Tag Archives: DeAndre Jordan

NBA Trade Deadline: Another aimless trade blog to kill some time while waiting for something interesting to happen

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The day’s last tweets from Adrian Wojnarowski went out just before 2 AM, 13 hours before today’s 3pm EST deadline. He sounded oh so bored and tired of this year’s edition of “NBA Trade Deadline”.

All’s (not quite) quiet on the DeAndre Jordan trade front, and it’s probably a good thing.

(Edit: Six hours later, Woj took it back of course, the Cavs-Clipper talks r.e. DeAndre Jordan being the big story churning today over at ESPN, employer of Woj).

Interest in Clippers center DeAndre Jordan has dropped off with word that Jordan isn’t willing to opt in for next season as part of any deal. Cleveland won’t give up its Brooklyn pick in a deal for Jordan or any other player. Stalemate. Lou Williams just signed a contract to stay with the Clippers, so Williams-related rumors are dead. Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond have won five straight in Detroit.

There have been all of four trades made this year and the trade deadline is just hours away. If I were you, I would just stop reading this and find something more interesting to do until NBA Trading Deadline 2018 has passed us all by.

Cleveland just blew up its roster — first a trade with the Lakers, then a 3-team deal with the Kings and Jazz; and the Cavs sent Dwyane Wade back to Miami for a draft pick so he could finish his career with the Heat. — 11:44 AM (something did finally happen)

So far no teams have been willing to give up a first round draft pick to help move their contract mistakes (this applies to the Bucks and their group of $10 million a year investments).  Over at ESPN, Zach Lowe has figured out that it makes a lot more sense to do a sign and trade deal for Jordan after the season ends than to trade for him now. The Bucks were mentioned once in the ESPN article, something about “poking around” r.e. DeAndre Jordan, nothing more.

I looked up my old “survival guide” to the NBA trading deadline (from last year) and made sure I wasn’t breaking any rules and realized I’m probably taking this year’s episode too seriously. 

I ran through all the deals John Hammond made while he was in the Bucks front office, 2008-2007, and found nothing involving Miami. In fact, I can’t remember any trade between the Bucks and the Heat, ever. Apparently Miami GM Pat Riley doesn’t do business with the Bucks, and Riley’s been in Miami a long, long time. The only thing I can recall is Riley jacking up the Bucks signing price of Charlie Bell back in 2007 by proffering an offer sheet to Bell. Remembering that took a lot out of me.

If the Heat were ever serious about trading Hassan Whiteside, which they aren’t, winning 9 out of 11 games Dec. 30 – Jan. 20 changed their minds. Since then, the Heat have lost 7 out 9, and they’re still not serious about trading Whiteside. But just for argument’s sake in the universe of made up trade possibilities, Riley probably wouldn’t take Bucks GM Jon Horst’s calls.

Horst might want to call his old boss Hammond over in Orlando. Hammond is sure to take the call, and nearly the entire Magic roster is on the trading block, including Jonathon Simmons, who made his mark with the Spurs last season during the playoffs. Simmons is known for toughness and defense on the perimeter, but he can score it too, pouring in 34 pts in the Magic win vs. the Cavs on Tuesday. The Bucks could use all they help they can get at guard with Malcolm Brogdon out of action for another six or seven weeks.

Jonathon Simmons flushed the Cavs Tuesday night, scoring 34 pts on 12 of 17 shooting in the Magic’s 116-98 win. Orlando GM John Hammond was entertaining offers on Simmons and most of the Magic roster this week. Photo license: Standard non-commercial use.

There are many shooting/combo guards for sale (Rodney Hood, Simmons, Avery Bradley, Kemba Walker, Marcus Smart) but teams aren’t jumping at the opportunity to spend a first round pick on one, not even for Tyreke Evans, who finally got back to his 2010 rookie-of-the-year form in Memphis this season, averaging 19.5 pts, 5 rebs, 5 assists. Evans will be traded somewhere, the consensus says, and seven teams are in the mix, including Boston and Philly. I don’t know why the Celtics would give up battle-tested Smart in an attempt to acquire Evans, who has little playoff experience — but it’s the NBA trading deadline — nothing has to make sense and it gives NBA media a chance to talk about the Celtics, which NBA media likes to do.

