3 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 Phoenix Suns receive Andrew Bogut, Harrison Barnes, John Henson, Ish Smith
The Milwaukee Bucks receive Goran Dragic
The Golden State Warriors receive Marcin Gortat, Caron Butler, Shannon Brown, 2014 1st round pick from Milwaukee (lottery protected)
Why They Would Do It:
Okay this one is a little more complicated than last time. Phoenix clearly want to get younger, build for the future, and tank this year. But having 2 NBA starter quality players at PG and C, is not conducive to a top 5 pick this year, given the number of other teams planning on throwing the year away for a better draft pick. If Phoenix want to compete for a championship in the future, they need some young projectable pieces, and some better draft picks. In Harrison Barnes, Phoenix would be getting a high potential forward who showed his versatility, and ability to play at a high level in the playoffs this past year. While he is probably never going to be an all-star in the league, he is the sort of complementary player that all good teams need - Jeff Green but better defensively. Henson is a young, bouncy PF who has a tremendous wingspan (7'5) and can send shots away with aplomb. Only a rookie, it is easy to see that
he has potential - 18.30 PER and almost 5 RPG in only 13 mpg. One day he could easily average 14 points 12 rebounds and 2 blocks per game. Dwight Howard was the only player to exceed those numbers this past season, so clearly he has value. Also, Henson and Barnes played together at UNC! If they reunite with Kendall Marshall (already in Phoenix), and now Phoenix adds all of the UNC fans to its fanbase! Bogut and Ish smith are just throw-ins for salary reasons, although given decent health and production, both players could have value come the trade deadline.
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^^ Spa day for Pekovic... ^^
HE GETTIN' A FACIAL! |
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^^ Man, Harrison, I told you! ^^
No farting on the court!
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For Milwaukee, this trade kills two birds with one stone. As we discovered last year, Brandon Knight is not really a point guard. He doesn't have the natural court vision that we see in the leagues best floor generals, nor does he have the necessary handles to run an offence. Knight is best played as a combo guard off the bench a-la Jason Terry, or as an undersized SG. All of this is to say that the Bucks need a starting quality Point Guard. As discussed earlier, Goran Dragic is a starting quality player in the NBA. He can run an offence as he proved in Phoenix last season and in Houston the season before, so it is to be expected that he can do the same in Milwaukee. He would be a significant upgrade over Beno Udrih, who would be the Bucks alternate choice at PG. The second benefit of this trade to Milwaukee is the emptying of their over-crowded front-court. As it stands, the Bucks have 8 players whose primary position is either PF or C - far too many to keep them all happy. Henson would likely have struggled to break the 15 MPG mark again this season due to the multitude of other options, so it is really a small price to pay for a decent PG.
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| ^^ Please God, let me play for a ^^ REAL NBA team! |
Golden State may be the trickiest sell when it comes to this three-way trade. Barnes seems to be relegated to a bench role, now that Andre Iguodala has been brought in to play the SF position, meaning his value is probably slightly lower now, but the Warriors will not be keen to be rid of him. Their hope would be that Butler can replace Barnes's production (they are very similar players, although on opposite ends of their career slopes) in the short run, while the upgrade at the Centre position in terms of both ability and reliability outweighs the greater potential Barnes has. Marcin Gortat is every bit the player Andrew Bogut is, with slight differentials in shot blocking (Bogut is better) and free throw shooting (Gortat is better). The bonus would be that Gortat doesn't get injured nearly as much as Bogut. In the last 2 years, Bogut has missed over 100 regular season games, while Gortat has only missed 21, and that was probably more than he really needed to (Phoenix had no incentive to bring him back early as he would just improve their record, and therefore lower their draft pick). Playing 3 times as many games in the last two years means that Gortat would be more valuable to GSW than Bogut. In return for giving up a bench player who will probably get about 25 MPG maximum, the Warriors would receive a more reliable centre, an upgrade at backup guard (Shannon Brown can still ball!), plus a lottery protected 1st round pick - likely to be in the 15-18 range.
If anyone were to say no to this trade it would probably be Golden State, but that would be a mistake. By signing Iggy they have declared their intent to compete for a top seed in the west, and half a season (at best) of their centre will just not cut it in the stacked western conference. If the Warriors are truly intent on becoming title contenders, they should upgrade their potential (Barnes) for present day results (Gortat).
Part 2 of a 3 part series on NBA trades that should happen right now
Rhys T-J
Thats funny, GSW would never do this trade. Not for overrated Gortat and two scrubs. Saying barnes is not as important any more because of iggy is like saying manu in his prime was worthless to the spurs
ReplyDeleteBarnes is important, just not AS important as before the Iggy signing. Barnes is no where near as good or as key to the warriors success as Manu was, and still is. Ginobili played from the bench not becuase someone better than him was the starter, but because his skill set was better suited to lead the second unit, than to mesh with the first team. Barnes is now going to be playing from the bench, not because he fits there better, but because everyone in the starting line-up is better than him. The only way i see barnes playing a significant role in the warriors success is if David lee gets injured again. barnes is a great complementary player, but wont take over a game like ginobili.
ReplyDeleteYou're absolutely delirious if you think GSW makes this trade
ReplyDeleteThis guy is clearly mocking delusional Laker fans, there is no way that anyone could think that the Warriors would do this.
ReplyDelete