brooks
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Going to review and provide letter grades for some of the more impactful trades that have occurred in the 2012 season. I will not be including the Spurs/Celtics trade, as I'd like to keep this to trades that do not involve my team. Bold/Italic = best assets involved
Trade 1 - Magic and Nuggets
(https://fantasysportsdaily.net/forums/threads/nuggets-magic.5997/)
Orlando Magic send:
Mike Conley, Luol Deng, Nick Young, Spurs 15, LAL 17, $10 mil
Nuggets send:
Deron Williams, Udonis Haslem, Michael Jenkins
Magic Grade: A+
Nuggets Grade: F
Explanation
The league-wide reception to this trade was fairly consistent - no one quite understood why the Nuggets pulled the trigger on this package for Deron Williams. Just two seasons ago, Henry Silvestre was shouting into the void that he had finally found his PG of the future. He was ready to build around Deron and launch himself into the yearly contention for the 6th seed in the West. From what has been shared via league sources, it sounds as if the Nuggets left other offers at the table and was ready to commit to the future of Nick Young, who is on one of the best contracts in the league. However, the realized value of a contract like that is only maximized if you are fighting against HC with other stars on your roster. This is a strike-out for Silvestre, no doubt about it.
On the other side, GM Cloud, aka John Wallet, absolutely hit this one out of the park. He's been working night and day trying to assemble a contender, with some sources reporting that Mr. Wallet had been seen wandering the streets early in the morning talking potential deals. Sources claim that Cloud could be heard saying "Spurs 15 is a surefire lotto, they're losing their assets to FA", "Mike Conley fits your roster perfectly, he'll maximize Boozer", and lastly, "where the fuck is my car". Its an incredible feat to move off of Conley's contract and secure a top 10 PG in the league. Look for the Magic to make some noise this season.
Trade 2 - Mavericks and Raptors
(https://fantasysportsdaily.net/forums/threads/mavericks-raptors.5986/#post-125680)
Raptors Send:
Wes Matthews
Mavericks send:
Mo Taylor, Raptors 2012, Hornets 2015
Raptors Grade: A
Mavs Grade: C+
Explanation
In a somewhat shocking move, the Raptors were able to recover their 2012 first round pick in a deal involving Wes Matthews. There were rumors floating around that the Raptors were dangling Wes to the Magic when they were in possession of the Raptors 2012 1st, but were unable to pull of the deal due to Matthews' continually plummeting value. However, once the pick was moved down to Dallas in a separate deal, the red-headed Canadian was back in business and able to pull off a deal. In fact, he was able to snag an additional 1st in the package as well. Well done Mr. Adam, well done.
This isn't a total loss for the Mavericks. Wes Matthews has a lot of value in an offense where he can sit back and be a contributor, rather than serving as a the primary focal point. We should see a significant decrease in his TOs once a new supporting cast is put around him. Additionally, I've been told that Assistant GM G9 is a massive fan of an online NBA simulation game, where he was able to pair Wes Matthews and the rising potential star Giannis Antetocopo (we will have to reach out to our contacts in Greece for correct spelling... yet to be verified) in Milwaukee. Rumors are that he's hellbent of duplicating the results from that false reality... we'll see if it works out.
Trade 3 - Mavericks and Magic
(https://fantasysportsdaily.net/forums/threads/magic-mavericks.5974/)
Magic Send:
KCP, Gobert, Middleton, Akognon, Faried, Raptors 12, Grizzlies 12, Bullets 14, Cavs 14, Nuggets 14 (and the right to swap Nuggets 14 with Lakers 14), Lakers 15, Hornets 15
Mavericks Send:
LeBron James
Mavericks Grade: C
Magic Grade: A+
Explanation
WHAT A BLOCKBUSTER. After Assistant GM G9 announced that he had permission from the absent GM/POBO/Owner Larry to grant LeBron James' trade request, the entire league had been sitting on pins and needle waiting to hear which team would land the young star. After countless trade offers, my sources tell me that it came down to the Celtics and Magic. For the Celtics, they felt comfortable with letting LeBron moving elsewhere, as it was a win-win situation with them. No matter the outcome, they were going to get some value due to owning the rights to multiple Maverick 1st round picks. This fact prevented the Celtics from upping their offer, effectively cementing the Magic as the best offer.