Philly is in “buy” mode — the Sixers want to make the playoffs. Unfortunately, Detroit has won five straight since trading their shooting guard, Avery Bradley, for power forward Blake Griffin, and will have something to say about the Sixers chances of making the playoffs. The pairing of Griffin and All-Star center Andre Drummond (and giving up Bradley and Tobias Harris to do it) was considered by many a bold but futile move in today’s 3-happy NBA, but Griffin’s ability to push the offense into the paint, where Drummond can clean up, is proving pretty effective.

Drummond’s been on a roll since the Pistons acquired Griffin and it’s pushed his impact numbers past Anthony Davis‘ and Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s and into the NBA lead, with a BIER rating of 17.36. Score one for big-man-centric basketball in Detroit. … So far. Griffin has a habit of not staying healthy.

There were no trades on Tuesday and only one yesterday: The Knicks traded Willy Hernangomez to Charlotte. Hernangomez had asked to be traded because he wasn’t getting any minutes in NY, and it looks like that request came more recently than this week, according to ESPN. Did the Bucks make an offer for Hernangomez before trading for Zeller? Were the Bucks even aware the young center had requested a trade, or was it too late?

Hernangomez, from Spain, was an All-Rookie selection last season and is a quick, athletic 23-year-old center who’s kind of like Zeller with bounce – a lot more bounce. He’s ideal in many ways for today’s game. Charlotte acquired him for forward Johnny O’Bryant and 2020 and 2021 second round draft picks. The Bucks might have offered Rashad Vaughn and the rest of the protections on the 2018 2nd round pick, same deal they made with Brooklyn – but Charlotte picks are better picks than Milwaukee picks these days.

Thon Maker for Hernangomez? Would the Knicks have gone for that? The Bucks aren’t there yet. Probably not even close.

And none of this ever happened.

Tyler Zeller really is all there is.

I almost forgot: Ersan Ilyasova, the most tradeable man in the NBA, is once again on the trading block, and it’s still funny. He’s having a decent year in Atlanta despite the Hawks’ losing ways — his 56.5% True Shooting % is the 2nd best of his career (his career best was 57.7% with the Bucks in 2012) and he’s averaging 7.7 rebs per 36 mins. Overall, his Impact and Efficiency (BIER) rating is 7.16, higher than a few players named All-Stars and a few more being talking about as the replacement for injured Kristaps Porzingis. He has played 26 mins per game in Atlanta.

Ersan’s playing on a one-year $6 million contract. The Hawks have shopped Ilyasova and another shooting guard for the field, Marco Belinelli.

 

Trade Deadline: Bucks still need help at center . . . Hassan Whiteside is not named Zeller or Plumlee . . . The Stepien rule and the Bucks 2018 pick

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“Is anybody going to actually read this trade deadline ^%@#?” Tyler Zeller (left) and John Henson, who were college teammates at North Carolina, discuss future possible trades and possibly the finer points of retro disco (when Zeller was still a Celtic, obviously). Photo from USA Today. License: Standard non-commercial use.

John Henson hauled down 15 rebounds against the Nets Sunday night, but nobody’s fooled. The Nets are the Nets. They start rookie Jarrett Allen at center and play the worst kind of small ball — where everybody shoots 1 for 6 from three and wishes they were Golden State or Houston.

The Bucks brass couldn’t help but notice the Nets weren’t playing forward-center Tyler Zeller, so Zeller became a Buck on Monday, traded for Rashad Vaughn and a 2nd round pick. A nice pick-up because Vaughn, the beleaguered 1st round bust from the 2015 draft, had little more than a cheerleaders’ role on the Bucks — and still, nobody was fooled.

