the Mike Conley dump in depth<\/a> earlier this week.<\/p>\nIn this deal, the Bulls received Jaden Ivey and Mike Conley, while the Pistons received the swap rights with the Timberwolves this year, Dario \u0160ari\u0107, and Kevin Huerter. The Wolves got back cash and the ability to duck quite a bit of luxury tax payments.<\/p>\n
For the Bulls, taking a flier on Ivey makes some sense despite the * checks notes * EIGHT??? guards on the roster. He never really managed to make it back to the same level of prioritization and\/or production he had early in his career after Cade Cunningham became an All-NBA level player.<\/p>\n
Instead, he\u2019ll try to figure something out for Chicago. This move is an unquestionable good move for Chicago (giving up Huerter is a near zero price at this point), but I worry they simply won\u2019t find the space to see if any of their guards really have something worth chasing in the absence of Josh Giddey.<\/p>\n
For the Pistons, this is what it had to be. There was no real way you could hang on to Ivey and get anything back if you waited until this offseason. It\u2019s hard to ask top five picks to take a low usage bench role and to just stomach that change.<\/p>\n
Some handle it well and embrace that, others don\u2019t.<\/p>\n
This move gives them a nice seven or so pick jump in the first round and a shooter in Huerter, who won\u2019t play much but could still add to the platoon of players asked to fill the void still left by Malik Beasley.<\/p>\n
In a Sentence: I\u2019m not sure it matters much, my dear.<\/p>\n
Another Bulls Deal\u2026 Another Point Guard<\/p>\n
Folks, I am tired. It is just past midnight and more and more deals keep coming through. I keep writing (obviously) but we are rapidly reaching the end of how fast I can write and I am behind on all of these moves right now. I just have to hope nothing happens while (if?) I sleep.<\/p>\n
This deal was a one for one swap of Nikola Vu\u010devi\u0107 and Anfernee Simons.<\/p>\n
In a remarkable return to headscratching form, the Bulls acquired yet another point guard. While I truly love Simons as a player, and his defense on the Celtics had taken a huge step forward \u2014 admittedly from apocalyptic to just plain bad \u2014 it made sense for Boston to trade him for A) a center and B) some tax relief.<\/p>\n
They did both in finding Vuc.<\/p>\n
While both players were on expiring contracts, taking on the Montenegrin big means a much smaller dollar number this year. He\u2019ll assumedly be back on a much smaller deal this summer.<\/p>\n
Still, even understanding all of the financial calculus, and taking into account the Celtics investment in Payton Pritchard as the guard they wish to spotlight, I wonder if giving up on the shooting and creation Simons provided in the Celtics system was a mistake.<\/p>\n
The Bulls doing this is\u2026 uh\u2026 I guess a thing? There\u2019s no real downside outside of the monetary cost of business. Time will tell if they reroute him, but truly just a confusing target to pursue.<\/p>\n
Jarden Harden and the Garland of Unimaginable Avoidance<\/p>\n
This is, without a doubt, the funniest deadline of my life.<\/p>\n
We heard a few hours before this deal actually happened that James Harden had, despite a 16-4 stretch in the Clippers last 20 games, requested a trade. This came after reports that LA was unwilling to set the groundwork for an extension in the summer.<\/p>\n
All that tells me is that James Harden is a pro-union king who will not be taken advantage of by the ruling class and capitalist oligarchs. Long live!!<\/p>\n
It also tells me that the man is a comedic genius. I mean, the exits he has manufactured are hysterical.<\/p>\n
I would have to put the rant at the Chinese youth camp at one because can you imagine going to school and your teacher brings in a guest speaker who talks about how much he hates his job? God, I love this league.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, the Clippers get younger and now have a real succession plan for what has been the oldest roster in the league the past few years.<\/p>\n
There remains a real possibility that Garland\u2019s medicals are just cooked and that his career is starting to circle the drain, but the hope for LA is that he and Zubac can keep the team afloat in their new arena without any infusion of extra talent as they are missing all of their own picks.<\/p>\n
It also opens up a sneaky trade window for Kawhi Leonard, if teams are willing to call on him.<\/p>\n
