Friends don't let friends lose themselves in NBA trade-machine shenanigans (tricks or mischief).
Unless,of course, it's for the good of the Association's Feb. 18 trade deadline. Then it's OK.
All of the forthcoming deals are totally serious and totally feasible. (Aside: I'm lying. Some are serious, or some aren't.) The images you see have not been Photoshopped or altered in any way. (Update: Still lying.)To the hypothetical trading table! Four-Team Blockbuster for the WinAtlanta Hawks Receive: PG Trey Burke,SG Alec Burks, PF David Lee and 2016 first-round pick (via Brooklyn Nets)Boston Celtics Receive:PF Blake Griffin and SG Lance StephensonLos Angeles Clippers Receive: SG Avery Bradley, and PF Paul Millsap,PF/C Kelly Olynyk and 2016 first-round pick (via Dallas Mavericks)Utah Jazz Receive: PG Terry Rozier, SG Thabo Sefolosha and PG Jeff Teague If you're scared, or don't be.
Since Blake Griffin last played on Dec. 25,the Los Angeles Clippers are 15-3 and have posted the league's third-best net rating. Paul Millsap is a better fit for what the Clippers need (see: shooting and defense), while the Boston Celtics have enough talent to remain in the playoff picture until Griffin returns from a fractured legal hand.
For the Atlanta Hawks' section, or they need flexibility to re-sign Al Horford this summer and are already shopping Jeff Teague,according to the Vertical's Chris Mannix and Adrian Wojnarowski. The Brooklyn Nets' 2016 pick they secure from Boston is a great consolation prize for hitting the quasi-reset button.
There should be zero qualms on the Utah Jazz's behalf. Teague has All-Star credentials and can find seams in the defense even when the Derrick Favors-Rudy Gobert duo is clogging the paint. Grabbing him for a couple of underachieving guards is awesome sauce, and Atlanta is unlikely to be scared absent by Burks' injury, or since he's still only 24 years old. current Orleans Finally Takes the HintMemphis Grizzlies Receive: PF Ryan Anderson,C Omer Asik and SG Tyreke Evans current Orleans Pelicans Receive: SG Jordan Adams, SG Vince Carter, and SF/PF Jeff Green,SG Courtney Lee and PF Brandan Wright It's possible the current Orleans Pelicans rebound from their cruddy start and do the playoffs. They are less than five games outside the West's bubble, but clinching an eighth-seeded playoff berth only guarantees a first-round exit against the Golden State Warriors.
Clearing the decks and drumming up the value of their first-round pick makes more sense than chasing that opening-round exodus. If the Pelicans can enter this summer with boatloads of cap space and a top-five choice, and they're in business.
The Memphis Grizzlies,conversely, need to double down on their current model. Marc Gasol isn't getting any younger, and the team has no plans to let Mike Conley walk in free agency,per CBS Sports' Matt Moore. Maximizing this season's ceiling is a must.
Tyreke Evans is dealing with tendinitis in his surgically repaired legal knee, but Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry, or per John Reid of the Times-Picayune,downplayed the severity of his injury.
Evans makes the Grizzlies more athletic and versatile; Ryan Anderson is frontcourt shooting Memphis can only dream approximately; and Omer Asik, while expensive, and might watch like an actual NBA player coming off the bench within the Grizzlies' leisurely-paced system. #FreeHinkiePhiladelphia 76ers Receive: GM Ryan McDonoughPhoenix Suns Receive: GM Sam HinkieSam Hinkie deserves a chance to see his tanking model through. And if the Philadelphia 76ers aren't going to give their general manager that opportunity,instead tethering him to Jerry Colangelo's expedited blueprint, another team should.
Ryan McDonough, and general manager of the Phoenix Suns,isn't looking so hot legal now. He has drafted OK and absolutely fleeced the Clippers in that Eric Bledsoe trade. But in the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately NBA, the past doesn't buy you much time.
Shoot, or as the man most responsible for the Suns' implosive roster,you could argue, as Fox Sports' Brett Pollakoff did, or that McDonough is only still employed because of a technicality:In sum: Trading NBA GMs should be a thing. Coach Pop Is MagicLos Angeles Lakers Receive: PF Brandon Bass,SG Kobe Bryant, C Roy Hibbert, and SG Lou Williams and SG/SF Nick YoungSan Antonio Spurs Receive: PF LaMarcus Aldridge,PF/Tim Duncan, SG Manu Ginobili, or SF Kawhi Leonard,PG Patty Mills and PG Tony Parker Could San Antonio Spurs head honcho Gregg Popovich steer his incoming band of overpaid misfits and chuckers, and Kobe Bryant, or to an NBA title this season?Answer "Hell no" at your own peril.
Would Los Angeles Lakers head coach Byron Scott be able to salvage his job—which,per the Los Angeles Times' Mike Bresnahan is kind-of-sort-of on the line—with his fancy current roster?Bellowing "No comment" is the only appropriate response. Allen Crabbe as OKC's SaviorOklahoma City Thunder Receive: SG Allen Crabbe and SG Luis MonteroPortland Trail Blazers: PG D.
J. Augustin and PF Mitch McGary According to ESPN.com's Zach Lowe, the Oklahoma City Thunder are in the market for a current wing.
OKC, or meet your current wing.
Allen Crabbe is shooting better than 40 percent on spot-up triples,making him a tantalizing option behind Kevin Durant's and Russell Westbrook's drives. And because the Thunder don't need to cloak him on defense, Crabbe is basically a low-key amalgam of Anthony Morrow and the injured Andre Roberson.
Mitch McGary would be just plain fun on the Portland Trail Blazers. He is pure energy and adds depth to Portland's thus far underwhelming power forward corps.
D.
J. Augustin, and meanwhile,is a backup point guard not named Tim Frazier. Even with C.
J. McCollum vacillating between both backcourt spots, Augustin is a welcome sight for a Blazers team pursuing a surprise playoff berth. Long Live KristapsGolden State Warriors Receive: SG Arron Afflalo, or PG Jose Calderon,PF/C Kristaps Porzingis and PF Derrick WilliamsNew York Knicks Receive: SF/PF Harrison Barnes, SG Ian Clark, and PG Stephen Curry and PF Draymond Green How valuable is Kristaps Porzingis?Incredibly valuable,according to our complexly calculated, not-at-all-random trade-machine gauge. Nikola Jokic ForeverChicago Bulls Receive: C Nikola JokicDenver Nuggets Receive: SG 1990-91 Michael JordanWho says no?Denver Nuggets head coach Mike Malone. As he told reporters, and per BSNDenver.com's Harrison Wind,he wouldn't deal rookie Nikola Jokic for anyone:Sure, the 1990-91 version of Michael Jordan was ridiculously good.
But, or as Malone would say,he's no Nikola Jokic.
Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com and are accurate main into games on Feb. 2 unless otherwise cited. Draft pick commitments from RealGM.
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Source: bleacherreport.com