The NBA Trade Deadline: Wait, What Just Happened?
It was like a Hollywood blockbuster, with stuff exploding all over the place, characters fighting for attention, getting shot and shooting, dropped from the investigation, booted from the team, getting big breaks and busting the case. It was the NBA Trade Deadline, and it was crazy.
There were two big names that we knew were moving. Goran Dragic and Reggie Jackson had both asked for trades, both were upset with their roles on their respective teams. Dragic had signed a four year extension with the Phoenix Suns in 2012, and last season was the NBA’s most improved player and third team All-NBA. But while his dual-PG arrangement with Eric Bledsoe had worked wonders, the Suns then added Isaiah Thomas in free agency and the triple-PG thing didn’t work nearly so well. Sometimes all three of them would see the court at once and Dragic would just get squeezed out into a corner as a spot shooter. With his deal expiring after this season, he was through playing games and he said as much. He wouldn’t re-sign and so the Suns went to work on shipping him away to get something back in return.
Meanwhile Reggie Jackson had gotten fed up with his development on the Oklahoma City Thunder. He’s had some great days, he even carried them in some playoff games during Westbrook’s injury last campaign. But he’s never quite managed the consistency that is required of a starter and he was never getting that role anyway with Russell Westbrook on the team. Then when Dion Waiters rolled into OKC and started taking Reggie’s bench minutes, enough was enough. Reggie demanded a move.
Dragic’s people had pretty much said that even if he were traded there’s no guarantee of signing an extension. He was eyeing up a big money contract with a big market team… which means Lakers/Celtics/Knicks, not something too many others are plotting these days. What he got is something close and probably much better. The Phoenix Suns traded Goran (and his brother Zoran – they’re a package deal) to the Miami Heat in exchange for Danny Granger, Justin Hamilton and two first round picks. Granger, 31, spent some very good years with the Pacers before being traded to the Clippers last season. He’s averaging 6.3 ppg this season but should benefit from the move. Hamilton’s a young’un good for a bucket or two a game and maybe a couple rebounds. He might be bought out.
That wasn’t all those two teams did either. Both made interesting side trades, with the Heat flipping backup PG Norris Cole to New Orleans for swingman vet John Salmons, both of whom are impending free agents. That gives Miami some depth and New Orleans cover for the injured Jrue Holiday. As for the Suns, well they were busy. Isaiah Thomas also left in a three team trade with Boston and Detroit. Here’s what happened: Thomas goes to Boston along with a couple Detroit no-namers, Tayshaun Prince goes back to his old stomping ground in Detroit and the Suns get Marcus Thornton and a 2016 first round pick.
But Phoenix weren’t done there, they also moved for Bucks’ guard Brandon Knight in a three team trade. The Bucks get Michael Carter-Williams from the 76ers and Tyler Ennis and Miles Plumlee from the Suns and Philly get, wait for it… draft picks. Yep, they’ll have EIGHT picks in the next draft! Look, it’s debatable how well you can rebuild a team with all young players and draftees, but credit to them for seeing it all through. By the way, one of those picks was the Lakers’ top 5 protected first rounded from the upcoming draft from the Suns – big asset. Another one of those picks was OKC’s 2015 firster, which they got along with JaVale McGee from Denver, with the pair also swapping rights to a couple international players.
MCW was a rookie of the year, but he’s a scratchy shooter and a questionable leader. Working with Jason Kidd at the Bucks sounds like a perfect scenario for him. In fact the Bucks’ haul looks great on all account. They’ll definitely cut Larry Sanders now, and should be pretty chuffed at having replaced him with Plumlee, who was a starter with the Suns until Alex Len broke though.
The Suns may not have played this too well, gutting their frontcourt and not adding too much in return. Thornton and Granger could be very handy additions, but they’ve lost arguably their best player in Goran Dragic, and as good as Brandon Knight has played this season, this looks very much like they’re ready to accept that they might not be able to hold off the Thunder (and possibly the Kings) in the playoff race.
If the Heat can find full health then they look like a devastatingly good team now. This was a wonderful deal from Pat Riley, who’s a champion player, coach and GM and continues to make clever moves. Their starting five now reads: Dragic/Wade/Deng/Whiteside/Bosh. That’s scary. The Heat are currently eighth in the East.
Oh, and Reggie Jackson, you say? Let’s see what he had to say:
Deeeeetroiiiiit Baaaskeeeetbaaaaall! It was a nice day for Detroit, actually. Reggie Jackson has long looked like a player that at least deserved a chance to prove himself as a starter, and he’ll get that chance with Brandon Jennings out for the season. That may lead to a tough decision in the offseason, but tough decisions are Stan Van Gundy’s specialty. They also picked up Tayshaun Prince for some depth, remember. Reggie’s a free agent in a few months, so he might be looking for a contract somewhere else. Either way, he’s got plenty to play for.
