Nothing gets the NBA fan community going quite like transaction
talk. Rumors rule the timeline and the airwaves; actual moves
dictate the conversation unlike anything outside of high-level
playoff basketball.
There was plenty of reason for excitement this year. Not only we
did we get a ton of movement — we got a couple of blockbuster
deals. Big names, medium name, and lesser-known names all went
hotel or apartment hunting this week.
Last year, I graded every trade from Deadline Day.
This year, I'm giving my thoughts on every move of the week. That
means the deals between Los Angeles Clippers and Portland Trail
Blazers, and the Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers, miss the
cut, but you can hear those thoughts on Tuesday's episode of
The Dunker Spot.
Feel free to yell at me about your favorite team’s grade. You
can find me at @NekiasNBA on Twitter.
Let’s dig in.
TRADE
ONE
- New Orleans Pelicans receive: CJ McCollum,
Larry Nance Jr., Tony Snell
- Portland Trail Blazers receive: Josh Hart,
Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Tomas Satoransky, Didi Louzada, protected
2022 first rounder (conveys if it lands between 5-14), two future
second round picks
Blazers Grade: C-
Uh, sure?
It's clear that finances drove this move more than anything else
for the Blazers. The best player they received (Hart) has $12.9
million of non-guaranteed money next season if waived by June 25.
Alexander-Walker is on his rookie contract still. Satoransky's deal
expires after the season. Louzada makes next to nothing, and is
cost-controlled through 2025 if the Blazers want to keep him.
If you don't care about the money, the return seems a bit
underwhelming.
Hart is legit good, and should fill the
gaps as a slasher, ball-mover, rebounder, and multi-positional
defender. If the Blazers do decide to keep him, he'll be a steady
part of their rotation.
Alexander-Walker has been pretty bad this year, to be frank.
He is young, though, and his brand of shot
creation isn't easily taught. I absolutely see the intrigue if he's
able to put it together.
I won't pretend to be an authority on Louzada, but he's
wing-sized with these kind of skips on his film.
Worth taking a flier at least.
Pelicans Grade: B-
Devonte' Graham's jumper hasn't fallen the way many hoped or
expected it would (34.8% on 8.3 attempts), and the defense has #not
#been #great.
McCollum won't help with the latter, but his shot creation
should give the Pelicans a much-needed boost in backcourt
production.
Seven straight seasons averaging over 20 points per game is
nothing to sneeze at; knocking down roughly 40% of your threes
during that stretch is pretty good in my humble opinion. He'll be
able to take some of the half-court burden off of Brandon Ingram —
he should help Zion Williamson too, provided he's a basketball
player who exists at this point.
I worry less about the money with McCollum — owed $69 million
over the next two seasons — and
more about the defensive fit. Having McCollum, Ingram (improved
effort this year) and Jonas Valanciunas on the floor together
leaves a bit to be desired. Add Zion into the picture, and that
foursome 1) isn't scheme-versatile at all, and 2) puts a lot of
strain on rookie Herb Jones to piece that grouping together.
Larry Nance Jr. could help with some of those defensive issues
eventually, but he's slated to miss six weeks with knee surgery.
When upright, he is a versatile defender — one that can defend
multiple positions in a pinch, and can wreck havoc as a weakside
helper.
TRADE
TWO
- Indiana Pacers receive: Tyrese Haliburton,
Buddy Hield, Tristan Thompson
- Sacramento Kings receive: Domantas Sabonis,
Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb, 2027 second round pick
You can hear my extended thoughts from Tuesday night's
Dunker Spot Twitter
Space.
Kings Grade: B-
Sabonis is really freakin' good. His post scoring ability, in
addition to his passing chops as a hub, should help the Kings
pressure the rim in new and exciting ways. Holiday has long been
one of the NBA's best role players, a tireless defender and
off-ball mover. Lamb has lost some of his movement skills, but
remains a keep-an-eye-on-him shooter with slashing chops.
Pacers Grade: B+
If you're going to trade an All-Star big that isn't in the
elite tier, it's hard to get a better return than
Haliburton. The second-year guard has grown leaps and bounds as
self-creator since his last season of college, a welcome
development in light of the shooting and playmaking ability he
already has. If there's a worry, it's the fit with Rick Carlisle.
