- Messages
- 10,254
With ~24 hours left to go before we surpass the trade deadline for this season, I felt it was as good a time as any to reflect upon the best moves made throughout the year. These rankings are subject to my own discretion. There's no specific weight towards long-term planning vs immediate success in these rankings, just whatever I felt were the savviest / wisest / best fitting trades relative to a teams situation, though I will say I will probably tend to skew results towards overall impact on this season. So without further ado, let's jump in and see the "story of the season" unfold, as told by the transactions.
1. Spurs - Wizards
Spurs Send:
AJ Griffin Jr
Demar DeRozan (cutback)
Spurs 23 (Pick became Jalen Williams)
Lakers 23 (Pick became Chance Westry)
Remove right to swap from wiz 23
15M
Wiz Send:
Anthony Davis
**A disgruntled Anthony Davis sporting a "That's All Folks" T-Shirt on his way out of Washington DC**
This was the first big domino to fall once the off-season began. Wizards GM Getbeard had been vocal for some time about how he wanted to hit the reset button and go young, following a few frustrating seasons of a failed partnership between Anthony Davis and Victor Oladipo in our nations capital. Oladipo was shipped off to Houston at the deadline, and that left the Wizards with one foot in the door, and one foot out, with the former MVP remaining in a Wizards jersey with not much left around him. On the surface, the Spurs stepping up and making a big boy move to acquire the now 31 year old big man was shocking, seeing as how they had just days before, shipped off budding superstar Zion Williamson, for more youth, citing an inability to "get him help" and a fear of losing the former Duke product to a more competitive franchise in Free Agency.
Now that some time has passed, this was ultimately a pretty good deal for both ends. While it was highly questionable for the Spurs at the time, they were able to make a series of moves to make the investment worthwhile, at least in the interim, as the Spurs are legitimate title contenders with Mr. Davis leading the charge. The Wizards have bottomed out beautifully and currently hold #1 odds at the top pick in this June's upcoming draft. Washington seems to have hit on both draft picks acquired in this deal, landing 18 year old SG Chance Westry, who responded with a brilliant initial TC, receiving the highly coveted and illustrious "teen pot boost", as well as selecting 21 year old floor general Jalen Williams out of Santa Clara. While Williams may not have the highest of upsides, he came in ready to play from day 1 with a well developed offensive package and looks to be a consistent contributor for years to come. Former top 5 pick AJ Griffin, who was also sent to the Wizards as part of this package, is no longer with the team following a mediocre training camp, but luckily for them, GM Getbeard was able to ship him off to New Orleans for rights to the Charlotte Hornets 2028 1st Round Pick via Swap, as well as rights to Pelicans 2030 1st via swap. It's too early to tell what may become of those pick swaps but as of now it looks like the Wizards did a nice job of expanding their asset base and they just might have a lottery ticket or two coming their way at the end of the decade.
Grades:
Spurs (Value): A
Wizards (Vision): B+
Wizards (Value): B
2. Clippers - Thunder
Clippers Get:
Jalen Green
OKC Thunder 2028 1st Round Pick
Thunder Get:
Kawhi Leonard
/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/gta/2019/06/14/what-did-kawhi-leonard-say-after-raptors-victory/_08b0295299bd4153a36e9caa4bb0cbf3_08b0295299bd4153a36e9caa4bb0cbf.jpg)
**Kawhi Leonard, utterly bewildered as he's informed at the podium following his finals victory that he'd been traded from his hometown Clippers... to OKC**
This is one of the rare exceptions where you see a trade that is more about obtaining flexibility, than it is about procuring value, per-say. Fresh off the heels of a dominating finals victory over the reigning back-to-back champion Chicago Bulls, the Los Angeles Clippers found themselves in a relatively precarious position. They had star PF Nikola Jokic testing the open-market, as well as super 6th man shot-blocking extraordinaire Goga Bitadize and sharpshooting combo guard Kyle Guy exploring their options in free agency as well. The Clippers were facing hard cap issues, and secretly wouldn't have been able to responsibly retain Jokic on a maximum contract, and even if it ultimately came down to extending the Serbian sensation on a max deal, they were looking at rosters spots #7 - 12 being undrafted rookie RFAs to stay just under HC. GM Cloud knew he had to get creative, so he thought through every possible scenario and looked in every nook & cranny for a deal that would allow his franchise to "have their cake and eat it too". The options were limited for all of his players from a trade standpoint as the majority of the league was in a holding pattern until free agency was resolved. However, one player had garnered interest from the division rival OKC Thunder... and that was of course the now 2-time champion SG Kawhi Leonard.
The fact of the matter was that Kawhi was being paid like a franchise center piece, but having just declined considerably in training camp, Leonard was the 3rd best player on the Clippers, so he became the obvious piece to move on from. After days of posturing for a better deal, the 2 sides eventually agreed upon former #1 pick Jalen Green and right to the Thunders' 2028 1st round pick in exchange for the star 2-guard. However, the real asset gained for LAC here, was cap relief, that provided them with the flexibility to offer a maximum contract in free agency, in a year where they would have the best win rating in the league, as well as allow themselves the room to potentially retain star big man Nikola Jokic. GM Cloud pushed his chips to the middle of the table, offered discount deals, and was able to land star SG Devin Booker to replace Kawhi Leonard for almost half the price, as well as bring back franchise center piece Nikola Jokic on a team friendly deal.
It didn't stop there for the Clippers, as they then were able to turn around and leverage Jalen Green (and their own 1st round pick this season) into Tyler Zeller and Dwight Powell from the Wizards who would pair together to replace the loss of Goga Bitadze off the bench, as well as turn the 2028 OKC 1st into sharp-shooting, future hall of famer Klay Thompson, to bolster their 2nd unit on the wings. This move ultimately allowed the Clippers a new lease on life, and has helped turn them into a powerhouse that is now even more dangerous than they were last season.
