Trade Recap
Nets Receive Kyle Lowry, Derrick Rose, Myles Turner, Haywood Highsmith, Cam Reddish, Omer Yurtseven
Lakers Recieve Evan Fournier, Joe Harris, Buddy Heild, Duncan Robinson, 2027 Top 5 Protected FRP via Knicks
Knicks Receive Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis
Heat Receive Julius Randle, Ben Simmons, 2028 SRP via Nets, 2029 SRP via Nets
Pacers Receive Russell Westbrook, 2029 FRP via Knicks
Starting 5
Nets:
PG: Kyle Lowry
SG: Royce O'Neale
SF: Kevin Durant
PF: Myles Turner
C: Nic Claxton
Lakers:
PG: Dennis Schroder
SG: Joe Harris
SF: Buddy Heild
PF: LeBron James
C: Wenyen Gabriel
Knicks:
PG: Kyrie Irving
SG: Jalen Brunson
SF: RJ Barrett
PF: Anthony Davis
C: Mitchell Robinson
Heat:
PG: Ben Simmons
SG: Tyler Herro
SF: Jimmy Butler
PF: Julius Randle
C: Bam Adebayo
Pacers:
PG: Tyrese Haliburton
SG: Bennedict Mathurin
SF: Chris Duarte
PF: Jalen Smith
C: Isaiah Jackson
Analysis
Coming Soon (I don't have enough time to write rn)
Nets:
The Nets slowly start getting rid of the controversy, dumping off Ben Simmons and Kyrie Irving. In return, they get an elite shot-blocker in Myles Turner, a starting caliber PG in Kyle Lowry, and a few solid bench pieces. They slowly start rebuilding this team by first weeding out the controversy.
Lakers:
The Lakers get rid of an injury-prone Anthony Davis and a massive contract in Russell Westbrook to do what they need to do to succeed: surround LeBron with shooters. Joe Harris, Evan Fournier, Duncan Robinson, and Buddy Hield are all great 3 point shooters who could get minutes. They’re not good contracts but the Lakers are dumping off 2 max contracts so it kinda evens out.
Knicks:
The Knicks seem desperate to get a star player just to have an identity, so why not get 2? They’re in New York so I don’t think they really care about off-the-court issues, so most Knicks fans will be fine with this. The front office seems pressured to get a star and they get 2 for a decent price. As long as they can keep AD healthy and Kyrie out of trouble, they have a nice 1-2 punch to build around. They only give up 2 FRP, a bad contract in Julius Randle, and a few bench pieces to make this trade happen and I think the Knicks’s front office would do it in a heartbeat.
Pacers:
This trade gets rid of 2 of the Pacers’ starters, allowing them to tank. They get a pick which has the potential to be insanely valuable as the Lakers don’t seem like they’re gonna be good in a few years as they have no young talent. They have the cap space to keep Westbrook so they would be fine cap-wise. After Westbrook’s contract expires, they could either let him go or resign him to a cheap deal to be the 6th man behind Haliburton and Mathurin.
Heat:
The Heat are struggling, currently sitting below .500. They need some help. This trade would be risky, but it could pay off massively. They have a championship-caliber roster and they need something to get it back on track. First, they swap bad contract for bad contract, taking on Julius Randle. Robinson doesn’t even get 20 minutes per game while Randle would immediately start at PF. If Randle reaches his full potential, he’s an All-NBA Player. The second part of the trade is getting rid of Kyle Lowry and his contract as well as a few bench players for Ben Simmons and picks. Obviously, Ben Simmons has struggled this season, with a ton of confidence issues. When he plays good, he’s a triple-double threat as one of the best defenders in the league. He’s extremely versatile and can play 4/5 positions on a basketball team. Erik Spoelstra and the rest of the Heat’s coaching staff are great at player development and they can find a way to get the best out of Simmons and Randle.