Building off this one from a Heat fan: https://fanspo.com/nba/s/heat/trades/neTipDq_kfOKDb/heat-trade-thoughts
Over cap teams Denver & Heat cut cap. Pels over, too, but only add $40k lol. Under cap teams Houston & Nets take on salary but stay under the tax.
G Leaguers included to balance number of players moving around.
Tried to be strategic with the years/ pick quality, but that's always subjective and a crapshoot.
Tried to balance win-now returns (Javonte + JRE in the Nuggets package, Rockets cutting 2026 cap and getting some better fits), with other timelines (Nets are two years away minimum, so they take on contracts that expire next year). Pels are cutting salary, getting Ware, AND getting picks-- that may be too much, with that shitty Rockets 2nd maybe staying put. Also w Rockets, I could see swapping Theis for JRE.
My big questions, considering this is off another person's initial:
Does Cam Johnson + Dillon Brooks for 3/$55.8 help Nuggets win better than MPJ + Zeke Naji for 3/$43.6M? I think so, because they need to use Naji to get win-now pieces while Joker is still playing, but do Nuggets agree?
Are Rockets happy turning Brooks + Smith, Jr into Jimmy Buckets, even if he does resign? Jimmy fits better than Brooks, but Smith is a lot to pay to achieve that. On the other hand, this opens up playing time for AT&TE. But what then of Jalen Green-- I think they should trade him to a rebuilding team, he doesn't fit the system or identity, and is a throwback high volume SG scorer during an era that that doesn't work as well in... but do they agree? Are they overpaying by including that FRP?
Cam Johnson for Smith + Naji is a no-brainer. But what about all that bad money they're taking on next year? Is that worth 1 or 2 firsts, and then you wait til next year's deadline to "complete this trade?" Depends on their window, and the extent to which they want to be players in a super mid FA class, but that's somewhat solid on RFAs.
For the Heat, is MPJ Heat Culture? Is MPJ + extending BI for 2/$75 worth Ware? I haven't seen enough Ware to say, but Herro, BI, MPJ, Bam is a pretty decent start. FVV as a FA signing this summer and are you happy running at the playoffs with that? What's the end game?
For the Pels, getting Ware for BI and parts is a no-brainer. So much so, that giving them any picks along with it is maybe too much. Missi as the starter, Ware as his back-up and if he gets too good to hold back you move him? Yes please. Downside is, you have no more pieces to attach to CJ to duck the tax this year. That's probably the main reason I did give them picks-- they'd likely try to attach them CJ and get him out ASAP. There's a world where they even attach Ware, and use the combined $35M that frees up this summer in the RFA market to offer market+ to someone that cant match (frontload a Santi Aldama offer, a fat 2 yr for Myles Turner, something like that).
IDK. Lots of questions only these FOs could probably answer. But as long as I'm sitting around unable to work rn, it was at least a fun exercise!