranteed beyond this season. The problem with this is that Tyler Zeller isn't good at basketball. I would rather have the pick.
Charlotte Hornets receive: C Willy Hernangomez
New York Knicks receive: C Johnny O'Bryant 2020 second-round pick 2021 second-round pick
Nice trade for both teams here. Knicks grab a couple picks for a nice young player they were refusing to play for some reason (Willy Hernangomez), and Hornets get a first round kind of talent who wasn't playing for some reason.
Personally I side with the Hornets on this one because I think Hernangomez is a real NBA player( he is in his second year with a P.E.R. of 18.7) and while a couple second rounders are nice to have, they rarely turn into what Hernangomez already is in my opinion--a rotation player off the bench. And he could eventually be more than that. Honestly, he might be better than Frank Kaminsky right now.
PISTONS ACQUIRE NELSON FROM BULLS (Feb. 8)
Detroit Pistons receive: G Jameer Nelson
Chicago Bulls receive: C Willie Reed (has since been waived) Future second-round pick
Pistons pick up a backup point guard for the rest of the season in Jameer Nelson, a need with Reggie Jackson's( their nominal starter) current injury. Bulls receive a second rounder for their trouble.
If the Kyrie Irving trade between Boston and Cleveland last summer was a 'blockbuster', then I would liken this trade to when you are trying to light a match but it breaks in half instead.
HEAT ACQUIRE BABBIT FROM HAWKS (Feb. 8)
Miami Heat receive: F Luke Babbitt
Atlanta Hawks receive: G Okaro White( has since been waived)
Babbitt can shoot. Like real good. Over Forty percent from three good. And lets be honest, Miami would sign air bud right now with how mediocre their offense has been this season-- twenty fifth in the league according to cleaning the glass.
That is not to say that I believe Babbitt is the shooter that air bud is, though I think him having arms makes him the superior defender.
NETS LAND PELICANS' CUNNINGHAM (Feb. 8)
Brooklyn Nets receive: F Dante Cunningham
New Orleans Pelicans receive: G Rashad Vaughn (has since been waived)
This move is a bit odd to me as Dante Cunningham isn't one of these end of the bench guys that gets shipped around at the deadline for no reason(like the other guy in this trade), he is an actual real player who gets actual minutes, and this move makes the Pelicans worse. He started twenty-four games for the Pelicans! My unsubstantiated diagnosis of this trade is that the Pelicans figured he would get more minutes in Brooklyn and did him a solid in moving him. This would make sense with Solomon Hill returning and the Mirotic trade, causing a logjam of sorts at the forward positions for the Pelicans.
But honestly I have no idea on this one. I'm not psychic. I think.
HAWKS DEAL FOR SHELDON MAC (Feb. 8)
Atlanta Hawks receive: G Sheldon Mac (has since been waived) cash considerations
Washington Wizards receive: 2019 second-round pick
This trade is Washington paying cash to Atlanta for a 2019 protected second round pick. I really don't care all that much about this trade. And neither should you. Next.
BULLS ACQUIRE VONLEH FROM BLAZERS (Feb. 8)
Chicago Bulls receive: F Noah Vonleh
Portland Trail Blazers receive: Draft rights to Milovan Rakovic (2007)
Portland moves Noah Vonleh(who will be a restricted free agent* this summer) and his three and a half million dollar contract to the Chicago Bulls in order to duck under the luxury cap**. Bulls get Vonleh's restricted rights this summer for practically nothing.
Portland needed to do this type of deal in order to not pay an inordinate amount of tax penalties, while Bulls get control over a young(ish) player who may still carve out a role in the NBA for himself.
Personally I am not a big fan of Vonleh's, he is exactly the type of forward that is being phased out of the league: not versatile defensively, doesn't shoot threes, can't protect the rim on defense, not a good enough rebounder to play as a small ball center. But it would only take one of these things to change and he could be a solid rotation guy, which is what Chicago is hoping for with this trade.
Disclaimer: Nerd stuff Incoming
*Following the expiration of their rookie contracts, players enter 'Restricted Free Agency', where players are free to pursue deals with any team they choose, however any contract signed by the player with another team may then be matched by the team that drafted the player--hence the term 'restricted'. These 'restricted rights' to Noah Vonleh are what Chicago received in this^ trade. Something to take away from this is that when teams draft a player they have practical control over that player for a minimum of seven years.
**Luxury Cap is a dollar amount set every year; if surpassed by a team there are heavy surcharges for every dollar spent over it. It is meant to curtail heavy spending by teams in large markets. Portland would have had to pay a surcharge if they did not move money off their books, they accomplished this in trading Vonleh to Chicago.
Ok, but who is Milovan Rakovic? Good question. No idea.
CAVALIERS DEAL THOMAS TO LAKERS (Feb. 8)
Cleveland Cavaliers receive: G Jordan Clarkson F Larry Nance Jr.
Los Angeles Lakers receive: G Isaiah Thomas C Channing Frye 2018 first-round pick(protected)
Unless you don't follow the NBA at all (Hi Mom!), you are most likely aware that trading Kyrie Irving for Isaiah Thomas has not exactly worked out for the Cavaliers. In fact since his return on Christmas the Cavaliers have been the worst defense in the league on the court and have had daytime soap opera levels of melodrama off it. It was reasonably clear that Isaiah would not be able to achieve last year's form by the end of the season, so Cleveland makes this trade.
The Lakers on the other hand had been looking for a team to take on Jordan Clarkson's contract of three years thirty-seven million, and found a partner in the Cavaliers. This trade is an absolute home run for the Lakers, and while losing Larry Nance Jr. is unfortunate, the combination of receiving Cleveland's late first round pick and getting Clarkson's contract off their books more than makes up for it. The Lakers are now set to have nearly sixty-two million in cap space this summer...
