TDL Archived: The 2nd Rnd Pick Yankee Swap

[DanSchwartzgan]

I look at all these hypothetical trade scenarios proposed here, and say would other teams consider these moves?   Some are head-scratchers   

Wisdom.  I think it best to start with what the other team wants when trying to construct a fantasy trade.  Too often we tend to start with getting off of our worst contracts.  Unless someone with even worse money is coming back, it isn't going to happen.  I think you also need to look at the other team's cap.  Part of why Bogdanovic is such a nice fit in LA is he perfectly aligns with LeBron's timeline.  Both are under contract in 23/24 and if Lebron opts out of his 24/25 year, Bojan is very lightly guaranteed.  FWIW, I like Bojan.  He'd add a very needed element here.  But, he's not a premium defender or even a two-way player.  His On/Off numbers are trending in the wrong direction.  Master trader Danny Ainge only got Kelly Olynyk for him.  It would be amazing if Detroit could turn him for an unprotected LAL pick (color me skeptical on the unprotected part).

Interesting dynamic as we enter 'trading season'...Of the ten teams with the best record this morning, only two (Phoenix and Memphis) own their own pick.  Two of those top 10 teams do own someone else's pick currently.  Brooklyn has Philly's pick and NO has LAL's pick.  Four lottery teams don't currently own their own pick.  The point being that a number of the teams with the most incentive to try to upgrade, don't have the near term draft capital to do so.  I'm thinking fringe moves that would require a pick in the upcoming draft.  There are tons of picks clustered among the bad teams if someone really good (requires multiple picks) were to come on the market.  Portland, Philly, Cleveland, Denver, Milwaukee and Boston are just as stuck as we are.  So we have a scenario where teams are asking Gobert prices and their trading partners are low on capital.