February 9th, 2022:
Trade of the Day:
The biggest trades of the entire Trade Deadline may have just come, as two big moves went down yesterday. The first was that the Portland Trail Blazers traded CJ McCollum, Larry Nance Jr, and Tony Snell for Josh Hart, Tomas Satoransky, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Did Louzada, a top-four protected first-round pick, and two second-round picks. The general consensus seems to be that this was a solid trade for the Pelicans, and that the Blazers might have just jeopardized Damian Lillard‘s future, but I have another idea, which, when you think about it, isn’t as crazy as it might seem. You can read my analysis of the trade below:
Could the CJ McCollum Trade Net the Trail Blazers a Championship?
Some of the biggest moves that we will likely see at this trade deadline have just occurred, as while Caris LeVert being traded to the Cavaliers was the biggest trade, it isn’t anymore, and it’s not even close. CJ McCollum has been traded to the New Orleans Pelicans, and this has a significant impact on…
Trade of the Day (Part 2):
Domantas Sabonis of the Indiana Pacers is now on the move, as he has been traded to the Sacramento Kings. In addition to Sabonis, the Pacers also parted with Jeremy Lamb, Justin Holiday, and a 2023 second-round pick in exchange for Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, and Tristan Thompson. Parts of this trade make sense to me, and other parts don’t. It’s clear why the Pacers want Haliburton (look at the quote below), and by adding him to a backcourt with Malcolm Brogdon and Chris Duarte, have solidified Myles Turner‘s future with the team, as he is excited to play center. Hield is a great three-point shooter, but he is 29 years old, and I’m not sure if he’s on the Pacers’ rebuilding timeline. As for Thompson, all the Pacers got was an old, backup center who is far removed from his prime, but was likely included to match salaries.
“It’s an exciting trade and it changes the landscape significantly. {Haliburton is} an elite young point guard that affects the game positively in many, many ways. We’re getting three players who are good now and in the case of Tyrese, he has a chance to continue to grow. … Finding a franchise-caliber point guard at age 21 is extremely difficult to do.”
Rick Carlisle on the Trade
It’s clear why the Kings made this deal; to get an elite big man to pair up with De’Aaron Fox and Davion Mitchell, their new backcourt of the future. The real question, which I’m very mad about: why wasn’t Marvin Bagley III included in this trade? FREE MARVIN BAGLEY FROM SACRAMENTO!
Sorry. If you can’t tell, I’m very passionate about getting Bagley out of Sacramento. I will likely make a deeper dive on this trade in the next few days. Stay tuned.
Injury of the Day:
Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards is undergoing season-ending left wrist surgery. As his agent continues to negotiate with the Wizards front office about a new contract and Beal’s future, we have to ask: what is Washington’s plan? They aren’t making a playoff run without their leading scorer, and Kyle Kuzma isn’t good enough to completely fill in Beal’s role. Perhaps if they made a trade for Jerami Grant it would help them out significantly for this season and the next few. However, I am confident that Spencer Dinwiddie will begin playing like the Dinwiddie we saw before he tore his ACL. Washington has to do something at the trade deadline, but Beal’s wrist adds a lot of uncertainty to everything.
As the NBA trade season continues to ramp up, there will be lots of trades announced, and there’s no better place you can go for trade breakdowns, fun facts, and daily news then the NBA Blog! Don’t forget to follow so you’ll never miss another basketball update, and as always, have an awesome day!
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