Tommy V We now know that the Cleveland Cavaliers are officially engaging in trade talk for disgruntled star Kyrie Irving so that can only mean one thing, Trade Machine Time! I'm going to give out a few trade scenarios that I think will work out for all sides with a couple of caveats. The trades must be able to: 1. Help the Cavs in the short and long term by making them contenders for next year and give them a young player for the future. 2. Kyrie must go to a team in need of a star or one of his preferred destinations. 3. Be fair for both teams at my disgression. 4. Not send any picks because the trade machine can't take that into consideration. I'm going to start out with what I think is my weakest trade and move towards my strongest one so don't skip ahead! Trade #1 - Kyrie goes to the Timberwolves! This trade barely comes in for all three of my self-made rules but barely is just enough! It's a bit ironic that Andrew Wiggins would be coming back to the Cavs but I think he could be their primary option if and when LeBron leaves next year. He would be offering some help this season as a secondary scoring option with a potential for good 3 PT shooting if he continues making strides. It makes sense for the Timberwolves because they would be moving on from a bad contract in Gorgui Dieng and adding some desperately needed wing depth in Richard Jefferson. It's hard to make it work between these two teams because they both have great starters but their benches are lacking. Another wrinkle in the trade is that Jeff Teague was just given a contract and can't be trade until December 15th and he doesn't fit in with Kyrie at all. Trade # 2 - Kyrie is a New York Knickerbocker! This one makes some sense for both teams. The Cavs get a buddy of LeBron in Carmelo who might be able to convince LeBron to stay at least one more year to see out his contract. The Cavs also get a young player with a lot of upside in Willy Hernangomez who the Knicks would hate to lose but that's the cost of getting Kyrie. Speaking of Kyrie he's going to one of the teams that he asked to go to and get's to bask in the limelight of New York. I think the Knicks win this trade but it's closer than you might think because of the combined value of Carmelo and Henangomez. I think the Cavs would say no first but if they don't get a good deal from anybody else they could take something like this. Trade #3 - Kyrie is a San Antonio Spur! The trade machine hates this trade a lot more than I do but I think it's the strongest candidate that matches all of my criteria. The Cavs get good short term players in LA (I still believe in him) and Danny Green (Always Underrated) while adding a future point guard in Dejounte Murray who I think will be a good player at some point. The Spurs will be taking on some more salary this year and next year but get their point guard of the future and a great player to put next to Kawhi Leonard. This trade isn't quite there but I think it's close! Now I'll finally give you my favorite trade. Trade #4 - Kyrie is a Denver Nugget! I actually really like this trade for both sides though I think the Nuggets might say no first? The Cavs get good player in Kenneth Faried and Wilson Chandler who add depth to there team and allow them to trot out some different units then they had last season. They also get a great piece for the future in Jamal Murray who's a sharpshooter with some ball-handling ability. The Nuggets get a star to headline their already solid team and a piece that fits in very well next to Nikola Jokic for now and the future. This helps the Nuggets advance their timeline since they have so many inexperienced players and could use so more players like Kyrie to grow with them while still being great now. I'm still holding onto the personal belief that Kyrie isn't traded this offseason and they wait until at least next year to see what LeBron does but you never know. If Dan Gilbert is still looking for a President of Basketball Operation just slide on into the DMs I'm your man.
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Z Train
First things first: the Hawks are going to stink this year. And probably next year. And probably a few years after that, and potentially may never be good ever again like the Knicks or Nets. That’s an exaggeration. We’ll never be the Knicks or the Nets. I’m inevitably going to be a bandwagon NBA fan yet again as my Hawks rebuild. But I’m weirdly OK with the stink.
After hiring new GM, Travis Schlenk, formerly of the Warriors, the Hawks are finally making moves corresponding to the modern NBA. As much as it pains me to admit it, it did not matter one bit that we were a perennial playoff team for a decade. It literally did not matter. While it dragged Atlanta fans to the arena for playoff games, inevitably getting swept by LeBron just doesn’t cut it. It’s useless to be a team without a couple of superstars in today’s NBA, let alone just one or two All-Stars. What do Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Al Horford, Paul Millsap, Jeff Teague, Dwight Howard all have in common? Simple: They’re star-level NBA talent at the height of their careers, but will never in a million years be good enough to have their roles on a championship-caliber team. Everyone seemingly knew this all along except for the Hawks’ front office (and also me until about two years ago). The NBA is not a team sport. I’ll say it louder for the people in the back. The NBA is not a team sport. It masquerades as a team sport, but it’s a sport driven by starpower and talent. As a publicized former locker room glue guy, you cannot underestimate the effect of a good locker room culture. You see this with the veterans young teams bring in, recent examples being Iguodala, Livingston and Barbosa to the 2014 Warriors. Shaq, Zo, Gary Payton and White Chocolate to D Wade’s Heat. And the Kings’ 2017 experiment we’re in the middle of. But winning is always the best locker room medicine, especially with the NBA diva personalities we’ve grown accustomed to seeing. So while the “team” attitude is always necessary, it pales in comparison to the need for stars. This isn’t the NFL, where a team culture can just be a playoff machine (ignore the Spurs, they have superstars, they’re just not dickhead divas). NBA Champions must have stars.
