2017 NBA Offseason Trade Frenzy Analysis
This is our first article of many more to come in the future. This is also a rare occasion. Most of the articles in the future will only consist of one to two of us actually writing. This one we have all four. The format of this article will have an addressed issue in which all three of us will provide our insight to the stated topic. We will also provide a summary of the events that occurred so far this offseason. These events will be what we discuss throughout the article. Let’s get down to business.
1. This offseason has been full of blockbuster trades and surprise signings starting with the Boston Celtics decision to trade the number one pick to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Bracton Abella- Great move by Boston. Danny Ainge traded back two spots to select the player that was on the top of his list and acquired two extra first round picks along with it. I believe it didn’t make sense for Boston to draft Fultz because they already have a star point guard in Isaiah Thomas. Plus, Danny Ainge knew it was safe to trade down to three because the Lakers were obviously selecting California native and gifted passer Lonzo Ball with their pick. Tatum has been playing like a beast in Summer League so far and his pairing with last year’s 3rd overall pick Jaylen Brown (7/11) is nearly unstoppable every game. As team in the Vegas summer league, the Celtics have averaged 81.3 points per game and posted a record of 3-0 including a 5 point win over Lonzo Ball and the Lakers. In those 3 games combined Tatum scored 53 points and Brown scored 31 (Combined 84 points). The two of them combined scored more points than the Celtics average scoring per game. This could be a dynamic NBA duo someday.
Jack Devore- When the Celtics began their draft evaluating process, everyone outside of the organization assumed Fultz was the pick. As workouts and research went on, Ainge wasn’t convinced on Fultz. Since Danny Ainge’s goal in life is to stockpile assets, he figured he would move down two spots to get a more NBA ready player in Jayson Tatum. The only thing that worries me about this move is how Tatum will grow behind Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward, and Jae Crowder. Also I’m not sure if he is going to guard 3’s or 4’s in the NBA.
Jack Van Dyke- In my opinion, this was a win-win trade for both sides. In this trade the 76ers got a great all around talent in Markelle Fultz. He is one of the rare prospects that can do it all on the offensive side of the floor. Defensively he’s an average guard. However he’s an instant upgrade over T.J McConnell. On the other side, the Boston Celtics acquired my favorite prospect Jayson Tatum and future assets. Jayson Tatum has shown that he can be a quality starter for the Celtics. The only problem is that he’s getting behind three other forwards in Boston. If I were Danny Ainge, I would look to dump Jaylen Brown and future assets for the finishing piece of the franchise. They could get a superstar on an expiring deal such as a Carmelo Anthony, Russell Westbrook, or Mark Gasol.
Mac Ambler- I believe the Celtics trading of the number one pick was a huge mistake by Danny Ainge and the other members of the Celtics front office. I found this move very strange for a team that was the number one seed in the Eastern Conference this season. They are only one solid piece away from going to the finals. This move was more typical of a team trying to jumpstart a rebuild rather than one playing at a high level with a star studded roster. If Markelle Fultz and Jason Tatum had similar upsides I would think better of this trade, but that simply isn’t the case. Fultz is significantly better than the former Duke Blue Devil. I believe this is an excellent move for the 76ers and that all their fans should be happy that they “Trusted the Process”.
2. On draft night, the Chicago Bulls made a blockbuster trade, sending Jimmy Butler and the 16th overall pick (Justin Patton), to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn, and the 7th overall pick (Lauri Markkanen).
Jack Van Dyke- As a Bulls fan, this is a 50/50 trade for us. The good part about it is that now the franchise has a sense of direction. John Paxson has never dreamed of the word “Rebuild”, the Bulls have been wasting money on getting players that will keep us in the middle of the pack. For years, the Bulls have been eliminated in the first and second rounds of the playoffs multiple times. They were never able to make it to the Promised Land. Now John Paxson has identified the Bulls as a rebuilding team. He traded Jimmy Butler for a handful of young players with significant potential. The bad news is, they are losing Jimmy Butler (the face of the franchise). With no real dominant scorer, this team could be looking at a four or five year tanking situation. This trade for the Bulls was a gamble by taking Markkanen, who could become one of the premiere stretch forwards in the league. Or He can be a big man that waits for the ball near the three point arc.
