We’re essentially at the end of the NBA’s free agency period. Sure, there are still a few more players who need to find homes, but with free agency reaching its end and the Summer League wrapping up on July 17, we’re about to enter the quietest part of the NBA’s offseason.
Well, it doesn’t really have to be quiet. The trade market looks like it could end up being pretty robust over the next few months — Carmelo Anthony hasn’t gone anywhere yet, the Cavaliers haven’t done anything to move closer to the Warriors, and plenty of teams look like they may want to get younger or hoard assets with an eye on the future.
This got us wondering, what are some trades that we’d love to see go down, even if there’s next to no chance that they happen? We threw five together — all of them Trade Machine approved — and explained what would make each of them so much fun.
Nets trade Jeremy Lin to Spurs in exchange for Dejounte Murray and Danny Green
Imagine a world where Lin’s basketball IQ and savvy is coached by Gregg Popovich. That would be great, right? Lin was quietly really, really good with the Nets last season, establishing himself as a solid point guard in the right situation. The Spurs are really good to playing to the strengths of a specific player, and Lin could thrive as the floor general in San Antonio.
Plus the Spurs’ point guard depth chart isn’t totally inspiring right now — Tony Parker has really shown his age over the last few years and is expected to be sidelined until January after a torn quadricep ended his 2017 postseason. And while the team re-signed Patty Mills four-year deal this summer, he has never started more than eight regular season games in a season at any point in his career.
This deal would cost the Spurs Green’s contract (two years, $10 million a year with a player option on year two) and Murray, the kind of young, talented player who the Nets would love to acquire due to the lengthy rebuild they face. A back court consisting of Murray and D’Angelo Russell — two savvy, 6’5 guards — would have the potential to be a ton of fun. If the Nets are patient, it could pay off in a big way. If not? Oh well, they’re rebuilding.
Cavaliers trade Kevin Love, Iman Shumpert and Richard Jefferson to Blazers in exchange for Al-Farouq Aminu, Maurice Harkless and Allen Crabbe
Okay, this is insane but … it kind of makes sense. Love is easily the best player in the trade and that makes it tough from the Cleveland side. With that said, both Aminu and Harkless are far better fits on the floor defensively against the Warriors in a potential Finals re-re-rematch and that does matter.
Cleveland moves off Shumpert, who has been a disappointment on that contract and, while there is some pain in Crabbe’s salary, it is needed for matching purposes. Crabbe can also provide the Cavs with yet another dynamite shooter and would be more easily hidden on a floor that also included players like Harkless and Aminu.
For Portland, the chance to add Love to an already fun offense with Lillard, McCollum and Nurkic would be tremendous. It would be painful defensively without both Aminu and Harkless but, in truth, the Blazers weren’t stopping anyone with those guys on the floor.
The overriding theme of this move would be for the Cavaliers to move Love for pieces better suited to beat the Warriors. With Carmelo Anthony nearing the point of being off the board for the GM-less Cavs, this is the kind of move that would make a great deal of sense, at least in theory. LeBron and company are never going to “win” this kind of trade but that doesn’t make it a bad idea on the surface, even if there isn’t a perfect team to pair with at the moment.
Thunder trade Enes Kanter to Blazers in exchange for Allen Crabbe
While on the subject of Crabbe, why not put him a more simple deal that accomplishes something for both teams? Sure, neither Kanter nor Crabbe have deals that are exactly favorable, but swapping them for one another could be wise.
For Portland, acquiring Kanter means they’d have a little stability in a front court that is going to see Ed Davis, Noah Vonleh, and Jusuf Nurkic hit free agency next offseason. It even makes all of those guys — well, probably not Nurkic — expendable in some kind of move. Plus we know the Blazers have had interest in Kanter in the past, as evidenced by the offer sheet he signed with the organization in 2015.
For Oklahoma City, Crabbe gives them a 3-and-D wing who was among the best three-point shooters in the league last year, knocking down 44.4 percent of his attempts from behind the arc. With how Russell Westbrook and Paul George are going to attack the rim, having options on the perimeter who can hit open shots would be huge, especially in lineups where Andre Roberson is on the floor. Crabbe’s deal is one year longer than Kanter’s, which is probably not ideal, but if the Thunder think he gets them closer to beating Golden State than Kanter does, doing this move would be worth it.
Pelicans trade Anthony Davis to Celtics in exchange for Jae Crowder, Jayson Tatum, 2018 1st from Brooklyn, Boston’s 2018 1st, 2019 1st from Memphis, 2019 1st from LA Clippers, Jordan Mickey
Anthony Davis is under control through the 2019-2020 season and, in short, Anthony Davis is very good at basketball. Because of that combination, the Pelicans have very little reason to even think about dealing him away at this juncture and that has to be noted.
With that said, the Celtics are the team to make this happen if New Orleans picked up the phone to listen. Boston’s war chest of draft capital is well known and they have a solid player on a cheap contract (Crowder) to include in the deal. It seems quite clear that Celtics fans might push back on this being “too much” given the presence of Tatum along with four first-round picks (including at least one premium one) but that is the price of doing business.
Is this really a deal that would happen before the first full season of the Anthony Davis-DeMarcus Cousins era in New Orleans? Absolutely not, but picture Davis in Boston and it becomes a great deal of fun in a hurry.
Knicks trade Kristaps Porzingis to Warriors in exchange for Klay Thompson
The Knicks will have the opportunity to resolve the conflict between the organization and their young star that happened because of Phil Jackson. Now that Jackson is out of town, this may not be too difficult, but one of Porzingis’ biggest issues was the general state of dysfunction the Knicks were in last year. Jackson may be gone, but the Knicks are still the Knicks and we have years of evidence to suggest that things won’t get much better.
So let’s say Porzingis demands a trade, and wants to go to a team where he can win. No team wins more than the Warriors, which could use a young star to build around as their core gets older. Plus with two more years on his contract (assuming his team option is picked up for 2018-19, which, it will be) costing Golden State only $10.2 million total, he’s an affordable option for a franchise that is facing a massive tax bill.
In exchange, the Warriors send Thompson to New York. It would be hard to split with the 27-year-old All-Star, but Porzingis is the kind of guy who can make this tough decision worth it. Plus Thompson’s under contract for the same amount of time as Porzingis for a guaranteed $36.8 million.
For Thompson, this lets him be the man on a team that is 100 percent his, especially if the Knicks move Carmelo Anthony. He’d be the man in New York, something he hasn’t been during his NBA career, and the franchise would get to build a team around his strengths. It’d be a fun trade for everyone involved. Too bad it probably won’t happen.
