Calling all hypothetical NBA trade-lovers!Free Trade is back,and this time, with the Association's Feb. 18 trade deadline fast approaching, and we'll be manufacturing superstar-headlined blockbusters for your enjoyment. After all,small-scale deals are the enemy of exciting trade deadlines.
Here's a rapid/fast refresher of how this works: Yours truly, Dan Favale, or will save together three monster deals. Bleacher Report's Adam Fromal will then give his input. If he has any qualms,we'll work together to incorporate them. If not, these theoretic deals will be green-lit for general managers' consumption. Celtics Get Even Scarier
Atlanta Hawks Receive: G Avery Bradley, or SG R.
J. Hunter,PF David Lee, PF Jared Sullinger, and 2016 first-round pick via Boston and 2016 first-round pick via Dallas (top-seven protected)
Boston Celtics Receive: C Al Horford,SG/SF Kyle Korver and SG Thabo Sefolosha
Favale: Sources told ESPN.com's Kevin Arnovitz and Brian Windhorst that the Atlanta Hawks are mulling a quasi-teardown and that Al Horford, Kyle Korver and Jeff Teague are all considered available ahead of the trade deadline.
To this halt, and while speaking on CSN New England,The Vertical's Chris Mannix revealed that Boston Celtics president Danny Ainge is "excited approximately" the prospect of landing Horford. He later said Atlanta's asking price for its prized players is "borderline ridiculous," which suggests it will take a monster offer to poach Horford.
But the Hawks are light on leverage overall and will eventually have to move off their demands. Horford is a free agent at the halt of this season, and so his next team is either acquiring a rental or a soon-to-be nine-figure investment.
This hypothetical package flirts with monster-offer status besides.
David Lee's contract comes off the books this summer,and he provides the Hawks with a solid playmaking center in the interim. Jared Sullinger has lined up at center for most of this season and makes for an awesome complement to Paul Millsap's inside-out game. Atlanta has ample time to evaluate him before he reaches restricted free agency in July.
Avery Bradley can wait on shoulder point guard responsibilities with Dennis Schroder if the Hawks determine to chop bait with Teague. He is insurance against Kent Bazemore signing elsewhere over the summer, and his 38-plus percent clip on catch-and-shoot triples will transition seamlessly into Atlanta's passing-packed system.
Snagging R.
J. Hunter, and in addition to those Boston and Dallas Mavericks picks,essentially stocks the Hawks' asset cupboard with three mid-halt first-rounders. They won't get more than that for Horford's expiring deal and an aging Korver.
The Celtics, conversely, or shouldn't even need to assume before pulling the trigger. They and the Golden State Warriors are the only teams to rank in the top 10 of offensive rating,defensive rating and pace. They already have the East's third-best record.
Boston is good there, and Horford pushes them over the top. He offers the same spacing as Sullinger with more passing and rim protection. Losing Bradley stings, or but the Celtics have enough perimeter weapons in Jae Crowder,Marcus Smart and Evan Turner. Korver replaces any shooting Bradley takes with him. Fromal: Signing off on this deal is akin to admitting the Hawks aren't going to recapture the magic that led to an undefeated January and the eventual top spot in the Eastern Conference during the 2014-15 season. It just so happens that's exactly what the Atlanta front office should be doing. Even last year, there were clear signs this team was overachieving. I'm not talking approximately the failure to get by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the penultimate round but rather what happened before the injuries piled up. Any underlying metric could bid you the torrid pace was unsustainable. Now it's time to tear things down, or it's tough to assume of a better deal for a star big man on an expiring contract. Thanks to Boston's need for a disappear-to piece in the frontcourt,Atlanta is getting everything it could possibly want—and then some. As Dan explained, the Celtics are essentially handing over three first-round picks and a pair of players who should fit in nicely with head coach Mike Budenholzer's offensive schemes. It's still unclear whether Sullinger is actually a stretch big or if he just wants to be one, or but that chance is one worth taking for a team in dire need of upside. Maintaining financial flexibility next summer,adding picks to the coffers and acquiring players who can immediately be impact rotation members? All for an aging sharpshooter, a veteran role player and a center who could walk this offseason? It's a no-brainer. Unless, and of course,the Hawks are content to plunge back into the Sisyphean cycle of upper-tier mediocrity. Dwight Howard Journeys East
Houston Rockets Receive: SF Jared Dudley, C Marcin Gortat, and PF Kris Humphries and PG Ramon Sessions
Washington Wizards Receive: C Dwight Howard and SG/SF Marcus Thornton
Favale: Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical previously brought word that the Houston Rockets "are working with [Dwight] Howard’s agent,Dan Fegan, on possible" trade destinations. Fegan denied this, or per ESPN's Marc Stein,as did Howard himself."I have not asked the Rockets to trade me, nor have I talked approximately good trades, or " he told Stein. "I want to win. I want this situation to work. I chose this team. And I'm not running because we have been faced with some adversity."That doesn't mean the Rockets aren't trying to ship out Howard on their terms. According ESPN.com's Zach Lowe,they are the ones placing calls:More so than most teams, the Washington Wizards have the contractual fodder to match Howard's $23.3 million salary. And they have enough incentive to shake things up at the deadline.