As for the Thunder, Leonard lasted half a season as his play continued to decline and was ultimately shipped off to Orlando after the Thunder were unable to find any rhythm to start the season. Was it a bad deal for OKC? Not really, as they were ultimately able to recoup by getting a couple of future draft picks out of Orlando in exchange for Leonard. But was it a good move for OKC? Not really, as they weren't ready to compete anyways and they basically handed a get out of jail free card to the defending champs who also happen to be in their own division. Either way, this will be looked back upon as a transformative move that significantly helped shape the history of the league.
Grades:
Clippers (Value): C-
Clippers (Flexibility): A+
Thunder (Value): B+
Thunder (Vision): D+
3. Thunder - Knicks
Thunder send:
Zaire Wade
OKC 2024 2nd
Rights to Bucks 2025 swap
Hornets 2029 1st
17M cash
Knicks send:
#2 (Became Scotty Pippen)
**Following 2 underwhelming seasons in OKC, Zaire Wade now feels the weight of the world on his shoulders as he's tasked with living up to lofty expectations placed upon him by the Knicks front office**
Knicks GM Frank's comments following the trade... "Accept. Felt pretty meh about who I would get. Let's hope Wade pans out." Ouch. Ouch. Ouchhhhh. Man, this one hurts to even write about. In the "post-scouts" era of the draft, risks are higher than they've ever been, and I think this is going to be the case study of getting burned for years to come. The Thunder, in a vacuum, really didn't give up much to make this move, obviously it's too early to make a definitive ruling as the Bucks pick and the Hornets picks have yet to convey, but early returns are nightmare fuel for the Knicks as Scotty Pippen has exploded into the most coveted young player in the league, exhibiting MVP level scoring talents since the moment he stepped onto the court.
OKC is extremely lucky they were able to pull this off, because they also had the #1 pick, and they passed on Pippen in favor of Bronny James, who is still a particularly raw prospect, and given some of the recent gaffes with high lottery picks in OKC, I'm not quite sure how GM JB would've been able to look himself in the mirror had he passed on Pippen.
At the time of the draft, most GMs scrutinized GM JB for selecting Pippen, sighting low upside as the reason for the disdain of the pick, but you have to give him his credit, he absolutely stuck to his guns and knocked it out of the park, setting himself up beautifully for the future. As for Frank and the Knicks, all he can do is hope Zaire Wade breaks out in the next couple of the years, and that the Bucks and the Hornets are really, really bad in 2025 and 2029. This is probably going to be one of the most lopsided trades in history when we look back 10 years from now.
Grades:
Thunder (Value & Vision): A+
Knicks (Value): C
Knicks (Vision): D+
4. Mavericks - 76ers
Mavericks Send:
Julius Randle
Kyle Kuzma
Aleksa Uskovovic
Shareef O’Neal
Xavier Tillman
5M
76ers Send:
Bradley Beal
Amadou Sow
Jabari Parker
Jonas Valancunius
**Brad Beal's experience in Philadelphia perfectly summarized in one picture**
*Audible sigh noise* I mean I can't really say I understand why this happened. Did the 76ers fall short year after year? Yes. Was it time for a change? Probably. Should that change have been moving on from Bradley Beal (And Joel Embiid, who we will get to later)... No. Dallas somehow came away with the best SG in the league, in the prime of his career, in exchange for.... well, in exchange for just stuff honestly. This was the no-brainer of the century for Dallas GM G9 as the opportunity cost was next to nothing. Usually when we see a star player traded, you'd expect to see some sort of package centered around a premier prospect and draft picks to allow the seller to transition into a rebuilding phase. Yet somehow, Dallas came away with Beal without moving any top prospects. Truly just a remarkable win in terms of value exchanging hands.
Is Julius Randle good? Kind of. Is Xavier Tillman good? Kind of. Is Aleksa Uskokovic good? Kind of. Is Kyle Kuzma good? Eh. Is Shareef O'Neal good? No. So you got 3 kinda good players, an eh rotation player and a busted prospect... in exchange for the best SG in the league? Idk man, just don't see why you would go for a handful of decent pieces over cashing in on 1 or 2 really promising young pieces and completely "shuffling the deck" so to speak. This is a move that Philadelphia is going to regret until the end of time.
Grades:
Dallas (Value): A+
76ers (Value): C+
76ers (Vision): F
5. 76ers - Spurs
Sixers send:
Joel Embiid
Spurs send:
Jaden Springer
#7 (Pick became Jamaal Mashburn Jr.)
#21 (Pick became Saba Gigiberia)
2024 Spurs first
**Much like former teammate Brad Beal, Joel Embiid's tenure in Philadelphia ended with a lot of finger pointing and unfulfilled promises**
Now this move actually made sense for Philadelphia in terms of vision... but it just makes the Brad Beal move all the more confusing. When trading off an aging star, this is the type of package you would expect to return... good young player (Springer)? Check. Enticing lottery pick (#7)? Check. Additional picks (#21 + Spurs 2024 1st)? Check. It wasn't the best value but it was pretty solid and at least it made sense for the 76ers. Do I think Springer is a franchise center piece? Not a chance. Do I think he can be a quality contributer for years to come? Yes. So that's a win, but unfortunetly for Philadelphia they blew the #7 pick on Jamaal Mashburn Jr who in both my book, and the CPU list's eyes was the worst value pick of the draft. There were a handful of more enticing PGs who went after Mashburn, as well as a couple of wings with star upside in Chance Westry, Christian Brown, some lower upside guys but guaranteed ballers in Tyreek Smith, Drake London, Rylan Jones (The next Tremont Waters) and even some shots in the dark like Dain Dainja, Henri Adiassa, Hunter Dickinson and Zion Cruz.