Will he fully give the offense to Haliburton, or will he call set
plays every other trip down the floor?
Even if it's short-term, Hield gives the Pacers a nutty shooter
to work with. He seems like an easy plug into the movement sets
Carlisle likes to call. If Doug McDermott could shake loose under
him, surely Hield can.
(Indiana might be better for Thompson than Thompson will be for
Indiana.)
TRADE
THREE
- Utah Jazz receive: Nickeil Alexander-Walker,
Juancho Hernangomez
- San Antonio Spurs receive: Tomas Satoransky,
2027 second round pick (UTA)
- Portland Trail Blazers receive: Joe Ingles,
Elijah Hughes, 2022 second round pick (MEM, via UTA)
Blazers Grade: D
Well, so much for the NAW flier, huh?
The Blazers shave a little more off their cap sheet by going
from Alexander-Walker to Hughes, and pick up what's expected to be
a late second-round pick from this year in the process.
There should be some playing time for Hughes available, so
there's a possibility this grade looks foolish in a month. As of
now, I can't say I love it.
Spurs Grade: C-
Satoransky has been a disaster this season, but at least has a
track record of competency if you're a glass-half-full fan. It
seems more likely, based on San Antonio's depth chart, that he'll
wind up being a buyout candidate.
Jazz Grade: C+
If you're getting nothing out of the Ingles roster spot (get
well soon!), flipping him for a young asset is a move you smile at
in a vacuum. Alexander-Walker is intriguing enough, but 1) his
ideal role is already filled by Jordan Clarkson, and I'd be worried
about playing those two together on both ends, and 2) he does
nothing to address the Jazz's wing-defender problem.
Oh, and Hernangomez just isn't doing it for me as a
stretch-adjacent big. He doesn't solve the defense problem
either.
TRADE
FOUR
- Oklahoma City Thunder receive: KZ Okpala
- Miami Heat receive: 2026 second-round
pick
Heat Grade: B
Pretty simple stuff for the Heat, here. At worst, they clear a
roster spot and save themselves a little bit of money. At best —
and this is where the pick amendment allowing them to move their
2022 or 2023 first-round pick comes into play — the Heat have given
themselves the opportunity to be players in the trade and buyout
market.
Thunder Grade: B
Pretty simple stuff for OKC, here. They take a flier on a rangy
forward without any sort of long-term commitment. More importantly,
they kick the pick protections on a Miami first-rounder down the
road a bit. The gamble here is that they land Miami's unprotected
2026 pick, the same year that Jimmy Butler likely opts into his
[checks notes] $52.4 million deal at age-36.
TRADE
FIVE
- Sacramento Kings receive: Donte DiVincenzo,
Trey Lyles, Josh Jackson
- Milwaukee Bucks receive: Serge Ibaka, two
future second round picks
- Detroit Pistons receive: Marvin Bagley
III
- Los Angeles Clippers receive: Rodney Hood,
Semi Ojeleye
Clippers Grade: C+
This is really all you need to know.
On the player side, I'd at least keep an eye on Hood for the
potential of providing bench scoring.
Pistons Grade: B-
Cade Cunningham finally has a roll threat! Bagley is an
explosive athlete who should juice Detroit's transition and
half-court attack with his rim runs. The big question: What the
heck else is he going to provide?
Will it be the jumper? Can he continue showing growth
defensively so he can graduate from the liability class? I'm cool
with Detroit taking the flier to find out.
Bucks Grade: B
The Bucks acknowledged their perimeter depth — Jrue Holiday,
George Hill, Grayson Allen, Pat Connaughton (get well soon!), Khris
Middleton, Wes Matthews if you want to count him, Jordan Nwora —
and decided to fill a need in the frontcourt.
Getting Ibaka (and picks, and a reduction on their tax bill) is
something I can get behind. Ibaka's having a solid shooting year,
and offers theoretical scheme versatility on defense (can drop,
switch in a pinch). I was intentional about adding "theoretical"
though, because he's certainly lost some of his movement skills
this year.
