NBA: 15 Eastern Conference Trades That Need To Happen Before The Deadline

Cheap Thrills

11.9 to 6.6.

13.0 to 11.8.

While statistics aren’t everything, there is a marginal difference between the 5th and 6th leading scorers of the Washington Wizards and Denver Nuggets. Granted, the Wizards don’t seem to be too bothered by the fact that their 6th leading scorer is Marcus Thornton who has only played in 33 games; and also because they’ve won 23 of their last 30 games after starting the season 2-8.

Denver on the other hand may have more scoring from more of their players, but it hasn’t translated into wins; as they sit with a 24-29 record and are fighting for their playoff lives.

While the Wizards are in good shape to make the playoffs, they could look to bolster their bench to get a crack at knocking out (presumably) the defending champs.

Denver, on the other hand, probably isn’t inclined to give up their 4th-leading scorer to a team that has no incoming picks for the foreseeable future (and then some), so a 3rd team is probably going to be needed if the Wizards want to add some scoring punch to their bench.

The Wizards are in a weird spot where they should definitely be buyers at the deadline, but truly don’t have a lot to bargain with; since Mahinmi made his season debut a few games ago after signing a 4 yr., $64 mil. deal in the offseason, and Andrew Nicholson has barely made an impact when he gets playing time after signing a 4 yr., $24 mil. deal.

One thing to keep in mind is that Brooks isn’t the type of coach that trusts his bench, but whether Brooks likes it or not, they definitely will need the depth come playoff time.

Without further ado…

WAS gets: Al Farouq-Aminu, Mason Plumlee, Will Barton

DEN gets: Trey Burke, Tomas Satoransky, Jake Layman

POR gets: Marcin Gortat

While Washington would like to nab a pick in this deal, it’d be hard to pry the 2017 1st round pick from Cleveland that Portland owns, or the 2017 first round pick from  Memphis Denver holds. The Wizards might be able to get one of the second rounders Denver has in this year’s draft, but otherwise, I think only players would be involved.

This is the 1st three-teamer, but bear with me.

Washington, as already mentioned, needs scoring help. Will ‘The Thrill’ Barton is averaging 13.5 PPG on a 51.2 eFG% and 38.1% from 3. He’s super athletic, and no slouch defensively. He can play the 2 or 3, and should take Thornton’s minutes.

More from Sir Charles In Charge

• Dillon Brooks proved his value to Houston Rockets in the 2023 FIBA World Cup
• NBA Trade Rumors: 1 Player from each team most likely to be traded in-season
• Golden State Warriors: Buy or sell Chris Paul being a day 1 starter
• Does Christian Wood make the Los Angeles Lakers a legit contender?
• NBA Power Rankings: Tiering all 30 projected starting point guards for 2023-24

Al Farouq-Aminu has long been a controversial player – not because of off-the-court incidents, but because he has nights where he goes off for 26 (like he did against Boston on the 9th of this month), and then other nights only goes for 7 on 1-8 shooting. (OKC, 2/5/17). Personally I’m a big, big, big fan of Aminu and his offensive and defensive versatility. Washington’s bench wouldn’t be just adding more scoring, they would get a defensive stopper.

Finally, Plumlee is on an expiring contract, but can step right into the starting lineup despite being smaller than the recently-departed Gortat. He’s a heckuva passer, and has a high basketball IQ. He may not corral as many rebounds as Gortat does on a nightly basis, but the Wizards get younger and could potentially re-sign Plumlee for the long term.

Denver is the biggest wild-card here. In real life, they could go in any number of directions at the trade deadline – buying or selling, or that weird in-between some GMs straddle. Regardless, they’ve already lost Faried but gained Johnson. By adding Burke they get a young PG (albeit on an expiring deal) who can help spell Mudiay and lessen Nelson’s minutes; or if they move Mudiay, could be an instant starter.

Finally, Satoransky is shooting 25% from 3 this year, but has shown flashes of that impressive three-point stroke he displayed overseas. Layman adds young, wing-depth; something any team can never have enough of.

Portland has been linked to players like Tyson Chandler, Brook Lopez, Andrew Bogut, and more. The bottom line: they’re targeting a veteran presence to consolidate (and alleviate) their over-spending from this past offseason.

Losing Plumlee might hurt Portland’s flow offensively, but Gortat would greatly help with the pick-and-roll and offense, and (hopefully) allow for more open shots for their starting backcourt, and other incumbent players like Meyers Leonard, Noah Vonleh, and Maurice How Could You Be So Harkless.

While some may point out that it may take time for Gortat to assimilate, I think he’s a plug-and-play kind of guy for any offensive system. He’s a true teammate, and just wants to help in any way he can. If Portland is serious about contending with Lillard and McCollum under contract for the foreseeable future, they need to take gambles on proven veteran talent (if that makes sense). They can’t afford to wait for guys like Meyers Leonard to re-find his stroke, and Festus Ezeli to get healthy. If they do, great. But Gortat is an excellent ‘fill-in.’