Potential Blockbuster 2015 Offseason Moves That Could Alter the NBA Landscape
Every offseason, the NBA landscape changes.
In 2014, we saw Kevin Love traded from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Cleveland Cavaliers, further boosting the latter as one of the new powers in the Eastern Conference. In 2013, the Philadelphia 76ers plunged into their rebuilding route by dealing Jrue Holiday to the New Orleans Pelicans on the day of the NBA draft and acquiring Nerlens Noel.
Big moves involving marquee players thrust new squads into the spotlight, and they take place each and every summer. This offseason won't be any different, even if some of these blockbuster moves are a bit unorthodox, simply because they're personnel changes that don't involve trades.
"Me going somewhere like the [New York] Knicks, that wouldn't do much," Cavaliers center Kendrick Perkins recently said in an interview with the Oklahoman's Anthony Slater. If they're being honest, plenty of players across the Association would say the same thing.
But those involved in these six potential blockbuster moves? Well, they could justifiably claim otherwise.
Ty Lawson to the Sacramento Kings
1 of 6
"All of this is crazy and unexpected, don't know what to say," Ty Lawson told the Denver Post's Benjamin Hochman in a text message when the Nuggets suddenly fired George Karl in 2013 after he won Coach of the Year. The point guard and now-Sacramento Kings head coach shared a close relationship, and their styles meshed perfectly, which makes the possibility of an upcoming reunion all the more tantalizing.
Meanwhile, Lawson's relationship with the post-Karl Nuggets is souring—see the missed flight from Las Vegas at the end of the All-Star break, the uninspired levels of enthusiasm on the floor, the off-court trouble and the now-infamous deleted Instagram post in which he expressed a desire to join the Dallas Mavericks.
A trade away from the Mile High City is by no means guaranteed, but it's at least significantly more likely than it's ever been.
And as Matt Moore suggests for CBS Sports, Sacramento is the most obvious destination:
"The most obvious destination for a trade is Sacramento. George Karl is thought to have wide-reaching authority on how to run the team since being hired at the All-Star Break, owner Vivek Ranadive loves making splashes, and the Kings have the pick right above Denver. Darren Collison had a good season for Sacramento before the wheels fell off and he suffered a season-ending injury, but isn't a perfect fit under Karl. Is management willing to part with a top-six pick for Lawson?
"
The Kings' No. 6 pick is the key selling point here, and the offer only gets even more appealing if Sacramento is willing to throw someone such as Nik Stauskas into the equation. Last year's first-round selection had a terrible rookie year in Sac-Town and remains stuck behind Ben McLemore in the rotation, so the Kings can easily afford to part ways with him.
"Sources say Karl would love to acquire Ty Lawson—if the rebuilding Nuggets were to make him available," Howard Beck reported for Bleacher Report in late February.
He may get a chance to do exactly that, improving his team's chances of making the playoffs in 2015-16 while helping the Nuggets gain more long-term assets for their necessary rebuild.
Kenneth Faried to the Toronto Raptors
2 of 6
Let's stick with the Denver Nuggets for one more big trade proposal.
In this case, Kenneth Faried is heading north of the border and joining the Toronto Raptors. In return, Toronto general manager Masai Ujiri sends Terrence Ross and the No. 20 pick in the 2015 NBA draft back to the Mile High City, giving Denver management the opportunity to rebuild with the parts that complement its expected keepers.
But isn't Faried one of them? Well, he used to be.
Now, Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post reports that two other players have become the true centerpieces in Denver:
"After requiring nearly two years to recover from a knee surgery that Danilo Gallinari believes was initially botched, the 26-year-old forward finally regained his form late last season and appears now to be a centerpiece in the Nuggets' rebuilding efforts, as is center Jusuf Nurkic, recently named one of the league's 10 best rookies.
"
Toronto's motivation here is obvious.
The team boasts a plethora of wing players, and it'll have one more player fighting for minutes now that the inexperienced Bruno Caboclo has a year of NBA ball under his belt. But rebounding is a major weakness in the frontcourt, and expiring contracts galore exist in Toronto, potentially leaving Jonas Valanciunas, Patrick Patterson and Lucas Nogueira as the only bigs on the roster.
