Trade 1:
Rockets get Myles Turner & Jeremy Lamb
Pacers get Pascal Siakam
Raps get Christian Wood, Eric Gordon & 2022 Pacers FRP
Trade 2:
Rockets get Kevin Love & Ricky Rubio
Clippers get John Wall
Cavs get Serge Ibaka, Luke Kennard, Eric Bledsoe & Danuel House Jnr.
++Rockets++
Im a Rockets die hard so il start here.
As much as i LOVE Christian Wood and would love to hold onto him. Theres one glaring weakness in his game and its one that could KILL the Rockets long term. Thats his defense. With defensive deficiency in both guard spots, you would hope to have an anchor at the 5. Unfortunately, Rākau (iykyk) falls short here, by quite a lot. Swapping him out with the similarly aged Myles Turner, who has shown a penchant for hitting the 3 ball, could help get the Rockets back on track. Myles may have to wait to be on a contending team again, but being the "vet" leader on this team could be a nice change of pace (no pun intended). Being able to move Gordon for an expiring could be huge long term, for a team gearing up to spend money in the next couple years. Moving Wall for Love and Rubio just makes sense right? Its basically a no lose for the Rockets, who would find themselves in a similar situation with Love as they are Wall, albiet Love may be open to playing. Something i go on about with Love on the Rockets is having a real opportunity to help change the culture around metal health in the NBA. With Love, KPJ and John Lucas leading the way, it could be a game changer moving forward.
++Pacers++
After waiting too long for the 6ers to budge, they decide on another direction. Next to Sabonis, on paper, Siakam seems like a clear upgrade. They do take a risk on Siakam being healthy, but if this pans out, new coach Rick Carlisle could see himself right back in the playoffs. While Carlisle does like to play a bit faster, theres arguement that swapping out Sabonis instead of Turner would be the right move. Time will tell, but in an apples to apples comparison, Sabonis is the better player. Adding Siakam also means that if TJ Warren becomes disgruntled by the trade deadline, he could be an asset dangled in another trade.
++Raptors++
They get a big man and one that can really score. In a team full of defense minded players, adding a 20 and 10 big man to the mix sounds like a no brainer, even if it is at the expense of one of your home grown all star players. Gordon should help off the bench too for a team that is lacking in guard punch. Adding a couple more win now players may also convince Dragic to stick around. A 1-2 punch of Dragic and Gordon off the bench could give 2nd units fits. The pick helps get this across the line. The Raptors are a good drafting team, and finding another asset in what should be another good draft could pan out in the long run.
++Clippers++
With Hartenstein looking more and more competent during pre-season, this may leave the returning from injury, Ibaka a bit expendable. Its unknown when Ibaka will be back, so letting him go, as opposed to waiting on yet ANOTHER piece to get healthy, may be the right move. Kennard could barely crack the rotation in the playoffs last year and with the addition of Keon Johnson and Justise Winslow in the off season, may struggle to find minutes heading into the season. Wall is a clear upgrade over Bledsoe and you hope that Wall likes it in LA enough (who doesnt?) that he declines the last year of his contract to sign long term for less money, much like the CP3 contract in Pheonix.
++Cavs++
Bit of a no brainer moving on from Love at this point. Its pretty clear that neither side has interest in riding this out for the next couple years. Plus with Mobley and Markanan now in the mix, where does Love even fit? Losing Rubio may sting, but Bledsoe should make up for the lost bench minutes. Plus adding some much needed shooting with Kennard (Cavs were dead last in 3pt stats last year) and filling another need in wing depth with House, the Cavs could see themselves coming out on top here.