Trade rumors rage and we’ve rounded up some of the controversial NBA trade ideas including Miles Turner, John Collins, Jay Crowder, and more.
NBA trade rumors are basically a year-round phenomenon but they certainly ebb and flow. Over the past week or two, focusing on each team’s relative strengths and weaknesses, things have started to heat up. The NBA trade deadline is still a long way off, but on December 15, most players who signed free agents last summer will be eligible for a trade, opening up myriad new possibilities.
To kick off the holiday turkey haze, we kicked off Monday with some trade ideas built around some of the biggest hunks that have surfaced in recent rumors.
Tell us what you think of these NBA trade ideas:
nix get
Owner Paisley
Rudy Jay
Jazz Jet
Emmanuel Quickly
Evan Fournier
2024 second-round pick (DET)
Jalen Bronson gave the Knicks everything he hoped for but the team still faltered at 9-11, 11th in the Eastern Conference. They occupy the bottom half of the league on both sides of the ball and have repair problems all over. However, shooting outside is a fairly straightforward thing to do and can make things easier for everyone else to fill their attacking roles.
Currently, the Knicks pay Evan Fournier about $18 million and he only makes 33.3 percent of his three-pointers. A more reliable outside threat could help open up drive lanes for Bronson, Randle, and Barrett and make the entire offense more dynamic. Paisley is younger than Fournier, in a bargain that’s a bit cheaper and a year shorter. He also makes 42.2 percent of the 3s he catches and shoots this season and has a lot more rookie offensive shutouts and as a secondary creator compared to Fournier.
It’s not a massive upgrade but it could be enough to help get the Knicks into the playoff race and they can make it without giving up a first-round pick. Knicks fans might hate the idea, because they ditch Quickley and add a player in Rudy Gay who will almost certainly take a few minutes away from Obi Toppin. But if Tom Thibodeau isn’t sent off and won’t give these young players the minutes they need anyway, it might be worth getting some players who’ve already raised the short-term cap on Randle-Barrett-Brunson heart.
The Jazz might prefer to find a deal where they can get a first-round pick for Paisley, but Detroit’s second-rounder might be a second-round pick, and Quickley is a potential point guard with the upside. Fournier is worth a lot less than Beasley given his age, contract and shooting struggles, but he could be repackaged in another deal down the road to help turn the list around towards youth and back up.
Get hooks
PJ Washington
Kelly Ober Jr
2023 First Round (BOS)
This sounds very shaky and I can understand if the fans of the three teams involved here aren’t wild about this team. But…
The Pacers are unlikely to re-sign Miles Turner at the end of this season, though he has been key to their resurgence over the past few weeks. I’m not sure there’s a deal out there that brings more talent back to Indiana in a Turner deal than this one, even if they also have to send a Celtics first-round pick (currently #30) to the Hawks. The Turner-for-Collins trade is a huge downgrade for Indiana’s defense and will put a lot of eggs in the Isaiah Jackson development basket but an upgrade in offensive skill and versatility is important.
The Hornets are giving up two key players in rotation, but at 6-14 this already looks like a wasted season and they probably won’t re-sign both Washington and Aubrey Jr. this offseason anyway. They should feel confident about re-signing Turner to Charlotte, but it would give them the defensive anchor they’ve been lacking and a great partner in pop pick LaMelo Ball.
The Falcons are getting a pair of players who can take minutes from Collins’ front yard and make big defensive upgrades. Both have been struggling massively on the ball this season, but they both have solid records of groundbreakers and are probably better suited to what the Falcons need right now about the ball dominance of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray. Both Washington and Uber Jr.’s contracts are expiring, but the Hawks will get them into the playoffs this season and can try to re-sign whoever suits them best, likely at a significant discount to Collins’ contract. They also picked this late first-round pick as compensation for lowering the level of talent overall.
Get the Trail Blazers
Jay Crowder
Get the rocket
Dario Sarek
Justice Winslow
Keon Johnson
Greg Brown III
The long-rumored trade to send Jay Crowder to the Milwaukee Bucks still hasn’t materialized, and there are a few other hypotheses that could return more value to the Suns. They’re trading here with a Western Conference rival but both the Blazers and Suns could improve their short-term outlook by rebuilding the Rockets.
The Suns get Eric Gordon who remains a reliable outside shooter who can threaten the defense with approach attack and with weak action against a bent defense. He’s an injury risk but at this point the Suns aren’t getting anything from Crowder so it’s all to the upside. The only factor complicating Phoenix is Gordon’s salary. He has a contract for next year for a whopping $19 million. This salary is not guaranteed but becomes guaranteed if they win a title. So the risk is lower if things work out, but it’s a significant additional cost if things work out.
Crowder might not be exactly what the Blazers are looking for, especially with Jerami Grant and Nassir Little playing so well. Winslow’s playmaking was important, but his shooting was an absolute disaster and is the non-essential piece that Portland could use for an upgrade this season. Crowder is just deepening the rotation of their wingers with shooting and defense, the kind of staging depth that can be more important in the playoffs than in the regular season.
The Rockets don’t get a pick on Gordon but waive his salary just before with a pair of expiring contracts on Saric and Winslow. In addition, they got two super junior and super-athlete wingers in Johnson (#21 pick in 2021) and #3 Brown (#43 in 2021) to audition with the rest of their young core.
Subscribe to WhiteboardFanSided’s daily email newsletter about all things basketball.
Russell Westbrook could end the year with the Lakers
Michael Scotto of HoopsHype He talked about Russell Westbrook in a recent gossip report.
- Role change succeeded: Scotto noted that Westbrook’s move to the bench allowed him to play better.
- Role change stats: As a reserve compared to rookies this year, Westbrook has averaged 5.4 more points and 3.9 more assists per game. The real shooting percentage was 36.6 percent as a starter, and 51.3 percent as a reserve.
- Executives think Westbrook is here to stay: Scotto said that rival executives believed that even if the Lakers acquired Buddy Held and Miles Turner from Indiana (as has been highly speculated as the best possible trade available to Westbrook) the Lakers would be marginally better.
The Mavericks plan to sign veteran point guard Kemba Walker
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the The Mavericks plan to sign Kemba Walker.
- Other movements: Dallas waived Facundo Campazzo to make room for Walker, according to Charania.
- Journey to the point: Walker was traded from the Knicks to the Pistons this off-season. Before the start of the season, the Pistons waived Walker and put together a 15-man roster without him.
- The past few years have been a struggle: After earning All-Star status four straight years from 2017 through 2020, Walker had a downturn in 2021 and then a very disappointing year after signing with his hometown Knicks.
- Mavericks need back court help after losing Jalen Bronson: Jalen Brunson was a staple in the backcourt in Dallas, but he signed with the Knicks this offseason. Walker can help strengthen their backcourt depth.
Luka Doncic calls Giannis Antetokounmpo the best player in the NBA
Luka Doncic was asked if he enjoyed playing against Giannis Antetokounmpo, and in his response he said: Giannis Named NBA Most Valuable Player, ‘Now’.
- Bucks win over Mavs: Milwaukee beat Dallas Sunday night, 124-115.
- Giannis was hard to contain: In 29 minutes, Antetokounmpo averaged 30 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists per game.
- Giannis Doncic put on skates: On the switch in the second quarter, Giannis Doncic spun and put the balance while trying to guard Antetokounmpo. JaVale McGee’s assist was late and Antetokounmpo stepped up for an easy dunk.
- Giannis vs. Luca: Although it was not the primary task for Doncic, Giannis scored 6 points over Doncic last night at 1:32 minutes.
[ad_2]