For the Magic - They get a star for what looks like an assortment of mediocre picks. This is an absolute no-brainer on their end and now they have assembled quite the roster. I'd say the best asset going to the Mavs is the Lakers 15, which looks to be a sure-fire lotto unless GM RunSoHard is able to extend his window of competing for the 8th seed for a few more seasons. There is also a non-zero chance that the Nuggets 14 ends up being a great pick as well, as they seem to have lost their direction and have no true path forward.
Trade 4 - Suns and Heat
(https://fantasysportsdaily.net/forums/threads/suns-heat.5982/#post-125689)
Heat send:
Al Jefferson
Suns send:
Brandon Roy
Heat Grade: A-
Suns Grade: B-
Explanation
What a weird trade. In a vacuum, its not a bad offer, as many teams likely value the two players similarly. However, With Al Jefferson going to the Suns, GM Frank Ebberly has effectively committed to running Al Horford at SF, which will undoubtedly further kill his value as a trade asset. Don't get me wrong, Horford is a fun tool at SF, as rebounding will finally become an asset for him. It will be quite interesting to see how this team performs in the playoffs with teams focusing more and more on maximizing possessions and stretching the court. Good luck to Franklin and Co.
As for why the Heat received an "A-" -- I'm concerned that they may have left themselves a tad too thin in the post. I understand the idea of having confidence in Kevin Love developing, but he does not look ready to have significant minutes for a deep competitor. They now have two top 5 scorers in the league.... but will they be able to maximize their production without a true passing point guard? I wouldn't be shocked if Hill gets the job done, but its something that has to be lingering in the back of Gopher's head.
All-in-all, this is an extremely fun trade that should be enjoyable to track as the season(s) progress.
Trade 1 - Magic and Nuggets
(https://fantasysportsdaily.net/forums/threads/nuggets-magic.5997/)
Orlando Magic send:
Mike Conley, Luol Deng, Nick Young, Spurs 15, LAL 17, $10 mil
Nuggets send:
Deron Williams, Udonis Haslem, Michael Jenkins
Magic Grade: A+
Nuggets Grade: F
Explanation
The league-wide reception to this trade was fairly consistent - no one quite understood why the Nuggets pulled the trigger on this package for Deron Williams. Just two seasons ago, Henry Silvestre was shouting into the void that he had finally found his PG of the future. He was ready to build around Deron and launch himself into the yearly contention for the 6th seed in the West. From what has been shared via league sources, it sounds as if the Nuggets left other offers at the table and was ready to commit to the future of Nick Young, who is on one of the best contracts in the league. However, the realized value of a contract like that is only maximized if you are fighting against HC with other stars on your roster. This is a strike-out for Silvestre, no doubt about it.
On the other side, GM Cloud, aka John Wallet, absolutely hit this one out of the park. He's been working night and day trying to assemble a contender, with some sources reporting that Mr. Wallet had been seen wandering the streets early in the morning talking potential deals. Sources claim that Cloud could be heard saying "Spurs 15 is a surefire lotto, they're losing their assets to FA", "Mike Conley fits your roster perfectly, he'll maximize Boozer", and lastly, "where the fuck is my car". Its an incredible feat to move off of Conley's contract and secure a top 10 PG in the league. Look for the Magic to make some noise this season.
