With the trade deadline fast approaching, I have been on the trade machine non-stop so I decided to post a few, along with the reasoning, that I came up with here.
Rockets acquire Jimmy Butler, Heat acquire Brandon Ingram in 3 team blockbuster trade. Houston gets Butler, Kevin Love and Alec Burks, Miami gets Ingram, Jeff Green and Jae’Sean Tate and New Orleans gets Dillon Brooks, Jock Landale, 2nd best of the 76ers, Mavericks, Thunder 2026 2nd round pick and a 2031 Rockets 2nd round pick.
Why the Rockets do it (get Butler, Love and Burks, give up Brooks, Landale, Tate, Jeff Green and 2 future seconds): Butler is a tough guy to acquire, this mess in Miami has been a nightmare for the Heat to deal with and I’m not totally sure why anyone would make a deal to get him. However, at this price, with how good the Rockets are, they should take the swing. One big factor is that Butler has expressed an interest in Houston so he should be willing to come play for the Rockets. Brooks is coming off of a career night in Boston where he hit 10 threes and he is having a good season but Butler remains a sizable upgrade and Landale, Green and Tate are very replaceable bottom of the rotation players. It won’t hamper Houston’s ability to make a huge deal later on, because they aren’t trading any future picks or young players, and it makes the 2 seed in the West a bigger threat in the Western Conference. Love replaces Landale as Houston’s third center and Burks gives the Rockets another scorer off of the bench.
Why the Heat do it (get Ingram, Tate and Jeff Green give up Butler, Burks and Love): This deal is about getting rid of Butler and replacing him with Ingram for the Heat. Brandon Ingram could be a risky addition for Miami, he has missed a lot of time with an ankle sprain and is a free agent at the end of the season but I think it is worth the roll of the dice. Miami needs another guy who can score the ball at a high level and Ingram does that. Jeff Green and Jae’Sean Tate are depth wings salary fillers who can play a bunch of different spots on the court.
Why the Pelicans do it (get Brooks, Landale and 2 future seconds give up Ingram): The Pelicans have been trying to trade Brandon Ingram since June when they traded for Dejounte Murray. They haven’t found a taker and with Ingram being a free agent this summer, if they are going to trade him they have to deal him now. Brooks is a good player who can help them win games next year or become a trade asset for the Pelicans if they deem he does not fit their long term outlook. Landale has 3 years left on his contract but the next 2 seasons are non-guaranteed so the Pelicans can waive him or use his salary in a trade this summer.
Thunder acquire Cam Johnson from the Nets for Isaiah Joe, Nikola Topic, 2nd best of the Clippers, Thunder, Rockets 2026 1st round pick and a 2029 top 5 protected Nuggets 1st round pick.
Why the Thunder do it: There is no time like the present to go win the championship and that is what the Thunder have the chance to do. Cam Johnson has had a huge year in Brooklyn, averaging 19.4 points per game on shooting splits of .49/.42/.90 and he is on a good contract with 2yrs/$43 million left after this season. A threat to dribble, pass and shoot on offense, Oklahoma City could use Johnson either in their starting lineup or off of the bench. Would this be considered an overpay? Maybe, but Oklahoma City shouldn’t be worried about overpaying because no one cares that you overpaid for Cam Johnson if you win the championship. The Thunder have the opportunity to go win the title and they should strike on that at the trade deadline.
Why the Nets do it: Isaiah Joe isn’t having his best season but with 3 years left on his contract at just $35 million and a career 39.5% three point shooter, he could become a useful asset for the Nets going forward. Nikola Topic has yet to step on the court but the 12th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft is still young and is a good player. With two first round picks to go on top of this return, this would be a great haul for Brooklyn.
Clippers acquire D’Angelo Russell from the Nets for P.J. Tucker, Bones Hyland and the lesser of the Clippers and Jazz 2030 2nd round pick.
Why the Clippers do it: Right now the Clippers have Kevin Porter Jr. and Hyland as their backup guards to James Harden. D’Angelo Russell is better than both of those players. Unless the Clippers want to get under the tax, there is no reason for them to not do a deal like this because they don’t give up anything in this trade.
Why the Nets do it: The Nets are trying to get their first round pick as high as possible, Russell is a good player who helps them win and is a free agent at the end of the season. Keeping Russell for the remainder of the season makes no sense because even if they want to re-sign him they can always just use their cap space to do so this summer.
Kings acquire Robert Williams III, Matisse Thybulle and Kris Murray from the Kings for Kevin Huerter, Trey Lyles, Colby Jones and a 2028 Kings 2nd round pick.
Why the Kings do it: The Kings are desperately looking for a backup center to Domantas Sabonis and Robert Williams is an ideal candidate. He hasn’t been healthy a ton the last few seasons but when he is, Williams remains one of the best rim protectors and lob threats in the NBA. He and Thybulle would help Sacramento’s defense a ton as both guys are elite defenders when they are on the court. Thybulle’s offense is a concern but at 34% he has shot the three better than Huerter has this season. Murray is Kings star Keegan Murray’s brother and just has not hit in the NBA but a change of scenery could help.