During the 2014-15 season, the Raptors gathered just 73.3 percent of their defensive rebounding opportunities, which put them ahead of only six teams throughout the entire Association. Nogueira spent 23 minutes on the floor all season, so it's tough to draw conclusions about his prowess on the defensive glass. But we're already certain that's a weakness for Patterson.
The same isn't true for Faried, who thrives after shots go up and seems to love nothing more than grabbing a carom and starting a fast break. He'd be a welcome addition to a Toronto squad that needs fresh blood after a four-game exit from this year's postseason.
On the flip side, are Ross and the No. 20 pick enough for Denver? That's the more questionable part of this deal, but those two assets would certainly allow the Nuggets to do some more rebuilding.
Ross is still only 24 years old and has flashed tempting upside when he's given rare opportunities to thrive, and the No. 20 pick has a bit more value this year because the quality of first-round prospects is fairly high. In a vacuum, the return doesn't quite match what Faried brings to the proverbial table, but it's hard to see Denver getting a better offer if it's truly eager to move in a new direction.
Kevin Love Opts Out with No Intention of Returning
3 of 6
To be clear, this is not likely.
Kevin Love has done and said all the right things throughout his first season with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He's never hinted that he wanted out, even through a fairly tumultuous year filled with teammates' controversial Instagram posts, interesting comments from fellow superstars and a season-ending injury in the first round of the playoffs.
If anything, he's just continued to drive home the fact that he wants to return to Northeast Ohio.
As relayed by Marc Berman of the New York Post, this was Love's first public exchange with the media after undergoing surgery for his dislocated left surgery in late April:
""I truly haven't even thought about it," Love said Sunday in his first comments since he injured his shoulder last month. "I expect to be suiting up for Game 1. Next year."
"With the Cavaliers?" he was asked.
"Yes, sir," Love responded.
"I still feel like I’ll be part of this," Love said at a press conference at the Cavaliers’ practice facility in suburban Independence, Ohio.
"
This is not to question Love's truthfulness.
But what if this is a massive smokescreen to avoid distracting his teammates during their run to the NBA Finals? What if he's saying the right things until he actually opts out and starts pursuing his other potential homes?
If Love gives even a single indication that he might want to go somewhere else—using his team's success without him as the excuse—then that changes the entire landscape of free agency. All of a sudden, teams like the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs will be keeping or creating cap space to sign an All-Star. He'd become one of the most important dominoes in the entire free-agent pool.
And he's not the only marquee player who could create this type of trickle-down effect.
Dwyane Wade Swears off the Miami Heat
4 of 6
Try to imagine Dwyane Wade wearing any uniform other than Miami Heat threads.
It's nearly impossible. Then again, that was once the case for Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics before he donned Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards attire. If the Heat aren't willing to give their Hall of Famer some legacy money, a similar scenario could unfold.
Per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, the two sides aren't exactly seeing eye to eye right now:
"A Wade associate has told people that Wade would welcome a contract averaging $20 million annually over the next three years. If that's true, it would be understandable, considering the year 13-15 pay ranges for Duncan and Nowitzki. Wade's agent, Henry Thomas, politely declined to confirm that or anything regarding Wade's specific financial expectations.
We've heard the Heat would prefer Wade opt in for $16 million next season, then take a very significant pay cut over the following two years.
"
Wade truly hitting the open market—not just opting out and becoming a free agent team won't bother pursuing because they know he'll stay in South Beach—would be entirely unexpected. And when a player this talented is available out of the blue—err, red, in this case—plans change.
Maybe the Los Angeles Clippers work to clear some space or send pieces to Miami in a sign-and-trade deal for Wade's services. Maybe the New Orleans Pelicans or Indiana Pacers do everything in their power to have a chance at acquiring him. Maybe the Sacramento Kings make a play and seek to expedite their rebuild in one fell swoop.
The opportunities are endless. But one thing would be certain: Even the teams that don't land Wade would make moves just to have a chance at acquiring him.
Not every potential blockbuster has to be a trade. One newly soured relationship can qualify as such.
