Hi all,

Check out this trade based off recent nba rumours linking Vando to the Suns, Crowder to the Hawks and Collins away from Atlanta. This trade see’s the Jazz become sellers and take on some bad salary but in turn they get a haul of draft picks. The Heat pair Bam with a super compatible 4 in John Collins. Suns trade some draft capital to bolster the roster and the Hawks bring in two high quality role players that compliment the roster better than Collins. Here’s why each team does this trade:

Heat: A steal for the Heat for two reasons. They strengthen their playoff push this year, bringing in a starting 4 who can score, space and rim protect, offering a high level 5 when Bam sits. Secondly they ditch a bad contract in Robinson and get below the tax for the year. I love the fit of Collins on the Heat, he can space the floor from 3 and adds length to an undersized team. I see him getting more touches in Miami and forming one of the better front courts in the league next to Adebayo. The drawbacks would be giving up on Jovic and Haiwood-Highsmith and shortening the rotation. They also lose draft capital which they’re already lacking.

Hawks: Bit of a simpler trade for the Hawks, they get off of Collins who’s a good player but a bad fit on a team with two dedicated non spacing centres (Okongwu and Capela). In exchange they bring in a seasoned vet in Crowder who I see starting at the 4 for them and a microwave scorer and elite spacer off of the bench in Malik Beasley.

Crowder is a great fit on the team, able to space, defend and not requiring a high amount of touches on a team with two ball dominant guards. He improves their switch ability defensively, able to guard up against bigger guys and switch onto smaller wings something Collins can’t do.

Beasley is a Huerter replacement. He’s playing in offensive lineups probably as an undersized 3 with a green light whenever he catches the ball. There’s an argument that Beasley is too similar to Bogdanovic but with the Hawks shooting the least 3’s in the league I think his spacing is invaluable for them.

The draft capital is a big loss and in an ideal world you make Collins work but this maximises the roster for the short to medium term.

Suns: Vando’s been linked to the Suns and I can see why. A hyper versatile defender who’s super impactful when he’s on the floor. A great one on one defender, brilliant rebounder, driver of transition with his steals, Vanderbilt has the potential to be one of the better role players in the league and while he’s an inconsistent spacer right now there’s been signs of his corner 3 coming on. He’d be an amazing get fit Phoenix. Gay is just a savvy vet who bulls out the rotation, offering some spacing and size. Thus trade also doesn’t see the Suns take on more money, they could even cut salary including someone like Biyombo or Okogie in this deal if they wanted to and I think they should push in some draft capital considering their roster composition and wealth of picks.

Jazz: Lastly the for the Jazz I think they should hold onto Vanderbilt but for the roleplayers they’re trading they get a great return in terms of capital and young players. I see Jovic getting minutes in the rotation and maybe Highsmith and they keep their team identity holding onto 4 of their 5 starters. The big drawback is Robinson’s contract but he fits Will Harry’s run and gun system, while they aren’t contending the contract isn’t too damaging and when that time comes either he’s a bad contract with a role in the rotation or they include him in a trade along with some of their draft capital if need be.

Spectate note: I don’t know about you guys but if I’m a rebuilding team (like the Jazz they aren’t topping the West this year) I wouldn’t be as worried about taking on bad salary. Robinson’s contract is bad for the Heat because they’re trying to contend so wasting $19,000,000 on a roster where fine margins need to be maximised is far more impactful than if they’re on a fun team without title aspirations. The contracts only get better either expiring or shortening. If like in this case I can get a 1st round pick and a young player on a good contract like Jovic I do it pretty much 100% of the time. Let me know your thoughts.