Let’s look back at the champions since the turn of the millennium:
Shaq and Kobe’s Lakers The New Bad Boy Pistons The Everlasting Spurs The Boston Three Party Kobe and Pau’s Lakers D Wade’s Heat (+ Shaq, or + LBJ/Bosh) Dirk’s Mavs LeBron and Kyrie’s Cavs The Warriors with every superstar we’ve heard of in the last two years not named LeBron James ONLY ONE TEAM STICKS OUT. It’s obviously the Pistons, who’s stingy team defense and big-shot ability outweighed their lack of superstardom (even though the retrospective lineups of Billups/Hamilton/Prince/Wallace/Wallace/McDyess/Hunter are still filthy). Of all the rest of the teams, there’s only one team (Dirk’s Mavs) that only had ONE real superstar. The rest had AT LEAST two top-15 players, oftentimes the 3rd player being an arguable top 30 guy (Derek Fisher, Paul Pierce, Manu Ginobili/Tony Parker, Chris Bosh, Kevin Love, Draymond Green/Klay Thompson). I say all that for this point: a lot of pieces have to fall in place for a magical title season, but the Hawks were going absolutely nowhere and everybody knew it. Even with the 60-win season with one of the most in-form, complete rosters we’ve seen in the last few years, we got demolished in the Eastern Conference Finals (Dellavedova injuring our entire team was obviously a factor, but the outcome likely would have just been a 6-game series). We’re seeing this with the Boston Celtics now. They signed the two best free agents available in the last two years (other than KD), have a plethora of top-level picks and young talent AND EVERYONE IS STILL MAD. They know lineups featuring Thomas, Hayward and Horford will never win a title, but they’re stuck and have to try. It’s so hard to become good in the NBA, and the start-over process is just so lengthy, that they have to try with this core that they know will flop. That was the Hawks for the last ten freaking years. Schlenk came in and cleared motherfuckin’ house. In a seemingly weird trade, he picked up overpaid veterans and moved down in the draft to offload Dwight Howard. This trade seems really weird, but I think it shows three clear things:
While the trade was very clearly NOT ideal, we get rid of Howard's complaining (feels like Groundhog Day), Belinelli for one year isn’t going to destroy the world, and I like Plumlee’s game. He will work hard on the glass (although my head will explode probably in the near future from the cap space he takes up) and free up important minutes to develop our younger players which leads to my next point: I like the young core. Letting Millsap go and getting at least something in return is nice, we get a late LAC 1st rounder which I don’t hate, and Diamond Stone. Stone was one of those guys who everybody thought would be amazing coming out of high school and never really developed in college. I still like acquiring him, because now he can get some NBA minutes, make some mistakes, and develop, rather than ride the pine on the Clippers. He’s a cheap, short contract (1 more year) and we have control of his rookie contract in case he ends up making major strides this season.
I also really like the core we have in place from the last few drafts. It’s not star-studded, it’s not going to ever top the young cores of the Sixers or Lakers, but it’s solid and a launching pad moving forward.
