Trade Spectacular!

Milwaukee Gets: J.J. Redick, Gustavo Ayon & Ish Smith 

Orlando Gets: Beno Udrih, Tobias Harris, Doron Lamb & cash 

For the Bucks… 

In what will forever be known as the “J.J. Redick Trade Deadline” Milwaukee landed the biggest fish available league-wide.  Redick has turned himself into a very nice NBA player over his seven years of service but his fit with the Bucks is questionable.  Milwaukee already starts two undersized shoot first guards in Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis so a three guard rotation of Jennings-Ellis-Redick features no play maker.  

I think GM John Hammond did this deal more for the future than the present.  Redick will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season so the Bucks now hold his “Bird Rights” meaning they can go over the cap to resign him.  This is important because Jennings will be a restricted free agent this summer and is likely to get overpaid by some team (Dallas?) meaning Milwaukee can lose him for nothing.  The same goes for Ellis who is expected to opt out of his $11 million player option (why, I have no idea) to seek greener pastures in a bigger market.  If Brandon and Monta do end up leaving J.J. should get about $8 million over three years to stay in Brew Town forming a core with Larry Sanders, Ersan Ilyasova and free agent X. 

Ayon was not getting many minutes in Orlando for some reason even though he always hustles and plays within himself.  He has a team option for $1.5 million next season and would be a fairly priced backup for Sanders at center.  Smith is a water bug style PG that is a cheap ($950K next year) insurance policy as a backup.  I’ve always liked both Smith and Ayon but they are probably a third PG and fourth big man respectively.  

Redick will obviously improve their 3-point shooting (20^th overall) but with no club in the East challenging them for the 8^th seed I don’t think this trade really moves the needle that much for the Bucks in either direction. 

For the Magic… 

For GM Rob Hennigan this deal was all about acquiring Harris since he reportedly turned down multiple offers of late first round picks for Redick.  Tobias was the 19^th pick in the 2011 draft and a favorite of the advanced metrics crowd but I never really saw it until recently.  In his four games with the Magic he’s shooting 69.6% while scoring 20 points and grabbing 7.3 rebounds a game.  A small sample size for sure but he’s only 20 and this is his first chance to play regular minutes.  The only problem I can see with his addition is that he’s basically the same player as rookie Moe Harkless, albeit a more polished version. 

Lamb hasn’t played enough for me to really have a take on him but he’s supposedly a shooter and is still early in his rookie deal (just like Harris is).  Udrih is a very useful backup PG but he is also in the last year of his contract and will almost definitely be playing elsewhere next season.  Beno is a nice fill in for the often injured Jameer Nelson though. 

Winner – Milwaukee 

Houston Gets: Thomas Robinson, Francisco Garcia, Tyler Honeycutt & a 2013 second round pick (Phoenix) 

Sacramento Gets: Patrick Patterson, Toney Douglas, Cole Aldrich & cash 

Phoenix Gets: Marcus Morris 

For the Rockets… 

GM Daryl Morey does it yet again turning a pile of flotsam into something useful.  Robinson hasn’t been very good in his rookie season (10.61 PER), but then again he only had 51 games on one the most dysfunctional teams in the league to prove himself.  Thomas doesn’t seem like any more than a head case with extreme athleticism to me at this point but he certainly has the tools to become a useful player.  Plus he’s on his rookie deal meaning he’ll be cheap if he ever does learn how to play. 

Garcia is lucky to still be in the NBA at this point and his team option for $6.4 million next season is highly unlikely to be picked up.  Honeycutt was waived so Morey could sign the recently bought out Aaron Brooks.  The second round pick Daryl got in return for Morris is likely to be in the low 30’s, which is someplace Morey has thrived grabbing Carl Landry, Chase Budinger and Chandler Parsons to name a few. 

For the Kings… 

Ummm, what?  The lame duck owners in Sacramento, the Maloof brothers, have already admitted that this move was about saving money.  You see in the Maloof world saving $2 million on Robinson’s salary plus the $1 million Houston threw in is worth giving up on the 5^th pick in the 2012 after 51 games.  Ummm, ok. 

