Trade & FA 2024-25:

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Utah doing the right thing and trading quantity for quality in their picks. I‘m looking for Oklahoma doing the same and maybe transfer some of their draft capital to the future, there’s no way they can roster so many talented young players in their next years. And they don’t need an aging superstar to win it all.

When Danny Ainge calls, just hang up.

[MarkAguirreWrathofGod]

I completely agree. Then there’s teams who have a knack for drafting a special kind of players that completely fit in their team, culture and system perfectly but wouldn’t perform that way in most other places and therefore aren’t high on the draft boards. 

For those teams a pick in the twenties can almost have the same subjective value than a top 10 pick - and Miami ist definitely one of those teams, along with Memphis for example.

Speaking of— Ware had a huge game for Miami last night. 20-15 and still only 20yrs old.

[Chicagojk]

Saw a report yesterday about Rob Williams and Houston.  That would be a really nice move by Houston.  He won't cost a ton.  Udoka use to coach him.  They need a better backup and he sort of fits their team.    The talk I heard was anywhere between salary and second round picks or a package with Whitmore.  Whitmore doesn't appear to be happy in Houston.  My guess if they were to move him, it would be for a bigger piece though.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Saw a report yesterday about Rob Williams and Houston.  That would be a really nice move by Houston.  He won't cost a ton.  Udoka use to coach him.  They need a better backup and he sort of fits their team.    The talk I heard was anywhere between salary and second round picks or a package with Whitmore.  Whitmore doesn't appear to be happy in Houston.  My guess if they were to move him, it would be for a bigger piece though.

Well, what happens with Steven Adams?  Against Detroit, Jock Landale spelled Sangun.

[Chicagojk]

seems like Toronto has at least three guys they should try to move, if possible. Salaries are tough and they won't get much back in return.

Bruce Brown
Chris Boucher
Kelly Olynyk

All could be rotation players on solid/good teams.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

So that´s a high lottery pick in 2031, cause Phoenix has no picks left until then. In 2031 Durant and Butler are retired, Booker is 35. Dunn and Ighodaro are your franchise. Meanwhile you get the 29th/30th pick in 2025 guaranteed, and two non-lottery picks. Even in 2029 Mitchell is just 32, Allen 30, Garland 28, Mobley 27 playing in the shitty East. Minnesota might turn bad with just Edwards 27 and McDaniels 28 in a tough conference and a historically poorly run franchise. Then you still count on Utah being bad in 2029, too.

Not even sure Miami will take Beal and these three picks as enough compensation. LOL.

IIRC we gave up an unprotected pick swap in 2030 or 2031 in the Grant Williams acquisition.

Hopefully Luka is still around by then and not doing a Kawhi/Embiid impersonation.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

seems like Toronto has at least three guys they should try to move, if possible.  Salaries are tough and they won't get much back in return.

Bruce Brown
Chris Boucher
Kelly Olynyk

All could be rotation players on solid/good teams.

Bruce Brown was an absolute STUD during the Nuggets championship run.

He's completely disappeared from my mind since he signed with Indian and then got traded to Toronto.

[SleepingHero]

@esidery
Now armed with the ability of trading any first-round picks from 2025-2029, the Suns refocus on attempting to move Jusuf Nurkic.

It will cost at least one 1st for any team to be willing to take on Nurkic’s contract.

Nurkic and a 1st could net Phoenix another rotation player.

[SleepingHero]

Bruce Brown was an absolute STUD during the Nuggets championship run.

He's completely disappeared from my mind since he signed with Indian and then got traded to Toronto.

And despite his size, he basically plays like a PF or C. Just pure hustle and rebounding. 

He has a lot of history with Kyrie and Dinwiddie on those Nets teams. I hope we find a way to carve out space for him if he gets bought out.

[SleepingHero]

@esidery
The Kings and Nets are negotiating over first-round pick protections in a potential trade involving Cam Johnson, per @James_HamNBA (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KrbNiAlEjjM).

Brooklyn wants an unprotected future first for Johnson, but Sacramento currently is only willing to offer it protected.

[StrandedOnBeauboisHill]

And despite his size, he basically plays like a PF or C. Just pure hustle and rebounding. 

He has a lot of history with Kyrie and Dinwiddie on those Nets teams. I hope we find a way to carve out space for him if he gets bought out.

This seems like the best case scenario in terms of adding to this team at this point but the carving out space is something I'm curious about still.  Is it going to be as simple as moving Hardy or OMax to someone with cap room?  Just having trouble seeing a move that helps us carve out the 2.5ishM that we would need.

[mvossman]

And despite his size, he basically plays like a PF or C. Just pure hustle and rebounding. 

He has a lot of history with Kyrie and Dinwiddie on those Nets teams. I hope we find a way to carve out space for him if he gets bought out.

