Trades
Midseason trades frequently impact the playoff and championship races. Last year, the Raptors acquired Marc Gasol, who paid the ultimate dividend in contributing to their NBA title run. However, with Kawhi Leonard now in Los Angeles and the Raptors not figured to make a push for the Eastern Conference Championship this season, do they pull the trigger on trades for Kyle Lowry, Serge Ibaka, and Marc Gasol?
Each player could make positive contributions to a contender and the Raptors may ultimately decide that now is the time to orchestrate a full scale rebuild around ascending star Pascal Siakam.
The Thunder does not appear to factor into the Western Conference playoff race, although they do certainly have a solid starting five in Chris Paul, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Dennis Schroder, Danilo Gallinari, and Steven Adams. Yet, with the treasure trove of draft picks the Thunder received from the Clippers and Rockets in trades for Paul George and Russell Westbrook, their strategy seems to be a complete rebuild through the draft.
Paul, Adams, Gallinari, and Schroder would all attract interest in the trade market for the Thunder to acquire more young talent and draft assets.
The Warriors’ acquisition of D’Angelo Russell sparked speculation as to whether they acquired him only as an asset to trade down the road to assist in re-positioning themselves for another title run. The Warriors, of course, deny that this is the case but if Russell does not prove to be a fit with Steph Curry in coach Steve Kerr’s motion offense he could certainly be on the move, albeit probably not to a contender.
Bradley Beal signed a two-year $72 million dollar extension with the Washington Wizards last week. Prior to signing his extension Beal was heavily rumored to become available during the season, as it was speculated that Beal would be the one asset the Wizards had that they could leverage into a revamped roster to regain competitiveness. Will the extension keep him off the market or will Beal’s name continue to be attached to trade rumors throughout the season?