Jack Devore- As you know, Jimmy Butler got dealt on draft night to the Minnesota Timberwolves. They have really added some good pieces this summer in Taj Gibson, Jamal Crawford, Jeff Teague and obviously Butler to help out the Wiggins/Towns duo. With this trade, the Boston Celtics might be asking themselves why they didn’t give up these kinds of assets to get Jimmy Butler. Minnesota gave up Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine and the 7th overall pick (Markkanen). Dunn had a lot of hype coming out of Providence but hasn’t lived up to expectations. LaVine has been injured and although Markkanen is a good shooter, I feel like he will have a tough time playing defense in the NBA. Great deal for Minnesota. They are going to contend, however the West is going to be tough next season.
Mac Ambler-There’s not much I have to say about the Jimmy Butler trade. I find it pretty cut and dry. First, The Bulls knew they were not going to be in contention for a championship for the next few years. They also knew that Jimmy Butler was in his prime and would be wasting his precious years with the Bulls. Second they knew that the better he gets, the more money he would ask for. This is something a rebuilding team does not want looming over their head. This deal at least gives them some young prospects that they can use to build their program back up again. For Minnesota, they just added a young superstar to their team to put with Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins. This gives them a trio which I see leading them far into the playoffs, given there are no major injuries.
Bracton Abella- Daryl Morey, GM of the Houston Rockets, said it best. “It’s a weapons race in the NBA (after the Paul trade), you’re either in the weapons race or on the sidelines.” Minnesota is clearly in on the weapons race after making not only this move, but signing Jeff Teague, Taj Gibson, and Jamal Crawford in free agency. In my mind, Minnesota won this trade because the Butler acquisition likely had some influence on free agents sudden interest in Minnesota. They didn’t have to give up any major roster players to pull this off either. Now their starting lineup could be Teague, Butler, Wiggins, Gibson, and KAT with Crawford as the sixth-man. Last season Minnesota only won 31 games and finished last in their division. This season, I think they have a real chance of winning their division and making a run in the playoffs. This was a fair trade for Chicago too because it now signals a rebuild and gives them some nice pieces. Keep in mind, there aren’t a lot of better mentors for a guard like Zack LaVine than D-Wade.
3. On June 28th,2017 the Rockets shocked the NBA by acquiring Chris Paul from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams, Sam Dekker, Montrezl Harrell, Darrun Hillard, DeAndre Liggins, Kyle Wiltjer, cash considerations, and a 2018 protected 1st round pick.
Mac Ambler- I find the recent Chris Paul trade very intriguing. I can see why both sides agreed to the deal, but I think, for the Clippers, the cons definitely outweigh the pros. I realize Los Angeles gained some young talent such as Dekker, Williams, and the future first round pick, but they did so at the price of one of the best guards in the game. I think the Rockets’ front office really scored on this deal. The team continually makes the playoffs due to some heavy lifting from James Harden. Now by adding CP3 to help carry the load, they will have one of the nastiest backcourts in the league. For LA, let’s hope they can build around Blake Griffin and avoid another reoccurrence of the Clipper curse.
Jack Devore- I think everybody in the NBA knows the Warriors are a galaxy above everyone due to the fact that GM of the year Bob Myers has found a way to keep the team together and add new players such as Nick Young and Omri Casspi. Morey was probably thinking to himself that he needs to be either more competitive with a team led by James Harden or not try at all. Obviously he stepped up to the plate and got a deal done which allowed him to compete as he has done before in the past. Paul was going to leave LA anyway so Rivers wanted to get something for him. He wasn’t going to let him leave for nothing. This situation was similar to Paul George in a sense. Chris Paul is happy because he is going to get the Clippers’ money and a change of scenery. Morey figured that this would at least attempt that he is trying to close the gap. I think even if they were to get Carmelo Anthony as well, that the Warriors would still be a better team. I don’t really know how Paul and Harden will share the ball. Harden came in second in the MVP race and he probably won’t want his stats to go down. The Clippers got a decent haul of assets and figured “something’s better than nothing”.