The good news for the 76ers is Saba looks like a solid big man in the making, so they didn't completely whiff on both picks... but they did pass on Christian Brown twice, so that's brutal. Could you imagine how awesome this trade looks for the 76ers had they gone say Rylan Jones at 7 and Christian Brown at 21? Man, tough pill to swallow. The Atlantic division often seems to be on the wrong end of these.
As for the Spurs... they assemble the best big man duo probably ever with Embiid and Davis... the aforementioned Davis acquisition now actually makes a ton of sense, and they've solidified themselves as a force to be reckoned with as legitimate title contenders. Can a team spearheaded by 2 big men win a title? That's the question we're all asking ourselves heading into the playoffs.
Grades:
Spurs (Value): B+
Spurs (Vision - Interim): A
76ers (Value): B+
76ers (Execution): D
6. Spurs - Lakers
Spurs send:
Kemba Walker (CB)
Gary Harris
2026 Spurs first
2028 Spurs first
2029 Spurs right to swap any
9M
Lakers send:
James Harden
**James Harden has an insatiable apetite, and the only thing he's eating is the Spurs future salary cap**
I know, I know, enough with the Spurs already. I promise we'll keep this one short, but you can't tell the story of this season without hitting on the 3 big trades the Spurs made, and this was daulten's grand finale. I mean... talk about all-in. There has never been a more all-in team than this iteration of Daulten's Spurs. Harden's contract is an absolute albatross but he's still an elite scorer on the perimeter and he gives the Spurs some much needed firepower out of the backcourt to help balance out the scoring load. It'll be interesting to see if the Spurs embrace Harden as a play-maker at the point, or if they ask him to focus more on getting buckets at the two, but one thing is for certain, the Spurs are here are they mean business, even if it's just a 1-2 year window, they've bought themselves as good a chance as possible at the title.
On the flip side, Mentch actually gets really good value and now controls Daulten's extremely murky future, while simultaneously getting off of a horrid contract, and putting his team in position to tank hard and get in the mix for the top pick in the draft. Absolute no-brainer for the Lakers here, both in terms of vision and value.
Grades:
Spurs (Vision - Interim): A-
Spurs (Vision - Long Term): D
Lakers (Value): A-
Lakers (Vision): A-
7. Magic - Hawks
Magic Send
Jerami Grant
Option to swap 2024 picks
Hawks Send
Pascal Siakam
**Pascal Siakam has provided the Magic with the consistent veteran presence that Orlando has lacked on the wing for many years**
This move kind of fell in Orlando GM ColdJ3's lap, but we aren't going to penalize him for that. Sometimes the best ability, is availability, as he was able to leverage a top ~30 or so player out of a desperate Hawks team in a tough HC battle, for virtually nothing. This was a move Orlando needed in the worst way, as superstar PG Cole Anthony couldn't rely on Jalek Felton, Jerami Grant and Myles Turner to be his complimentary scorers any longer if the team was ever going to taste legitimate success. Siakam is a swiss-army knife that can be plugged in at the 2, 3 or 4, and be a quality 2nd or 3rd option on offense, and play tough defense on the oppositions go to guys on the other end of the court. Siakam hasn't shown any signs of slowing down, so this is a move that should help keep Orlando competitive for a few years, on top of really making them a viable threat for a title run this year. Props to cold for being one of the only GMs in the league who was willing to take the sure thing via trade, over taking a shot at maybe signing someone in free agency.
Grades:
Orlando (Value): A-
Orlando (Vision): B+
Atlanta (Value): D+
8. Magic - Thunder
Magic Send:
Jalek Felton
Buddy Hield (CB)
Royce O'Neal (CB)
Tre Mann (CB)
2026 1st
2028 1st
Thunder Send
Kawhi Leonard
**Kawhi Leonard is the least excited person to be heading to Disney World / Orlando**
Now on his 5th team in 3 seasons, Kawhi Leonard is back in the mix for another title as he joined the Orlando Magic in a surprising trade at the All-Star break. Kawhi was the exact piece Orlando was missing, and rounds out a sensational starting 5 for a Magic team that is very much in the mix for a shot at the title. This trade just made sense on both ends. Props to OKC GM JB for realizing he made a mistake in trading for Kawhi and instead of doubling down on his mistake, quickly ripping off the band-aid and salvaging whatever value he could out of him. As mentioned in the "Clippers - Thunder" trade above, the initial Kawhi deal to OKC never real made a ton of sense, but he comes out ahead here as at the end of the day he turns a now busted Jalen Green and the OKC 2028 1st round picks, into Jalek Felton, and the Magic 2026 & 2028 1st round picks. Way to find your footing. As for Orlando, way to realize the time is now and compound your Siakam move, with Kawhi, to make an exceptional duo on the wings to help support your star PG. The Magic have struggled since acquiring Kawhi, but if they can find the right mix of settings before the playoffs, they have as good a shot as any to win it all.
