The NBA trade deadline isn’t until Thursday. But much like me at age 8:00 on Christmas, some teams just couldn’t wait! There were several deals made on Tuesday, big, big names moved. And also some not big. Let’s sort through it.
Jaren Jackson Jr. to Utah
Oooookay, Danny Ainge. Nobody saw that one, and with multiple draft picks going in the deal I think JJJ is sticking around. Scoring won’t move up much as Utah doesn’t have that type of playmaking guard and they play at a slower pace than Memphis. The hope is that they utilize his defense more effectively, and the stocks and threes rise.
Biggest fear though is Utah Shutdown. Utah has a top-8 protected first round pick this season and there’s no way they lose that pick. They’re not going to play JJJ this season much. It’s a catastrophic deal for Jackson owners.
VERDICT: Loser in this deal. Also don’t stress anyone going to Memphis.
James Harden dealt for Darius Garland
Harden will be fine in Cleveland, he’s not the 45% usage guy anymore. Donovan Mitchell still drives the train. I really think Jarrett Allen benefits. Harden is now a great passer to the post, and the Cleveland big man can get copious amounts of dunks. Should help the shooting percentage anyway. Evan Mobley isn’t hurt either by this, even though he’s currently hurt in real life.
CAVS VERDICT: Everyone wins here. Not the most popular take, but adding a true play maker instead of whatever Garland did will help the Cavs numbers.
Winston Garland’s kid becomes the second option instead of the third and moves to a faster paced team. Yes he’s a winner, scoring up, more chances on ball. The Kawhi Leonard thing just gives him more space to operate. Definite winner here.
VERDICT: I just said this like a dummy, but Garland is a winner.
Bulls Chaos Hour
Nikola Vucevic goes to the Celtics where he’ll play less minutes and have a lesser role. Néemas Queta and him will probably split minutes and this really hurts the value of both, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Vuc average about 12-6 going forward. Have to hold for now but very discouraging for those of us who found his steady availability and number accumulation to be helpful. Fare the well, Sir Vooochie.
As of Wednesday, Jalen Smith is the only center on the Bulls. He’s an obvious winner here. Think 15-10 with some big three point shooting games. Biggest pickup for now and I’m really regretting cutting him in a league!
Anfernee Simons went to Chicago but might be flipped. No comment until we see where he lands.
In a smaller deal, Jaden Ivey went to Chicago for Kevin Huerter. Huerter is a bench player for Detroit and you can continue forgetting he’s in the league. Ivey is intriguing if he gets minutes and the Bulls trade more guards. With his broken leg healing, he might be more of a guy to watch next season than this one. Again, we shall see how the Bulls look Friday. Ivey is a pickup just to see what happens though in 12 teamers.
Quick taste here! More to come when news drops. Have a good one and thanks for reading!