Jack Van Dyke- The superstar moving frenzy continues. CP3 heads to the Rockets for a boatload of assets and players. The Houston Rockets have become more of a contender. By adding Chris Paul, the Rockets now have a dynamic duo of James Harden and Paul. This is now the best backcourt in the league (in my opinion). Curry and Klay can sit down, this is going to be the most dynamic duo in the NBA next season. Chris Paul plays great defense and he can shut down the opposing point guard. Harden on the other hand, obviously could use some help on defense. Offensively they are both amazing and in my mind, can match any backcourt in the league. On the other hand, for the Los Angeles Clippers, they break up their big three. Now they are in a minor rebuild stage. They were able to re-sign Blake Griffin on a super-max contract. With these assets, 2-3 years from now, if they can obtain a great point guard again, watch out for the Clippers.
Bracton Abella- I think that Doc Rivers deserves a standing ovation from Clipper nation. Keep in mind, as great as Chris Paul is, he will become an Unrestricted Free Agent next summer. In other words this is his last season under his current contract which makes him a rental player. The timing was right to make this move because next summer, it was very unlikely that CP3 would have stayed in LA with the likes of teams such as the Spurs existing. For a rental player that might leave Houston next summer, Rivers was able to acquire one of the best defensive players in the league (Beverley), a first round pick, 5 young prospects with decent potential, cash considerations, and a good 3-point shooter (Williams). Chris Paul’s contract was 24 million dollars and they traded it for Beverley’s 5 million (UFA 19) and Williams’ 7 million (UFA 18). This left the Clippers with 12 extra million in cap space to use to sign Griffin or other free agents. Meanwhile Houston may have improved, however they still aren’t better than Golden State and they still won’t make it out of the stacked Western Conference as is. If Paul leaves Houston at the end of the season for any reason, Houston losses all these valuable assets for essentially a failed season with CP3. Great trade for Los Angeles.
4. A few days before the 2017 NBA draft, the Los Angeles Lakers traded D’Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Brook Lopez and the 27th overall pick (Kyle Kuzma).
Jack Devore- My perspective on this trade is, if you’re Rob Pelinka and Magic Johnson, you knew you were going to take Lonzo Ball 2nd overall. Getting rid of a shoot-first, drama queen, point guard in Russell and Mozgov’s contract is a great deal. In return, you get Brook Lopez, who is experienced big man who can benefit from Lonzo Ball’s passing. From Brooklyn’s standpoint, getting a player like Russell who was the 2nd overall pick in the 2015 draft is great due to the fact they traded all of their assets to Boston for an older Paul Pierce/Kevin Garnett. Now Brooklyn is trying to get younger by adding Russell because they can’t do it by drafting. I feel like it was a good trade for both sides.
Bracton Abella- This trade was an announcement to the league by Magic Johnson and Co. that they were taking Lonzo Ball with the second overall pick in the draft before it happened a few nights later. This trade is outstanding for the Lakers for a number of different reasons. First of all Brook Lopez is a great big man with experience that can help mentor the younger guys such as Ivica Zubac. Although he is a UFA next season, Lopez could be resigned due to the Lakers large amount of cap space for next summer. Secondly, Kyle Kuzma has been playing like a beast in Summer League so far and has already developed chemistry with Lonzo Ball. Lonzo has been known to make everyone else around him better, a trait that Russell didn’t possess. By trading Russell away, Magic was able to clear the cap hit of Timofey Mozgov to a team that could afford it for the opportunity to get a potential future all-star in Russell. By trading Mozgov, the Lakers now have more than enough cap space to make a run at Paul George next summer. For Brooklyn, they get a future all-star, but have to pay Mozgov. I love this trade for Los Angeles, and for Brooklyn, the reward far overweighs the risk.
Mac Ambler- As a born and bred Lakers fan the news of the D’Angelo Russell trade sounded like music to my ears. My thought on this trade was that it’s a win-win situation for both teams. The Lakers were able to fill the largest hole on their roster at the center spot by acquiring Brook Lopez. In the process they were able to rid themselves of the burden that is Timofey Mozgov’s contract. The Nets were willing to take Mozgov’s contract in able to gain the young and upcoming star who they believe will be influential in fixing the team’s current losing culture. Some say this was a poor trade by the Lakers for giving up a young player with such potential, but I disagree. It hasn’t been a huge secret that D’Angelo Russell has been rather underwhelming recently and had not been improving at the rate that LA executives thought he would. Two head coaches and multiple high ranking Laker personnel had stated that Russell had not been showing the leadership and maturity to be the next ShowTime star. I personally see this as a fresh start for the team as they head toward the Lonzo Ball era.
