NBA Wheeling And Dealing …

The NBA trading deadline arrives at 3:00 PM ET today.  Given the level of activity that has gone on in the last few days, one has to wonder if there are any bullets left in the NBA’s gun to bring attention to the league today.  The deal that sent Kyrie Irving from the Nets to the Mavs was a big deal – – but not much of a surprise.  Irving and the Nets’ organization had been less than “buddy-buddy” for more than a year; so, when he demanded a trade, my sense is that the Nets’ braintrust figured they could deal him and be done with him.  So, they did.

I wrote then that the supposed super-team of Durant, Irving and Harden had been reduced to one featuring Durant, Simmons and Dinwiddie.  Little did I know that the Nets had only just begun.  [Hat Tip: Karen Carpenter]  The news this morning is that Kevin Durant has also been shipped out of Brooklyn to the Phoenix Suns along with TJ Warren in exchange for:

• Mikal Bridges
• Jae Crowder
• Cameron Johnson
• Four unprotected first round picks (’23, ’25, ’27 & ’29) plus a first round pick swap in ‘28.

The Suns have a new owner, Mat Ishbia, who has been on the scene for about three minutes.  If this trade shows his willingness to shake things up with his team and in the league in general, maybe he will acquire the moniker of “Earthquake”.  The Suns acquired a bona fide superstar in Durant.  He is under contract for three more seasons; he is 34 years old meaning that he should continue to be a superstar for the duration of his deal – – barring injury.  This trade allows the Suns to play Durant along with Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton and Chris Paul which is a powerful quartet.  [Aside:  Am I the first to think this could become the “Kevin and Devin Show”?]

As of this morning, the Suns are tied for fourth place in the NBA Western Conference – – ironically tied with the Mavs in the standings – – meaning the Suns are virtually certain to be part of the NBA playoffs.  If those four “core starters” can avoid the injury bug, the Suns are going to be a factor in the Western Conference playoffs.

So, what did the Nets get out of all this?  Well, unless one of those draft picks turns out to be another Kevin Durant, the Nets did not get anywhere near a commensurate level of raw basketball talent.

• Mikal Bridges is a quality player and an elite defensive player.  He may not deserve superstar status, but he is much more than some guy whose main job is to sit on the bench to make sure the bench does not float up to the ceiling.
• Jae Crowder is 31 years old and in his 13^th season in the NBA; the Nets will be his eighth team.  He is not a malcontent but his travels around the league indicate that he is just good enough to be a bargaining chip in player swaps.
• Cameron Johnson is in his 4^th year in the league and is only 26 years old.  He has been injured for much of this season appearing in only 17 games.  Put a question mark by his name and go look to see how he develops over the next season or two as you evaluate this trade.

What the Nets did acquire that they need is those draft picks.  After sending picks away to acquire James Harden, the cupboard was bare.  These picks would appear to be mediocre assets because if the Suns keep the band together, those picks are not likely to be lottery picks.  So, here is the bottom line:

• The Nets took a shot at assembling a super-team and it worked about as well as King Kong playing a game of Jenga.  And this is the price the franchise has to pay as it embarks on a tear-down and rebuild program.

 “O quam cito transit gloria mundi”  [How quickly the glory of the world passes by.]

But the NBA dealing did not end with that blockbuster.  Evidently the Lakers. Timberwolves and Jazz shuffled their rosters last night as well.  Here is what each team gets out of all that:

• Lakers get:  DeAngelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt
• Jazz get:  Russell Westbrook and a top-four protected first round pick in ‘27
• Wolves get:  Mike Conley Jr., Juan Toscano-Anderson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Damian Jones and 4 second round picks.

Here is my quick assessment of this deal:

• The Lakers get a lot younger here and the team can represent that it acted to do something positive for LeBron James in terms of getting him some on-court help.  Russell is probably the best player of the three and his contract expires at the end of this season so the Lakers need to decide if he is an important piece moving forward.
• The Jazz get an expiring contract in Russell Westbrook that will give them cap space and a draft pick 5 years from now.  I guess that appeals to the decision makers in Utah; who seem to be trying to corner the market on future draft picks.
• The Wolves get Mike Conley, Jr. plus three guys and four “Hail Mary” picks in the future.

Finally, six NBA teams made strategic moves in the trading market in the last 72 hours going back to the Nets/Mavs swap involving Kyrie Irving.  Those teams made choices and acted on them.  So, let me close with these words from President Theodore Roosevelt:

“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………