The Bucks need bigger and better help in the middle than anybody named Zeller or Plumlee or Henson or Maker can provide, and the Feb. 8 trade deadline is fast approaching, just two days away. If five January losses to teams with Bucks-destroying big men — Toronto (Jonas Valanciunas), Philly (Joel Embiid) and Miami (Hassan Whiteside) — didn’t sufficiently freak out Bucks GM Jon Horst, news of the Celtics acquisition of the Moose, Greg Monroe, had to come on like a bad dream. The centers may be dinosaurs in the West the Warriors made, but can the Bucks survive the Jurassic Age of the Eastern Conference playoffs with their current crew of average-at-best big men?

[They’re ecstatic about Monroe in Boston. See “Monroe Doctrine: Celtics Rx for ‘man, we could really use 2 points right now'”. They haven’t yet realized what a good passer out of the post the Moose is (7th-best assist rate among qualifying centers last season). Or that he really can’t jump, but the easy offense off the bench he brings has been missed badly in Milwaukee since the trade. And we miss the “Moooose” call too – but that goes without saying – edit]. 

The Raptors, Heat and Celtics are very possible playoff opponents for the Bucks, so a defensive-minded big man is the Bucks Rx for “why can’t we grab a rebound?”

The Buck “most likely” to be traded, says Yahoo sports, is John Henson. Henson’s got two more years guaranteed after this season at $10.6m and $9.7 million, not a terrible salary bite for an average center, and, as such he’s the most appealing of the Bucks four $10-million-a-year guaranteed players. Trade rumors are buzzing around a bunch of NBA big men – DeAndre Jordan, Robin Lopez, Tyson Chandler and Whiteside, so there’s certain logic to this. But are any of these trades doable for the Bucks?

Robin Lopez is a real NBA center who wonders why referees don’t like him more. Lopez got kicked out the Bulls-Kings game last night, apparently for gestures less thought-provoking than this one during his days in Portland. Photo license: Standard non-commercial use.

A Robin Lopez trade with Chicago seems pretty easy salary-wise, and the Bulls are in “sellers” mode after trading Mirotic to New Orleans. But the Bucks have one too many of those $10 million contracts guaranteed next season-and-beyond and want to reduce salary load next season if they can (ostensibly to pay Jabari Parker). Lopez’s salary next season is $3.8 million more than Henson’s. The Bucks could add in rookie D.J. Wilson to reduce the load next season. But even with Wilson off the books they’d be adding $1.5 next season in a Lopez-Henson deal. And it doesn’t sound like the Bulls want to add a contract like Henson’s, guaranteed through 2020

Trading with the Bucks is difficult – they have no sizable expiring contracts but Jabari Parker, just now coming back from his second ACL surgery. Bucks GM Jon Horst says he wants to resign Parker after this season, but the Bucks don’t have the money to get it done without jumping into the luxury tax zone, which may be unavoidable at this point, given the Bucks “win a championship” mindset. Parker’s clearly an asset, not a salary dump, one the Bucks should hang on to, but I’m not sure I believe Horst isn’t considering trade options for everybody but Giannis Antetokounmpo and maybe Malcolm Brogdon and Eric Bledsoe, the last regular guard standing now that both Brogdon and backup Matthew Dellavedova are sidelined. 

It would be totally insane for the Bucks to trade for Jordan, who can opt out of his contract at the end of the season, but writing about it was a good excuse to bring up “the Stepien rule”, and whether the Bucks can trade their 2018 1st Round draft pick. Photo from USA Today. License: Standard non-commercial use.

DeAndre Jordan can opt out and become a restricted free agent after this season, and the Clippers would want Jabari Parker in any Henson deal, not Khris Middleton. They would go for Henson, Parker and the Bucks 2018 1st round draft pick, but including that pick gets complicated because of “the Stepien rule” about trading future draft picks. Besides, the latest reports are that the Clippers are balking at taking Cleveland’s 2018 1st round pick. They want the Brooklyn pick the Cavs received in the Kyrie Irving trade last summer, but the Cavs are worried about rebuilding if Lebron leaves, so they’re loathe to part with the Brooklyn pick.

