6 Trade Ideas for NBA's Tanking Teams
Luka Doncic looms in the not-too-distant future. Marvin Bagley III, Michael Porter Jr. and DeAndre Ayton are all beckoning.
The 2018 NBA draft class feels stacked beyond belief, which makes it all the more tempting for bottom-feeding teams to sell off quality pieces and ensure they have the best lottery odds this offseason. So far, five teams fall distinctly into that category, even if they haven't yet started making moves that might facilitate the losing processes: the Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets*, Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns.
They may be joined by the New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings, but each of those organizations at least feels like it's trying to remain competitive for the time being. Some have found more success than others, but their offseason moves and intended courses don't mesh with the tanking ultimatum.
So we'll go ahead and help out the quintet of squads not so subtly aiming at the bottom of the standings. In each of these scenarios, we're coming up with slightly aggressive packages they could look to receive in return for their offloaded pieces, though each set of incoming assets is at least mostly realistic. These are what the tanking teams should ask for rather than the exact deals most likely to take place.
*Brooklyn can't technically tank for a top pick, since it owes its top selection to the Boston Celtics, who will then convey it to the Cleveland Cavaliers. They can, however, offload veterans to open up more minutes for youngsters or to get back compelling pieces in return.
Atlanta Hawks: Shipping Away Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilyasova
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Atlanta Hawks Get: James Ennis III, Wayne Selden, Brandan Wright, 2018 second-round pick (most favorable selection among Memphis Grizzlies, Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat)
Memphis Grizzlies Get: Marco Belinelli, Ersan Ilyasova
This deal can't take place until trading restrictions are lifted on Ersan Ilyasova, who re-signed with the Atlanta Hawks on a one-year deal this summer. But by the time December 15 rolls around, the Hawks should have plummeted so far down the Eastern Conference standings that they show no hesitation before shipping away some of their veteran pieces.
Ilyasova can certainly help a playoff contender with his charge-drawing acumen and floor-spacing ability. He's off to a slow start in 2017-18, but the 30-year-old power forward should bounce back as soon as he recovers from a bone bruise in his knee. More relevant than his four-game sample this year is his 35.3 percent shooting from beyond the arc in 2016-17 as well as his 47.3 percent clip on two-pointers from at least 16 feet.
Marco Belinelli falls into the same category, though he's been scorching during this season's opening salvo. The Hawks should be able to capitalize on the veteran 2-guard's red-hot shooting figures, even if his 55.0 percent conversion rate from beyond the arc will likely regress to the mean throughout November.
Atlanta's motivation here is obvious. It can aggressively go after a second-round pick and some young talent in the form of James Ennis III and Wayne Selden, though the Memphis Grizzlies might be hesitant to include the former name if he keeps serving as such an integral two-way piece. Doing so would also free up more minutes for John Collins, DeAndre' Bembry and Nicolas Brussino as the Hawks chase after the top pick in the 2018 NBA draft.
Memphis, as always, needs shooting. It's starting to take more attempts around Mike Conley and Marc Gasol, but an infusion of Belinelli and Ilyasova could help pull it higher than No. 24 on the three-point-percentage leaderboard.
First-round picks shouldn't be on the table for players of this caliber, but the Grizzlies can feasibly remain in win-now mode while their core pieces are playing at such an impressive level.
Brooklyn Nets: Trevor Booker to a Contender
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Brooklyn Nets Get: Sam Dekker, Montrezl Harrell, Wesley Johnson, 2019 second-round pick, 2020 second-round pick (via Cleveland Cavaliers)
Los Angeles Clippers Get: Trevor Booker, Joe Harris
The Brooklyn Nets might not be fully accepting the tank quite yet after winning three of their first eight games.
But they will before too long, and not just because Jeremy Lin's season-ending injury effectively ended their shot at competing in the Eastern Conference. Even with those victories notched, they rank just 23rd in net rating (minus-4.07), which only represents moderate improvement upon last year's numbers.
Giving away Trevor Booker and Joe Harris would be painful, given how both players have developed during their stints with the organization.
The former has become a valuable piece and fan favorite, while the latter has journeyed from the G League to serving as a poor man's version of Kyle Korver. This year, Harris is connecting on 41.9 percent of his treys while taking 4.4 per game, and those marks were 38.5 and 4.3, resepctively, in 2016-17.