The timing is what truly kills any real optimism here for LA. They just dug themselves out of a massive early season hole in no small part to Harden\u2019s play. If the hard line was no extensions beyond 2027, that makes sense, but abruptness is almost always a sign of bad process. Additionally, who knows when Garland will play next. This feels like they threw their hands in the air and said \u201cfine, whatever man.\u201d<\/p>\n
That usually has been a bad set of words for the Clippers.<\/p>\n
For the Cavs, this is equally confusing. Adding a player best known for no showing in the playoffs to a team that is fighting to get over that same hump feels like the type of thing you would do in a feel good movie starring Martin Lawrence, not in real life.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, this deal is not about either team involved, but about Harden. He has been meticulous in creating the situation he wants most, often to the chagrin of talking heads like myself. It hasn\u2019t worked out so far, but he has behaved the way I think every player should.<\/p>\n
These organizations have shown again and again that they do not care about the well being of their players beyond extracting value. If they won\u2019t pay you what you\u2019re worth, find someone who will.<\/p>\n
I hope it works out for the Cavs, but it feels more likely that this will blow up spectacularly in the next two years. In the next two months, however, look for Cleveland to race to the best record in the East.<\/p>\n
In a Sentence: Know when to walk away, know when to run<\/p>\n
The Ballad of Buster \u201cAnthony Davis\u201d Scruggs<\/p>\n
Does anyone else feel really bad for AD? He was an excellent number two on a championship team, playing some of the best basketball anyone has ever played alongside LeBron James and it has seemingly all evaporated in an instant.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t ask to be traded for Luka Don\u010di\u0107 in what very well may be the worst deal across professional sports. He didn\u2019t ask to be heralded as the guy that would take the Mavericks to a title by Nico Harrison. He has simply just been asked to do far too much and his body has fallen apart, compounding things.<\/p>\n
He truly deserves better, but better is not what he has gotten.<\/p>\n
Instead, he is now a Washington Wizard.<\/p>\n
For the low, low cost of a pupu platter of random stuff, including but not limited to a project player on his third team in two years (AJ Johnson), a washed up vet on a massive expiring (Khris Middleton), and a bunch of picks in theory only, Washington acquired someone who made an All-NBA team only two years ago.<\/p>\n
For Washington, this is about as good as it gets. Turning CJ McCollum and Khris Middleton into Trae Young and Anthony Davis is pretty cool and you gave up nothing to get them. Who is the best player they gave up for those guys? Corey Kispert?<\/p>\n
The question of who between Sarr and Davis will play center is still up in the air, but having Sarr learn from Davis is about as good of a mentorship duo as one can get.<\/p>\n
This is the end of AD as a star, he has started his slow descent into role player veteran who everyone sees through the lens of the good old days, but if he can take the Marcus Camby route, he could get the praise he deserved a lot more of.<\/p>\n
For the Mavericks, there\u2019s something to be said about not compounding bad decisions. Holding onto Davis would\u2019ve been a stubborn mistake, one that surely would\u2019ve been made if Nico Harrison was still in place. Still, the return is far worse than it seems on paper.<\/p>\n
The two picks included are a Thunder pick this year (likely in the late 20s) and a protected Warriors pick that will likely not convey unless Golden State can make some big swings with Jimmy Butler missing the rest of the season.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s not much to be said for Dallas. They did what they had to. They didn\u2019t net a return on trading a guy that made the All-NBA teams in all but one of his first five years. That\u2019s malpractice, but they figured out that out pretty fast.<\/p>\n
I just feel terrible about the Mavs fans. The arena seems perpetually still, devoid of any excitement there once was. Cooper Flagg has been playing excellent basketball but it simply doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n
There is so much more than basketball in fandom, and I fear the Mavericks have turned their community to stone.<\/p>\n
In a Sentence: Fire Nico (over a spit or something, Dallas demands retribution)<\/p>\n
This simply hurts me so much\u2026<\/p>\n
What is Jared McCain? For the blind, he is light. For the hungry, he is bread. For the sick, he is the cure. For the sad, he is joy. For the poor, he is the treasure; for the debtor, he is forgiveness. For the Sixers, he is expendable. For the Thunder, he is a perfect fit.<\/p>\n
