Houston Rockets: Trade Marcus Morris
Phoenix Suns: Trade 2013 second round draft pick
In what appears to be an effort to free up playing time for the other young forwards on their roster, Houston gave up last years 14h overall pick, allowing Marcus to reunite with his brother, Markieff, in Phoenix, where they will likely compete, along with Michael Beasley, for playing time at both small forward and power forward. The rockets likely envisioned Marcus as a stretch four, able to space the floor while still rebounding at a high rate. This season, Marcus is shooting a decent 38.1% on 6.1 3 point attempts per 38 minutes, however, due to struggles from midrange (30% from 10-15 ft and 28.6% from 16ft to the 3 point line), Marcus’ True Shooting % is merely 52.9%. With Donatas Motiejunas, Terrence Jones, Royce White, and recent addition Thomas Robinson all awaiting playing time at power forward, Houston had no real reason to retain the older Marcus Morris. The Rockets likely accepted a 2nd round draft pick from Phoenix rather than a 1st from a better team because 2nd round contracts are not guaranteed, allowing the Rockets to easily drop the draft pick if he does not produce. Though Phoenix already has Markieff, a similar player, there is no real detriment to taking a chance with Marcus Morris while only surrendering a 2nd round draft pick.
Houston Rockets: Trade Patrick Patterson, Cole Aldrich and Toney Douglas
Sacramento Kings: Trade Thomas Robinson, Francisco Garcia, and Tyler Honeycutt
Unfortunately for King’s fans, this trade is clearly motivated by the financially futile soon to be ex-owners of the Kings desire to cut costs. Though the trade does not save significant (on an NBA salary scale) money over the course of the contracts, the Maloof’s plan to sell the team after this season, and this trade, especially the departure of Francisco Garcia, save the Kings over 4 million dollars in salary. As an added bonus, the Houston Rockets reportedly sent Sacramento 1 million dollars to complete the trade. Though Patrick Patterson started for Houston this year and is likely currently a better player than Robinson, Robinson’s combination of athleticism, offensive skill, and rebounding leave him with far more upside than Patterson. Robinson was projected to be a devastating pick and roll man in the NBA, and though he has struggled as a roll man so far, scoring only 0.37 points per possession on 27.3% shooting, he has not been properly set up by the poorly operated Sacramento offense. Also, as he has somewhat inexplicably received only limited playing time, Robinson’s terrible numbers in the pick and roll may be attributed to statistical variation, as he has only registered 19 plays as a roll man, per mysynergysports.com. Robinson, one of 5 top-5 picks traded in his rookie year, clearly holds long term value for the Rockets, he may also benefit them as early as this season. Robinson, a hyper-aggressive rebounder, has a 12.5% offensive rebound rate, which should directly help Houston, the 24th ranked offensive rebounding team, while likely drawing defensive attention off Omer Asik, allowing the young center to attack the boards as well.
Orlando Magic: Trade J.J. Redick, Gustavo Ayon, and Ish Smith
Milwaukee Bucks: Trade Tobias Harris, Doron Lamb, and Beno Udrih
Milwaukee added the Magic’s sought after shooting guard J.J. Redick, making it clear that they have no desire to face the Heat in the first round of the playoffs. The Bucks should benefit from Redick for the rest of the season, but may struggle to retain him after his contract expires at the end of the year, as Redick may be looking to sign with a contender. From the Magic’s perspective, this is likely a better haul than the first round pick they were seeking from some of the other contenders for Redick’s services. 20 year old Tobias Harris is already an above average defender, and may develop a more efficient offensive game as his career progresses. While Beno Udrih is likely not part of the Magic’s long-term plans, his ability to distribute should benefit the Magic’s young wing players for the rest of the season. The Magic added Tobias Harris and Doron Lamb to their collection of decent players on rookie contracts, furthering their rebuild after the departure of Dwight Howard.
Toronto Raptors: Trade Hamed Haddadi and 2014 2nd round pick
Phoenix Suns: Trade Sebastian Telfair
The Toronto Raptors added Sebastian Telfair to reinforce John Lucas III and their bad-at-best point guard corps. Telfair is generally regarded as a more traditional pass-first point guard than Lucas, however his 22.0 assist percentage is slightly lower than Lucas’ 23.8. Though Telfair may compete for the backup point guard minutes, this trade is generally inconsequential as both players are below mediocre and have little bearing on the Raptors success. The Phoenix Suns added Hamed Haddadi, who never played a game in Toronto, and received a future second rounder for their troubles.