At 23, Dennis Schroder is locked up to be the starting point guard for a while, and has shown potential to be a top-tier player with a good contract if he continues to improve. We just resigned a quality bench shooter and passable defender, Mike Muscala, who can play the 4 or 5 and knows his role and Budenholzer’s schemes very well. We just locked up Dewayne Dedmon (only 27), a high energy, bouncy player to start at the 5, protect the rim, and be a solid trade piece on a good contract if he performs. If you pay attention to the Summer League, DeAndre Bembry, Taurean Prince and John Collins (our last three first round picks) are tearing it up. They’re all high-flying athletes developing their NBA touch. Prince was a quality starter on the NBA stage at the end of last year, and Bembry is already a great defender and solid playmaker developing his 3-point shot. Everybody says Collins is a “polished low-post player” with “great instincts and hands”, developing ball-handling, NBA defense and trust in his jump shot. That’s why I like the new direction. We weren’t going anywhere, we have a talented young core, and now it’s time to tank and try to get some superstar level talent in the draft somewhere. Will we be as bad as the Lakers or the Nets? No. Could we honestly pull the 8-seed in the frighteningly weak East? Yeah (frowny face). But at least we have a direction. We’ve seen top level talent go in the later stages of the lottery in recent memory (Steph Curry, Kemba Walker, Kawhi, Paul George, Eric Bledsoe, probably Dennis Smith this year), and I’d rather get a late lottery pick than our annual 19th. Now the big question: Do I think these guys can win a championship one day? Not on their own. But with the next few seasons, it will be very interesting as Schlenk, Budenholzer and the new look Hawks embark on our unique version of the Process. Now if only we can dump Kent Bazemore somehow. Z Train
To start off, Tim Hardaway Jr. signed an offer sheet of 4 years, $71 million with the team that drafted him, the New York Knicks. As a restricted free agent, the Hawks politely declined to match it, making him a Knicks player. The Hawks reportedly were willing to offer $48 million over 4 years, and in true Knicks fashion, they royally fucked up something they already had in the bag. I don't even think Atlanta would've matched a $50+ million sheet, so no idea who the Knicks thought they were negotiating against. I won't act like THJ doesn't have a lot of potential, but $71m when your best year was 14/6/3 this year is absolutely absurd. Junior better give his agent a raise and thank his daddy for naming him Timothy Hardaway.
Here's a gallery of NBA Twitter reacting to the offer. We start off with an all-timer from the resident NBA top journalist/top smokeshow, Rachel Nichols. The Knicks trade Hardaway Jr for Jerian Grant, who they then trade for Derrick Rose, then turned around and renounced Rose's restricted free agency to sign Hardaway Jr for $71 million when they're supposed to be tanking. Gotta love it.
At least Derrick Rose isn't there any more?
The Zen Master is somewhere laughing, flicking off NYC and James Dolan.
Budenholzer's School for Misfit Wings
Not even Atlanta could fuck up this call
Full-blown tank mode for my Hawks led by the fearless Kent Bazemore. See previous blog about the Process bandwagon I will likely be jumping on for the time being. At least we're not the Knicks.
Z Train Tommy V Now that the NBA moratorium is officially over and $1 Billion dollars (!!!) worth of contracts have been given out, it's the perfect time to look at who are the winners and the losers of the off-season so far. Winners Oklahoma City Thunder - The biggest winners of the off-season in my opinion. I LOVE what the Thunder did with the Paul George trade, and then they followed it up with great contracts for Patrick Patterson (3 Years - $16.4 Million) and Andre Roberson (3 Years - $30 Million). The Paul George trade is a true gem for Sam Presti who's been on a roll the last few years. They get a substantial upgrade on the wing with a star that actually fits great next to Westbrook and can facilitate the offense when he's on the bench. The ultimate hope for the Thunder is that they are a top 3 seed that gets deep into the playoffs which convinces Paul George to stay for longer instead of jumping ship for the Lakers so quickly. The other reason I like the trade so much is that they got to get rid of the Victor Oladipo's bad contract (3 Years $21 Million per year) while only giving up Domantas Sabonis. While I like Sabonis in today's NBA he never looked like more than a rotation player in his rookie season and he's going to have to shoot the 3 Pointer much better to justify his poor defense. This move was like the ultimate salary dump for the Thunder. Usually you have to give something up to get rid of a bad contract like Oladipo's and to get a star player like PG but they did the complete opposite so kudos to them. Los Angeles Clippers - I couldn't decide if I want to put them in the winners or the losers category but I think they've done very well considering that they've lost their best player in Chris Paul when he decided he wanted to go to the Houston Rockets. They managed to get back a decent package in Patrick Beverly, Lou