Jack Van Dyke- In my opinion, I think the Brooklyn Nets won this trade. The Nets now acquire a young point guard that can be the face of the franchise. They did have to take on a huge contract from Mozgov, but they had the cap room to pull it off. On the other hand, the Lakers were able to obtain Brook Lopez who is one of the better centers in the league. Lopez will be an immediate starter for the Lakers and he will be a big factor in a rebuild. He is however on a one year deal which means he can walk next offseason especially if they are looking to pursue a LeBron James or a Paul George super-max deals. I don’t see Brook Lopez staying in LA and I think the Nets acquired a future all-star in this trade.
5. The last trade we will be discussing is the Paul George trade. Most people thought Paul George would be traded too either Cleveland or Los Angeles. However he ended up in Oklahoma City for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis.
Jack Van Dyke- The Oklahoma City Thunder found their replacement for Kevin Durant one year later by acquiring Paul George from the Pacers Oladipo and Sabonis. This is an amazing trade for the Thunder. They are building up for a solid playoff run with a big three of Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Enes Kanter. They are now a good contender in the Western Conference. Now Westbrook has someone to pass too. The Pacers got snubbed in this trade. I understand the goal of getting as much as possible for George but there had to be a better offer than this. Indiana is apparently pretty high on Sabonis as a stretch 4. I don’t see a future for Oladipo in Indiana. I believe the Thunder won this trade easily and the Pacers better start rebuilding.
Jack Devore- Paul George really put the Pacers in a tough spot due to him saying he wasn’t happy and that he was going to leave for LA. Everyone knew the Pacers were trying to get rid of him and Indiana eventually decided on OKC. They are getting back a young player in Sabonis who has size. I think he could potentially become a 6th man in this league. I think he could be a decent player in this league at some point in the future. He went to Indiana University even. Oladipo can be part of the young core in Indiana but he isn’t the type of player you build around. At least they got two young pieces for Paul George who was going to leave anyway and the fans don’t have to suffer him leaving next summer.
Mac Ambler- There have been a lot of rumors floating around recently surrounding the former Pacers forward Paul George. PG13 has long been linked to his hometown Los Angeles Lakers, and it was widely believed that he wanted to head back home to become a star for the young team. Now that he is about to become a free agent, this theory seems stronger than ever. George told Pacers executives that he was not planning on re-signing with the team when his contract was up. Knowing this, the Pacers needed to trade him quickly before they lost him for nothing next season. With the Lakers thinking that PG13 was a done deal to come their way in 2018, they did not end up trading for him. So instead, the Pacers traded George to the Thunder, who boasts the league MVP of last season and a serious chance of doing very well in next year’s postseason. Now that George has come out and said that his desire to go out to LA was highly over exaggerated, it seems more and more likely that the pairing with Westbrook and the chance of contention may keep him in OKC.
Bracton Abella- Sam Presti strikes again! The veteran GM found a way to improve his team once again, for a very small price. Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis for a Top 20 player in the league is a great trade for OKC. This trade was a shocker to me when I first heard the news because I thought that he would either be traded to Cleveland or Los Angeles. It had been said that Larry Bird didn’t want to trade Paul George to Los Angeles to improve the Lakers and make Magic look good. However what they got back isn’t franchise altering. I would expect Indiana to want a Chris Paul like return for George however this trade is simply pennies on the dollar. There was in fact a rumor that Danny Ainge and the Celtics were in on George. Ainge was rumored to have offered Jae Crowder, Avery Bradley, and two future first round picks for George. That trade would have made more sense for the Pacers, but they made the decision they wanted and what’s done is done. I now see the Pacers in the East’s basement for a few years as a result of this trade. For the Thunder, I know see them as a potential top 5 seed in the stacked Western Conference.
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