Post Trade Deadline Analysis
Now that the deadline has passed, the whirling rumors have settled down, and the blockbuster trades have all but blown our minds, we'd like to take a step back and analyze the most notable dealings (and lack thereof) that went on in the past few days.
1. IT lands in Lala Land
Lakers Get: Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye, Protected Cavaliers 2018 1st Round Pick
Cavaliers Get: Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr.
A storm has been brewing in Cleveland for a while now- nope, scratch that, a fire has been spreading through their woods. A fire that's grown exponentially into a full blown forest fire that was lit the night of August 30, 2017, when Koby Altman dealt Kyrie Irving for Isaiah Thomas. Now he is left scrambling throwing buckets of water here and there to extinguish the flames engulfing his team. Now he's made a surpisingly intriguing move by essentially removing a third of his burning forest and transplanting younger trees in it. Additionally he's gotten rid of the hothead that was lighting his team ablaze. Overall, this trade benefits all parties involved, first and foremost the Cavaliers as they scratch their failed experiment of playing two high-ego, ball-dominant players on one court together. Additionally they bring in two young athletic players who play well on both sides of the ball, on and off ball, who will fit in as glue guys. This will also serve as bait to keep Lebron around come contract talk time because he's surrounded with new young, talented assets who have yet to reach their primes. The Lakers also benefit from this trade because they have both opened up pathways in their future and given themselves a better chance at making this year's playoffs. Isaiah should be able to thrive, even alongside Lonzo Ball due to Isaiah's tendency to be an aggressive, ball-dominant guard, while Lonzo is more timid and avoids aggression throughout his whole play style. Going forward, the Lakers will now have the financial ability to sign two max contract free agents in the summer of 2018 or 2019- a luxury they haven't had since signing Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov to their ridiculously overpriced contracts.
2. Cavs Get their Guards
Kings Get: Iman Shumpert, Joe Johnson
Jazz Get: Jae Crowder, Derrick Rose
Cavaliers Get: George Hill, Rodney Hood
The Cavaliers weren't done when they dumped Thomas, and surprise- there's one more to come still. This trade, unlike the last, presents a clear winner as the Cavaliers swapped a third stringer and one of their least efficient and most unsettled players for a young two-way talent and a steady veteran presence Cleveland has been dying for. As for the Jazz while they did get older, they also managed to fulfill their most pressing need- forward depth. Perhaps Jae can revitalize his efficiency in an offense that has plenty of drive-and-kick catch-and-shoot opportunities and an 8th rated defense that will appreciate and utilize his grit and on-ball defending more than Cleveland's 28th ranked defense (NBA.com). The Jazz then proceeded to waive Rose of course because they're already faced with a backcourt logjam and can rely on another team (we're looking at you Timberwolves) to pick up his contract. So far, so good- the trade looks pretty fair for both sides... and then there's the Kings. Oh Vlade Divac, you never cease to amaze us with your almost nonsensical moves. Why might Divac have made this move? We have no idea... well maybe one: Contracts- George Hill is on a whopping 3 year, $57 million contract, while Shumpert is on only a 2 year, $21 million contract and the Rockets have already committed to picking up Joe Johnson's salary after he passes waivers. The only thing is the Kings aren't a team poised to be making any free agency splashes in the next couple years since they're in a limbo between buying and selling. So we've seen yet another questionable trade from Sacramento, no surprise there though.
3. Dwyane Wade goes for Nothing
Heat Get: Dwyane Wade
Cavaliers Get: Heavily Protected Heat 2024 2nd Rounder
Cleveland, Cleveland, Cleveland... you were doing so good. Why'd you have to go and mess it up? The one player standing on the whole squad that never butt heads with the King gets shipped out and for what? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not only is it a second round pick, not only is it heavily protected, but its six years out! Generally picks traded are within the next four years so clearly Cleveland basically told Miami they'd take the most irrelevant compensation possible. All this move does is return Wade to his home in Miami and give his career the fairytale ending it deserves, however the Cavaliers really get nothing but a loss of depth out of it. Miami, on the other hand, got away with highway robbery; giving up next to nothing for the hometown hero which will help them both on and off the court. Oh and guess what, this won't be the last talented role player for 2nd rounder swap you see here.
4. Celtics Stay Dormant
Celtics Get: Nobody (except Greg Monroe)
Grizzlies Give: Nobody
Clippers Give: Nobody
Our hometown team didn't make any blockbuster moves. No Anthony Davis. No Tyreke Evans or Lou Williams. Bummer right? Wrong. The Celtics are the number one team in the East, and have been all season. They've gotten to this point with gritty, shutdown defense that has solidified as the number one defensive team in the league with a rating of 100.1, despite a lackluster offensive rating of 104.3, landing them 21st in the league. So naturally many fans, analysts, pundits, and maybe Danny Ainge himself thought it appropriate to bring in a solid offensive guard. However this, in fact, would have been one of the worst possible moves for the Celtics mojo since these are two of the statistically worst defenders in the league. Additionally the proposed piece from the Celtics in this trade was Mr. Hustle himself- Marcus Smart, who is a key piece to the hellstorm that is our defense with the 11th best defensive rating in the league. Basically making a move for either guard would have hampered our defense and only had a chance to have a noticeable effect on our offensive output and, as they say, defense wins championships. Meanwhile for the Grizzlies and Clippers things could have went better, although the Clippers solidified their relationship with breakout star Williams by signing him to a 3 yr $24 million extension and in him have the scoring wing they've been in need of for nearly a decade. Meanwhile the Grizzlies are stuck with Evans, the new wing leader on a team whose point guard is absent with injury, whose center not so secretly is open to being traded, and overall is heading for nothing but the lottery. They didn't trade Evans, and quite frankly shouldn't since the most considered offer out there reportedly came from the Nuggets and it was Mudiay, an unproven point, and a 2nd round pick for Tyreke Evans. Straight up. Yeah, that's literally it. So they'll probably let him walk for big bucks, or as our friend Isaiah Thomas would say, the Brink Truck, this summer and be stuck with the remnants of Mike Conley and wantaway Marc Gasol.