Trade 2 - Mavericks and Raptors
(https://fantasysportsdaily.net/forums/threads/mavericks-raptors.5986/#post-125680)
Raptors Send:
Wes Matthews
Mavericks send:
Mo Taylor, Raptors 2012, Hornets 2015
Raptors Grade: A
Mavs Grade: C+
Explanation
In a somewhat shocking move, the Raptors were able to recover their 2012 first round pick in a deal involving Wes Matthews. There were rumors floating around that the Raptors were dangling Wes to the Magic when they were in possession of the Raptors 2012 1st, but were unable to pull of the deal due to Matthews' continually plummeting value. However, once the pick was moved down to Dallas in a separate deal, the red-headed Canadian was back in business and able to pull off a deal. In fact, he was able to snag an additional 1st in the package as well. Well done Mr. Adam, well done.
This isn't a total loss for the Mavericks. Wes Matthews has a lot of value in an offense where he can sit back and be a contributor, rather than serving as a the primary focal point. We should see a significant decrease in his TOs once a new supporting cast is put around him. Additionally, I've been told that Assistant GM G9 is a massive fan of an online NBA simulation game, where he was able to pair Wes Matthews and the rising potential star Giannis Antetocopo (we will have to reach out to our contacts in Greece for correct spelling... yet to be verified) in Milwaukee. Rumors are that he's hellbent of duplicating the results from that false reality... we'll see if it works out.
Trade 3 - Mavericks and Magic
(https://fantasysportsdaily.net/forums/threads/magic-mavericks.5974/)
Magic Send:
KCP, Gobert, Middleton, Akognon, Faried, Raptors 12, Grizzlies 12, Bullets 14, Cavs 14, Nuggets 14 (and the right to swap Nuggets 14 with Lakers 14), Lakers 15, Hornets 15
Mavericks Send:
LeBron James
Mavericks Grade: C
Magic Grade: A+
Explanation
WHAT A BLOCKBUSTER. After Assistant GM G9 announced that he had permission from the absent GM/POBO/Owner Larry to grant LeBron James' trade request, the entire league had been sitting on pins and needle waiting to hear which team would land the young star. After countless trade offers, my sources tell me that it came down to the Celtics and Magic. For the Celtics, they felt comfortable with letting LeBron moving elsewhere, as it was a win-win situation with them. No matter the outcome, they were going to get some value due to owning the rights to multiple Maverick 1st round picks. This fact prevented the Celtics from upping their offer, effectively cementing the Magic as the best offer.
For the Magic - They get a star for what looks like an assortment of mediocre picks. This is an absolute no-brainer on their end and now they have assembled quite the roster. I'd say the best asset going to the Mavs is the Lakers 15, which looks to be a sure-fire lotto unless GM RunSoHard is able to extend his window of competing for the 8th seed for a few more seasons. There is also a non-zero chance that the Nuggets 14 ends up being a great pick as well, as they seem to have lost their direction and have no true path forward.
Trade 4 - Suns and Heat
(https://fantasysportsdaily.net/forums/threads/suns-heat.5982/#post-125689)
Heat send:
Al Jefferson
Suns send:
Brandon Roy
Heat Grade: A-
Suns Grade: B-
Explanation
What a weird trade. In a vacuum, its not a bad offer, as many teams likely value the two players similarly. However, With Al Jefferson going to the Suns, GM Frank Ebberly has effectively committed to running Al Horford at SF, which will undoubtedly further kill his value as a trade asset. Don't get me wrong, Horford is a fun tool at SF, as rebounding will finally become an asset for him. It will be quite interesting to see how this team performs in the playoffs with teams focusing more and more on maximizing possessions and stretching the court. Good luck to Franklin and Co.
As for why the Heat received an "A-" -- I'm concerned that they may have left themselves a tad too thin in the post. I understand the idea of having confidence in Kevin Love developing, but he does not look ready to have significant minutes for a deep competitor. They now have two top 5 scorers in the league.... but will they be able to maximize their production without a true passing point guard? I wouldn't be shocked if Hill gets the job done, but its something that has to be lingering in the back of Gopher's head.
All-in-all, this is an extremely fun trade that should be enjoyable to track as the season(s) progress.