This trade fills me with such an inexplainable sadness. My For You has been filled with montages of \u201cit\u2019s two days into summer, and I\u2019m three lectures behind\u201d and I just find myself asking how we got here. The Sixers number 20 curse truly takes no prisoners.<\/p>\n
The way it looks right now, the Sixers had stopped believing in McCain. Especially with both VJ Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey locked into the starting jobs, Quentin Grimes getting ready for a raise, and Dominic Barlow coming on in a massive way recently, there was going to be an odd man out. I just expected that to be Grimes, who is looking for a massive contract, instead of the rookie controlled McCain.<\/p>\n
I can\u2019t help but feel like this was a mistake for Philly. McCain had started the year poorly but was coming on well over the past couple weeks. Also, while he wouldn\u2019t have been a starter, there\u2019s always a role for a player of his ilk. Injuries are also inevitable and he would have been the ultimate insurance policy.<\/p>\n
If McCain gets back to last year\u2019s level, he will be a perennial sixth man of the year candidate. Instead of backing up Maxey, he will know be doing that for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.<\/p>\n
Jared\u2019s fit on this Thunder roster is about as perfect as it could get. They needed both spot up and off the bounce shooting alongside both their bench and starting lineups. Additionally, McCain\u2019s defensive effort and high character should get him involved early and often when paired with the perimeter stoppers he will surely be flanked by,<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also worth noting that Lu Dort will likely be leaving the Thunder this offseason. Getting a cost controlled McCain means that there will still be shooting to use after that loss.<\/p>\n
I also can\u2019t get on board with the paltry trade return. Philly sold on Jared McCain for a marginal return on investment. Adding a handful of seconds to the middling first used on the young combo guard will aid in flexibility but why trade that guy without getting an upgrade.<\/p>\n
This just feels like a move motivated entirely by financials.<\/p>\n
Some have compared this to Philly selling on Michael Carter-Williams after his rookie of the year campaign, but that fails to consider skillset.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m just shocked by this one.<\/p>\n
This trade feels like it was designed in a lab to piss off a very specific brand of Wolves\u2019 fan. Swapping Collin Sexton and Coby White while throwing together some other stuff on the side illustrates how little interest there was in either guard despite those frothing at the mouth on Twitter.<\/p>\n
The Bulls keep stacking second round picks, making that a handful of them acquired in the past days with likely more to come. This is the lowest Coby White\u2019s value has been since his breakout year, but at least they got something.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s here that I want to pause and remember the Coby White moment on this very column that has enabled me to do this sports writing thing for a living. Two years ago, I compared Coby to the Silver the Hedgehog boss fight from Sonic \u201806. So much has changed since then. Defenders are no longer subjected to hearing \u201cyou\u2019re too slow\u201d whenever the guard out of UNC turns the corner.<\/p>\n
Coby has remained productive, albeit in an environment far less conducive to his talents. This feels like fair value for a score first guard. There was a time where the Bulls could get much more for him, but we do not live in that time.<\/p>\n
Charlotte trading Sexton is a little surprising with how beloved he clearly was in that locker room, but Charlotte must be more interested in on court upgrades despite their strong stretch since the start of the new year.<\/p>\n
The most fascinating wrinkle of this is what it means for Lamelo Ball, who has been excellent this year. If Coby White is coming in to take the Tre Mann assignment of bench guard who comes in and scores (once known as the Terry Rozier assignment, or maybe even the Nick Smith Jr. assignment), then there\u2019s little to be said here.<\/p>\n
But, it does feel like trying to make all three of Ball, White, and prized rookie Kon Knueppel work together will be an uphill battle. None of those players are good defenders, while Knueppel is certainly not bad. It\u2019s also worth noting just how large Ball\u2019s contract is. Maybe a reset is on the horizon and White will be the cost controlled option to replace him.<\/p>\n