Carmelo Anthony on the Move
5 of 6
"We don't have...the time to methodically and slowly build through the draft," Los Angeles Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak recently revealed, per Bleacher Report's Howard Beck.
Trading Julius Randle and the No. 2 pick in the 2015 NBA draft would not be a particularly smart decision for the Lakers' long-term prospects. But it's a trap they could fall into if the New York Knicks dangled Carmelo Anthony and Kupchak truly desired a competitive team in the immediate future.
Again, let me emphasize one thing: This deal would not be an intelligent one for a certain team that wears purple and gold. It would have the Knicks salivating at the thought of clearing their books even further, adding an elite prospect and then getting to bring in Jahlil Okafor or Karl-Anthony Towns as a franchise centerpiece with that No. 2 pick.
But it might happen if the Lakers, driven by a desire to operate on Kobe Bryant's timetable, get impatient.
"While the Lakers have publicly said they're keeping the pick, there's a growing feeling around the league that if they can land a young veteran for the pick, it's available," ESPN Insider Chad Ford explained in a SportsNation chat. "The Lakers aren't keen on rebuilding if they don't have to. But it would have to take an All-Star-caliber young player to make the deal."
Anthony is not a "young" All-Star. He's a veteran who recently celebrated his 31st birthday and is coming off a season cut short by knee trouble.
But he's also not just an All-Star. When healthy, he's one of the 10 best players in the Association—a unique offensive talent who shines when teammates around him can actually make a few shots. Even during his injury-plagued campaign in 2014-15, he played some high-quality basketball that too often gets brushed aside by his team's overall putridity.
Acquiring a player such as Anthony isn't easy to do, and the Lakers could be swayed into parting with their biggest asset in order to pair him with Bryant (after striking out in a previous free-agency pursuit of the small forward). Figuring out how to share the ball would be a secondary concern for a team that's operated at a huge talent deficit the last two years.
DeMarcus Cousins to the New York Knicks
6 of 6
The New York Knicks aren't guaranteed to hold on to the No. 4 pick in the NBA draft, per ESPN.com's Ian Begley:
"In an interview on ESPN New York's "The Robin Lundberg Show," ESPN NBA reporter Brian Windhorst said the Knicks are at the very least considering their options when it comes to trading their first-round pick.
Specifically, Windhorst said the Knicks are looking into "opportunities" to see "what they could possibly get if they trade their draft pick."
"
Would DeMarcus Cousins be a good get?
Abso-freaking-lutely.
The Sacramento Kings big man might not offer the same level of mystique as whomever the Knicks could select as the fourth player off the board on June 25, but he's an established All-Star contributor with enduring upside. In the right system, he'd emerge as an MVP candidate, and the triangle offense could certainly function as such, given his versatile scoring skills and uncanny passing ability for a 6'11" center.
Unfortunately, Cousins' reputation for mental flare-ups often gets in the way of recognizing his actual impact. And that's compounded by the mismanagement of the Kings, who haven't allowed for consistency in the coaching ranks or surrounded him with the right pieces.
All the same, there's a reason why only six players placed ahead of this Kentucky product in the 2014-15 edition of the B/R NBA 200, making him the sport's top-ranked center. There's a reason my FATS model (based on historical comparisons and explained in full here) indicates that the Kings improved by 17.5 wins when he was on the floor, thus giving him an MVP-caliber level of impact.
The Knicks can't possibly do anything better with the No. 4 pick; it's Sacramento that could serve as a roadblock.
"According to sources close to the situation, Cousins isn't pushing for a trade and is prepared to give head coach George Karl a chance to make all of this work next season," Basketball Insiders' Steve Kyler reported in early May. "From there, all bets are off."
Obviously, the Kings aren't guaranteed to float Cousins, much less actually move him to the Knicks. But with so many voices fighting for control in the organization, anything can happen. Already, we've had owner Vivek Ranadive claim that George Karl "might have overstepped his bounds" when saying no player is untradable, per NBA Today's Justin Termine.
Much like the other potential moves featured here, this one isn't a guarantee by any stretch of the imagination. But it's still a possibility.
Note: All stats, unless otherwise indicated, come from Basketball-Reference.com.
Adam Fromal covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @fromal09.
