I’ve seen the Giannis, Randle, and Wiggins trades, and instead of doing the typical trade analysis which has been done a thousand times, I’ll be doing this in the format of a list of takes because I think it’s more interesting.
The Bucks must have a higher idea of one of these Heat players than average.
Whether it’s Ware, Herro, or Jakucionis, they must value one of these players higher than I do. In my opinion a Jaylen Brown based package would have been stronger, and surely there were other strong offers with more picks and prospects included.
The Celtics are the biggest loser so far.
You still have to trade Jaylen Brown, right? You can’t just put a guy of that caliber in so many rumors and not make a move. But what do you even get for him? There’s not really another top player on the trade market right now, not of that caliber anyway, so you probably have to trade him at least by the deadline for a lower value package, or something that launches into a rebuild.
The Wolves lost the Randle trade and by extension the KAT trade.
You couldn’t get any players for Randle? I get that Clayton doesn’t fit, but you’d expect one of the lower-contract, higher-value guys from the Bulls, maybe a Julian Phillips.
Randle won’t stay on the Nets for the end of this next season.
This is just a really weird acquisition and I don’t exactly see why the Nets made this deal. Randle doesn’t really help them tank, and it’s not like he’s going to gain that much value. I’m curious to see what the Nets do with him.
Tyler Herro averages 29+ PPG this year
Because who else is going to do it? This is the standard MPJ, Jerami Grant style increased-role MIP campaign, but Herro is better than either of those players and has the tools to take this Bucks team to the upper middle section of the Eastern Conference standings.
The Aaron Wiggins trade is a win-win.
Precise value for Aaron Wiggins was about 2 SRPs. The Thunder save a couple bucks and Atlanta gets a proven championship role player. Two high-level GMs making a high level move.
Miami and Milwaukee finish within 4 games of each other this season.
Milwaukee right now feels kind of fun. With no incentive to tank, I think they’ll lean into that. Meanwhile, Miami is going to struggle with Davion Mitchell as the presumptive starting point guard, and as good as Norm, Giannis, and Bam are, I struggle to see a path to acquiring the type of role players necessary to build a real contender in the modern NBA.
The biggest winners so far are the Bulls.
This seems like a really cheap Nic Claxton acquisition, and I think this is a real upgrade over Vucevic. Good first major move from Bryson Graham.
What do you think of these deals, and my takes? Who won each trade, who lost? Which of my takes suck, and which are accurate? Looking forward to the discussion!