If they don’t want the Cavs own pick, how much interest in the Bucks 2018 pick would they have, realizing that the Bucks would have to put conditions on the pick in order to trade it? Technically, and as far as I can tell after reading up on “the Stepien rule”, the Bucks CAN trade the 2018 pick, but would have to get another team to agree to hand over a 2019 pick in the event the Bucks don’t win next season. “The Stepien rule” prevents any team from trading two consecutive future 1st round draft picks. The Bucks pick would go to Phoenix as part of the Monroe-Bledsoe deal if the Bucks finish 15th in the league or worse this season or next season, not something that appears to be in the cards, but that doesn’t matter. There are conditions on the Bucks first round picks through 2021, and the rules say each of those picks are already traded until the Bucks actually convey a pick to Phoenix, which will most likely happen in 2020. Getting a conditional replacement for the next season’s pick is the loophole for trading this season’s pick.

To do anything, the Bucks may need to find the extra pick first, and then see whether they can put together a deal. Too complicated? Probably — and, of course the Clippers would love to have Jabari Parker, knee surgeries and all, in exchange for a 33-year-old free-agent-to-be DeAndre Jordan. It’s not happening. Jordan has a new agent, Jason Kidd‘s guy Jeff Schwartz, and they’re not open to Jordan opting in with anybody as part of the trade, which the Wizards are finding out. Anyway, there’s a better deal out there for the Bucks.

Hassan Whiteside was scratching his head over the Heat’s loss to Orlando last night, wondering why he didn’t get more touches in the game. He may also be questioning the shot selection of his teammates or the Orlando point guard, Elfrid Payton. It’s like that for big men in the NBA these days. Photo from the Miami Herald. License: Standard non-commercial use.

A Hassan Whiteside trade may be less on Miami GM Pat Riley‘s mind these days than it was before the Heat won 8 out of 9 games, culminating in their 106-101 defeat of the worn out Bucks in Milwaukee Jan. 17, just days before coach Jason Kidd was fired. Oh, the trouble the Heat have stirred up in the East. The Milwaukee game had implications, and so did two down-to-the-wire Miami wins against Charlotte during that stretch — the Hornets went a winless 0-4 against the Heat this season, a season in shambles, and now Kemba Walker‘s on the trading block because there’s nobody else on the Hornets roster of much interest to other teams.

Since that win in Milwaukee, however, the Heat have lost 7 out of 10 games, including losses to Cleveland, Philly and Detroit. They’ve fallen to 7th in the East behind the Bucks and Pacers after losing to Orlando at home Monday night. The Heat may reassess where they’re really at, given how close so many of their recent victories have been. Have they been lucky or good? Erik Spoelstra’s one of the savviest coaches in the league and Whiteside’s arguably the most impactful center in the game — but he’s a part-time player in Miami right now, averaging 26 mins per game. The rest of the roster seems to get it done with mirrors, and, in the view of Hornets, a lot help from the referees.

Henson ($11.4m) and Khris Middleton ($14.1m) for Whiteside ($23.8m) is nice and neat salary-wise, and a good return for both teams. Miami gets a 20-pt per games scorer in Middleton, who doesn’t seem happy playing second fiddle to Giannis in Milwaukee, and a less expensive part-time center in Henson. Middleton is more reliable and efficient than the Grizzlies’ Tyreke Evans, the scorer Miami is rumored to be targeting. For the Bucks, a lineup of Giannis, Whiteside, Parker and Eric Bledsoe is scary good, plus factor in injured Malcolm Brogdon for the playoffs with Zeller and Tony Snell (Zelly, Snelly and Delly?). The Bucks would likely contend, not just this season but next. They would almost surely be paying luxury tax next season for that group, assuming they resign Parker, but the tax would happen anyway if the Bucks do nothing with the current roster.