Either way, this feels like a fair deal for both sides, and one that helps both teams pursue exactly what they felt they needed at the deadline.<\/p>\n
In a Sentence: The fairest, most normal deal of a very abnormal deadline<\/p>\n
Four Bits of Housekeeping<\/p>\n
I\u2019m including three different trades here just because I feel they are best folded into one conversation about salary dumps. Those deals are as follows:<\/p>\n
The Raptors dumped Ochai Agbaji\u2019s contract to Brooklyn, giving up the Lakers\u2019 second round pick, and receiving Chris Paul, who will be bought out.<\/p>\n
The Utah Jazz received Lonzo Ball and a second rounder, Ball will be bought out.<\/p>\n
Guerschon Yabusele found himslf in Chicago for Dalen Terry.<\/p>\n
And lastly, while Drew Eubanks will not be bought out and will play for the Atlanta Hawks, any time someone is acquired for cash considerations, you can probably guess that the team trading him simply did not want to deal with the person or contract.<\/p>\n
Drew Eubanks is also the single ugliest player I\u2019ve ever seen, which is neither here nor there, but damn.<\/p>\n
These three moves are all made by a team looking to lower their tax payment or to get under the apron entirely. The Jazz are on either side of two of these moves, but that has more to do with the nature of their trade for Jaren Jackson Jr.<\/p>\n
None of these moves have anything in place to discuss, outside of maybe the Cavs\u2019 rapid reduction in cost that could get them into the first apron and enable them to trade three firsts this offseason in an attempt to lure a bigger name (Giannis anyone?)<\/p>\n
In a Sentence: Not everything can be interesting.<\/p>\n
PS: I am adding the Nick Richards trade to the Bucks and the Chris Boucher trade to the Jazz to this list. I will not be discussing them in any detail because they are exactly the same thing as this write up.<\/p>\n
Maybe Trayce Jackson-Davis should go in the previous category. After all, he is a backup center that was drafted with a second round pick being traded to Toronto where he can be a backup center for the price of a second round pick.<\/p>\n
And yet, I find myself so much more excited about this one than I have any right being. There was a time where Chris Paul and TJD made a Warriors bench unit that has long since been the weakness of that team into a real, well, not strength but it wasn\u2019t bad anymore!!<\/p>\n
The Warriors keep getting smaller and smaller, and still have the Kuminga thing on their plate, so I don\u2019t have much to say to them, but I do like this quite a bit for Toronto.<\/p>\n
Again, I know. I am aware this is a backup five, but the sooner Toronto can launch Jakob Poetl to space, the better. The contract is bad enough, but the play has also been dreadful. Removing him from the rotation, or at least minimizing the minutes he does play should certainly buoy Toronto\u2019s hopes to earn some real playoff reps.<\/p>\n
In a situation that has needed anything to improve it for months, the Raptors found exactly that at the lowest possible cost. That\u2019s a good move to me, and I wanted to say as much.<\/p>\n
In a Sentence: Flash needs substance to be good, but substance without flash is never bad.<\/p>\n
The Worst Media Plant since Flyana Boss<\/p>\n
Folks, you know who the biggest winner of this deadline is? Friend of the program Charlie Cummings, who now never needs to talk about Jonathan Kuminga again.<\/p>\n
The context behind this tweet is unnecessary (I won a bet with him after the Wolves beat the Warriors in last year\u2019s playoffs), but the man\u2019s sheer hatred for the way the Warriors managed the asset of the \u201csecond timeline\u201d was enough to make him stop writing about his childhood team. Still, he\u2019s a great follow for those who want to follow more non-linear developmental stories and learn more about the game as it happens.<\/p>\n
Back on topic though, I truly cannot overstate my joy that this Kuminga saga is over. He is being sent to Atlanta alongside Buddy Hield for Kristaps Porzingis. Just as Trayce Jackson-Davis is sent out, the Warriors bring in a new center to replace him<\/p>\n
For Porzingis, everything has kind of gone downhill since his auto-immune disorder turned him into a part time player who struggles to stay healthy on a consistent basis. There are still inklings of the player who enabled the Celtics to become an absolute juggernaut en route to a championship, but he is certainly not the star acquisition Golden State imagined when trading their glorious young star in JK.<\/p>\n
