The NBA takes no time taking over the news cycle from the NFL, hell they tried to take it over during Super Bowl week with the Porzingis trade. The Hornets haven’t got Gasol as of writing this, but if they do… all 17 of us Charlotte fans will be happy with new GM Mitch. Onto the moves that have happened. Post will be updated frequently.
I not going to include any trades that happened prior to Chicago’s Melo/MCW trades last week. I am already mad I talked about MCW for this long.
The Knicks traded Kristaps Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee, and Trey Burke to the Mavs for Wesley Matthews, Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan, a 2021 first, and a 2023 protected first. The Mavs get a European big man that can shoot. Their fans now get to be weened off of Dirk with Luka and the Latvian Gang Banger. Not too shabby. The Knicks just keep on Knicking, unless they know they are getting a great FA this summer.. I don’t get this trade for them. Dallas are set up for the future. The Knicks situation seems murky. This is honestly a fair trade in my eyes, but I do think Dallas comes out on top 5 years down the line. If you took the best parts of Frank Ntilikina, Dennis Smith Jr., and Emmanuel Mudiay, you’d have one of the best young guards in the league. Sadly for the Knicks, that isn’t possible.
The Cavaliers traded Rodney Hood to the Blazers for Wade Baldwin IV, Nik Stauskas, a 2021 2nd round pick, and a 2023 2nd round pick. The Blazers get a little better with this trade and move a little more over the luxury tax. Hood will have to compete with Layman and Harkless for playing time. They may make one more trade because Harkless almost seems redundant now. Stauskas can shoot. He played well in November/December, but his defense pushed him out of the lineup. Stauskas should get more playing time in Cleveland. This is a good trade for both teams, Portland gets a scoring wing, while Cleveland gets younger.
The Cavs trade Iman Shumpert, Nik Stauskas, Wade Baldwin IV to the Rockets for Brandon Knight, Marquese Chriss, the 2019 Houston lottery protected 1st round pick, while the Kings get Alec Burks, and a 2nd round pick to make the money work. This is a great trade for the Rockets. Stauskas can play Ryan Anderson and just stand there and drill 3s. Iman adds some needed wing defense and shooting off the bench. The Kings lose Shumpert and add Burks. Sacramento gets a little more offense and a little less defense, but Shumpert would have been redundant with Harrison Barnes coming to town (See Below). Chriss is only 21 and can score, but essentially this means the Cavs get another first and a young player for Rodney Hood. The only downside is they have to pay B Knight, but they have to pay someone… I just wish it was me.
The Pistons trade Reggie Bullock to the Lakers for Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and a 2021 2nd round pick. Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk may be a great player in 3 years, but Lebron may be playing for the Heat again by then. Bullock adds some much needed 3-point shooting to the LA lineup. I love this trade for the Lakers. As an UNC fan, this makes watching Lebron dishing it out, instead of going for a dunk, a little more bearable. It is not easy staying up to 2 AM because you bet on Lebron’s team to watch him pass it to Lance Stephenson in the 4th Q. Trust me. This will be an easier pill to swallow. It isn’t Anthony Davis, but Bullock’s shooting should help the Lakers make the playoffs.
The Clippers trade Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic, and Mike Scott to the 76ers for Landry Shamet, Wilson Chandler, Mike Muscala, a 2020 lottery protected 1st round pick, the 2021 Miami 1st round pick, a 2021 2nd round pick, and a 2023 PHI 2nd round pick. 76ers starting lineup was already one of the best in the league, now it gets even stronger. This trade would be perfect for Philly if the got P Bev in it too as the 76ers need some guard depth/defense. The Clippers have now turned Blake Griffin into 3 firsts and 3 seconds. Pretty damn good business for them. Another solid trade for both teams IMO.
The Suns trade Ryan Anderson to the Heat for Tyler Johnson and Wayne Ellington. Ryan Anderson scored 56 points for Phoenix. The Suns thought they could make the playoffs at the beginning of the year. Now they are trading for the future, which is the right move. Ellington will be waived. Ellington’s shooting will be picked up by a playoff team. Johnson is 26 and shoots a decent average from 3-point range. Trading Anderson for a potential backcourt-mate to Booker is a good trade.
The Bulls trade Jabari Parker, Bobby Portis, and a 2023 2nd round pick to the Wizards for Otto Porter Jr. The Wizards trade a young, valuable 3 and D player for two one-dimensional 4s, but their owner gets to save 5 million dollars on the luxury tax. Hooray! John Wall slipped during his recovery and tore his Achilles. Also, he has an infection. He won’t be back till after the all-star break next season at the earliest. Sad to say, but John Wall’s explosiveness may never be seen again..
The Mavericks trade Harrison Barnes to the Kings for Justin Jackson and Zac Randolph. This trade is bigger than it appears at first glance because with the departure of Harrison’s contract, the Mavs can sign a max player this summer. Porzingis, Doncic, and a max player like KD make Dallas one of the best teams in the league next season IMO. The Kings get a valuable piece for their playoff push at the cost of a young wing in Jackson. If Jackson can get a little better at shooting from deep, this trade gets even better for Dallas. I love Zac Randolph, but he is nothing more than an expiring contract in this trade, although he could get some of DeAndre’s minutes.
The Pistons trade Wesley Johnson to the Bulls for Markieff Morris and a 2023 second round pick. I’ll take “NBA trade I don’t care about” for 1000 Trebek.
The Bucks receive Nikola Mirotic and send Thon Maker to Detroit, while Detroit sends Stanley Johnson, Jason Smith, and 4 second round picks to the Pelicans. New Orleans gets the picks they wanted! Bucks get a shooting big that adds a lot of spacing for their already solid offense.
The Clippers trade Avery Bradley to the Grizzlies for Garrett Temple and JaMychal Green. I am confused on why either team made this trade. I thought the Grizzlies would trade Conley after making this trade, but they didn’t. I like Green and Bradley though so good trade for both teams I guess..
The Grizzlies trade Marc Gasol to the Raptors for Jonas Valanciunas, Delon Wright, CJ Miles, and a second round pick. Raptors get better at the 5. If you’re keeping track, the Bucks, 76ers, and Raptors all got better starting fives at the deadline. Boston did not. The Grizz get some serviceable players for one of their franchise centerpieces. I would have wanted a better young player than they got or a first round pick for Gasol; however, I really like Gasol so I may be inflating his value. Good trade Toronto.
The Lakers trade Ivica Zubac and Michael Beasley to the Clippers for Mike Muscala. Lakers need 3-point shooting and spacing around Lebron. They did that this deadline with Bullock and Muscala. Not sexy trades, but they will help LA with their playoff push. KCP and Lance can’t be your only deep threats in the West. I don’t know if I love or hate Lance’s guitar strum celebration for making 3s…
The 76ers trade Markelle Fultz to the Magic for Jonathan Simmons, the 2020 OKC top-20-protected 1st round pick, and a second round pick. Fultz has had one of the weirder NBA careers in recent memory. He loves Chick-fil-a, but can’t shoot. Let’s draft him with the 1st pick. That OKC pick may be the most traded draft pick of all-time. Someone fact check that for me. The Magic get a number 1 pick they can sit on and wait to get healthy for no real cost. The end of an error for Philly.