NBA Trade Deadline Review

It was an eventful trade deadline to say the least. After less year's colossal disappointment, this year's deadline did not disappoint. Eleven total trades were completed today. Here's what I thought of those trades:

Let's get the relatively small trades out of the way first:

Houston's newest PG

1. Prigioni escapes New York
Houston Rockets receive: PG Pablo Prigioni
New York Knicks receive: SG Alexy Shved, two second round picks
Houston gets a solid but unspectacular backup point guard for a trigger-happy benchwarmer who has
been traded three times since the end of the 2013-14 season and two second round picks. Nice move by Houston and the Knicks gets younger while shedding a small amount of salary.






2. Wizards and Kings swap backup point guards
Sacramento Kings receive: PG Andre Miller
Washington Wizards: PG Ramon Sessions
The Wizards sorely needed a better backup for John Wall than Miller, and Sessions has made a name for himself as one of the better backups in the NBA. Meanwhile, the Kings get Miller, someone who has played for new head coach, George Karl, and understands his system. It's also worth noting that his contract expires after this season.

3. Denver rids itself of the perennial Shaqtin' a Fool MVP
Philadelphia 76ers receive: C Javale McGee, 2015 1st round pick [top-18 protected]
Denver Nuggets receive: Rights to Cenk Akyol

Cenk Akyol, the man traded for JaVale McGee

Cenk Akyol is a Turkish basketball player who was drafted 59th overall in 2005. He is 27 years old
and is unlikely to ever set foot on an NBA court. Pure [and necessary] salary dump for the Nuggets, who finally rid themselves of his awful contract. The 76ers actually benefit from absorbing his contract, as they were in danger of not reaching the minimum requirement for players salary. This move should take them over the bottom.

4. Tayshaun comes home
Detroit Pistons receive: SF Tayshaun Prince
Boston Celtics receive: SF Jonas Jerebko, SF Luigi Datome
Tayshaun Prince is coming home. The starting small forward on the 2004 NBA champion Pistons is back. He will likely provide minimal value on the court and will serve as a veteran presence for a young Pistons team trying to make the playoffs. Boston takes on two fringe-rotation European wings who haven't panned out.

5. Rockets and 76ers curiously swap prospects
Houston Rockets receive: SF K.J. McDaniels
Philadelphia 76ers receive: PG Isaiah Cannon, 2nd round pick
McDaniels has shown that he has potential this year, as he is 2nd among rookies in blocks per game despite the fact that he isn't a big man and spends most of his time out on the perimeter. There's a very good chance he'll make an All_Rookie team. Meanwhile, after tetrode for Prigioni, there was no longer any need for Cannon, who is more shooter than point guard. He should get many chucking opportunities on a lowly 76ers team.

Now on to the good stuff:

6. Ainge gets his man, 5 months later
Boston Celtics receive: PG Isaiah Thomas
Phoenix Suns receive: SG Marcus Thornton, 2016 1st-round pick
This trade came as a bit of a surprise. After trading Goran Dragic [more on that later...] it seemed as though Phoenix would retain Thomas. I felt that they could've gotten more for a player of Thomas's

One of the most underrated scorers in the league
Thomas is now a Boston Celtic

quality. Although picking up a first-rounder was nice, I think landing a front-court player who could help the Suns contend this year would've been a wiser move. As for Boston, Danny Ainge must be commended. After striking out on Thomas, he was able to land him about 5 months later for 75 cents on the dollar. Ainge has collected enough first round picks that this trade will hardly dip into their supply. Thomas's contract itself [4 years $44 Million] is a steal, being that they snatched him for Marcus Thornton and a first rounder isn't necessarily grand larceny, but it was a nice move for Boston.

7. The Blazers steal Aron Afflalo
Portland Trail Blazers receive: SG Aron Afflalo
Denver Nuggets receive: SG Will Barton, SF Victor Claver, PF Thomas Robinson, 2016 1st-round pick [lottery protected]

Can Afflalo take Portland over the hump?

The Blazers are the clear winners here. Not only will Affflalo bring life to an absolutely awful bench [which has held Portland back for the last two years], but he also serves as a plug-in-play option in case Nic Batum never breaks out of his season-long slump. Additionally, Afflalo can also serve as insurance for Portland, should Wesley Matthews leave in free-agency. The Nuggets brought in a
subpar haul for very good player. Claver has minimal value [played just 31 games the past two seasons], Barton hasn't really done anything in his career so far [three points per game], while Robinson is a bust who is basically a ver poor man's Kenneth Faried; an offensively challenged rebounding specialist [even though pulling down four per game hardly makes him a "specialist"] who can't defend very well. The pick is likely to turn into a second-rounder due to the protection on it. Underwhelming for Denver to say the least.