Luckily for the Bucks, they don't need him to be a Brook Lopez
facsimile; they just need him to 1) offer a competent alternative
to Bobby Portis and 2) be a better player than Greg
Monroe.
Kings Grade: B
Following the Sabonis move, the Kings looked to add some
depth.
DiVincenzo is a strong off-ball mover that should feast as a
cutter alongside Sabonis. As he regains his footing, hopefully
he'll regain the screen navigation that made him one of the NBA's
most underrated defenders.
Josh Jackson also fits as a "feast off of Sabonis" option, and
Lyles provides some frontcourt depth as a spacey 5.
TRADE
SIX
- San Antonio Spurs receive: Goran Dragic
(expected to be bought out), 2022 protected first-round pick (1-14
protected, 1-13 protected in 2023, two second-rounders after)
- Toronto Raptors receive: Thaddeus Young, Drew
Eubanks (waived), 2022 second round pick (via DET)
Raptors Grade: B
Young hasn't played much this season, but the hope is that Young
continues to be a solid connector on both ends of the floor. He has
legit short-roll playmaking chops with intermediate finishing to
boot. Young is a natural fit in Toronto's aggressive defensive
scheme, and should slot in nicely as a backline
rotator/communicator.
It's fair to quibble about turning a mid-first-round pick into
an early second (honestly, you could call it a late first since
it's likely going to be in the 31-33 range) for someone who
probably won't close games. He's more of a bridge to the closing
unit than a member; considering Toronto's short rotation, that may
be worth it.
Spurs Grade: B+
The Raptors are going to be a playoff team barring a drastic
slide, so the Spurs essentially turned a veteran they weren't
playing and an early second-round pick (late first*) into a
mid-first.
TRADE
SEVEN
- Brooklyn Nets receive: Ben Simmons, Seth
Curry, Andre Drummond, 2022 first round pick (can be deferred to
2023), 2027 protected first round pick (1-8 protected in 2027 &
2028, turns into two seconds and $2 million in 2029 if not
conveyed)
- Philadelphia 76ers receive: James Harden, Paul
Millsap
Daryl Morey Grade: A+
That man dug his heels in and got his guy. Gotta give props
where props are due.
Sixers Grade: B
For the actual deal, it's pretty, pretty good.
Harden has not looked like himself for most of the season. Part
of that is injury management; part of that is Brooklyn's
injury-riddled personnel shrinking the floor around him. A part of
that is his own mileage and age catching up to him; honestly, part
of that is him putting up piss-poor effort at times, particularly
on the defensive end of the floor.
But it's important not to lose sight of who Harden is. Still. He
remains one of the NBA's most feared pick-and-roll artists — a
do-it-all passer with the downhill chops to live in the paint or at
the free-throw line. He should firmly answer the "who self-creates
other than Joel Embiid" question.
The fit with Embiid is a tricky one. Harden prefers violent rim
rollers in pick-and-roll — your Dwight Howards, Clint Capelas, Nic
Claxtons if you're looking for examples. Embiid isn't
that. He's more of a pick-and-pop, pick-and-short-roll
guy.
That's not to say it won't work — the closest analogue Harden
has had to Embiid is LaMarcus Aldridge, and the pairing generated
1.11 points per possession on direct hookups in their time
together, per Second Spectrum. Embiid, if you haven't heard, is
a little bit better than Aldridge. There will an
adjustment period between the two, though.
More than that: What is Harden going to look like playing off of
Embiid? Between a film dive on InStat and Second Spectrum, Harden
finished two (2) possessions as a cutter in half-court situations
this season. You can argue for a third if you count this possession
against Detroit.
Defensively, having Harden on your team means you're going to be
a switch-heavy team. Period. That's what he does. What's Philly's
best version of that? A lineup with Harden, Danny Green, Matisse
Thybulle, Tobias Harris and Embiid? We're about to see how
scheme-versatile the Sixers can be on defense.
An underrated portion of this deal: losing Drummond is going to
hurt. The Sixers have been trying to solve the "Embiid's backup"
issue for his entire tenure, and Drummond seemed to fit the bill.
His size, rebounding, high-post playmaking and defense — he held
firm in the drop and in more aggressive schemes — will be
missed. Is Millsap ready to soak up those minutes? We shall
see.
Nets Grade: B+
Let's take the 10,000 feet view. The Nets had an aging,
disgruntled superstar on the roster with the ability to leave this
offseason. They traded that guy for a 25-year-old All-Star forward
with four more years of team control. That's a win in and of
itself.
It just so happens that Simmons checks a lot of (unchecked)
boxes for the Nets.
High level, versatile defender? Check.
Solid defensive rebounder with the ability to generate offense
after misses? Check.
Instinctual ball-mover with the ability to generate triples at
an obscene clip? Check.
Then you add in Curry, bombing away from three (40.0% on 5.6
attempts) and making defenses sweat as a pick-and-roll and handoff
creator. You add in Drummond, a much-needed interior upgrade.
You're welcome to disagree since Harden is the best player in this
deal, but the Nets seem to have won the trade at first glance.
There are still questions, of course.
We still have no idea when Simmons will be physically or
mentally ready to play. When he does, he'll need to be integrated
into a unit that is without Kevin Durant, and without Kyrie Irving
half the time.
When they do play together, it's worth thinking about the
cost-benefit analysis of Simmons in half-court
situations.
Kyrie-Simmons pick-and-roll sounds great, until you (and many,
many, many Sixer fans) note how inconsistent Simmons is as a
screener.
Durant-Simmons actions sound great, but
they are like-sized guys; what stops a defense
from switching those actions? And if Simmons still can't (and/or
won't) shoot, why wouldn't you shade off of him to send help on
Durant if a mismatch is created?
And even with Simmons in the building, the Nets are still
expected to switch a ton. What if teams are able to switch Simmons
away from the main action, and pick on an even smaller backcourt in
Kyrie-Curry? Can you afford to play your best rim-protectors
(Drummond, Claxton) alongside Simmons to beef up the interior
without shrinking the floor for the other stars?
There's plenty to be sorted out, even if the move was a good one
on balance.
TRADE
EIGHT
- Boston Celtics receive: Derrick White
- San Antonio Spurs receive: Josh Richardson,
Romeo Langford, 2022 first round pick (protected 1-4), 2028 first
round pick swap
Spurs Grade: B
White clearly wasn't part of their long-term plans; Dejounte
Murray has become an All-Star, and the Spurs have invested pretty
heavily in their guard room (Devin Vassell, Josh Primo, Lonnie
Walker IV*) as of late.
Turning him into an extra first-round pick and a pick swap is a
win. Getting Richardson as a 3-ish-and-D stopgap, and getting a
look at Langford, is solid work too.
Celtics Grade: A-
The Celtics have the NBA's third-best defense. They just added a
guy that can do this:
In addition to that, White is a heady pick-and-roll creator that
should further juice their budding half-court attack. The only real
hindrance for me is White's jumper; after being a league-average
shooter from deep in 2019-20 (36.6% on 3.2 attempts), he's
converted just 32.9% of his triples (5.9 attempts) since
then.
Opposing defenses have had some success shrinking the floor
against Boston and daring them to win from outside. White may not
alleviate those concerns. He may just be good enough at everything
else to where it won't matter too much.
TRADE
NINE
- Phoenix Suns receive: Torrey Craig
- Indiana Pacers receive: Jalen Smith, 2022
second round pick
Pacers Grade: B-
Turning a veteran who isn't in your future plans into a young
piece is generally my cup of tea; it just stinks that there isn't a
surefire way for the Pacers to keep Smith if he hits.
In the short-term, he's an interesting roll-or-pop option in
ball-screens. With Myles Turner out, I'm interested to see him and
Isaiah Jackson soaking up the frontcourt minutes and making magic
with Haliburton.
Suns Grade: C+
Craig is a familiar face, a strong big-wing defender that has
some utility against certain matchups. The playoff upside is
limited because of how teams defend him off the ball (read: they
really don't), so it's hard to be too high on the move.