Washingon Wizards: Trade Jordan Crawford
Boston Celtics: Trade Leandro Barbosa and Jason Collins
Leandro Barbosa recently tore his acl, leaving the Celtics short a guard, while the Wizards clearly had no interest in retaining Crawford long term. Crawford has flashed potential as a scorer, rating in the top 10 in isolation points per possession per mysynergysports.com, but has an inefficient 51.2% true-shooting percentage. The Wizards may have been able to gain a decent asset for Crawford, but, as Barbosa and Collins will both play no significant roll, were clearly eager to rid themselves of the volatile shooter. The Celtics will hope that their veteran core can instill some basketball rationality into the young shooting guard, and perhaps may look back on this trade as a steal.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Trade Eric Maynor
Portland Trailblazers: Trade rights to Georgios Printezis
After a strong start to the 2011 season, Eric Maynor tore his acl. Maynor, once a prized future asset for Oklahoma City, lost much of his value upon his return this season. He has struggled, only shooting an abysmal 41.0% true shooting percentage, and Oklahoma City has been outscored by 7.0 points per 100 possession with Maynor on the court. With Reggie Jackson’s emergence as a decent backup point guard, Oklahoma City was able to deal Maynor for the trade exception used to acquire Ronnie Brewer. Georgios Printezis will likely never play in the NBA, and was only included because the Blazers are required to give up something. Though Maynor had little value to the Thunder, he may already be the best bench player on the Blazers. As Maynor recovers from his injury, there is a decent chance he will progress from his promising pre-injury form. When Damian Lillard exits the game, the Trailblazers are outscored by 8.6 points per 100 possesions, as current backup point guard Nolan Smith is generally unable to run the offense. After Maynor’s contract expires, assuming he does not make a significant leap in his recovery this season, he will likely accept the 3.4 million qualifying offer in an attempt to prove he deserves a longer contract after the 2013-2014 season.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Trade 2014 2nd round draft pick
New York Knicks: Trade Ronnie Brewer
Though he recently fell out of the Knicks rotation, Ronnie Brewer is a decent acquisition for the Thunder. The first real backup small forward for Kevin Durant will not play heavy minutes, but could be used to pressure offensive creators on the Thunder’s competitors such as Jamal Crawford, Ray Allen, and Manu Ginobli while Durant or Thabo Sefolosha rest.
Miami Heat: Trade 2013 2nd round draft pick and Dexter Pittman
Memphis Grizzlies: Trade rights to Ricky Sanchez
In exchange for lessening the Miami Heat’s luxury tax burden by absorbing Pittman’s contract, the Hawks were awarded a 2nd round pick. Like many of the foreign players affiliated with NBA times, Ricky Sanchez will likely never play a game in the NBA.
Atlanta Hawks: Trade Anthony Morrow
Dallas Mavericks: Trade Dahntay Jones
Though he is an elite three point shooter, Anthony Morrow’s defensive flaws will likely limit his playing time in Dallas just as they did in Atlanta, Golden State, and New Jersey. Jones is a defensive focused veteran who isn’t especially good at defense, and likely will play behind both Kyle Korver and John Jenkins in Atlanta. Though he has yet to earn consistent minutes, there is a chance Morrow will prove valuable as a floor-spacer for Dallas, likely the only possible outcome that affects either team.
Golden State Warriors: Trade Charles Jenkins
Philadelphia 76ers: Trade protected 2nd round draft pick
Entering the trade deadline, the Warriors were only just over a million dollars above the luxury tax line. Though they likely could have afforded the luxury tax fees, management wanted to avoid exposing themselves to the harsher repeater tax, which punishes teams that are over the luxury tax line for 3 years in a row. By trading Charles Jenkins and Jeremy Tyler, the Warriors are able to dip under the tax line, allowing themselves to enter in later years when the team is more likely to make a deep playoff run. As a Warriors fan, it is disappointing to see Charles Jenkins traded. The 44th pick out of Hofstra University almost singlehandedly foiled the Warriors attempt to shamelessly tank the 2011-2012 season, displaying his Stephen Curry-esque 46.4% midrange jumper while averaging 5.1 assists per game as a starter. While the Warriors are hoping he doesn’t become the next Jeremy Lin, Jenkins should be an effective backup for Jrue Holiday in Philadelphia.
Golden State Warriors: Trade Jeremy Tyler
Atlanta Hawks: Trade future draft considerations.
Though he flashed potential as a mobile-shot blocking power forward, Jeremy Tyler never played a significant role for the Warriors. The “draft considerations” the Warriors received for Tyler, another victim of the Warriors desire to get under the luxury tax, are likely a top 55 protected pick that the Warriors will never receive if Philadelphia does not finish with a top 5 record (which they without a doubt will not).