The Hawks have seemingly committed to playing as many wings as they possibly can, with very few of them having any real cohesive strengths. Kuminga fits that identity quite well. The read and react offense was never going to work for him as his basketball IQ just made everything half a second too late, but he had some moments as a creator and rim attacker in the playoffs last year.<\/p>\n
Most importantly, this saga is finally over and we can move on with our lives.<\/p>\n
The lasting impact of the Warriors\u2019 pursuit of the two timeline approach will be that Steph Curry will likely never step foot into another Finals. One of his costars is rapidly declining. The other just tore his ACL in his mid-30s. Curry will remain a Warrior for his career, largely because there is no situation in which they allow the best player in franchise history to leave, but it\u2019s been a complete and utter mismanagement.<\/p>\n
Maybe that strategy was already dead in the water when Joe Lacob forced the James Wiseman pick and held onto him until he was worth nothing. Maybe it was when Draymond Green punched the only youngster that had become a quality player. Maybe it was when they told the world that the guy they refused to play was simultaneously a star in the making.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a tragedy of self-fellating know it alls, who prided themselves on being \u201clightyear\u2019s ahead\u201d while completely shooting themselves in the foot.<\/p>\n
They deserve all the reproach in the world. And I hope they don\u2019t do the same aggrandizing approach with Podziemski that they did with Kuminga.<\/p>\n
There are Nickeils everywhere for those with the eyes to see them<\/p>\n
I won\u2019t go into too much depth on this one because this is, after all, a Timberwolves site and there will be many thoughts to be had on this trade. As I speak, Andrew Carlson has one up that should be linked on the top or side or bottom or both of this page.<\/p>\n
No, I instead just want to use this as an excuse to talk about Nickeil Alexander-Walker again.<\/p>\n
Letting him walk has seemingly hit the Wolves extremely hard. Between his missing stability and calmness in a roster of enigmatic and at times chaotic personalities and the role he played as a bench shooter and ball handler being left open only for no one to take over, it\u2019s safe to say that Minnesota losing him has been a serious blow.<\/p>\n
There is perhaps no one that better fits what the Wolves need as a NAW replacement better than Dosumnu.<\/p>\n
This is truly everything anyone could\u2019ve hoped for. Not only do the Wolves get out of dealing with the Rob Dillingham nightmare, but they manage to find someone they know will fit and can now maintain for the long term instead of seeing him walk this summer.<\/p>\n
However, the price to make this trade work is not nothing. While I am very locked in in my belief that Rob Dillingham will never become a full time player because of his size and other more wide ranging concerns, trading him and four seconds is certainly quite a bit of flexibility out of the window.<\/p>\n
Additionally, this trade did not happen in a vacuum. The aforementioned pick swap with Detroit was needed to offload Conley to make this move happen.<\/p>\n
A pick swap and four seconds is a lot to give up for a non-starter (although maybe it is better to bring Donte back off the bench in this situation). However, the fit is excellent and he should pair beautifully with Jaden McDaniels as two of the very few real three and D wings, both shooting high percentages from deep and pestering opposing guards and wings.<\/p>\n
Lastly, Dosumnu\u2019s willingness to get to the rim should add a lot of much needed consistency that has plagued the Wolves during their runs of anemic offense.<\/p>\n
For the Bulls, hey man, it\u2019s more seconds. Dosumnu was the one guy that Chicago probably could\u2019ve held onto if they really wanted to, but this is a full retool\/rebuild now. Dillingham could be something. Leonard Miller is a fascinating lottery ticket and his G-League film is crazy, but it\u2019s hard to get too excited about a player who has never played a meaningful minute in his three years in the NBA to date.<\/p>\n
In a Sentence: Knowing when to cut your losses is more important than holding firm in bad beliefs<\/p>\n
Return of the Exciting Whites<\/p>\n
Maybe a Luke Kennard deal isn\u2019t exciting enough to need its own section. To be quite honest, it definitely isn\u2019t. It\u2019s as simple as \u201cget a shooter for LeBron\u201d or its millenial counterpunch \u201cget a shooter for Luka.\u201d That\u2019s it.<\/p>\n
Honestly Kennard is functionally just what the Lakers drafted Dalton Knecht to be. He will simply be a spot up, run around screens guy who they got for a second and who they will try to retain on the minimum this offseason.<\/p>\n