I’ve always liked Patterson as a player but this season he started shooting threes and stopped rebounding so I can see why Morey soured on him.  The hope in Cow Town is that Patrick can rein in wild child DeMarcus Cousins because they were college teammates.  I don’t see that working in the short term but long term, with the proper coaching, I could see a Patterson-Cousins duo being a very effective PF/C combo for Seattle. 

Douglas is a mediocre combo guard that makes poor decisions with the ball and has a little too much irrational confidence in his jumper.  I doubt Toney’s qualifying offer (QO) of $3.1 million will be made so he’ll be looking for work around the globe next season.  There was some type of medical hold up with Aldrich’s physical but he has now joined the team.  Not that it matters as I don’t see Cole playing much until his contract expires this summer. 

For the Suns… 

Phoenix is as clueless as Sacramento is hapless.  Give Morey credit for targeting these two franchises when doing business.  But I digress, Morris is a nice player as a “stretch four” that is allergic to defense but the problem is the Suns already have a few of those including his twin brother Markieff.  President Lon Babby, VP David Griffin and GM Lance Blanks have so royally screwed up their salary cap situation that they have resorted to marketing campaigns like “Come see the twins play together.” 

Winner – Houston 

Oklahoma City Gets: Ronnie Brewer 

New York Gets: 2014 second round pick (Oklahoma City) & cash 

For the Thunder… 

Give GM Sam Presti credit for turning a very late second round pick into a legitimate wing stopper.  Brewer can’t shoot but he knows how to use his length and athleticism to defend and he works hard at it.  He’s also great at cutting off the ball into open spaces and creating chances for himself.  He’s playing on a one year deal worth $854K so he’s a fine rental for the stretch run and into the playoffs. 

For the Knicks… 

Since Brewer had fallen out of Coach Mike Woodson’s rotation (and was probably going to be released anyway to create a roster spot for the since signed Kenyon Martin) President Glen Grunwald did well to get something for him, even if it is just a pick that falls in 58-60 range. 

Winner – Oklahoma City 

Boston Gets: Jordan Crawford 

Washington Gets: Leandro Barbosa & Jason Collins 

For the Celtics… 

Crawford is little more than a gunner with a questionable attitude but with Rajon Rondo (right ACL) out and Jason Terry, Avery Bradley and Courtney Lee all struggling why not take a flyer on a guy still on his rookie contract?  Maybe the leadership of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce can turn him into a real player.  Anyway, GM Danny Ainge deserves credit for being opportunistic here. 

For the Wizards… 

Owner Ted Leonsis has no patience for knuckleheads anymore after the whole Andray Blatche debacle so I’m sure he gave the order to unload Crawford ASAP.  But my question to GM Ernie Grunfeld is was this deal really the best you could get?  Barbosa (left ACL) is done for the year and Collins’ career high PER is 10.09…back in the ’03-04 season.  A second round pick would have better than the Barbosa-Collins pu-pu platter. 

Winner – Boston 

Portland Gets: Eric Maynor 

Oklahoma City Gets: Giorgos Printezis & cash 

For the Trail Blazers… 

Portland’s bench is just atrocious so getting Maynor for basically nothing can only help.  Eric has been slow to recover from a torn right ACL but he showed flashes of being a decent backup when he was healthy.  Even is his current state he’s better than the rest of the slop on the pine in PDX so his $3.4 million QO has a good chance of being made.  Portland cut Ronnie Price to make room for Maynor. 

For the Thunder… 

OKC needed to make room for Brewer and Derek Fisher and with Reggie Jackson taking Maynor’s rotation spot Eric was expendable.  Printezis plays for Euroleague power Olympiacos and his translated stats indicate he might be a decent NBA player if he decides to come over. 

Winner – Portland 

Toronto Gets: Sebastian Telfair 

Phoenix Gets: Hamed Haddadi & a 2014 second round pick (least favorable of Toronto [top-36 protected] or Sacramento [must fall between 31-55]) 

For the Raptors… 

After dealing away Jose Calderon Toronto needed a pass-first PG and Telfair fits that description.  Bassy has never posted a PER higher than 13.21 but he is in the final year of his contract.  I’m not sure he’s really worth a low second round pick but he is a serviceable backup. 

