2021 Trade Thread

[illmatic99]

And also literally any defensive center.

We have one healthy player above 6'8.

 

[Natebishop3]

We have one healthy player above 6'8.

I don't understand how Neil thinks this is okay. It has been like this for weeks.

 

[blazerkor]

Two Trades at the deadline that make us contenders:



Hollinge's model on ESPN Trade Machine has the three team trade giving us +5, the Knicks -7 and the Wolves -2. It has the Orlando trade with us +2 and the Magic -2. Just for comparison.

 

[wizenheimer]

Do you not consider Gordon a wing? He’s switchable on defense and can hit a jump shot. That’s a wing in today’s NBA.

no, I don't because I've seen enough of Gordon to know he's going to get worked if he tries to defend SG's. You are what you can defend (insert jokes here about many Blazers not being NBA players), and if somebody has no prayer defending SG's, he's not a wing. Imagine Gordon trying to defend Devin Booker or James Harden or Jalen Brown, not to mention SG's like CJ or Jamal Murray

 

[B-Roy]

no, I don't because I've seen enough of Gordon to know he's going to get worked if he tries to defend SG's. You are what you can defend (insert jokes here about many Blazers not being NBA players), and if somebody has no prayer defending SG's, he's not a wing. Imagine Gordon trying to defend Devin Booker or James Harden or Jalen Brown, not to mention SG's like CJ or Jamal Murray

Really. I think he would do better than everyone on our team besides DJ. All he needs to be able to do is not get destroyed on switches. He doesn’t need to be the primary defenders.

besides, all the guys you listed are essentially unguardable in 1:1 situations. Need to defend those players as a team.

 

[wizenheimer]

Really. I think he would do better than everyone on our team besides DJ. All he needs to be able to do is not get destroyed on switches. He doesn’t need to be the primary defenders.

besides, all the guys you listed are essentially unguardable in 1:1 situations. Need to defend those players as a team.

ok...see your point, although RoCo is more than capable of guarding SG's. Certainly be better at it than Gordon. Little I'm not sure about yet

I guess we'll find out how serious Olshey is about his Gordon desire. Probably the same level of desire he has for a backup PG or another C

 

[illmatic99]

I can't take Gordon's shooting numbers at face value knowing he has never been around a PG better than DJ Augustin. Besides, we don't need a scorer or a post threat really. It would a luxury, but really not necessary for our offense to work. What I think we need in the playoffs is a guy who can create in a 4 on 3 situation, make reads at the top of the key, and hit an occasional foul line jumper.

Gordon is at a career high 22.1 for his ast% this year. That is substantially higher than any season from Nurk. Not quite where Draymond/Blake were in their primes, but a damn sight better than any other guy we could put in that position.

And he's another live body on defense who won't just move away when guys are driving at him. I think he's worth a look if the cost seems reasonable

 

[B-Roy]

Re: Gordon though, I don’t think there’s a realistic deal to be made. Apparently we made the same offer for Gordon as we did for Covington and they didn’t take it. Don’t see what we could offer now that could beat that besides maybe Little and Trent. At that point, I’d pass.

 

[GDiama]

I fixed it as a 3way so both trades fit in one pic.




Dame/Hill
CJ/Trent
Tucker/DJJ
Covington/Melo
Nurkic/Kanter

A solid 10 man rotation which can be 9 man in playoffs with Kanter out so that we play Covington as a small ball C. Adding Tucker is important for that.

I know it's not flashy, but I won't miss Zach and Anfernee personally so I don't think we are giving anything of great value for this and it's a close to an all in as it gets with our current assets that don't have much value.

 

[royo]

Two Trades at the deadline that make us contenders:
View attachment 37534
View attachment 37535

Hollinge's model on ESPN Trade Machine has the three team trade giving us +5, the Knicks -7 and the Wolves -2. It has the Orlando trade with us +2 and the Magic -2. Just for comparison.

If I would have to watch Rivers instead of CJ I would cry my eyes out. I would rather take Felton than him

 

[Mediocre Man]

The only trade I see happening is one including Nas because Neil

 

[illmatic99]

https://theathletic.com/2450600/202...de-talk-and-intel/?source=user_shared_article

Update from Shams:

Gordon: The Magic have been open to listening to calls on Gordon, sources said, and Minnesota and Portland are among the teams showing interest. Gordon has so far spent his entire seven-year NBA career in Orlando and is under contract through 2022. The 6-foot-9 forward suffered a severe ankle sprain but returned to the lineup following the All-Star break.

Aldridge: The Spurs are continuing to explore trades for Aldridge, sources said. Should Aldridge receive a buyout, Miami, Portland and Boston are expected to be leading suitors. Aldridge, a seven-time All-Star, is on an expiring $24 million contract.