No, I\u2019m here because I want to talk about Gabe Vincent.<\/p>\n
More specifically, I want to show you guys his G-League highlights, because I may never get another chance to do so.<\/p>\n
During the 2019-2020 season, Vincent won Most Improved Player with the Stockton Kings with a ridiculous shooting display. He would go on to have that crazy run with the zombie Miami Heat, turning into a micro-Steph Curry en route to the Finals.<\/p>\n
In the same way that I did for Duop Reath, I need to eulogize the man a little. If this is it, and it damn well might be, what a run it has been. Here\u2019s to remembering G-League highlights, because for sickos like us, they are absolutely everything.<\/p>\n
In a Sentence: Where\u2019d all the time go?<\/p>\n
A Puerto Rican Brooklynite Goes Home<\/p>\n
The Knicks have had rumored interest in Alvarado for months at this point. The biggest thing holding up a deal was the Pelicans having negative interest in taking on Yabusele\u2019s player option for next year. After the Bulls did the Knicks a favor, it was more of a question of when, not if.<\/p>\n
As it turns out, an Alvarado acquisition became decidedly more important when news broke this morning that Knicks guard Miles McBride would be missing at least the rest of the regular season.<\/p>\n
In theory, these two players are similar enough that Jose will be able to step in easily and fill the needed role, but McBride has been amongst the league\u2019s best and most effective shooters this year. While Alvarado is certainly capable in that regard, he\u2019s not at the same level.<\/p>\n
The Knicks question this offseason was how they could rebuild their depth after going all in on Karl-Anthony Towns. How could they go from a playoff rotation of six players to one of nine or so. Well, the return of Landry Shamet has certainly helped to do that, as he may be the best player on a minimum contract in the league right now.<\/p>\n
However, on the opposite side of things, Yabusele\u2019s spot as the back four has evaporated with Mo Diawara taking on a larger role. Still, depth is a decided weakness for New York and any deep playoff run will need different levers available to be pulled by Mike Brown.<\/p>\n
Getting Alvarado gives Brown an emergency three guard lineup to be played against a team that could play small, or much needed respite for Jalen Brunson.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not flashy, but it is certainly a vital piece of surviving the regular season as well.<\/p>\n
New Orleans standing pat here, despite having handfuls of players that everyone across the NBA wants, in order to keep their team together at a whopping 13-40 record, is shocking. In sheer refusal of what the Grizzlies smartly did, the Pelicans will continue to hold out until they\u2019re forced to sell their best players for pennies on the dollar.<\/p>\n
A year ago, I wrote that no one has wasted more talent than the Pelicans in the last two decades. I woke up to death threats in my DMs from fans of a team no one really remembers. I want to reaffirm that take. The Pelicans waste more talent than any team. I want to see Herb Jones and Trey Murphy play for good teams. I want to see if someone can fix Zion.<\/p>\n
Instead, we have whatever they are, a sickly mess of basketball dreams and bloated injury reports, run by one of the worst GMs of the 2010s.<\/p>\n
In a Sentence: MSG will be getting LOUD, while the Smoothie King Center will keep being empty.<\/p>\n
Players are getting dumped left and right, largely for luxury tax reasons and while I don\u2019t have anything to add to my above explanation, I think I need to at least mention them here.<\/p>\n
Josh Minnott, despite a hot start to the year in Boston, is being dropped off in Brooklyn, where he will have to fight for a second chance at a second chance. It also likely frees up newly acquired Nikola Vu\u010devi\u0107 to wear number eight.<\/p>\n
Hunter Tyson, widely considered to be the most expected-to-be-traded player in the NBA has also been left behind in Brooklyn to free up savings and a roster spot for the buyout market for Denver. They have bigger problems though as Peyton Watson will miss considerable time with a hamstring injury.<\/p>\n
Eric Gordon is going to Memphis, where he will surely be bought out.<\/p>\n
PS: Tyus Jones for Malachi Branham. In a Sentence: Who cares?<\/p>\n
Clippers Entering Rebuild, Pacers preparing for 2026-27<\/p>\n
Despite what I said above about the Clippers recentering their future around the pairing of Darius Garland and Ivica Zubac, the Clippers have instead opted for reloading their stock of draft picks.<\/p>\n
