Over the summer the NBA was full of chaos with trades we thought would never happen. We had the Cleveland Cavaliers trade point guard Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics for Isiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, and some other players. We also saw the Indiana Pacers trade superstar Paul George to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. The Thunder were not done as they would later trade for future Hall-of-Famer Carmelo Anthony. Those were just a few of the many crazy transactions that took place over the off-season.
Also during the off-season, the NBA made some changes to the rules one of which included changing the trade deadline from after the All-Star break to take place the week before. The NBA may be the best sport when it comes to trade deadline drama and excitement about who may get traded and which team will land a superstar.
Blake Griffin who had just resigned with the Los Angeles Clippers got traded to the Detroit Pistons late last month, that was the most significant trade until today at 12 noon. It was very quiet early on in the final day of the trade deadline until the Cleveland Cavaliers went on a rampage trading away six players and getting back four players in Rodney Hood, Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr., and George Hill. The trade that landed them Clarkson and Nance saw the Cavs send Isaiah Thomas and Channing Frye to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Since the Cavs started the trades on the final day of the deadline, there were a few moves by other teams but nothing too major. As ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Woj) reported early today on Twitter, many organizations are pulling out of trade talks and waiting to see who they can pick up in the post-deadline free agent pool with many buyouts coming.
Several teams tell ESPN that they're already easing out of the trade market today to focus on filling needs with what is expected to be a strong post-deadline pool of free agents in the buyout market.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2018
Now that things have settled and the trade deadline is over let us take a look at some trades that should have happened.
4 Kemba Walker to the New York Knicks
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Kemba Walker was born and raised in the Bronx, New York where he also played high school for legendary catholic highschool Rice. He played at the University of Connecticut when they were still in the Big East where he had some great memories in Madison Square Garden. The Hornets have been a disappointment this year, and it seems like they are looking to rebuild, and the most prominent way to do that would have been to trade their best player for some young assets and draft picks. The Knicks who have fallen hard from their fast start and just lost their best player in Kristaps Porzingis to a torn ACL. They would have loved to bring in another star to match with Porzingis next season. But as owner Michael Jordan said Kemba was not really on the trading block unless he was offered a very great deal something the Knicks probably could not provide.
3 Avery Bradley to the Spurs
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Avery Bradley had a great season last year for the Boston Celtics may be the best of his career, but since being traded this off-season, things have not been the same. In the off-season, he was traded to the Detroit. He had a good start but was shipped off to the Los Angeles Clippers in a trade that got Blake Griffin to the Pistons. The Clippers are now looking to rebuild, and Avery Bradley is garnering some interest from many teams including the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs do not need to make a big splash, they currently sit 3rd in the Western Conference behind the Warriors and Rockets. Adding someone like Bradley would have helped them on the defensive end. He has always been a premier defender who at times can create his own shot. With Kawhi Leonard out indefinitely, Bradley would have been a great addition on the defensive side, and if and when Kawhi comes back he would be able to make some wide open shots.
Tyreke Evans to Any Team
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Tyreke Evans is having a fantastic season thus far may be his best since his Rookie of the Year season. He has taken over the scoring from the guard position for Memphis since they lost point guard Mike Conley. He is averaging 19 points a game shooting 45% from the field and 39% from three-point range. With many injuries and some early dysfunction in the organization, Memphis has not been the team we all know and love. They are apparently in a small rebuild and would have made sense to try and trade to get some young players or draft picks. Tyreke Evans would have made a significant impact on many teams still in the playoff hunt who needs some more scoring. He was linked to the Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets, Philadelphia 76ers, and the Cleveland Cavaliers but as reported by ESPN’s Woj the Grizzlies may have been asking for too much to bite. We will see how things play out for Evans as teams will now start buying out specific players.
DeAndre Jordan to the Cavs
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Once the Los Angeles Clippers traded away a franchise player in Blake Griffin, it was clear they have headed for a rebuild and that no one was safe. That included big man DeAndre Jordan who was linked to many teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Portland Trailblazers to name a few. Jordan is an excellent athlete with an unreal vertical and a great shot blocker. He would have been a great addition to the Cavs had they been able to pull it off. Since last years NBA Finals Tristan Thompson has fallen off as the energetic defender and rebounder, he was in years past. Jordan would have been an immediate upgrade at the position if it was able to take place. He would have been a huge help off the pick-and-roll with LeBron James and now George Hill to create opportunities at the rim. It was clear the Clippers wanted a lot for him, and rightfully so, he has been a fantastic player and has a lot of time left in his prime. Clearly, the Cavs moved on from Jordan and went down the road of adding some younger players who can help elsewhere.