Williams, Sam Dekker, and Montrezl Harrell for Chris Paul even though he was guaranteed to leave so not a bad haul at all. They gave Blake Griffin a very scary 5 year $175 Million deal that could be terrible if he doesn't stay healthy which seems likely given his injury history so far. They managed to get rid of Jamal Crawford's terrible contract and bring in Danilo Gallinari which is hilarious because Chris Paul had to go 6 years without a competent SF and they brought one in a week after he leaves. They also brought over a great European player in Milos Teodosic who is one of the best passers outside of the NBA on a cheap 2 year $12 Million deal. The future of the clippers is difficult to predict because they are a very talented team but the West has gotten better. Losing JJ Redick is going to hurt a lot but I like the idea of Point Blake and I think that they will outperform what people expect them to do next year based on the moves they made this week. Houston Rockets - They're basically instant winners just because they've gotten the best free agent available in Chris Paul, but they made a lot of savvy moves outside of that as well. The collected a bunch of non-guaranteed contracts that they can trade at any time in order to create a large trade exception which is genius by GM Daryl Morey. They picked up P.J. Tucker on a 4 Year $32 Million deal which adds a lot of toughness to the Rockets and gives them someone who can match up against The Warriors pretty well. I still think they have a Ryan Anderson for Carmelo Anthony trade in them somewhere and if they manage to pick him up I would deem them to have the best offseason in the NBA because they would have half of the banana boat crew by then and it could be led by James Harden. THE BANANA BOAT ASSEMBLY COULD WORK! Boston Celtics - Signed the second best free agent available this off-season in Gordon Hayward but they'll have to shed some salary in order to get him. They still have a glaring need for a big man but there have been rumors of their interest in Marc Gasol which would be a strange frontcourt partner for Al Horford but the passing would be great! I think they've cemented themselves well for both the present and the future and while it might not yield a championship it should be very entertaining! Honorable Mentions: Minnesota Timberwolves - Added Jimmy Butler and Jeff Teague but traded Ricky Rubio for basically nothing. Have been rumored to make more moves but they haven't happened yet so I can't speak for them. Denver Nuggets - Added Paul Millsap for an okay contract but lost Danilo Gallinari. The team seems too young to compete immediately but have older players like Wilson Chandler and Paul Millsap that will not contribute when the younger players catch up. Similar to the Celtics but they were the 9th seed instead of the 1st seed so I don't like their chances as much. Losers Indiana Pacers - The first of two teams where I have NO clue what they're doing this next season. I thought they might lose Paul Gorge and try to tank, but then they get a pretty okay player in Victor Oladipo and Sign Darren Collison who is the definition of mediocre point guard. Are they going for the 8 seed in the terrible East? Are they going to trade away Thad Young for younger assets or just going to let him rot in this hell hole? Why the fuck did Kevin Pritchard take the Thunder deal when apparently the Celtics had a much better deal in waiting that had to happen after the Gordon Hayward decision? This is seriously one of the weirdest off-seasons I've ever seen.
Atlanta Hawks - The other team that I'm not sure what they're doing. They made one of the weirdest trades I've ever seen trading Dwight Howard for the 31st pick, Miles Plumlee (The bad Plumlee), the ghost of Marco Belinelli, and the 41st pick. I mean seriously what's to gain? Dwight was on an okay contract and contributed to this team last year. It's not really a salary dump because Miles Plumlee is going to be getting paid $12 Million over the next 3 years. They weren't trading up for a pick they traded down. I mean I guess I get that it makes them worse if they want to tank next year but the roster seems too good for that. I really just don't know what their plan is for next year and beyond, it seems like the only thing worse then being on the mediocre team playoff treadmill is being on the mediocre playoff bubble team treadmill. Sacramento Kings - Another team that doesn't know when to shit or get off the pot, I liked the drafting they did for the most part getting De'Aaron Fox, Justin Jackson, and Harry Giles but they really soured me with their free agency moves. It seemed like a great team to trust the process and get a great draft pick this year since they actually own their pick. Like the Hawks though they decided they would rather be on the edge of the playoffs instead of being in the lottery sweepstakes. I actually like George Hill a lot and thought he could be good for the Spurs but I don't get the point of him being on the Kings. I think paying over the hill veterans for leadership is one thing (See Amir Johnson) but George Hill is still an all star caliber player. Z-Bo got a great contract for his age but what is hill role on the Kings? Is he another mentor for their young players