8. The Thunder bolster their second unit
 Detroit Pistons receive: PG/SG Reggie Jackson
Oklahoma City Thunder receive: C Enes Kanter, SG/SF Kyle Singler, PG DJ Augustin, SF Steve Novak
Utah Jazz receive: C Kendrick Perkins
The Pistons pulled off a great move today. They traded Kyle Singler and DJ Augustin for Reggie Jackson. Jackson will give them a sorely needed scorer at the point, and although it remains to be seen what happens when he is allowed to fully facilitate an offense; the limited results have been very promising. He's shown the capability to win games singlehandedly [see: 2014 playoffs vs. Memphis
Grizzlies] and is an athletic freak. That isn't to say the Thunder lost. In fact, they may have done better than the Pistons. DJ Augustin is one of the premier backup point-guards in the NBA and is capable of catching fire in a hurry off the bench. Eyes Kanter is a fantastic compliment to Serge Ibaka who can also headline the second unit with Augustin if need be. And Singler and Novak are nice shooters [Novak especially] who thrive off of attention given to their teammates. By making this move, the Jazz have finally given themselves the ability to unleash Rudy Gobert on the rest of the NBA by trading Kanter, and are already negotiating a buyout with Kendrick Perkins.

9. KG's Homecoming
Minnesotta Timberwolves receive: PF Kevin Garnett
Brooklyn Nets receive: PF Thaddeus Young

KG's career has come full-circle

This is a moderate win-win to me. For the last three trade deadlines, I've been waiting for Thad Young to be set free. He puts up nice stats and looks the part of a great NBA role player, but he's always been stuck on awful teams.This year, his efficiency is slightly down, so the asking price was at an all time low, and the Nets made a nice move for him. The Nets aren't exactly a contender, but they're better than the 76ers and Timberwolves, so this made me happy. But Kevin Garnett waiving his no trade clause to go back to Minnesota as a mentor made me a little bit happier. Props to Garnett for swallowing his pride, realizing that he's not the player he once was, and deciding to go back to the team he came into the league with to mentor their young players. Solid trade for both sides.

10. Point guard madness
Phoenix Suns receive: PG Brandon Knight
Milwaukee Bucks receive: PG Michael Carter-Williams, Miles Plumlee, Tyler Ennis
Philadelphia 76ers receive: 1st-round pick via Los Angeles Lakers [top-five protected]

Eric Bledsoe's new running mate

You have to feel bad for the Bucks here. They didn't want to give up Brandon Knight, because they had finally figured out how to win at the helm and he gelled with coach Jason Kidd. But due to his upcoming free agency and their pressing need for front-court help [plus the tremendous upside of Carter-Williams and Ennis] basically forced their hand in this trade. It will undoubtedly make them
worse, but it was necessary. The biggest concern for me is that Kennth Faried-like feeling I get with MCW. He has the physical tools and raw skills to become a superstar in the league but there's a solid chance that he may have plateaued as a player, much like Faried. The Suns really scored here, landing Brandon Knight [who will make a nice running mate for Eric Bledsoe in the backcourt] for Tyler Ennis, the Lakers top-five protected pick that will likely end up in the top five and Miles Plumlee, who had fallen out of the rotation due to the emergence of Alex Len and acquisition of Brendan Wright. The 76ers taking a huge gamble, betting on the Lakers' pick to fall out of the top-five. If the Lakes pick ends up inside of the top-five, the Sixers will have lost their best player for nothing.

11. Goran [and Zoran] takes his talents to South Beach
Miami Heat receive: PG Goran Dragic, SG Zoran Dragic
Phoenix Suns receive: John Salmons, Justin Hamilton, Danny Granger, 2017 first-round pick, 2019 first-round pick
New Orleans Pelicans receive: Norris Cole, Shawne Williams

Is Goran Tragic enough to turn the Heat into contenders?

Short term, the Miami Heat are huge winners. They traded essentially no players of value and received a premier point guard. Norris Cole, Danny Granger, Justin Hamilton, and Shawne Williams were all fringe-rotation players who had very little value to the team. Dragic gives the Heat a really nice front-court, with the weakest link being Luol Deng. If Dwyane Wade's hamstrings cooperate, the
Heat could end up making some noise in the playoffs. In the long term however, the Phoenix Suns could end up as winners. Two years from now, Wade and Bosh probably won't be the players they all are and that first round pick could end up being more valuable than people think right now. And in 2019, Wade will almost certainly be retired if not regulated to an off-the-bench role while Bosh will be 35 years old, and who knows if Dragic will still be on the team by then. It may be a tough pill to swallow for Phoenix right now, but in the long run, this was not a bad trade at all. Cole provides point guard depth for an ailing Pelicans team while Shawne Williams has already been bought out.


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