Grades:
Magic (Value): B-
Magic (Vision - Interim): A
Thunder (Value): B
Thunder (Vision - Longterm): B-
9. Bulls - Pelicans
Bulls send:
Mo Bamba (cutback)
Marcus Smart
WCS
Langston Love
15M
Bulls 2028 first
Pelicans send:
Steven Adams
Anthony Edwards
**This is the exact moment that Steven Adams realized Pelicans GM Hank had been whispering sweet nothings in his ear for months**
The initial reaction to this deal was doom and gloom. I don't think anyone really saw this coming as hank pretty much just got really high Wednesday morning and randomly traded off his love children in Steven Adams and Anthony Edwards, to the evil empire Chicago Bulls, in return for, well, pretty much nothing of note. Hank billed this move for New Orleans as a win via addition by subtraction, as Adams and Edwards both have glaring issues to their games. Up until yesterday when WCJ went out for the year with a devastating injury, I wouldn't have included this trade in the most impactful / best moves list, but when you factor in how much more the bulls would've had to pay for a big man of this caliber to help stomach the loss of WCJ post-injury, it's unlikely GM Ebbs would've even been able to pull something off just based off the sheer lack of leverage he would've had (not to mention few attractive assets aside from Tatum and Barrett). The Adams aquisition couldn't have come at a better time for Chicago and he at least gives them a fighting chance while their darling PF Wendell Carter Jr. is out recovering from his injury.
Grades:
Bulls (Vision - Interim): B
Bulls (Value): B
Pelicans (Value): D+
Pelicans (Vision - Interim): D
Pelicans (Vision - Longterm): D-
10. Bucks - Rockets
Bucks trade:
Tremont Waters
Bogdan Bogdanovic
Nets 2027 first
Bucks 2030 first round swap
Rockets trade:
Victor Oladipo
**Victor Oladipo is onto his 3rd team in the last season, and the jury still remains split on his value**
Is Victor Oladipo actually good? I feel like he's good, everything about him suggests that he should be good, yet all of the teams he joins seem to disappoint. The one thing I'm certain of with Vic is that he's the most polarizing player in the league. Half the GMs love him, and the other half swear he's a cancer. On paper he seems like a perfect compliment as a running mate for the best player in the league (Giannis), however, that hasn't translated to overwhelming success just yet, granted the Bucks have seen some injuries in this time span since acquiring the former IU star.
The funny thing about this trade, is that I actually really liked what Houston got in return. Tremont Waters is a stud PG who's locked into a very fair contract, and Bojan Bogdanovic is extremely underrated and remains as one of the best snipers in the league. Plus they got a future Nets 1st and a distant swap with the Bucks. However, they ruined all of that when they inexplicably dumped Waters for a future 1st.
If Oladipo and the Bucks can get on the same page, they'll be a major threat to Chicago and Orlando for the right to represent the Eastern Conference in the finals, but if Oladipo gets run out of Milwaukee with nothing to show like he did in Washington, Houston and Indiana, he may go down as one of the most curious cases of fools gold in league history.
Grades:
Bucks (Value): B
Bucks (Vision - Interim): B-
Rockets (Value): B
Rockets (Vision - Interim): B-
Rockets (Execution & Long term vision post trade): F
Honorable Mentions:
Thunder send:
Bronny James
Jarrell Brantley (CB)
OKC 2026
Mavs 2027
Raptors send:
Jarrett Culver
CJ Walker
**It's going to be Taco Tuesday for years to come up North**
Donkey does it again. Pumps Culver up to look better than he is and cashs him in for the #1 pick in the draft. Tremendous upside for Toronto. Gotta be patient when you take a raw teenager with the #1 pick if you're in OKC's spot.
Nets trade:
Rights to swap 2024 Nets 1st
Rights to swap 2026 Nets 1st
Rights to swap 2028 Nets 1st
2029 Nets 1st
Rights to swap 2030 Nets 1st
2024 Nets 2nd
2029 Nets 2nd
2030 Nets 2nd
3M GM Cash
Blake Griffin (cutback)
Raptors trade:
Jalen Lecque
**This was one of the only pictures of Jalen Lecque that I could find where he didn't look like he was on the verge of crying**
Scott lands one of the most coveted young emerging guards in the league, exchange for the control of his future. He has some good pieces in the bag already, so I don't know how valuable this will prove to be for the Raptors, but if this experiment backfires in Brooklyn, the Raptors have the Nets at their mercy.
Rockets send:
KD
Hornets send:
PG-13(CB)
Hueter
Stewart
15 M
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59491491/usa_today_9394969.0.jpg)
**Kevin Durant firing up one of his burner accounts upon receiving the news that he's only an honorable mention trade on this list**
Hornets somehow end up with KD for quite literally nothing, despite the Rockets not even having their pick and already blowing the return they got in return for Oladipo. KD is old but he's still elite offensively. Brack puts together a dynamic yet ancient trio of Kyrie, KD and PG13. They've yet to mesh to this point but you could do much worse.
Nets Get:
Tyler Zeller (cutback)
Cassius Stanley
Jasen Green
$3.5M
Clippers Get:
Jordan Bell
Taurean Prince (waiveback)
**Is Cassius Stanley the real deal? Or is he yet another product of GM Cloud's propaganda hype machine?**
Clippers respond in a massive way with a statement trade following the injury to Jokic by going and getting Jordan Bell, showing their continued commitment to defending the Larry O'Brien championship trophy. Nets get an enticing young player in Cassius Stanley. Cool deal for both on paper but we've yet to see the results as it just happened.
Warriors send:
Domantas Sabonis
7.5 mill
Pacers send:
Jalen Suggs
EJ Montgomery
DeAndre Hunter (waiveback)
**Actual point of view from incredibly small Warriors GM Jon, as he looks up upon his new hopeful franchise center piece, Jalen Suggs**
This trade just happened so no clue how it plays out or really what accomplishes for either team but I really like both players in this swap so I think it's a cool trade to keep an eye on. Sabonis is a force to be reckoned with, and Suggs has a chance to be very, very good if he develops the right way. Idk, keep an eye on this one down the line.