In return for the Croatian big man, the Clippers are receiving Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, a protected first this year (we\u2019ll get to that in a second), and another first in 2029.<\/p>\n
If that sounds like a lot, it\u2019s because it really is. The Pacers currently have the third best odds in the draft and are in the midst of a dire tank war. Trading their first rounder this year is, as such, a dangerous proposition, one I can\u2019t get on board with even if Zubac is a very good player.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how the protections break down:<\/p>\n
If the pick falls from 1-4, the Pacers will keep the pick and it will become an unprotected 2031 first round pick.If the pick falls 5-10, the Clippers will receive a top 10 selection in a draft stacked with top end talent.If the pick instead falls somewhere 10-30 (which seems like a virtual impossibility), the Pacers will keep the pick and LA will get that same 2031 first round pick.<\/p>\n
It is worth noting though, that if Indiana keeps their pick this year, they will be blocked from trading any of their firsts until 2028 due to the complications of the Stepien rule.<\/p>\n
All in all, Indiana has now fully run out of flexibility and are trusting that Tyrese Halliburton\u2019s Achilles recovery will go off without a hitch, which is a terrifying bet to make.<\/p>\n
However, after how good their trade for Pascal Siakam looks, a move that mirrors a lot of what is going on in this one, I understand the trust in their own front office to make these types of evaluations work.<\/p>\n
For the Clippers, if the ping pong balls work out in their favor, this is an absolutely incredible return on a great starter. They clearly wanted a big return for Zubac, and they certainly got that.<\/p>\n
On the player front, Jackson is a good, but uninspiring backup center while Mathurin will still cling to his draft slot despite at times lacking performance. I hope his introduction does not get in the way of Jordan Miller\u2019s continued rise but this could rapidly become a fun, scrappy team.<\/p>\n
The Kawhi question looms large, because he is more and more out of place on a roster that is increasingly not focused on winning a title right now, but instead of a more drawn out stability while the Clippers wait out the picks they owe.<\/p>\n
In a Sentence: Scared money makes none, but I\u2019d be very scared on both sides.<\/p>\n
I can\u2019t believe I missed this forgotten bit of the Jared McCain trade, but it seems Ousmane Dieng will be heading to Milwaukee. Dieng just goes to show that even the best GMs have their own flawed player evaluations.<\/p>\n
Right before drafting Jalen Williams, the Thunder traded up with the Knicks to get Dieng, only to keep him in the G-League without any real opportunities to play during the past few years. He did, however, win G-League MVP during that span.<\/p>\n
Even if this is only about freeing up space or throwing away a season, I am excited to see Dieng play. In a similar way to Leonard Miller, there are always intriguing players that just end up in the wrong place. For Miller, it was that the team had a log jam of bigs ahead of him. For Dieng, it was that the Thunder just got too good, too quickly with strength and depth on the wings.<\/p>\n
Every rebuild has players it can\u2019t afford to invest in. Those guys rarely turn into something somewhere else, but I will never stop hoping for them. This is the same thing.<\/p>\n
In a Sentence: Here\u2019s to the Jordan Loves of the NBA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Welcome back ladies and gentlemen, friends and foes, avid Loopians and those unaware of the In The Loopus…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":586217,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3782],"tags":[7,307,152,3954,6,53350,308,69776],"class_list":{"0":"post-586216","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-minnesota-timberwolves","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-minnesota","10":"tag-minnesota-timberwolves","11":"tag-minnesotatimberwolves","12":"tag-nba","13":"tag-nba-news-and-analysis","14":"tag-timberwolves","15":"tag-timberwolves-rumors"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116023716941217336","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=586216"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586216\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/586217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=586216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=586216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=586216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}