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NBA trades that need to happen right now
It's
getting towards the end of the NBA offseason, and now is the time
when most of the recognizable players are signed (Sorry Mr. Pekovic).
Pretty much every team has a good idea of what it's roster is going
to look like, apart from maybe some end of the bench scrubs who will
all be decided upon during training camp. But some teams might not be
happy with their rosters right now. Some teams might need a few minor
(or major) tweaks to their roster before we get the season started.
Here is one of my suggestions to help everyone involved reach their
goal for this season, be it scrape the 8th seed, challenge
for a title, or just plain old tank.
The
proposal:
The
New Orleans Pelicans receive Omer Asik and Greg Smith from the
Houston Rockets
The
Rockets receive Ryan Anderson, and a future (2015) second round pick
from New Orleans
Why they would do it:
The
Pelicans (née
Hornets) have one recognized centre currently under contract –
Greg Stiemsma. If they want to try and make the playoffs this year (I
assume so, as that would explain all of their moves so far this
summer), they will need something more intimidating than a man who
has 22 total NBA starts, and career scoring average of less than
4ppg. Anthony Davis is great, and will be a star in the league one
day, but today is not that day. Currently he is an above average
player, with great defensive skills, but a lack of strength which
hurts him when he is playing down low. By adding Asik, the Pelicans
would then have one of the strongest defensive big-man duos in the
league, as well as the required mass to defend the bulky big men that
exist in the western conference (Dwight Howard, Marc Gasol, etc.)
Greg Smith also provides a reliable finisher (62! FG%) around the
paint, for cheap – less than $2 million over the next two years.
^^How I feel about playing Centre all year^^
You
may have heard that a certain DH12 signed with Houston this summer.
What you may not have heard, is that Houston's incumbent centre is
less than happy with this arrangement. Omer signed with Houston last
summer to get the playing time he felt he deserved. After an
incredibly successful season as the full time starter getting over 30
mpg, he understandably does not want to go back to being a bench
player. Now Daryl Morey, Houston's GM, claims that Omer is going
nowhere, but clearly it would be a waste of his talents to have him
sitting on the bench behind Dwight, and having them play together
would be an offensive nightmare with regards to spacing. Enter Ryan
Anderson. He has past experience playing with Dwight and posted his
career high in PER (21.23) playing alongside
him. He also provides an excellent kick-out option to both Jeremy Lin
and James Harden in Houston's pick and roll heavy offence, given his
38.4 career 3 point shooting percentage. Anderson is also an
underrated rebounder – 7.7 per game in only 32 minutes in his final
season with Dwight sucking up most of the available boards – which should be an improvement over any other
power forward on Houston's roster.
This
trade should allow both teams to become better in the short term, and
achieve their goals for the upcoming season. New Orleans – make the
playoffs, or at least post a winning season after a number of poor
years. Houston – Challenge for a title. In the long run, New
Orleans allow Anthony Davis to develop at his long term position
(power forward), and Houston no longer needs to develop one of their
young PFs, so can trade either Motiejunas or Terrence Jones for
another asset, or package one of them with Jeremy Lin to upgrade the
PG position.
I love the idea of a stretch 4 alongside Dwight Howard and Omer Asik would allow Anthony Davis to play most of his playing time at PF. It reminds me of the Kendrick Perkins trade, where OKC wanted size and defense in the Center position and they wanted Ibaka, a shot-blocking, but undersized center to play more in his natural position
ReplyDeleteExactly! A lot of people see how it makes sense for houston, adding a stretch 4, but its just as good for the Pellicans! Its good short term, because omer is probably an upgrade for their starting 5 over ryan anderson, but long term its great as well, because it means Davis can develop at his natural, and longterm position - PF.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment by the way!