 

[Scalma]

https://theathletic.com/2450600/202...de-talk-and-intel/?source=user_shared_article

Update from Shams:

Gordon: The Magic have been open to listening to calls on Gordon, sources said, and Minnesota and Portland are among the teams showing interest. Gordon has so far spent his entire seven-year NBA career in Orlando and is under contract through 2022. The 6-foot-9 forward suffered a severe ankle sprain but returned to the lineup following the All-Star break.

Aldridge: The Spurs are continuing to explore trades for Aldridge, sources said. Should Aldridge receive a buyout, Miami, Portland and Boston are expected to be leading suitors. Aldridge, a seven-time All-Star, is on an expiring $24 million contract.

Jones, Hood, Simons. Throw in a pick if you have to. Gordon isn’t the savior but he’ll make the team better and he’s been dying to play with someone like Dame. Since Stotts won’t leave, we may as well give him as many defensive minded players as possible. Gordon could be a mini Draymond on a better team.

 

[illmatic99]

https://bleacherreport.com/articles...trade-opportunity-in-orlandos-available-stars

Portland not mentioned, but others named:

Minny-- Rubio + future pick
DEN -- Bol + ?
DAL -- Powell + ?
HOU/GSW - some combo of picks + young players.

Also:

Despite all of the Magic's willingness to hold conversations, few teams have generated significant traction in those calls. "You talk to them and it's just like, 'Well, you know, we're open to this…' It's just like talking in circles," an assistant general manager said. Another league source with knowledge of Orlando's talks added, "They don't pick up the phone and call."

I would do Zach + Hood + Simons as my best offer.

 

[Scalma]

I wonder what Olshey is actually proposing. It’s gotta involve Jones and Hood. The real asset is Simons tho. I heard Minnesota was close to trading Rubio and picks for Gordon a month or so ago. Rubio is a free agent at the end of season though, so not sure why Orlando would want him. They also have enough PGs.

nvm- Rubio has one year left. Still, why?

 

[wizenheimer]

I fixed it as a 3way so both trades fit in one pic.


View attachment 37544

Dame/Hill
CJ/Trent
Tucker/DJJ
Covington/Melo
Nurkic/Kanter

A solid 10 man rotation which can be 9 man in playoffs with Kanter out so that we play Covington as a small ball C. Adding Tucker is important for that.

I know it's not flashy, but I won't miss Zach and Anfernee personally so I don't think we are giving anything of great value for this and it's a close to an all in as it gets with our current assets that don't have much value.

I don't have any strong feeling of pro or con on that deal, except that I think Tucker is probably too far over the hill

other than that, those projected wins numbers are bonkers

 

[Scalma]

Hollinger
https://theathletic.com/2450715/202...view-of-the-current-names-likely-to-be-moved/

OK … Who’s ready for some trades?

With the trade deadline just a week and a half away and NCAA conference tournaments in the rearview mirror, this is the time when NBA front office staffs really hunker down. As always, this time of year is a bit like how single guys do Christmas shopping — nobody actually closes a deal until just before the deadline — but the next week or so is a critical period that often gets overlooked.

Everybody wants to get to the deals, but the real work of the trade deadline is the information gathering that proceeds it. By this point, GMs and VPs have been canvassing their counterparts around the league over the course of the season, and now they’ll redouble their efforts in the early part of this week to figure out what’s truly out there. I expect most teams had a socially distanced staff meeting Monday morning before launching into a flurry of phone calls with rival front offices around the league.

Reading the room is half the battle. Every call leaves clues about what playersmight be available for the right price and what players on your own team might have interest from another club. Even outlandish offers give you a hint of what other teams’ intentions are.

Every team has its tendencies too. Some are pretty straight up about what they’re looking to do and what their price might be; some start with a ridiculous offer and work backward; still others keep their cards close to the vest and don’t give many clues at all. (Those teams also have the hardest time getting anything done.) And some intentionally wait till the 11th hour before parachuting in with an offer.

And as always, actions speak louder than words. The fact that five players have been shut down by their teams in advance of a hoped-for trade offers a pretty strong clue that these guys are available. Blake Griffin has since been bought out, but Cleveland’s Andre Drummond, Houston’s P.J. Tucker, San Antonio’s LaMarcus Aldridge and Oklahoma City’s Trevor Ariza all are waiting to find out their next destinations.

Just below the surface, more players await. For instance, Sacramento’s Nemanja Bjelica, Memphis’ Gorgui Dieng and New York’s Austin Rivers aren’t officially in exile, but you can otherwise include them in the group above.