Fortunately, they don't have to just give them away.
The Los Angeles Clippers are better than almost anyone expected after losing Chris Paul this offseason, but Blake Griffin can't do all the heavy lifting by himself. Though this is a deep team with quality pieces at every position, it could go all-in by shipping away some of the intriguing youngsters for players ready to contribute right now.
Sam Dekker and Montrezl Harrell both have plenty of potential, but they've played a combined 49 minutes in 2017-18. Not per game. Total. Wesley Johnson, meanwhile, has averaged just 15.7 minutes. These aren't essential figures in the Clippers' pursuit of enduring success; they could, however, be turned into such figures.
The Clippers could use Harris' shooting on the wings and Booker's all-around play behind Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. The Nets could continue loading up on young players with potential. It's the classic win-win, even if Brooklyn doesn't technically benefit from falling further down the Eastern standings.
Chicago Bulls: Nikola Mirotic Wants Out
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Chicago Bulls Get: Mirza Teletovic, Rashad Vaughn, 2018 second-round pick
Milwaukee Bucks Get: Nikola Mirotic
As Vincent Goodwill reported for NBC Sports Chicago, the Chicago Bulls almost have to trade Nikola Mirotic:
"It's becoming increasingly apparent the Bulls will have to make a move regarding Nikola Mirotic as the Bulls are aware of his unhappiness following his incident with Bobby Portis.
"Mirotic prefers a trade out of Chicago—which won’t be available to the Bulls until mid-January at the earliest because he was a free agent this summer—and is willing to waive his no-trade clause to do so, sources tell NBCSportsChicago.com."
In case you've forgotten, the Montenegrin power forward literally had his face broken in an altercation with teammate Bobby Portis, knocking him out of action for an extended period and delaying his 2017-18 debut after he signed a two-year, $27 million contract this offseason. Chicago trading Portis is unlikely, given the younger big man's upside and smaller cap figure, which forces it to look into moving the injured one.
Given a distinct lack of leverage, the Bulls can't expect a gigantic return. But squeezing out a similar player (Mirza Teletovic), a young contributor with enduring upside who's not a part of his current team's rotation (Rashad Vaughn) and a second-round pick could do the job. They're also engaging in addition by subtraction, since the present chemistry situation may not be fixable.
As for the Milwaukee Bucks, why wouldn't they do this?
Mirotic should be healthy when he's eligible to be traded in mid-January, and his defensive abilities make him a slight upgrade to Teletovic on a similar contract. Both power forwards are under contract for the next two seasons, and the Brewtown incumbent makes just $3 million less per year. Parting with a second-rounder and Vaughn, who's playing just 10.8 minutes per game, is a price well worth paying for that positional upgrade.
Dallas Mavericks: Capitalize on J.J. Barea
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Dallas Mavericks Get: Channing Frye, Cedi Osman, Iman Shumpert, 2020 second-round pick (via Miami Heat)
Cleveland Cavaliers Get: J.J. Barea, Wesley Matthews
The Cleveland Cavaliers have a point guard problem.
Isaiah Thomas' return date remains unknown. And even if he comes back sometime in January, the defending Eastern Conference champions don't know whether he'll be able to regain the level of play that made him an All-NBA 1-guard during his final season with the Boston Celtics. Couple that uncertainty with Derrick Rose's diminished production and contributions from washed-up Jose Calderon, and you can see how they might desire a short-term upgrade.
Meanwhile, J.J. Barea has been lighting up scoreboards for the Dallas Mavericks. Through his first eight appearances, the 33-year-old lead guard has averaged 13.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists while shooting 45.1 percent from the field, 45.2 percent from downtown and 66.7 percent at the stripe.
LeBron James is already salivating.
The Cavs must find a way to lessen the four-time MVP's responsibilities, and an infusion of self-created offense could go a long way. Only 13.6 percent of Barea's two-pointers have come off assists, though he's relied on setup passes for a career-high 73.7 percent of his triples.
Plus, with both Dwyane Wade and J.R. Smith struggling, Cleveland could add a legitimate two-way presence in Wesley Matthews. He's what Iman Shumpert was supposed to become and would most assuredly be a welcome addition.
But what to offer?
