Didn't see this anywhere else so...
ESPN+ 2023 NBA trade deadline: Grades for every deal
Warriors send Wiseman to Detroit in four-team deal
Warriors get: Guard/forward Gary Payton II
Pistons get: Center James Wiseman
Hawks get: Forward Saddiq Bey
Trail Blazers get: Forward Kevin Knox
Five second-round picks
Golden State Warriors: B
Detroit Pistons: C-
Atlanta Hawks: A
Portland Trail Blazers: C+
With this deal, the Blazers essentially take a mulligan on signing Payton using their non-taxpayer midlevel exception last summer, getting a handful of second-round picks for their troubles.
Earlier Thursday, I wrote about newly added Matisse Thybulle as a replacement for starting small forward Josh Hart, dealt Wednesday night to the New York Knicks. With this trade it becomes clear Thybulle is really a replacement for Payton, who brings similar defensive playmaking with limited outside shooting.
Much as I appreciate Payton's game, that swap is probably good for Portland. Thybulle is more than four years younger and likely to be cheaper to re-sign this summer as a restricted free agent.
Again, however, the question is whether the Blazers should simply have cut out the Hawks and gotten Bey in return for Payton. Bey's modest 2023-24 salary would be ideal for a Portland team that may not be willing to pay the luxury tax, while he would have offered more size on the perimeter -- addressing a major Blazers weakness.
For now, Portland moves forward with Thybulle and Nassir Little at small forward and Justise Winslow likely to play a key bench role when he returns from a grade II ankle sprain that has sidelined him since late December -- just before Payton made his Blazers debut. Re-signing Winslow could become more of a priority because, like Payton, he offers Portland's second unit needed playmaking.
Thybulle to Blazers in 3-team deal
Trail Blazers get:
Forward Matisse Thybulle
76ers get:
Forward Jalen McDaniels
2024 second-round pick (via New York)
2029 second-round pick (via Portland)
Hornets get:
Guard Svi Mykhailiuk
2023 second-round pick (via most favorable of Atlanta, Brooklyn and Charlotte)
2027 second-round pick (via most favorable of New Orleans and Portland)
Philadelphia 76ers: A-
Charlotte Hornets: C+
Portland Trail Blazers: A
Consider this part two of the Blazers' deadline plan, which started Wednesday night by dealing Josh Hart to the New York Knicks for a protected first-round pick. That move created enough room under the tax line, as well as a trade exception, for Portland to take on Thybulle's contract.
As players, Hart and Thybulle are probably more similar than their reputations would suggest, particularly with Hart's reluctance to shoot 3s this season. (He has attempted fewer per 36 minutes
and has made them at a worse clip than Thybulle so far.) Thybulle is almost precisely two years younger and is likely to have a weaker market as a restricted free agent this summer than Hart will unrestricted.
Add in the Blazers converting a couple of distant second-round picks into what could be a first-rounder in the late teens this season and this looks like a strong piece of business for the Portland front office.
There are still questions about how Thybulle fits offensively, but given that the Blazers entered the trade deadline 26th in defensive rating, adding Thybulle should help.
Blazers send Josh Hart to the Knicks
Knicks get: Guard/forward Josh Hart
Trail Blazers get:
Guards Ryan Arcidiacono
Svi Mykhailiuk
Guard/forward Cam Reddish
2023 first-round pick (via New York, top-14 protected, converts to four second-round picks)
New York Knicks: B-
Portland Trail Blazers: B+
Part of the Blazers' unspoken task this season was to play well enough to persuade ownership to pay the luxury tax to re-sign Hart, assuming he declined his player option, and fellow starting forward Jerami Grant.
With Grant averaging 21 PPG and making a career-high 41% of his 3-pointers, Portland has to prepare to give him a significant raise over this season's $21 million salary, meaning a new deal for Hart would likely take them into the tax.
As the Blazers hover around .500 and currently sit outside the play-in spots in the Western Conference, they couldn't justify paying the tax, making a Hart trade all but inevitable before the deadline. Likely getting a first-round pick is a good outcome, particularly because Portland will also get a free look at Reddish the rest of the season.
Remember, it was less than 13 months ago that the Knicks gave up a first-round pick to get Reddish, then in the third season of his four-year rookie contract. Thibodeau apparently wasn't part of that decision. Reddish has logged just 653 minutes since then, causing his trade value to crater.
Despite the occasional big effort, including a 26-point outburst in November against Oklahoma City, Reddish's game has always looked better on a scouting report than on the court. He could be a shooter but has hit just 32% of his 3s. He has the physical tools, including more size than Hart at 6-8, to be a strong defender. That skill set hasn't translated consistently either, though.
Those issues noted, Reddish is actually younger than a player drafted last June (Atlanta Hawks wing Tyrese Martin), so there's still time for him to put it all together. With minutes available and a need for more size on the perimeter, the Blazers will surely give him the opportunity he never found in New York.
Because the Knicks had to include two minimum-salary players (Ryan Arcidiacono and Svi Mykhailiuk) to match salary, Portland will have to either waive or trade a player under full NBA contract to complete this deal. There's no obvious candidate, so a deal might be the best solution.