These players are important for another reason: Because most of them seem likely headed for buyouts, they drag down the leverage of every other team trying to trade a veteran for assets. The buyout market is the enemy of the trade market.

To give you a real-world example, this was something that really hurt us in Memphis at the trade deadline in 2019, when we had decent veterans available in Garrett Temple and JaMychal Green. However, nobody wanted to give us a draft pick for them because they figured they could get players of roughly equal quality in the buyout market. (They were right: Wayne Ellington and Wes Matthews both wriggled free that way.) The tale has a happy ending in this case, because we turned those two into a large trade exception that enabled the Andre Igoudala deal in the summer of 2019, but this is the uphill battle that other sellers will face this year.

The anticipation of buyouts could chill the trade market this year, but the other thing that could is the relative lack of sellers. The play-in tournament has left teams in the mix that normally would be scheming sell-offs right now (hi, Washington), and as a result, fewer teams are looking at vets-for-assets swaps.

On the other side, the hard cap and luxury tax has made it much harder for a few of the top contenders to complete trades and tilted their preferences toward the buyout market instead. The Lakers, most obviously, are only $2 million from the hard cap line; even adding a minimum guy in a trade would be a tight squeeze, but they can accommodate buyouts much more easily.

With 10 days before the deadline, we’ve had one go down already (more on that one below), and there will be more. But the biggest thing I would emphasize is that the likely frothy buyout market could really chill the trade market. If you can sign a buyout guy for free, there’s no need to fling second-round picks for stopgap help.

One way or another, however, seven players seem highly likely to change rosters. Let’s take a deeper look at them:

P.J. Tucker: Fans’ interest in Tucker for their own team is inversely correlated with how much they’ve seen him play this year. While Tucker is a tough hombre who can line up as a small-ball five, his play has fallen off at age 35. His offensive game is basically nonexistent at this point (he’s averaging a meager 6.9 points per 100 possessions), and a rebound rate of just 8.1 percent makes it harder to play him at the five.

Nonetheless, playing with an on-ball wizard who can set up more 3s for him might help perk up his offense, and playing in a switchable scheme increases his value too, so you could certainly see why Brooklyn might have interest. At $8.5 million, it’s easier to get to a salary match with Tucker than some other players on this list.

LaMarcus Aldridge: Last January, the Spurs guaranteed Aldridge’s $24 million salary for this season for reasons that didn’t seem entirely clear and remain fairly puzzling. They could have waived him in the offseason and taken just a $7 million hit, a difference that would have allowed the Spurs to use their midlevel exception and fill their 15th roster spot. Instead, they’re now in a position where they might end up paying him to go away. Aldridge can still help as a pick-and-pop backup five, but he doesn’t move nearly as well as he used to on defense, and no good team is going to slow everything down to run post-ups for him anymore. While the Spurs will look for a trade, his salary is a major impediment to a deal, and this one seems headed for a buyout.

Andre Drummond: Given that Detroit spent weeks shopping Drummond a year ago before settling for a second-round pick from Cleveland, and that Cleveland can’t trade with itself, I don’t like the Cavs’ chances of getting a draft pick for Drummond. Despite his multiple rebounding titles and All-Star appearances, there just isn’t a huge appetite for Drummond’s game in front-office circles. Obviously, his $28.7 million contract is a big part of that, and he becomes a much more attractive piece if he’s coming on a minimum deal in a buyout.

Trevor Ariza: Did you forget about him? Ariza is on the Iguodala Plan this year; he’s been on the Thunder’s roster all season but hasn’t set foot in Oklahoma City while he awaits a trade to a contender. With a $12.8 million salary, a trade isn’t completely implausible, although a buyout still seems the more likely outcome. He’s 35 and plays an in-demand role as a tall wing defender who can make a 3-point shot.

Gorgui Dieng: Drummond gets the headlines, but some teams in the market for a big might take more of a shine to Dieng because of how easily his game fits on most high-level teams. Dieng is a plus defender and can make an open 3, but has fallen out of the mix in Memphis while they develop second-round pick Xavier Tillman. A $17.3 million salary is a major impediment and likely means this one is also headed for Buyoutville, but Dieng can help somebody.

Nemanja Bjelica: Bjelica has an expiring $7.1 million deal, is still pretty good and plays a coveted role as a floor-spacing big with some playmaking potential. While his upside for contenders is limited due to his vulnerability on switches, Bjelica can be a helpful bench piece because he’s so skilled. I’m a bit surprised his trade market hasn’t gained more traction for this reason, and he’s the one player on this list I could see generating a second-round pick for his team.