Shumpert and Channing Frye are necessary for salary purposes, but the Mavericks aren't just going to give away these talents for next to nothing. That's where Cedi Osman comes in after his encouraging showings during the summer's exhibition season. He'd at least offer some upside before Dallas takes advantage of Frye's expiring deal and the ensuing influx of cap space.
Phoenix Suns: Eric Bledsoe to the Denver Nuggets
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Phoenix Suns Get: Kenneth Faried, Emmanuel Mudiay, 2018 first-round pick (lottery-protected)
Denver Nuggets Get: Eric Bledsoe
As the season progresses, the Denver Nuggets might grow desperate enough to include all three of these pieces to trade for a disgruntled Eric Bledsoe. Wait long enough, and the leverage might flip upside down.
Kenneth Faried wouldn't technically be a huge get for the Phoenix Suns, though his energy and ever-improving two-way ability wouldn't look bad in the desert. He's more a piece who can later be flipped elsewhere if someone grows desperate for more hustle at the 4. The 2018 first-rounder and Emmanuel Mudiay are the selling points since they both give Phoenix even more upside.
But why would the Nuggets cave?
Phoenix's mentality is obvious, seeing as Bledsoe literally isn't even playing for the team at this stage of the season, while Mike James is thriving in the "left behind" role. But Denver's need for Bledsoe, especially when it comes with this type of cost, is a bit more ambiguous.
The problem in 2017-18 hasn't been an inability to corral dribble penetration. Instead, the Nuggets desperately need a steady hand at the 1 on offense. Jamal Murray's inability to shoot with any semblance of consistency, Mudiay's lack of growth and the inexplicable decision to essentially swap Jameer Nelson for Richard Jefferson has left the Denver scoring machine operating without a rudder.
Throw Bledsoe into the mix, and you might open up the cutting lanes that defenses are compressing back against in an effort to corral the passing of Nikola Jokic and Paul Millsap. The athletic point guard is plenty capable of creating his own offense or facilitating for others—something you simply can't find in the Mile High City at this stage of the season.
Bledsoe has plenty of possible destinations, and we've covered many of them in detail here. But none make more sense for both sides than a journey to Denver...unless the Suns are also flipping another veteran piece.
Phoenix Suns: Eric Bledsoe and Tyson Chandler to Milwaukee Bucks
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Phoenix Suns Get: Matthew Dellavedova, John Henson, Rashad Vaughn, 2018 first-round pick (lottery-protected), 2020 first-round pick (lottery-protected)
Milwaukee Bucks Get: Eric Bledsoe, Tyson Chandler
If the Suns are intent on getting rid of Bledsoe and keeping the rest of their roster intact, they should maintain constant communication with the Nuggets. But if they want to blow up the roster by shipping away another veteran piece whose timetable doesn't mesh with that of the full-scale rebuild, they should switch gears and start calling the Milwaukee Bucks.
Milwaukee can afford to be in win-now mode. Giannis Antetokounmpo is already that good.
But the Bucks' tools for further improvement are rather limited, since they're devoid of cap space and won't be picking at the beginning of the draft-day pileup for quite some time. They have to take risks and go after contributors like Bledsoe and Tyson Chandler since they could make an immediate difference and push the roster toward the next tier.
Is Bledsoe a perfect fit alongside Antetokounmpo? Probably not, given his preference for playing with the rock. Ditto for Chandler, whose lack of shooting range mitigates the positive impact he boasts as a screener, rebounder and interior defender.
However, these are talent upgrades—exactly what the Bucks should be looking for while also offloading two unpalatable contracts in Matthew Dellavedova and John Henson. Doing so requires offering the Suns a pair of future first-round picks as recompense for clogging up their ledger, but the chances of either selection turning into a player of Bledsoe's caliber is rather unlikely when Milwaukee figures to draft well outside the lottery (top 14) throughout the foreseeable future.
Even if Rashad Vaughn never becomes a useful player in the desert, the Suns should be satisfied by getting their hands on two more selections. They can also capably absorb salary while so many of their key figures are on rookie-scale deals.
As for the Bucks...well, they should be salivating over the thought of running out Bledsoe, Malcolm Brogdon, Khris Middleton, Antetokounmpo and Tyson Chandler.
Unless otherwise indicated, all stats from Basketball Reference, NBA.com, NBA Math or ESPN.com and current heading into games on Nov. 1.