Do I like this trade? For the Lakers, absolutely. For the Cavaliers, ehhhh. While Cleveland absolutely upgraded their roster, I struggle to think that they couldn't have done better with their first round pick than Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance, two solid bench players whom have never played a postseason game in their careers. Playing in the playoffs is hard in itself. Getting to the finals is substantially harder. Let's just say I remain skeptical about their ability to contribute on the biggest of stages.
Detroit Pistons receive: F James Ennis
Memphis Grizzlies receive: F Brice Johnson (expiring contract) 2022 second-round pick
Memphis moves James Ennis, a legit rotation wing, to Detroit for effectively a second round pick. James Ennis is a wing with some nice size and no glaring weaknesses, who should be able to help Detroit in their playoff pursuit. I know nothing about Brice Johnson because I have never seen him play. *checks stats* He has played in nine games for a total of thirty-six minutes this season. I have already written too much about him. Next.
Cleveland Cavaliers receive: G George Hill G Rodney Hood
Utah Jazz receive: F Jae Crowder G Derrick Rose(since been waived)
Sacramento Kings receive: F Joe Johnson(since been bought out, signed with Rockets) G Iman Shumpert 2020 second-round pick
A lot to unpack here, especially with the Utah Jazz on an eleven game win streak heading into the all-star break. The Cavaliers move two players who were negative assets in Iman Shumpert and Derrick Rose, along with Jae Crowder who does not fit alongside Lebron (plays the same position), while acquiring a starting point guard in George Hill and a rotation wing in Rodney Hood. The Jazz move on from Hood whom was no longer in their future plans and acquire versatile wing Jae Crowder who may start for them. And the Kings switched George Hill's massive contract ( twenty million per year through next season) for Iman Shumpert's more palatable terrible contract--ten million a year for a guy who hasn't been in Cleveland's rotation. Win-win-meh.
So who came out on top in this one? The Jazz are definitely sitting pretty, acquiring a versatile starting caliber player in Jae Crowder, exactly the type of guy who can help them in their current push for the playoffs as they had been hungry for wings who can play both offense and defense. And losing Rodney Hood is not much as a loss as he was no longer part of their future plans having been outplayed by rookie phenom Donovan Mitchell this year.
The Cavaliers did well to move Shumpert's contract, and if they get last year's George Hill on defense then this is a win for them...if they didn't then they acquired another aging perimeter player who will struggle defensively against a certain team from the bay should Cleveland make the finals. Rodney Hood is a young talented wing player who can stroke it from deep but struggles with consistency, sometimes he looks like a future star and sometimes he plays like that kid on the rec team whose parents have forced him to do 'something physical'. You never really know with the guy.
And the Kings were able to move the gargantuan contract that they gave George Hill, realizing it was a mistake when they signed him...last summer. Sigh.
Toronto Raptors receive: G Malachi Richardson
Sacramento Kings receive: F Bruno Caboclo
Kings trade Malachi Richardson,a second year player who admittedly has been quite bad, for Bruno Caboclo. The same Bruno Caboclo whom European uber-scout Fran Frashilla descibed as being "two years away from being two years away" when Bruno was drafted by Toronto in 2014.
Toronto picks up a guy they think might be an NBA player for Caboclo's expiring contract, which is reasonable logic I suppose. But Malachi Richardson is shooting under thirty-five percent from the field. Not from three. Overall. In case you didn't know the point basketball is to put the ball in the basket.
WADE REUNITED WITH HEAT (Feb. 8)
Cleveland Cavaliers receive: 2024 second-round pick
Miami Heat receive: G Dwyane Wade
With the youth movement the Cavaliers are now pushing, they do Wade a favor and move him to where he belongs: Miami. The pick here is meaningless, this was two franchises working together to get a future hall of famer back to where he played most of his career. Watch this youngbloods:
New York Knicks receive: G Emmanuel Mudiay
Denver Nuggets receive: G Devin Harris 2018 second-round pick (from NY)
Dallas Mavericks receive: F Doug McDermott 2018 second-round pick (from Denver)
New York Knicks get a young point guard with potential in Emmanuel Mudiay, Nuggets receive a backup point guard in Devin Harris, and the Mavericks pick up Doug McDermott, a wing who can shoot. A couple second round picks move around as well in the deal.
Emmanuel Mudiay is an interesting guy for the Knicks to pick up. He had become expendable with Jamal Murray's ascension this year for the Nuggets, but the former number seven overall pick from 2016 still looks like he has some upside. I like this trade for New York, McDermott doesn't really fit on a rebuilding team like the Knicks.
The Denver Nuggets are going full bore for the playoffs and they have struggled with having secondary play-making from their bench. Enter Devin Harris, an NBA veteran who knows how to run a second unit. Harris will take all of the Mudiay's backup point guard minutes.
The Mavericks finagled their way into this deal and got a free second rounder along with Doug McDermott's restricted rights this offseason for Devin Harris' expiring contract. The Mavs are like that friend who nobody ever invites to anything but somehow is always there. Well played Mavericks, well played.
SUNS ACQUIRE PAYTON FROM MAGIC (Feb. 8)
Phoenix Suns receive: G Elfrid Payton
Orlando Magic receive: 2018 second-round pick
Suns trade a second round pick for a hairdo with a human attached to it.
I kid, I kid. But Payton has worn out his welcome in Orlando by being just an average guy. However, 'just an average guy' is immediately the Suns' second best player right now, and their point guard rotation is the worst in the league. Understandable from both teams.
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And that's all folks. You have made it to the end with me here and I congratulate you on your stamina and discipline. You are the best kind of people.
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