In return the Thunder look to have really boosted their side, not just in the present but for the future too. It sounds like they didn’t much like Reggie, both Westbrook and Durant had seemed unfazed by the prospect of him moving and they’d done their bit to ice him out in the dressing room by the sounds too. He wasn’t the only guy they gave up, though.
The Reggie Trade was a three teamer. Detroit got Reggie. Utah got Kendrick Perkins, Grant Jerrett, the rights to a 25 year old German named Tibor Pleiss (drafted by the Nets, traded to ATL, sold to OKC, now trade to Utah) plus drafties. The word is that Kendrick ‘Silverback’ Perkins will be bought out and the Clippers, Cavaliers and Bulls are favourites to get him. Perkins is a shocking offensive player, nonetheless he’s got plenty left on defence and he was a big favourite in the Thunder locker room.
OKC got plenty back in return, however. Enes Kanter comes in to play centre, DJ Augustin (who’s been playing great for Detroit since Jennings got hurt) replaces Reggie on the bench, Steve Novak strolls into town and Kyle Singler brings some depth. To make room on the roster the Thunder dumped Ish Smith, either in a non-player trade with New Orleans or by cutting him, the facts are murky. Singler’s an impending restricted free agent, Augustin’s on contract for next season and they’re confident Kanter re-signs, so roster stability looks set.
Enes Kanter was the third overall pick in 2011, he’s 22 and very tall. Rudy Gobert had begun undermining him in Utah, so the move looks good for him, though he may have to return to the bench when Steven Adams is healthy in a few weeks. He’s a guy who’ll score in the paint, but he also has a jumper in his arsenal. Not a good jumper, granted. Still, it’s the range that matters. On the whole their team looks much more balanced now. The depth has been improved, but more than anything, guys like Waiters and Morrow should benefit from having a true point guard who’ll actually look to create shots for them (Reggie’s a scorer, that’s what he does and does well). Waiters oughta get more of the ball in his hands with that second unit now too. OKC had been plotting for Brook Lopez, but in getting Kanter, they also picked up far more alongside him than they would have with Lopez. Plus, while Reggie might turn into a great player for Detroit, he was miserable on the Thunder and that was doing nobody any favours.
The Thunder weren’t the only Western contender to make moves to improve. Sure, Dallas get credit for pushing the Amar’e Stoudemire thing through, but there were two other teams that made minor, possibly important, additions. Houston first. The Rockets, on the low key, swapped Isaiah Canaan and a second rounder to Philly for K.J. McDaniels. They also got a little weird in flicking Alexey Shved and two second rounders for Pablo Prigioni of New York. Surprisingly, that was the only move the Knicks made all day. The Rockets gave up basically nothing to add a couple handy guys to their slight bench. Good day’s work. A fit Dwight Howard will be the next thing on the list.
Then we have the Portland Trailblazers. Way back in the first big trade of the day, the Blazers got busy with Denver, adding Aaron Afflalo and Alonzo Gee in exchange for Thomas Robinson, Will Barton and Victor Claver. The Blazers’ starting five has been superb for a couple of years, their bench… that needed work. Adding Afflalo is a big statement that they mean business, they won’t just settle for third place. They freed up a roster spot with this too, so don’t be shocked if they pick up a free agent to pad it out. There’ll be a few of those around, plenty of these guys above can and will be bought out. Perkins we know for sure will be, JaVale McGee too, in all likelihood. As for Denver, we all knew they were set up in the marketplace, behind a homemade stall, practically begging any passers-by to take a look at their shoddy products.
And to complete the league-wide point guard swap meet that was trade deadline day, the Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards swapped backups. Professor Andre Miller is now a King and Ramon Sessions a Wizard. There ya go. Absolute blockbusting madness all around.
But just like all great blockbusters, this one had a heart beneath all the madness. And that heart was Kevin Garnett. KG was traded back to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team where he made his name and will now seemingly finish his career with. Beautiful. It’s the circle of life, completed. Brooklyn receive forward Thad Young in return, in what seems to be a straight one-for-one trade. Garnett waived his no-trade clause to get the deal through the hoop.
And guess what? Although KG’s contract expires in the American summer, and he had been expected to retire, the T-Wolves are planning on offering their boy a two year extension, pretty much a career victory lap, and if he happens to inherit a piece of the team’s ownership at the conclusion of that deal, well, that’s just perfect.