2020 Vision: Five NBA Teams That Need a Trade
It’s difficult to imagine the thought of Dante Exum being a fire starter for something in the NBA, but that’s exactly what happened last December 23, when the Cavaliers and the Jazz engaged in a trade sending the injury-plagued guard to Cleveland for dynamo scorer Jordan Clarkson and his glorious tattoos to add some sort of offensive salvation for Utah’s title hopes.
The trade, about 8 days removed from 90% of the league being trade-eligible, marked the start of what could be a slew of deals incoming, be it for teams looking to blow it up, further their title chances, or just trying to get out of mediocrity.
There are teams that are looking for a change of scenery, as well as teams that SHOULD be looking for a change in scenery. At the turn of a new decade, it’s best to proceed with a clean slate, so I decided to list down 5 squads that should consider pulling the trigger on a trade.
Detroit Pistons: trade Andre Drummond
It’s the dawn of a new decade, and it’s my hunch that Pistons fans are more than ready to say goodbye to the 2010’s. In the last 10 years, the Detroit Pistons have only ever made it to the Playoffs twice (0–8, by the way). Their worst record of the decade came in 2011–2012 at 25–41, and they were at their best in 2015–2016 when they ended at 44–38. You could make the case for the Pistons being the most depressing Eastern Conference team in the past decade being constantly stuck in basketball purgatory.
This season has been no different either. As of this writing, Detroit is 12–22 with a mediocre offense and a below league average defense. The team success is tightly knit to the health of its rotation players, which is still a key issue for Detroit as it has been in years past. Blake Griffin has already missed 15 games, and Derrick Rose is probably their second healthiest player behind Langston Galloway. It’s a redeeming thought, but just really think about that.
The bad: the Pistons are well on their way to having another unremarkable season. The good: there’s enough leeway now for them to blow it up, the reality that the Pistons management has to face.
Root canal Reggie Jackson’s contract is finally up at season’s end, but the big caveat here is Andre Drummond. Drummond, who’s having a stellar year with career-high averages of 18.0 points, 16.0 rebounds, and 1.9 steals, will have a player option after this year. Because of the scarcity of money to be offered around the league, Drummond could most likely accept the $28 million player option with Detroit, but it should be in the Pistons’ best interest to rebuild the franchise and trade the 2-time All-Star. Teams like the Hornets and Kings were reported to have expressed interest, and this is Detroit’s chance to solicit a young player and some draft picks in return.
Denver Nuggets: trade for another playmaker
Make no mistake: the Denver Nuggets are good, great in fact. Despite Nikola Jokic starting off the season looking like 4OT Jokic against the Blazers, he has managed to put his averages back to All-Star form while still being a focal point to the Nuggets offense with his playmaking and being on pace to attempt the most threes of his career.
The problem is, much like Jokic, the rest of the team is basically the same group as last season, if not, a little bit worse. The two Los Angeles teams are the ones poised to chase each other in title contention in the West, so the Nuggets should look to shake things up with a big win-now deal.
Jrue Holiday would fit like a glove with the Nuggets. The two-way guard has been terrific for the hapless Pelicans with averages of 19.7 points, 6.5 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.8 steals. The Nuggets could cook up a package of Mason Plumlee, Will Barton, and Malik Beasley to make it work.
If that’s not tasty enough for New Orleans, the Nuggets can always look to Andre Iguodala of the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies made the smart and obvious decision of not buying out the former Finals MVP, and that leaves fringe contender teams like Denver to pull the trigger on a trade. The Nuggets could send Malik Beasley and Will Barton to secure the services of Iguodala for even just half a season to chase the title.
Oklahoma City Thunder: trade Chris Paul
The prolonged love-hate relationship that I have with Thunder General Manager Sam Presti lives on until now. From drafting three future league MVPs, to trading one of them in a lopsided deal, to letting go of a generational scorer, to the Westbrook contingency plan, all the way to right now: having traded away last of the Thunder buddies in exchange for quite a hefty package, Presti has been going back and forth the good-bad GM spectrum.
