Holy Sh*t - Recapping Everything So Far
The beginning of the condensed NBA off-season has definitely lived up to the hype. I was getting ready to start writing, but then the Bogdanovic trade announcement caught me off guard, sending me down yet another Twitter rabbit hole, thirsting for details and initial reactions. Thankfully, I was able to climb my way out and am now ready to give my thoughts on each one. I have a gut feeling I’m not the only one doing this type of stuff, so I'll try to keep it on the short side.
Warm up round. This one feels much older than it is, and has seen a bit more discussion. Here’s what I Like:
Lakers finally get a secondary creator/scorer to put next to The King. The almost-6MOY can play alongside LeBron and/or keep LA’s bench units afloat. Bonus - he’s 27, and holds his own on the defensive end. Obviously Schroder is coming off of an outlier shooting year, but the looks he’ll get playing alongside LeBron and AD should help keep his % up next season. On OKC’s side, they get another draft pick as well as Danny Green, who’ll probably get flipped at the deadline. However, I have some Concerns:
Danny Green may not have had the best Playoffs, but wings that can shoot (Green’s shooting still demanded defensive attention, even if he wasn’t always hitting shots) and defend don't grow on trees, especially as the Lakers are a little short on wing. I can’t really judge this move in a vacuum, though, as I would suspect that the Lakers are eyeing a DG replacement; they won’t have trouble getting guys to sign. They’re the freaking Lakers, and they have LeBron, and they’re coming off a chip. There, I did the Wes Mathews pitch for you, Pelinka. Thank me later.
Overall: I like the move for both teams.
Good for the Brooklyn - they get a solid defensive guard for spare change (no Fertitta, it’s just a figure of speech; don’t get too excited). And Detroit, well, they’re the ones getting the spare change in return. Oh well, there are bigger things to cover.
I’ve had mixed thoughts on Phoenix acquiring Chris Paul since the rumors began floating around about a week ago or so. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot to like; the Suns become a very fun team, and that makes the league an even more fun place. Ownership/ FO showed some guts, as well as some commitment to Booker, who wanted CP3 to come. All good. With the Rockets likely to blow it up, the Suns will probably take their spot in the Western Conference Playoff picture. The Suns got to keep Bridges and Cam Johnson (I didn’t think that Phoenix would give them up, but regardless, it’s good to see), another plus. However, at least for me, whether this trade was “worth it” or not for Phoenix rests on if Paul can have that unquantifiable impact on the development of the Suns’ young guys that he may or may not have had on SGA last season. If he can, fantastic: you just got invaluable mentorship and an exciting season or two. If not, then maybe the deal wasn’t the best move. Relax for a second. Close your eyes. Breathe deeply. Now, visualize this Suns team at peak of their window. Is Chris Paul on the team? Probably not. Maybe as an assistant coach, but that’s all. If he simply comes, elevates them for two years, and then leaves, the trade probably wasn’t worth it, as the package they sent out for CP3 could have rather been spent on someone who’s timeline matches up better with Booker and co. So, I’m grading a trade based on eventual hindsight? Unsatisfying, but yes.
Oh, also, OKC’s side of the deal. They get yet another pick, as well as some other guys who could all very easily be flipped for more picks (I don’t see anyone staying long-term, except for maybe Lecque if he hits his ceiling). CP3 just didn’t make sense for another year there, and OKC simply getting anything in return for Paul is automatically a win, and keep in mind that Paul had a say in his destination. More importantly, SGA and Kelly Oubre should quickly become the best-dressed duo in the league.
At this point, I thought the day was over. We had some player/team-option news and some more Harden drama; it was a solid start to the off-season. Thankfully, that’s not what happened.
There are a couple things to break down here, so let’s start with Portland’s side of the deal. Covington is a fantastic addition. He directly fills a need and fits in perfectly. Portland’s defensive woes were on embarrassing display in their first-round series, with a glaring hole on the wing. However, the top of the wing rotation looking like RoCo, Trent, and Hood isn’t terrible. It’s really hard to discern if we’re getting 2019 Portland or 2020 Portland - I’d say it’s somewhere in between, and probably closer to the 2019 team, although I’m still looking at Portland to make another move. Maybe scoop up one of the defensive-minded point guards the Bulls let walk, and hope that Dame’s insane range can hide them. Anyway, back to the trade. There’s a big (but not Lowry-sized) but, and that is the fact that Portland had to send out two 1st round picks, this year’s no. 16 and a protected one in 2021. While RoCo is probably worth it given his specific value to Portland’s roster, I still feel like the Blazers could have gotten him for a bit less, but if they were going to get an upgrade, they definitely chose well, and just made themselves much more interesting. On the flip side, this trade more or less confirms that the Rockets are indeed blowing it up, with RoCo getting the honor of being auctioned off first. This is good, because Houston taking a step back opens up another Western playoff spot (I’m looking at you, Phoenix). The Rockets also get back Trevor Ariza, who may not be thrilled to return to Houston. Ok, time for the big moves.
Now I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Giannis is going to be a free agent next summer. I went along for the same roller-coaster ride that everyone else did. Wow, the Bucks fleeced the Pelicans, right?
Well… not exactly. Let me quickly run down the Pelicans side. Fantastic haul, and great job playing on Milwaukee’s (former) very real fear of losing Giannis. George Hill should fit in nicely, but you gotta find somewhere to ship Bledsoe. Bledsoe + Zion + [insert rim-runner] simply isn’t going to work due to an obvious lack of spacing. Ok, now time to dissect the Bucks’ side of things. First is the picks. If Giannis signs the supermax (which it now looks like he’s going to do), those picks were well-spent, and won’t have much value anyway. If he leaves, then the situation becomes so messy that I won’t even entertain it in my mind. Regardless, could four 1st’s not have done the trick? Did it have to be 5? Anyway, shifting the focus to the actual player himself. Jrue is an elite defender, an upgrade over Bledsoe in every way, and he (likely) won’t totally collapse come playoff time. However, the one caveat is that, uhh, he wasn’t exactly what the Bucks needed, and that being shot creation. But, I can’t judge trades in a vacuum, and the Bucks were very active last night.
The Bucks get some shot creation in the form of Bogdanovic. I absolutely love this move, especially in combination with bringing in Holiday; the new starting 5 of Holiday-Bogdanovic-Middleton-Antetokounmpo-Lopez is looking nice. Divincenzo heads the outgoing package, but the Bucks get great value in this trade, and this probably pushes Giannis over the edge in regards to signing the supermax extension. Milwaukee seems to be done making moves, and now just needs to fill out the bench. Another advantage of the talent>depth shift is the Bud can’t go 11-deep in the ECSF anymore. And as to what the Kings were thinking, well, I’m actually not sure. “What were the Kings thinking?” is a timeless, philosophical question, so I really hope that you don’t expect me to answer that right here and now.
Do you agree with me? No? Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed my recap. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out my recent breakdown on Luka Doncic right here. Any/All shares on social media would be really cool and hugely appreciated. Make sure to follow me on twitter, even though that’s probably how you got here in the first place.