This seems like a stretch.  He is 6' 4" and gets roughly 6 rebounds per 36.  Playing him at center would take small ball to a whole new level.

[Chicagojk]

from Stein:

On one hand: There was an undeniable vibe in Miami after the Suns' trade went down that Butler has taken a notable step nearer to the trade to Phoenix that the whole league knows he wants. One source close to the process expressed the belief that a real pathway to the desert is starting to materialize for Butler.

However ...

Sources with knowledge of the Suns' thinking insisted to The Stein Line that Phoenix made its Tuesday trade with Utah without a specific follow-up move lined up.

Another crucial data point: A separate source told The Stein Line that the Suns, as of Tuesday night, had still not presented any trade scenarios for Bradley Beal to consider and tell them if he would be willing to waive his no-trade clause.

Sources said Phoenix, on top of its recent acquisition of in-demand big man Nick Richards from the Charlotte Hornets, had been contemplating various ways to utilize that 2031 first-round pick on this season's trade market to revitalize the 21-21 Suns' hopes for a swift to the Western Conference elite.

[Chicagojk]

from Stein again:

It didn't long for the concept of turning that one pick into multiple future firsts to become a priority. Both Oklahoma City and Brooklyn would have been positioned to make a similar deal work with Phoenix, but the Suns struck their deal with yet another team flush with draft capital: Utah.

While tripling their first-round capital should theoretically improve their prospects of mounting a viable trade run at Butler, there was plenty of chatter circulating late Tuesday to posit the idea that the Suns were chasing increased flexibility in a more general sense.

[SleepingHero]

This seems like a stretch.  He is 6' 4" and gets roughly 6 rebounds per 36.  Playing him at center would take small ball to a whole new level.

It might seem like a stretch but it’s true. He’s 6’5 in shoes and on those Brooklyn teams he split time between the PF and SF position almost equally with small spot minutes (like 5-10 total over the course of a season, so really not a lot) at C. 

On Denver he played more PG/SG, but offensively they used him in the Aaron Gordon small ball 4 role where he set screens and rolled to the basket. 

I don’t think he’d be used as a center really at all here, but he could be a backup 4 pretty easily. He gives up size but he brings with him the ability to guard 1-3.

[SleepingHero]

@TheDunkCentral
The Milwaukee Bucks could be looking to add a high-level veteran, with Zach LaVine and Bradley Beal as potential targets, per
@TheAthletic


“Per league sources, the Bucks’ motives would be two-fold: Cut enough salary from their payroll to get under the second apron — the only way the Bucks can legally complete a trade while aggregating contracts — and also add a talented, highly paid player to play next to Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, the NBA’s top scoring duo. Whether that would be Beal, or perhaps a star like Chicago’s Zach LaVine, in other potential scenarios remains to be seen.”

[Ghost of Podkolzin]

@TheDunkCentral
The Milwaukee Bucks could be looking to add a high-level veteran, with Zach LaVine and Bradley Beal as potential targets, per
@TheAthletic


“Per league sources, the Bucks’ motives would be two-fold: Cut enough salary from their payroll to get under the second apron — the only way the Bucks can legally complete a trade while aggregating contracts — and also add a talented, highly paid player to play next to Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, the NBA’s top scoring duo. Whether that would be Beal, or perhaps a star like Chicago’s Zach LaVine, in other potential scenarios remains to be seen.”

Why would they want to become PHX?

[SleepingHero]

@ShamsCharania
Brand new Inside Pass on ESPN:

— LeBron James, Anthony Davis growing concerned with Lakers’ ability to make significant upgrades

[Ghost of Podkolzin]

@ShamsCharania
Brand new Inside Pass on ESPN:

— LeBron James, Anthony Davis growing concerned with Lakers’ ability to make significant upgrades

As they should.  LAL has no outgoing assets that would yield value back value.

[Chicagojk]

Hollinger said in an athletic article that the only reason this trade is made now is if they have things lined up...maybe several contingincies. He does not believe this was done for flexiblity moving forward.

He said a two team trade with Miami wouldn't require PHX to trade a dollar for three quarters. I like that example

No real reporting but he said a possible deal would be for Beal to wind up in Milwaukee. Milwaukee would need to trade Portis, Middleton, Pat C, and two more minimum guys. This would keep them below the second apron after they fill the remaining slots with minimum guys.

Miami would wind up with 1, maybe 2, of these Bucks. He speculated they could get two of the firsts from PHX. Even if they are bad firsts. They get Middleton who has another year left on his contract and has not been good or healthy for a while.

The fourth team is needed to take some of the Bucks bad contracts. He thought they would possibly get the remaining first from PHX for their efforts. He also thought they would ask to incude Nurkic for Portis in these trade conversations, but thought anyone agreeing to that is doubtful.