Rockets send
Tremont Waters
Pels send
Josh Green
Malik Beasley
Langstone Love
OKC 28 1st
**Tremont Waters makes his way back to his old college stomping grounds, this time playing pro ball for the Pelicans, on the heels of one of the dumbest trades of the year**
Will never understand why the Rockets did this but Hank gets one of the better young PGs in the league in Tremont Waters for super cheap. Certainly helps alleviate some of the pain from not having any of his picks for the next like 7 years.
1. Spurs - Wizards
Spurs Send:
AJ Griffin Jr
Demar DeRozan (cutback)
Spurs 23 (Pick became Jalen Williams)
Lakers 23 (Pick became Chance Westry)
Remove right to swap from wiz 23
15M
Wiz Send:
Anthony Davis
**A disgruntled Anthony Davis sporting a "That's All Folks" T-Shirt on his way out of Washington DC**
This was the first big domino to fall once the off-season began. Wizards GM Getbeard had been vocal for some time about how he wanted to hit the reset button and go young, following a few frustrating seasons of a failed partnership between Anthony Davis and Victor Oladipo in our nations capital. Oladipo was shipped off to Houston at the deadline, and that left the Wizards with one foot in the door, and one foot out, with the former MVP remaining in a Wizards jersey with not much left around him. On the surface, the Spurs stepping up and making a big boy move to acquire the now 31 year old big man was shocking, seeing as how they had just days before, shipped off budding superstar Zion Williamson, for more youth, citing an inability to "get him help" and a fear of losing the former Duke product to a more competitive franchise in Free Agency.
Now that some time has passed, this was ultimately a pretty good deal for both ends. While it was highly questionable for the Spurs at the time, they were able to make a series of moves to make the investment worthwhile, at least in the interim, as the Spurs are legitimate title contenders with Mr. Davis leading the charge. The Wizards have bottomed out beautifully and currently hold #1 odds at the top pick in this June's upcoming draft. Washington seems to have hit on both draft picks acquired in this deal, landing 18 year old SG Chance Westry, who responded with a brilliant initial TC, receiving the highly coveted and illustrious "teen pot boost", as well as selecting 21 year old floor general Jalen Williams out of Santa Clara. While Williams may not have the highest of upsides, he came in ready to play from day 1 with a well developed offensive package and looks to be a consistent contributor for years to come. Former top 5 pick AJ Griffin, who was also sent to the Wizards as part of this package, is no longer with the team following a mediocre training camp, but luckily for them, GM Getbeard was able to ship him off to New Orleans for rights to the Charlotte Hornets 2028 1st Round Pick via Swap, as well as rights to Pelicans 2030 1st via swap. It's too early to tell what may become of those pick swaps but as of now it looks like the Wizards did a nice job of expanding their asset base and they just might have a lottery ticket or two coming their way at the end of the decade.
Grades:
Spurs (Value): A
Wizards (Vision): B+
Wizards (Value): B
2. Clippers - Thunder
Clippers Get:
Jalen Green
OKC Thunder 2028 1st Round Pick
Thunder Get:
Kawhi Leonard
**Kawhi Leonard, utterly bewildered as he's informed at the podium following his finals victory that he'd been traded from his hometown Clippers... to OKC**
This is one of the rare exceptions where you see a trade that is more about obtaining flexibility, than it is about procuring value, per-say. Fresh off the heels of a dominating finals victory over the reigning back-to-back champion Chicago Bulls, the Los Angeles Clippers found themselves in a relatively precarious position. They had star PF Nikola Jokic testing the open-market, as well as super 6th man shot-blocking extraordinaire Goga Bitadize and sharpshooting combo guard Kyle Guy exploring their options in free agency as well. The Clippers were facing hard cap issues, and secretly wouldn't have been able to responsibly retain Jokic on a maximum contract, and even if it ultimately came down to extending the Serbian sensation on a max deal, they were looking at rosters spots #7 - 12 being undrafted rookie RFAs to stay just under HC. GM Cloud knew he had to get creative, so he thought through every possible scenario and looked in every nook & cranny for a deal that would allow his franchise to "have their cake and eat it too". The options were limited for all of his players from a trade standpoint as the majority of the league was in a holding pattern until free agency was resolved. However, one player had garnered interest from the division rival OKC Thunder... and that was of course the now 2-time champion SG Kawhi Leonard.
The fact of the matter was that Kawhi was being paid like a franchise center piece, but having just declined considerably in training camp, Leonard was the 3rd best player on the Clippers, so he became the obvious piece to move on from. After days of posturing for a better deal, the 2 sides eventually agreed upon former #1 pick Jalen Green and right to the Thunders' 2028 1st round pick in exchange for the star 2-guard. However, the real asset gained for LAC here, was cap relief, that provided them with the flexibility to offer a maximum contract in free agency, in a year where they would have the best win rating in the league, as well as allow themselves the room to potentially retain star big man Nikola Jokic. GM Cloud pushed his chips to the middle of the table, offered discount deals, and was able to land star SG Devin Booker to replace Kawhi Leonard for almost half the price, as well as bring back franchise center piece Nikola Jokic on a team friendly deal.
It didn't stop there for the Clippers, as they then were able to turn around and leverage Jalen Green (and their own 1st round pick this season) into Tyler Zeller and Dwight Powell from the Wizards who would pair together to replace the loss of Goga Bitadze off the bench, as well as turn the 2028 OKC 1st into sharp-shooting, future hall of famer Klay Thompson, to bolster their 2nd unit on the wings. This move ultimately allowed the Clippers a new lease on life, and has helped turn them into a powerhouse that is now even more dangerous than they were last season.