If paying luxury taxes in either scenario, what’s the better buy? The team with Hassan Whiteside at center or the team with John Henson at center?

Tyson Chandler was assumed to be on Jason Kidd’s wish list, but if a Henson-Chandler deal was going to happen, it would have happened by now. The Bucks really could have used Chandler in January. Another dead end.

Andrew Bogut is still out there, sitting around the house, sending out tweets about Australian rules football and political correctness.  #Bogut  Whatever happens at the trade deadline this week, the Bucks have until March 1 to sign Bogut for the stretch run and playoffs.

And the Lakers have been fined $50,000 because Magic Johnson said nice things about Giannis in an ESPN article. Because Magic is the Lakers GM, that’s “tampering”. ESPN received no fine for pandering to Magic’s need to be talked to in an article about Giannis.

Things seem awfully quiet for the Bucks, with the deadline two days away. And remember, none of this is real until it actually happens, and don’t believe a word of this or any other blog during trade deadline week.

The Stepien Rule

“The Stepien rule” prevents any team from trading two consecutive future 1st round draft picks. The rule was named after Ted Stepien, owner of the Cavs in the early 1980s who traded his 1982-85 first rounders in repeated attempts to win with “veterans” like Mike Bratz and Bill Robinzine, while trying to build teams that were, in his view “racially balanced” – half white, half black, to better reflect the NBA audience. While those were real enough issues at the time, Stepien’s efforts to build a winner were more half-assed than anything else and the league froze his ability to make trades while it sought a new buyer for the team. Stepien sold the team in 1983.

But the damage to the league’s competitive balance had been done. Dallas was able to build a contender on draft picks acquired from Cleveland (Derek Harper, Sam Perkins, Roy Tarpley and Detlef Schrempf), not that Stepien’s picks got the Mavs to the NBA Finals in the 1980s with the Lakers dominating the West. But Stepien playing a role in building the Lakers juggernaut. The Lakers won the 1982 NBA championship and, thanks to a Stepien trade in 1980 for forward Don Ford, languishing on the Lakers’ bench and the Lakers 1980 pick, ended up with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1982 draft (the Cavs also sent Marquette star Butch Lee to the Lakers). The Lakers used the pick to take Hall of Fame forward James Worthy, the can’t-miss star forward on North Carolina’s 1982 NCAA championship team. Their dynasty would have to wait a couple of years for Worthy to catch up, while Moses Malone‘s Sixers and Larry Bird‘s Celtics took the 1983 and 1984 titles, respectively. The Lakers circa 1985-87 are considered by many the greatest team in NBA history during a time of greatest teams (the 1983 Sixers and the 1986 Celtics also being in the conversation).

Sourcerole

  • Yahoo sports, one player on every NBA team likely to be traded: https://sports.yahoo.com/one-player-every-nba-team-likely-traded-221004964.html
  • The Sporting News, 02/05/18, “Don’t expect Whiteside deal”: http://www.sportingnews.com/nba/news/nba-trade-rumors-hassan-whiteside-miami-heat-news-deadline-contract-cavs-celtics/d018shcs5il919316jg3uc60a
  • The Sporting News: Deandre Jordan to the Cavs?http://www.sportingnews.com/nba/news/nba-trade-rumors-deandre-jordan-cavs-news-contract-clippers-tristan-thompson-jr-smith/sqmufzplhlsg1begzfudly0fw
  • HoopsRumors.com, best explanation of the Stepian rule I could find: https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2017/09/trade-restrictions-on-future-draft-picks-by-team.html
  • Fox sports Australia: “Ted Stepien rule” inspires Australian football changes on future draft picks, including history of how the Stepien rule came to be, complete with a ridiculously huge picture of James Worthy. https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/how-nbas-stepien-rule-inspired-afls-to-introduce-trading-future-draft-picks/news-story/177351267209c2c523a693d4214a7e4a