Durant, Harden, and Westbrook may have all come and gone now, but the superstar drama hasn’t escaped Presti just yet. As of current writing, the Oklahoma City Thunder stand at 18–15, good for 7th in the Western Conference yet way higher than what most predicted out of a team that has the scraps from dealing their two best players in the offseason that are Russell Westbrook and Paul George. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is as awesome as his name. Danilo Gallinari and Dennis Schroder are having solid campaigns. Even Nerlens Noel is looking pretty good. The rest, a myriad of role players that form one of the league’s more potent defenses.
Through it all, there’s one man that has been full in control of the ship in the name of Chris Paul. The numbers may not be at par as when he was THE Point God, but Paul is posting one of his best seasons in terms of efficiency with a 60.1% true shooting percentage (3rd highest in his career) and better advanced stats across the board than last season.
Which is why OKC must trade him. This current iteration of the Thunder has been one of the feel good stories of the season, but a 34-year-old Chris Paul on his gigantic contract is a glitch in their timeline right now. With Paul’s value seemingly at a high point right now, the Thunder should take advantage of this and look to deal Paul as soon as possible and get a handsome return before the $40 million kicks in.
Among the teams that can realistically make a move for CP3 are the Heat (Dragic, Johnson, Olynyk, ++), the Bucks (Bledsoe, Lopez, Wilson, ++), and the Timberwolves (Wiggins, Teague, Dieng, ++).
San Antonio Spurs: trade DeRozan and/or Aldridge
It’s extremely rare for the San Antonio Spurs to make rather rash trades during the season, much less regular trades, but at 14–18 in a tight 5-way race just to get to the 8th seed, the Spurs are caught in unfamiliar ground.
The DeRozan-Aldridge combination has been an eyesore, to say the least, en route to the franchise’s worst start in the Popovich era. The team offense looks like it’s stuck in the early 2010’s, as the Spurs rank dead last in 3-point attempts, but first in 2-point attempts, a testament to the midrange-heavy games of the duo. If their offense is bad, their defense is worse, allowing teams to rain threes on them.
DeRozan’s contract is expiring, but he does have a $27 million player option and will most likely take it because of what could be scarce demand for him in free agency. Aldridge, meanwhile, has $50 million left in his contract at age 36. Spurs’ RC Buford has to face the truth now that the Spurs are past their glory days, and it should be in their best interest to make a trade before they enter mediocrity.
The Heat, with all of their assets, are poised to be active in the trade market and that’s one ideal trade partner for the Spurs to poach a couple of young assets such as Justise Winslow and Kendrick Nunn. Another team could be the Indiana Pacers with Myles Turner and Aaron Holiday.
Philadelphia 76ers: trade Ben Simmons
To couple with probably the hottest item of this list, here’s my hottest take to date: the Sixers will never make it to the NBA Finals as long as Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons are together in Philly.
The Sixers are at a decent yet underwhelming record of 23–13, 6th in the East just behind the Pacers. The defense is still good, particularly for Simmons who is averaging a career best in steals.
It’s another story for the offense. With Josh Richardson at 6'6" being the smallest guy in their crunch time lineup, there’s just not enough space for everyone on the court, which was the biggest concern for Philly entering the season. Apart from a couple of internet-breaking threes, Simmons has been having another concerning season on offense. He is averaging a career low 14.7 points, and his hesitance to shoot outside the paint is becoming a growing pain. Albeit being two extremely talented players, Simmons and Embiid just really won’t fit together if Simmons still doesn’t extend his offensive repertoire.
The Sixers do not have much flexibility going forward, and staying put with the current team won’t do either especially when the top shelf of the East looks the strongest it has been in recent memory. Embiid, Harris, and Horford are all locked down to some pretty enormous contracts, so dangling the commodity that is Simmons could be a way for the Sixers to break the ice and leapfrog them back to the league’s prime title contenders.
With the still unlocked potential that the 23-year-old Simmons has, the trade packages would definitely be very attractive for Philadelphia. Wasington’s Beal, Portland’s McCollum, and Chicago’s Lavine are only some of the loads of possible realistic returns for the 6'10" point guard.
Thank you for reading! If you liked this story, giving it some claps below will be much appreciated.