As for the Thunder, Leonard lasted half a season as his play continued to decline and was ultimately shipped off to Orlando after the Thunder were unable to find any rhythm to start the season. Was it a bad deal for OKC? Not really, as they were ultimately able to recoup by getting a couple of future draft picks out of Orlando in exchange for Leonard. But was it a good move for OKC? Not really, as they weren't ready to compete anyways and they basically handed a get out of jail free card to the defending champs who also happen to be in their own division. Either way, this will be looked back upon as a transformative move that significantly helped shape the history of the league.
Grades:
Clippers (Value): C-
Clippers (Flexibility): A+
Thunder (Value): B+
Thunder (Vision): D+
3. Thunder - Knicks
Thunder send:
Zaire Wade
OKC 2024 2nd
Rights to Bucks 2025 swap
Hornets 2029 1st
17M cash
Knicks send:
#2 (Became Scotty Pippen)
**Following 2 underwhelming seasons in OKC, Zaire Wade now feels the weight of the world on his shoulders as he's tasked with living up to lofty expectations placed upon him by the Knicks front office**
Knicks GM Frank's comments following the trade... "Accept. Felt pretty meh about who I would get. Let's hope Wade pans out." Ouch. Ouch. Ouchhhhh. Man, this one hurts to even write about. In the "post-scouts" era of the draft, risks are higher than they've ever been, and I think this is going to be the case study of getting burned for years to come. The Thunder, in a vacuum, really didn't give up much to make this move, obviously it's too early to make a definitive ruling as the Bucks pick and the Hornets picks have yet to convey, but early returns are nightmare fuel for the Knicks as Scotty Pippen has exploded into the most coveted young player in the league, exhibiting MVP level scoring talents since the moment he stepped onto the court.
OKC is extremely lucky they were able to pull this off, because they also had the #1 pick, and they passed on Pippen in favor of Bronny James, who is still a particularly raw prospect, and given some of the recent gaffes with high lottery picks in OKC, I'm not quite sure how GM JB would've been able to look himself in the mirror had he passed on Pippen.
At the time of the draft, most GMs scrutinized GM JB for selecting Pippen, sighting low upside as the reason for the disdain of the pick, but you have to give him his credit, he absolutely stuck to his guns and knocked it out of the park, setting himself up beautifully for the future. As for Frank and the Knicks, all he can do is hope Zaire Wade breaks out in the next couple of the years, and that the Bucks and the Hornets are really, really bad in 2025 and 2029. This is probably going to be one of the most lopsided trades in history when we look back 10 years from now.
Grades:
Thunder (Value & Vision): A+
Knicks (Value): C
Knicks (Vision): D+
4. Mavericks - 76ers
Mavericks Send:
Julius Randle
Kyle Kuzma
Aleksa Uskovovic
Shareef O’Neal
Xavier Tillman
5M
76ers Send:
Bradley Beal
Amadou Sow
Jabari Parker
Jonas Valancunius
**Brad Beal's experience in Philadelphia perfectly summarized in one picture**
*Audible sigh noise* I mean I can't really say I understand why this happened. Did the 76ers fall short year after year? Yes. Was it time for a change? Probably. Should that change have been moving on from Bradley Beal (And Joel Embiid, who we will get to later)... No. Dallas somehow came away with the best SG in the league, in the prime of his career, in exchange for.... well, in exchange for just stuff honestly. This was the no-brainer of the century for Dallas GM G9 as the opportunity cost was next to nothing. Usually when we see a star player traded, you'd expect to see some sort of package centered around a premier prospect and draft picks to allow the seller to transition into a rebuilding phase. Yet somehow, Dallas came away with Beal without moving any top prospects. Truly just a remarkable win in terms of value exchanging hands.
Is Julius Randle good? Kind of. Is Xavier Tillman good? Kind of. Is Aleksa Uskokovic good? Kind of. Is Kyle Kuzma good? Eh. Is Shareef O'Neal good? No. So you got 3 kinda good players, an eh rotation player and a busted prospect... in exchange for the best SG in the league? Idk man, just don't see why you would go for a handful of decent pieces over cashing in on 1 or 2 really promising young pieces and completely "shuffling the deck" so to speak. This is a move that Philadelphia is going to regret until the end of time.
Grades:
Dallas (Value): A+
76ers (Value): C+
76ers (Vision): F
5. 76ers - Spurs
Sixers send:
Joel Embiid
Spurs send:
Jaden Springer
#7 (Pick became Jamaal Mashburn Jr.)
#21 (Pick became Saba Gigiberia)
2024 Spurs first
**Much like former teammate Brad Beal, Joel Embiid's tenure in Philadelphia ended with a lot of finger pointing and unfulfilled promises**
Now this move actually made sense for Philadelphia in terms of vision... but it just makes the Brad Beal move all the more confusing. When trading off an aging star, this is the type of package you would expect to return... good young player (Springer)? Check. Enticing lottery pick (#7)? Check. Additional picks (#21 + Spurs 2024 1st)? Check. It wasn't the best value but it was pretty solid and at least it made sense for the 76ers. Do I think Springer is a franchise center piece? Not a chance. Do I think he can be a quality contributer for years to come? Yes. So that's a win, but unfortunetly for Philadelphia they blew the #7 pick on Jamaal Mashburn Jr who in both my book, and the CPU list's eyes was the worst value pick of the draft. There were a handful of more enticing PGs who went after Mashburn, as well as a couple of wings with star upside in Chance Westry, Christian Brown, some lower upside guys but guaranteed ballers in Tyreek Smith, Drake London, Rylan Jones (The next Tremont Waters) and even some shots in the dark like Dain Dainja, Henri Adiassa, Hunter Dickinson and Zion Cruz.
