The unofficial start to the NBA trade season is here as players who signed free agent contracts this summer can now be traded. According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the number of players who can be traded jumped from 73% to 89% on December 15th, some players cannot be traded until January 15th. There are a lot of rumors swirling and I wanted to dive into some of those and some fake trades.
Let’s start in Los Angeles where the Lakers are currently sitting at 11-16 and are likely going to make a trade at some point here. Of course, we all know about the Russell Westbrook trade rumors, the Bulls and the Pacers seemingly the biggest factors in those talks. However, if I were the Lakers I am not convinced I would trade Russ. Yes, a lot of the issues are still there and his salary is a big reason why the Lakers are where they are but he has been good for them since he began coming off of the bench and they need his ball handling, scoring, and playmaking off of said bench. Thus, we shift elsewhere when looking for a trade and the combination of Patrick Beverly and Kendrick Nunn make $18.25 million and NBA trade rules allow a team to acquire up to 125% of outgoing salary, which means the Lakers can acquire a player or players that make up to $22.81 million. Some available players who fit this description are; Bojan Bogdanovic, Terry Rozier, Buddy Hield, Myles Turner, and Eric Gordon. The one that sticks out to me is Rozier. At 28 years old, Rozier is in the first year of a 4-year contract, so that could be a reason to not go in this direction, or it could be a reason to go and trade for Rozier. ‘Scary Terry’, as he was affectionately known by Celtics fans when he was in Boston, would give the Lakers a ball handler next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the starting 5, who can actually make 3 pointers and a player I would pursue if I was the Lakers. Bojan Bogdanovic is another player the Lakers should try and trade for.
The Jae Crowder situation is weird and as I have expressed many times, I don’t understand it. However, it is happening and he is going to be traded. Shams Charania of The Athletic reported this week that the Bucks, Suns, and Rockets were close on a three team trade that would have sent Crowder to Milwaukee and Eric Gordon to Phoenix but there was a hold up with Houston and picks and whether Kenyon Martin Jr. would be involved. That feels like it could very well get done but if it does not I have another trade that could make sense. It is a 3 team trade that would send Crowder and Spurs swingman Josh Richardson to the Cavaliers, Caris LeVert and Isaiah Roby to the Suns, and Landry Shamet and Dylan Windler to the Spurs. For the Cavs, it gives them a pair of 3 and D wings they are lacking and will really need to compete with Milwaukee and Boston, for the Suns LeVert is a better player than Gordon since it seems they want a scorer to come off their bench, and the Spurs get younger with 2 players who can really shoot it, especially Shamet who would be a really good add for them. Jae Crowder is a player to keep an eye on for the next couple of weeks
The Golden State Warriors are not playing well. After a big win on Saturday in the Finals rematch against the Boston Celtics, Golden State has lost back to back games, getting blown out by the Bucks and losing to the Pacers. It has been a weird season for the Dubs, as they are 12-2 at home and 2-13 on the road, having looked like a completely different team on the road than they are at home. James Wiseman is the player that has come up in trade talks recently. I talked about the reasons why I would not trade for him last week, however, if you are the Spurs, who are tanking and can take a flier on a player like this, and the Warriors offered James Wiseman for Jakob Poeltl, I think they would do it. Players like Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody are unlikely to be traded by Golden State at this moment.
John Collins has been available for what feels like years now. The Hawks are 14-15, they have a net rating of -2.2 (24th in the NBA), and just are not very good. They have to make a trade and Collins will be at the forefront of it. The Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards, Dallas Mavericks, and Brooklyn Nets are all reportedly interested in Collins. I like a Collins to the Suns trade for Jae Crowder, Landry Shamet, and draft picks, as the Hawks have expressed interest in Crowder. The Suns would get a starting 4, who is really good, and the Hawks also get a starting 4 but also recoup some of the picks they traded for Dejounte Murray. A Kyle Kuzma, Will Barton, and picks trade for Collins also makes sense for the Hawks, but I am not sure it does for Washington, as John Collins does not improve them enough to justify trading picks. The Hawks were in on Ben Simmons last season, do they want to entertain that this season? The Hawks are a mess and need to change up something or the big change no one wants to talk about could be coming.
There are a lot of teams who will have to make big decisions on which direction they want to go this season and into the future. The Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks, Chicago Bulls, and Atlanta Hawks are all teams that are struggling and could make trades to go either way while the Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Pelicans are really good and could make a trade to improve their chances to at least make the Finals. The next few months are going to be fun and when the trade deadline comes around they could make some big trades.
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