5. Mudiay Moves to the Big Apple
Knicks Get: Emmanuel Mudiay
Mavericks Get: Doug McDermott, Nuggets 2018 2nd Rounder
Nuggets Get: Devin Harris, Knicks 2018 2nd Rounder
The Knicks finally got the apple of their eye, formerly mentioned Emmanuel Mudiay, for much cheaper than the night he was drafted in 2015, 7th overall. Initially the Knicks had wanted to trade down in the draft from their number 4 pick and acquire the number 7 pick and a future 1st rounder for the Nuggets. Turns out that 4th pick the Knicks held on to turned into Kristaps Porzingis, so instead of swapping Porzingis for Mudiay and a future first, they swapped Dougie McBuckets and a 2nd rounder for him. This could be the move Mudiay needs to revitalize his career and act on that potential he's always been so highly touted for. The Knicks meanwhile now have two young point guards so that's twice the likelihood of a star. Hopefully. The Mavericks, one of the few remaining jump shooting teams, got wing depth and shooting that they desperately needed and were able to alleviate their logjam at point guard. The Nuggets probably got the worst end of this trade, switching a mediocre young guard for a more proven, older guard and a second rounder. The Nuggets have had one of the best problems in the NBA for the last couple years- two much young talent- but they're not handling the situation very well with moves like this and the one last season that swapped young triple double machine Jusuf Nurkic for older Mason Plumlee. Hopefully this trade will end with the Knicks getting the star guard they've been vying for for so long, the Mavericks finally being solidified at the wing, and the Nuggets managing their talent crisis a little better so they don't have young studs Malik Beasley and Juan Hernangomez coming off the bench.
6. Payton to Phoenix for Next to Nothing
Suns Gets: Elfrid Payton
Magic Gets: Suns 2018 2nd Rounder
Oh would you like at that! Another talented player traded for nothing but a second rounder. Sadly this still won't be the last. Elfrid, who's knowns for his passing ability and defense especially, with a career 6.3 APG and 1.4 SPG. However he actually is an under appreciated scorer as well, scoring 13.2 PPG on 52% shooting, which compared to former Phoenix guard, Eric Bledsoe's 17 PPG on 45% shooting is more efficient and more effective for their offense. Payton is still only 23 years old and struggles early in his career, it seems foolish of the Magic to give him away for nothing but a 2nd round pick, which leaves veteran D.J. Augustin to start. The only explanation is this being a re-rebuild in Orlando's path back to the playoffs, but this just wasn't the right move and was straight up highway robbery.
7. Bruno Caboclo Shipped to Sac Town
Raptors Get: Malachi Richardson
Kings Get: Bruno Caboclo
Bruno Caboclo. Most of you probably don't even know who he is. Malachi Richardson too for that matter. If we go back in time four years to the 2014 draft still no one would no who Bruno Caboclo is. He was taken 20th overall by the raptors to the despair of their fans, the confusion of the sportscasters, and the astonishment of the nation. Then suddenly every news station was his biggest fan, launching comparisons to Kevin Durant and dropping an immense weight on his shoulders having to live up to his idol. So far he's averaged 14.4 PPG... in the G League. He hasn't lived up to his expectations whatsoever and this is the perfect fresh start to get his career underway and live up to his massive potential. Former Syracuse star Richardson, meanwhile, was the 22nd pick overall in the 2016 draft and has mostly been a third stringer for most of his career and this is his chance to shine on a Raptors team that's needed wing depth for quite a while. Overall this is a second chance to one high-risk-high-reward and the time to shine for a two way wing talent.
8. Hernangomez Helped Out the Door
Hornets Get: Willy Hernangomez
Knicks Get: Hornets 2018 2nd Rounder
While brother Juan Hernangomez is getting no attention and barely any playing time over in Colorado, Willy has been getting ample playing time for the Knicks as he's known for his versatile offensive game and his budding defensive work. He's gotten so much attention, in fact, that the Hornets decided to add them to their front court that already contains talents Dwight Howard, Frank Kaminsky, Cody Zeller, and Marvin Williams. The faith Charlotte is putting in their next backup center makes it surprising that all they had to give up for him was a second rounder. It wasn't a salary move since he's only making $4.2 million over the next 3 seasons, and it weakens their already barren front court after losing Kristaps Porzingis to an ACL tear for the season. The only logical explanation is that the Knicks couldn't manage to dump disgruntled Joakim Noah, so they cleared room to give him playing time and hopefully help him return to his former glory.
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