The good news for the 76ers is Saba looks like a solid big man in the making, so they didn't completely whiff on both picks... but they did pass on Christian Brown twice, so that's brutal. Could you imagine how awesome this trade looks for the 76ers had they gone say Rylan Jones at 7 and Christian Brown at 21? Man, tough pill to swallow. The Atlantic division often seems to be on the wrong end of these.
As for the Spurs... they assemble the best big man duo probably ever with Embiid and Davis... the aforementioned Davis acquisition now actually makes a ton of sense, and they've solidified themselves as a force to be reckoned with as legitimate title contenders. Can a team spearheaded by 2 big men win a title? That's the question we're all asking ourselves heading into the playoffs.
Grades:
Spurs (Value): B+
Spurs (Vision - Interim): A
76ers (Value): B+
76ers (Execution): D
6. Spurs - Lakers
Spurs send:
Kemba Walker (CB)
Gary Harris
2026 Spurs first
2028 Spurs first
2029 Spurs right to swap any
9M
Lakers send:
James Harden
**James Harden has an insatiable apetite, and the only thing he's eating is the Spurs future salary cap**
I know, I know, enough with the Spurs already. I promise we'll keep this one short, but you can't tell the story of this season without hitting on the 3 big trades the Spurs made, and this was daulten's grand finale. I mean... talk about all-in. There has never been a more all-in team than this iteration of Daulten's Spurs. Harden's contract is an absolute albatross but he's still an elite scorer on the perimeter and he gives the Spurs some much needed firepower out of the backcourt to help balance out the scoring load. It'll be interesting to see if the Spurs embrace Harden as a play-maker at the point, or if they ask him to focus more on getting buckets at the two, but one thing is for certain, the Spurs are here are they mean business, even if it's just a 1-2 year window, they've bought themselves as good a chance as possible at the title.
On the flip side, Mentch actually gets really good value and now controls Daulten's extremely murky future, while simultaneously getting off of a horrid contract, and putting his team in position to tank hard and get in the mix for the top pick in the draft. Absolute no-brainer for the Lakers here, both in terms of vision and value.
Grades:
Spurs (Vision - Interim): A-
Spurs (Vision - Long Term): D
Lakers (Value): A-
Lakers (Vision): A-
7. Magic - Hawks
Magic Send
Jerami Grant
Option to swap 2024 picks
Hawks Send
Pascal Siakam
**Pascal Siakam has provided the Magic with the consistent veteran presence that Orlando has lacked on the wing for many years**
This move kind of fell in Orlando GM ColdJ3's lap, but we aren't going to penalize him for that. Sometimes the best ability, is availability, as he was able to leverage a top ~30 or so player out of a desperate Hawks team in a tough HC battle, for virtually nothing. This was a move Orlando needed in the worst way, as superstar PG Cole Anthony couldn't rely on Jalek Felton, Jerami Grant and Myles Turner to be his complimentary scorers any longer if the team was ever going to taste legitimate success. Siakam is a swiss-army knife that can be plugged in at the 2, 3 or 4, and be a quality 2nd or 3rd option on offense, and play tough defense on the oppositions go to guys on the other end of the court. Siakam hasn't shown any signs of slowing down, so this is a move that should help keep Orlando competitive for a few years, on top of really making them a viable threat for a title run this year. Props to cold for being one of the only GMs in the league who was willing to take the sure thing via trade, over taking a shot at maybe signing someone in free agency.
Grades:
Orlando (Value): A-
Orlando (Vision): B+
Atlanta (Value): D+
8. Magic - Thunder
Magic Send:
Jalek Felton
Buddy Hield (CB)
Royce O'Neal (CB)
Tre Mann (CB)
2026 1st
2028 1st
Thunder Send
Kawhi Leonard
**Kawhi Leonard is the least excited person to be heading to Disney World / Orlando**
Now on his 5th team in 3 seasons, Kawhi Leonard is back in the mix for another title as he joined the Orlando Magic in a surprising trade at the All-Star break. Kawhi was the exact piece Orlando was missing, and rounds out a sensational starting 5 for a Magic team that is very much in the mix for a shot at the title. This trade just made sense on both ends. Props to OKC GM JB for realizing he made a mistake in trading for Kawhi and instead of doubling down on his mistake, quickly ripping off the band-aid and salvaging whatever value he could out of him. As mentioned in the "Clippers - Thunder" trade above, the initial Kawhi deal to OKC never real made a ton of sense, but he comes out ahead here as at the end of the day he turns a now busted Jalen Green and the OKC 2028 1st round picks, into Jalek Felton, and the Magic 2026 & 2028 1st round picks. Way to find your footing. As for Orlando, way to realize the time is now and compound your Siakam move, with Kawhi, to make an exceptional duo on the wings to help support your star PG. The Magic have struggled since acquiring Kawhi, but if they can find the right mix of settings before the playoffs, they have as good a shot as any to win it all.
Grades:
Magic (Value): B-
Magic (Vision - Interim): A
Thunder (Value): B
Thunder (Vision - Longterm): B-
9. Bulls - Pelicans
Bulls send:
Mo Bamba (cutback)
Marcus Smart
WCS
Langston Love
15M
Bulls 2028 first
Pelicans send:
Steven Adams
Anthony Edwards
**This is the exact moment that Steven Adams realized Pelicans GM Hank had been whispering sweet nothings in his ear for months**
The initial reaction to this deal was doom and gloom. I don't think anyone really saw this coming as hank pretty much just got really high Wednesday morning and randomly traded off his love children in Steven Adams and Anthony Edwards, to the evil empire Chicago Bulls, in return for, well, pretty much nothing of note. Hank billed this move for New Orleans as a win via addition by subtraction, as Adams and Edwards both have glaring issues to their games. Up until yesterday when WCJ went out for the year with a devastating injury, I wouldn't have included this trade in the most impactful / best moves list, but when you factor in how much more the bulls would've had to pay for a big man of this caliber to help stomach the loss of WCJ post-injury, it's unlikely GM Ebbs would've even been able to pull something off just based off the sheer lack of leverage he would've had (not to mention few attractive assets aside from Tatum and Barrett). The Adams aquisition couldn't have come at a better time for Chicago and he at least gives them a fighting chance while their darling PF Wendell Carter Jr. is out recovering from his injury.