TRADE
10
- Charlotte Hornets receive: Montrezl
Harrell
- Washington Wizards receive: Ish Smith, Vernon
Carey Jr.
Wizards Grade: C-
It's clear that Harrell didn't have a robust market, but it
would've been nice to snag a second-rounder if possible.
Smith is a familiar face that can provide a scoring spark off
the bench. Carey Jr. is interesting flier in theory, but the
big-man room is pretty crowded.
Hornets Grade: C+
Mason Plumlee has been LaMelo Ball's most frequent screener this
season; the pairing has only generated 0.92 points per possession
on direct hookups, a bottom-five mark among high-volume duos, per
Second Spectrum.
Let's just say Montrezl Harrell should be much more
effective.
That threat, in addition to the chaos he provides on the
offensive glass, should be a welcome addition to Charlotte's
half-court attack.
On the other hand, the Hornets desperately need a boost in
rim-protection. Harrell ... is not the answer to that problem.
Still, if packaging Smith and Carey is the price to add a former
Sixth Man of the Year, you swing that deal.
TRADE
11
- Phoenix Suns receive: Aaron Holiday
- Washington Wizards receive: Cash
considerations
Wizards Grade: C
Hooray, roster spot! Hooray, money!
Suns Grade: C+
Did anyone know the Suns had a Disabled Player Exception at
their disposal? They just sprung that on everyone at the last
minute?
At any rate, I kinda dig the flier on Holiday. He's a solid
shooter, has a nice first step and can be pesky at the point of
attack. You can do a lot worse for a third guard.
TRADE
12
- Dallas Mavericks receive: Spencer Dinwiddie,
Davis Bertans
- Washington Wizards receive: Kristaps
Porzingis, second round pick
Wizards Grade: C+
The Spencer Dinwiddie Experiment was a wonky one, and we're now
two years into Davis Bertans being a disappointment after getting
his five-year, $80 million extension. Replacing those guys with
Porzingis is a talent upgrade, one that should fit a little better
with the downhill pressure that Bradley Beal provides.
It's easy to imagine a successful pick-and-pop partnership
between the two; Beal has grown as a playmaker, and I think he's
different enough — and will be defended by different-enough players
— to where switching that action will be tougher for defenses to
navigate.
The Wizards run plenty of drop coverage, a style that Porzingis
is most comfortable with. He's been a solid rim-protector this
year, and you can argue that the Kentavious Caldwell-Pope-Kyle
Kuzma duo on the wing is more talented than what the Mavericks are
running out there this year.
There's upside here, but health concerns will always persist
with Porzingis. That kind of financial commitment, combined with
Beal's uncertain future, makes it difficult to feel much better
about the trade.
Mavericks Grade: C
The bet for the Mavericks: Dinwiddie and Bertans will benefit
more from Luka Doncic's playmaking chops than they were able to
from Beal. Beyond that, their deals will be easier to move if they
need to spruce things up a bit. And beyond that, if
Dinwiddie hits, they have a bit of a buffer against Jalen Brunson's
impending free agency.
As underwhelming as Dinwiddie has been this season, it's worth
noting he looked better in his minutes without Beal. If he's
able to recapture his downhill juice, he'll be able to take
pressure off Luka Doncic or help carry bench units with him off the
floor.
Bertans is off to yet another slow start from deep (31.9% on 4.2
attempts), but in theory he gives Doncic a lethal pick-and-pop or
transition threat.
TRADE
13
- Houston Rockets receive: Dennis Schroder, Enes
Freedom (waived), Bruno Fernando
- Boston Celtics receive: Daniel Theis
Celtics Grade: C+
Brad Stevens just can't quit Theis, can he?
We've seen him in Boston's switch-heavy system before, and know
the value he adds as a screen-and-seal guy for The Jays. Clearing
roster spots, making them buyout players in theory, is a bonus.
Rockets Grade: C
I'd be surprised if Schroder is long for Houston. This feels
buyout-y to me.
In the event that he does stay, Schroder gives the Rockets a
backup guard with more downhill juice than the waived DJ Augustin.
You could talk yourself into more drive-and-kick flow in an
otherwise bland half-court attack.