For the Suns… 

This deal was all about freeing up minutes for rookie bust Kendall Marshall to play behind Goran Dragic at the point.  Marshall was the 13^th pick in 2012 and is sporting a 5.34 PER, so obviously he needs more run.  I actually like Haddadi as a backup center but I doubt he’ll see much time behind Marcin Gortat and the rejuvenated Jermaine O’Neal.  Hamed’s $1.4 million contract is non-guaranteed for next season so he can look forward to getting away from the mess in the desert soon. 

Winner – Toronto 

Dallas Gets: Anthony Morrow 

Atlanta Gets: Dahntay Jones 

For the Mavericks… 

Morrow is a GREAT 3-point shooter but his lack of athleticism makes him a liability on defense.  He also tends to pout when he’s not playing and/or getting touches.  Dallas has no real backup SG behind O.J. Mayo so if Anthony can’t get minutes here he could be out of the league when his contract expires this summer. 

For the Hawks… 

Atlanta didn’t need Morrow anymore with rookie John Jenkins taking his minutes but Jones is the same player as DeShawn Stevenson; a defensive minded wing that can hit an open three (3&D guys is what they are being called now).  The only problem is that DeShawn is better than Dahntay, but it doesn’t really matter since Jones’ contract expires at the end of the season. 

Winner – Dallas 

Charlotte Gets: Josh McRoberts 

Orlando Gets: Hakim Warrick and cash 

For the Bobcats… 

Warrick wasn’t playing much and shouldn’t have been in the NBA anyway so give GM Rich Cho credit for getting something for him.  McRoberts is probably a fourth or fifth big man at best but he gives a solid effort every night and is a good teammate.  Josh is in the last year of his deal so he’s auditioning to keep his career going. 

For the Magic… 

Orlando waived Warrick immediately, even though they had an open roster spot, and no one has picked him up since.  

Winner – Charlotte 

Memphis Gets: Dexter Pittman, a 2013 second round pick (Miami) & cash 

Miami Gets: Ricky Sanchez 

For the Grizzlies… 

After their flurry of moves Memphis needed to add a 13^th player to meet the league’s minimum roster requirement.  Pittman is barely an NBA player from what I’ve seen and I wonder how he managed to stick in Miami for three seasons.  I’d be shocked if his $1.1 million QO is made this summer.  The pick they got will be 59 or 60 but let’s see if VP John Hollinger can pluck a rotation player from Europe with it. 

For the Heat… 

Miami had no need for Pittman after singing Jarvis Varnado and Chris Andersen during the season.  I assume President Pat Riley made this move to clear up a roster spot to resign Juwan Howard.  This is already the fourth time Sanchez has been traded and he’ll never play in the NBA. 

Winner – Memphis 

Philadelphia Gets: Charles Jenkins & cash 

Atlanta Gets: Jeremy Tyler & cash 

Golden State Gets: second round pick (Philadelphia, top-55 protected) & second round pick (Atlanta) 

For the 76ers… 

Philly hasn’t had a real backup PG this season with Royal Ivey appearing in only 35 games and Jeremy Pargo signed off the scrap heap.  Jenkins is better than anything they currently have and should be productive in the 10 minutes that Jrue Holiday is not on the court.  It’s conceivable that Charles plays his way into his $1.1 million QO. 

For the Hawks… 

Tyler is an interesting story because he left high school to play in Israel (Maccabi Haifa) in what would have been his senior season.  He flamed out horribly and then tried Japan (Tokyo Apache) for what would have been his college freshman season (he also decommitted from Louisville).  He played better in Japan against lesser competition but his lack of work ethic and a professional attitude followed him to the NBA.  Apparently GM Danny Ferry was not impressed as he waived Jeremy to sign journeyman Shelvin Mack. 

For the Warriors… 

These trades were all about getting under the luxury tax for GS.  Prior to the deadline they were $1.2 million over the tax line and these deals shaved $1.5 million off their bottom line.  I have not been able to find any information on the conditional picks they received but Sports Illustrated’s Sam Amick says they’ll never see them. 

Winner – Philadelphia