Austin Rivers: Rivers is out of the mix in New York right now and isn’t really somebody you’d trade a second-round pick to acquire in most cases. Nonetheless, his contract is so easily digestible ($3.5 million, and with two non-guaranteed years to follow) that it opens up some possibilities that don’t exist for the six players above. Trading two minimums for Rivers, for instance, is cap-kosher.

 

[illmatic99]

We get into luxury tax hell a year before anticipated but get Gordon and Dame's guy Bogie for the long haul. This also helps get something in return for Trent instead of paying him his boat load this summer.

Also send a future first from ATL to ORL in exchange for getting rid of Bogie's contract.

This would make our roster:
Dame/CJ/Roco/AG/Nurk with Bogie/Nas/Jones/Melo/Kanter off the bench as our 10 man rotation.

 

[Scalma]

I would take Dieng over Kanter, and I also wouldn’t mind Ariza back

 

[wizenheimer]

We get into luxury tax hell a year before anticipated but get Gordon and Dame's guy Bogie for the long haul. This also helps get something in return for Trent instead of paying him his boat load this summer.

Also send a future first from ATL to ORL in exchange for getting rid of Bogie's contract.

This would make our roster:
Dame/CJ/Roco/AG/Nurk with Bogie/Nas/Jones/Melo/Kanter off the bench as our 10 man rotation.

View attachment 37551

I might be wrong, but I don't think that's a legal trade. Blazers are hard-capped and that puts them above the apron

 

[Scalma]

Haynes has now connected Portland to Gordon as well, and outside of Woj I don’t know anyone more plugged into Portland. That’s quite a bit of smoke, but it looks like it’s gonna take real assets to acquire him, and not sure Olshey would step up or have enough anyway.

https://sports.yahoo.com/hoopla-wit...kers-watching-hassan-whiteside-172950468.html

Aaron Gordon
The seven-year veteran is open to a change of scenery with the Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons inquiring about trading for the versatile high-flyer, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

A dark horse squad that could join the Gordon pursuit: the Portland Trail Blazers, sources said.

 

[illmatic99]

Haynes has now connected Portland to Gordon as well, and outside of Woj I don’t know anyone more plugged into Portland. That’s quite a bit of smoke, but it looks like it’s gonna take real assets to acquire him, and not sure Olshey would step up or have enough anyway.

https://sports.yahoo.com/hoopla-wit...kers-watching-hassan-whiteside-172950468.html

Aaron Gordon
The seven-year veteran is open to a change of scenery with the Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons inquiring about trading for the versatile high-flyer, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

A dark horse squad that could join the Gordon pursuit: the Portland Trail Blazers, sources said.

And Detroit now apparently. lol I can guarantee you this many teams aren't interested in Aaron Gordon.

That's POR/MIN/DEN/HOU/DAL/DET/GSW. Anyone else?

 

[Scalma]

Wait, weren’t the Knicks interested in Hood this offseason?? They have cap space to absorb his contract. They can pretty much have him without giving up anything. Then trade Jones and Simons for Gordon.

 

[Scalma]

And Detroit now apparently. lol I can guarantee you this many teams aren't interested in Aaron Gordon.

That's POR/MIN/DEN/HOU/DAL/DET/GSW. Anyone else?

haynes is pretty much a mouthpiece for Klutch, so his report is probably agent driven.

 

[illmatic99]

haynes is pretty much a mouthpiece for Klutch, so his report is probably agent driven.

Especially with so many outlets dropping Gordon stories today. I keep going back to Nate Jones' tweet from yesterday -- that's my definitive blazer interest evidence

 

[Scalma]

Especially with so many outlets dropping Gordon stories today. I keep going back to Nate Jones' tweet from yesterday -- that's my definitive blazer interest evidence

It’s pretty obvious by now that Portland has interest in Gordon. Whether they have what it takes to actually get him is the real question.

 

[Scalma]

Here’s what the magic and Celtics beat writers for the athletic think of Gordon. Replace Celtics with blazers and he’d still be a fit.

 

[blazerkor]

Wait, weren’t the Knicks interested in Hood this offseason?? They have cap space to absorb his contract. They can pretty much have him without giving up anything. Then trade Jones and Simons for Gordon.

Also puts us solidly in the buyout market. Not that we shouldn't already be.

 

[wizenheimer]

if Boston is serious about Gordon, I'd think they could put together a better package than Portland

 

[Scalma]

I think the focus will be on guys that can play the 4/5. We need another PG but they’ve trusted CJ for years as the backup and I don’t see that changing, especially now that Trent and Little need minutes. So far Portland has been connected to Griffin, Gordon, and Aldridge, and they all fit that mold. Who else is out there?