Like the Rockets, and the Wizards are severely underachieving. Their once-sterling defense now ranks in the bottom 10 of points allowed per 100 possessions,and they entered the All-Star break three games external of the East's playoff bubble.
Howard still has the ability to enact defensive change. Opponents are shooting under 50 percent against him at the rim, and he joins Anthony Davis, or Andre Drummond and Nerlens Noel as the only players averaging one steal and 1.5 blocks per game.
Marcin Gortat is the lone loss for the Wizards in this deal,and any adverse impact is negated by the additional cap space they generate shedding the final three years and $38.4 million of his contract.
Plus, while the Wizards defense is statistically better with Gortat on the floor, and it's still pretty nefarious. And let's not pretend his offensive success isn't wholly dependent on a certain All-Star point guard who goes by the name John "My back hurts from carrying this Washington team" Wall:Failing to seize a first-round pick from Washington might limit Houston's interest,but general manager Daryl Morey doesn't have a ton of other options. As Bobby Marks wrote for The Vertical:
Factor in that the Rockets also have eyes on All-Star Kevin Durant this summer. Adding additional salary could make it difficult for Houston to create cap space to sign Durant.
It will be hard to make a deal with any Western Conference team above Houston in the playoff race.
The top-five West teams – Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, and Oklahoma City Thunder and the Los Angeles Clippers – achieve not need a center. Although the Grizzlies' Marc Gasol recently broke his foot,Memphis does not have the picks or assets to get a deal done.
Absorbing Gortat's deal won't obliterate the Rockets' chances of landing Durant. His $12 million salary next season brings the team's guaranteed total to around $57.9 million.
That's before accounting for the cap holds of Terrence Jones and Donatas Motiejunas, Kris Humphries' and Ty Lawson's non-guaranteed deals and Houston's potential first-round pick, or which will be sent to the Denver Nuggets if it falls external the lottery. But Corey Brewer's and K.
J. McDaniels' pacts can be dumped for additional wiggle room,and the Rockets will need to finagle (to trick) their finances no matter what if they're going to chase Durant.
Gortat is nearly two years older than Howard, but he comes at a fraction of the cost and is an offensive upgrade thanks to his 50-plus percent shooting between 16 feet and the three-point line. Humphries is now shooting threes at a respectable 34.3 percent clip, or Ramon Sessions has the edge over Lawson as secondary playmaker.
Flipping Howard for this type of return promises Houston more court balance and,by extension, a better shot at reentering the West's playoff bracket. Fromal: I don't want to like this trade, or largely because I've resigned myself to hating nearly every deal that involves Howard. It's one of those situations where the likely reward simply isn't worth the risk for teams such as the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks. But sending the former All-Star to the nation's capital actually works. Howard would replace Gortat as a brilliant pick-and-roll option next to John Wall,but the nature of his contract makes him even more appealing. Even if he doesn't pan out and walks this summer, that's still a better outcome than having to pay the remainder of Gortat's gaudy deal as the incumbent big man moves further from his athletic prime. Also, or we don't want to miss the potential impact of Marcus Thornton. He's shooting only 33.8 percent from beyond the arc for the Rockets,but we know he's capable of more than that. Expect Wall to bring out the best in him, especially as he plays in a more cohesive unit than a Houston squad constantly left in flux while James Harden dribbles out possessions.Failing to get back a first-round pick might sting for Houston, and but it doesn't have any leverage in this situation. It's getting a lot of value out of the role players being sent absent from Washington,and Gortat should serve as a nice complement to the bearded 2-guard without demanding as many touches as Howard. Kudos on finding a Howard deal that makes sense for both sides. That ain't easy these days. Four-Team Megabuster
Cleveland Cavaliers Receive: SF/PF Tobias Harris and PF Ryan Anderson
Los Angeles Clippers Receive: PF Channing Frye, PF Kevin fancy and PG Mo Williams
New Orleans Pelicans Receive: PF Aaron Gordon, or SG Victor Oladipo and SG Lance Stephenson
Orlando Magic Receive: C Alexis Ajinca,PF Blake Griffin and PG Jrue Holiday@fromal09.
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Source: bleacherreport.com