how many of those do you actually need? Honorable Mentions: Chicago Bulls - I might be the only one that doesn't totally hate the trade for Jimmy Butler. They got decent value in Zach Lavine and Kris Dunn while getting the #7 pick in this years draft but lost a bit giving up the #16 pick back. The part I really don't like is the fact that they took the Finnish legend Lauri Markkanen with the #7 pick instead of going for a high upside pick like Dennis Smith Jr. but I guess the Bulls needed a Mirotic replacement at some point because he's been so great for them so far. Speaking of high upside I'm sure they'll appreciate having Jordan Bell to come off the bench and provide energy for them.. wait what's that?... They traded that pick to the Warriors for money? What?!? Additionally I want them to buy out D-Wade so he can go to Houston to ready LeBron for the Banana Boat splash down but it looks like they're too proud to truly tank. Cleveland Cavaliers - They haven't done much to get worse but they haven't done much to get better either. I hate the decision to move on from a pretty good GM in David Griffin in the most important time of the year. Bringing back a very old Kyle Korver for $7 Million a year to put next to the ancient Jose Calderon is not exactly what I expected the moves they would make when they lost to the Warriors in 5 games. LeBron James not recruiting for them makes me worried for their future but honestly it's Dan Gilbert's money and he's a fucking ass so whatever. Him not recruiting also backs up the rumors that he's going to leave in free agency 2018 and I hear Houston is pulling the Banana Boat out of the closet! Z TrainOut of curiosity, I was googling Sixers future draft picks. Obviously, as a huge believer in the Process, I was very familiar with the stash of picks they had, but I had no clue how many it actually was. Let's give a recap of the big Sixers' Process moves in the last few years: June 2014: Traded Elfrid Payton to Magic for Dario Saric and picks that became Willy Hernangomez (NYK) and De'Aaron Fox (SAC) Feb 2015: Dumped MCW onto the Bucks, receiving unprotected 2018 1st rounder from the Suns (pick was protected for 2016 and 2017, became unprotected) Feb 2015: Traded dude no one has ever heard of for 2015 2nd rounder that became Richaun Holmes Feb 2015: Traded another dude no one has ever heard of for 2016 1st that became Furkan Korkmaz (coming over this year) July 2015: Wild players swap to Kings for 1st round pick swap rights (pick became De'Aaron Fox) and 2019 unprotected 1st rounder June 2017: Swapped 1st rounders with the Celtics (Fultz to 76ers, Jayson Tatum for Celtics) for rights to Lakers' 2018 1st round pick (from 2013 Steve Nash trade, seriously) if #2-5, OR better of Kings/76ers picks in 2019 if Lakers pick is not #2-5 July 2017: Signed JJ Redick and Amir Johnson to short-term contracts Draft Picks: 2014 3rd overall: Joel Embiid 2014 12th overall: Dario Saric 2015 3rd overall: Jahlil Okafor 2015 2nd rounder: Richaun Holmes 2016 1st overall: Ben Simmons 2016 24th: Timothe Luwawu-Cabbarot 2016 26th: Furkan Korkmaz 2017 1st: Markelle Fultz That's a lot to digest, but strap the fuck in because there is so much more. You'd think that would be the completion of the Process, which has been a big tagline of late, but there is so much more. Take a look at this screengrab from Derek Bodner's website. WHAT THE FUCK. These fuckers have ANOTHER impending top lottery pick on top of their own, whether it's the Lakers' #1 overall next year (let's be real, they aren't going to drop out of the top 5) or the Kings' 1st in 2019. On top of that, they've got tons of 2nd rounders (TEN FUCKING PICKS) which will be perfect. They could potentially package some of them to maybe scoot up in the draft to take someone they really like next year, and down the road, they have trade sweeteners or high-ceiling draft-and-stashers that are perfect for a contending team with a young core. This is absolutely nuts. I can't wait to bandwagon the fuck out of the FEDS when my Hawks inevitably suck again like they did for my childhood. The starting 5 of Fultz-Redick-Simmons-Johnson-Embiid this year is solid, with a bench of Covington, McConnell, Okafor, Holmes, TLC, Korkmaz (who just came over) and 2016-17 ROTY Dario Saric already as one of the deepest in the league. If the newly signed veterans can teach these guys a little defense and veteran mentality, this core is going to be terrifying as Saric inevitably develops into a star-level PF. If the 76ers can take a 2-way shooting guard/small forward type with their next lottery pick, they have a complete team with their core and bench listed above that will be contenders for years and years. I'm so excited. I'm now just upset with my mom for throwing out my Allen Iverson jersey I had when I was a goofy little third grader. I'll have to re-up on my bandwagon apparel. Sam Hinkie died for all of the sins of Philadelphia, and if that city is anything like It's Always Sunny makes it look like, that was a shit ton of sins. Like Mount Pompeii, we didn't understand the destructive nature at the time, but it was necessary evil for a beautiful future. He was the hero they needed, but in no way deserved. Z Train
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