Why the Trail Blazers do it: First, it offloads one of their centers, Lyles allows them to play with 2 bigs more than Williams does with Donovan Clingan and Deandre Ayton on the roster, that is helpful. While he has not shot the ball well this season, Huerter is not too far removed from 40% he shot from three during the 2022-23 season and he helps Portland’s spacing around their young guards better than Thybulle does which should help the Blazers. Kris Murray has not been good since he was drafted in 2023 so swapping him for 2023 second round pick Colby Jones is a mulligan of sorts for the Blazers and they add another pick to their collection with the 2028 second rounder.
Raptors acquire Jusuf Nurkic, lesser of Cavaliers and Timberwolves 2025 1st round pick and worst of Jazz, Cavaliers and Timberwolves 2029 first round pick from the Suns for Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji.
Why the Raptors do it: After trading the 29th pick in in what many considered a bad draft to get Olynyk and Agbaji a season ago, Toronto cashes in on those two players to take on Nurkic’s contract while adding the 29th or 30th pick in what many consider a good draft and a 2029 first round pick. The Raptors have stated that they are willing to take on future money to help facilitate other trades and while they are not doing that here, taking on Nurkic’s contract netting them 2 first round picks is smart business for a rebuilding team.
Why the Suns do it: Nurkic is out of the rotation in Phoenix and the Suns traded their 2031 first round pick for 3 picks to trade for Jimmy Butler. I just don’t think that Butler is going to happen for the Suns due to Bradley Beal’s no-trade clause. Thus, they flip course and find a taker of Nurkic’s contract while adding a pair of good players in Olynyk and Agbaji. Olynyk would be an awesome addition for the Suns, he has a very good offensive game where he can help facilitate a lot of offense.
Hornets acquire Julius Randle in a 3 team, 3 player blockbuster. Charlotte gets Randle, Minnesota gets Jerami Grant and Portland gets Miles Bridges.
Why the Hornets do it (get Randle, give up Bridges): Juilus Randle is better than Miles Bridges. Sure, he needs a new contract but aside from LaMelo Ball, who are the Hornets paying right now? They do want to get number 6 overall pick Tidjane Salaun more minutes but with Brandon Miller and Grant Willams out for the season, they can do that and acquire Randle. Adding a player like Randle next to LaMelo Ball and eventually Brandon Miller would be good business for the Hornets, in my opinion.
Why the Timberwolves do it (get Grant, give up Randle): Julius Randle has not been a fit in Minnesota, he has messed up their spacing and defense. Jerami Grant comes in and helps fix those problems. While he is older, Grant is a better defensive player than Randle is now and Grant is shooting 39.5% on spot up jumpers while Randle is at 34.8%. Grant is a much better fit on this Minnesota team than Randle is.
Why the Trail Blazers do it (get Bridges, give up Grant): The Miles Bridges conversation is an uncomfortable one and he would likely be on a can’t acquire list for a number of teams because of domestic violence charges, which have since been dropped. On the floor, this would be a good deal for Portland because Bridges is a younger and cheaper player than Grant is while being on a shorter contract. He hasn’t had his best season under new coach Charles Lee but from a financial value standpoint, this would be smart business by the Blazers.
Bucks acquire Zach LaVine in 3 team blockbuster trade. Milwaukee gets LaVine, Torrey Craig and Talen Horton-Tucker, Orlando gets Khris Middleton and Chicago gets Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Bobby Portis, Jett Howard, Pat Connaughton and a 2031 unprotected Bucks first round pick.
Why the Bucks do it (get LaVine, Craig and Horton-Tucker give up Middleton, Portis, Connaughton and a 2031 first): The Bucks are all-in on this team and LaVine is an upgrade to what they already have. Coming off of a bad season a year ago, LaVine has had a great season this year, averaging 24.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game on shooting splits of .51/.45/.80. He can be a very good spacer for Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo while being able to carry the load on offense while one or both of those guys are on the bench. Khris Middleton just hasn’t been himself this season and LaVine is an upgrade. Losing Portis and another unprotected first hurts but LaVine is worth the swing. Craig and Horton-Tucker are acceptable replacements for Connaughton.
Why the Magic do it (get Middleton and give up Caldwell-Pope and Howard): The Magic need another guy who can score and Middleton would give them that. This is a risk, Howard was a lottery pick in 2023 but he just hasn’t carved out a role for himself yet and upgrading KCP into Khris Middleton seems like it is worth the swing of losing Howard.
Why the Bulls do it (get Caldwell-Pope, Portis, Howard, Connaughton and a 2031 Bucks first, give up LaVine, Craig and Horton-Tucker): The swing on the Bucks 2031 unprotected pick is worth it for Chicago. Last year, I proposed a deal that would have sent LaVine to the Hornets for Gordon Hayward, Cody Martin and a 2027 second, this is a big step up from that. Getting Jett Howard is another reason to do this trade. Sure he has not hit yet, a career 31.5% three point shooter after coming into the draft as a shooter but it is worth the Bulls while to bring the 21-year-old Chicago native in. Portis is a fun return story and a good player they can trade this summer and KCP becomes a valuable contract very quickly because he remains a solid player.
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