Grades:
Bulls (Vision - Interim): B
Bulls (Value): B
Pelicans (Value): D+
Pelicans (Vision - Interim): D
Pelicans (Vision - Longterm): D-
10. Bucks - Rockets
Bucks trade:
Tremont Waters
Bogdan Bogdanovic
Nets 2027 first
Bucks 2030 first round swap
Rockets trade:
Victor Oladipo
**Victor Oladipo is onto his 3rd team in the last season, and the jury still remains split on his value**
Is Victor Oladipo actually good? I feel like he's good, everything about him suggests that he should be good, yet all of the teams he joins seem to disappoint. The one thing I'm certain of with Vic is that he's the most polarizing player in the league. Half the GMs love him, and the other half swear he's a cancer. On paper he seems like a perfect compliment as a running mate for the best player in the league (Giannis), however, that hasn't translated to overwhelming success just yet, granted the Bucks have seen some injuries in this time span since acquiring the former IU star.
The funny thing about this trade, is that I actually really liked what Houston got in return. Tremont Waters is a stud PG who's locked into a very fair contract, and Bojan Bogdanovic is extremely underrated and remains as one of the best snipers in the league. Plus they got a future Nets 1st and a distant swap with the Bucks. However, they ruined all of that when they inexplicably dumped Waters for a future 1st.
If Oladipo and the Bucks can get on the same page, they'll be a major threat to Chicago and Orlando for the right to represent the Eastern Conference in the finals, but if Oladipo gets run out of Milwaukee with nothing to show like he did in Washington, Houston and Indiana, he may go down as one of the most curious cases of fools gold in league history.
Grades:
Bucks (Value): B
Bucks (Vision - Interim): B-
Rockets (Value): B
Rockets (Vision - Interim): B-
Rockets (Execution & Long term vision post trade): F
Honorable Mentions:
Thunder send:
Bronny James
Jarrell Brantley (CB)
OKC 2026
Mavs 2027
Raptors send:
Jarrett Culver
CJ Walker
**It's going to be Taco Tuesday for years to come up North**
Donkey does it again. Pumps Culver up to look better than he is and cashs him in for the #1 pick in the draft. Tremendous upside for Toronto. Gotta be patient when you take a raw teenager with the #1 pick if you're in OKC's spot.
Nets trade:
Rights to swap 2024 Nets 1st
Rights to swap 2026 Nets 1st
Rights to swap 2028 Nets 1st
2029 Nets 1st
Rights to swap 2030 Nets 1st
2024 Nets 2nd
2029 Nets 2nd
2030 Nets 2nd
3M GM Cash
Blake Griffin (cutback)
Raptors trade:
Jalen Lecque
**This was one of the only pictures of Jalen Lecque that I could find where he didn't look like he was on the verge of crying**
Scott lands one of the most coveted young emerging guards in the league, exchange for the control of his future. He has some good pieces in the bag already, so I don't know how valuable this will prove to be for the Raptors, but if this experiment backfires in Brooklyn, the Raptors have the Nets at their mercy.
Rockets send:
KD
Hornets send:
PG-13(CB)
Hueter
Stewart
15 M
**Kevin Durant firing up one of his burner accounts upon receiving the news that he's only an honorable mention trade on this list**
Hornets somehow end up with KD for quite literally nothing, despite the Rockets not even having their pick and already blowing the return they got in return for Oladipo. KD is old but he's still elite offensively. Brack puts together a dynamic yet ancient trio of Kyrie, KD and PG13. They've yet to mesh to this point but you could do much worse.
Nets Get:
Tyler Zeller (cutback)
Cassius Stanley
Jasen Green
$3.5M
Clippers Get:
Jordan Bell
Taurean Prince (waiveback)
**Is Cassius Stanley the real deal? Or is he yet another product of GM Cloud's propaganda hype machine?**
Clippers respond in a massive way with a statement trade following the injury to Jokic by going and getting Jordan Bell, showing their continued commitment to defending the Larry O'Brien championship trophy. Nets get an enticing young player in Cassius Stanley. Cool deal for both on paper but we've yet to see the results as it just happened.
Warriors send:
Domantas Sabonis
7.5 mill
Pacers send:
Jalen Suggs
EJ Montgomery
DeAndre Hunter (waiveback)
**Actual point of view from incredibly small Warriors GM Jon, as he looks up upon his new hopeful franchise center piece, Jalen Suggs**
This trade just happened so no clue how it plays out or really what accomplishes for either team but I really like both players in this swap so I think it's a cool trade to keep an eye on. Sabonis is a force to be reckoned with, and Suggs has a chance to be very, very good if he develops the right way. Idk, keep an eye on this one down the line.
Rockets send
Tremont Waters
Pels send
Josh Green
Malik Beasley
Langstone Love
OKC 28 1st
**Tremont Waters makes his way back to his old college stomping grounds, this time playing pro ball for the Pelicans, on the heels of one of the dumbest trades of the year**
Will never understand why the Rockets did this but Hank gets one of the better young PGs in the league in Tremont Waters for super cheap. Certainly helps alleviate some of the pain from not having any of his picks for the next like 7 years.
Last edited:
