Eight big trades we'd like to see at the NBA deadline
— -- ESPN's NBA Insiders present eight trades they would like to see, involving five All-Stars and nine teams, including several title contenders.
Major Cavs shakeup
Cavs get: George Hill, Derrick Favors, Rodney Hood, Utah's 2018 first-round pick (protected Nos. 1-14 in 2018, Nos. 1-4 from 2019 to 2021, converts to UTA and WAS second-round picks in 2021 if not previously conveyed)
Jazz get:? Kevin Love, Malachi Richardson, Derrick Rose
Kings get:? Joe Johnson, Iman Shumpert, Miami's 2020 second-round pick (from CLE)
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Kevin Pelton:?I think this trade could make sense for all three teams. While Cleveland surely doesn't want to move Love, this version of the deal turns one rotation player -- who's currently injured -- into three productive players who would dramatically improve the Cavaliers' perimeter depth. Like last summer's Kyrie Irving trade, this one balances Cleveland's short-term goals with the desire to prepare for life after LeBron James, adding a first-round pick (likely to come in 2019) and cutting $16 million from the team's 2018-19 payroll pending decisions on whether to re-sign Favors and Hood. And the Cavaliers would keep Channing Frye, either to use in another deal as an expiring contract or to play situationally off the bench.
For Utah, this deal consolidates expiring contracts into a better player than the Jazz could possibly hope to get using cap space this summer. That comes at the cost of a first-round pick, as well as whatever value Favors and Hood would hold in trades elsewhere, but I like the Love- Rudy Gobert frontcourt going forward. Sacramento makes more or less the same deal involving Hill that was previously rumored while finding a new home for Richardson without having to give up any draft picks.
Tyreke to Cleveland
Cavs get:? Tyreke Evans, $3.29 million trade exception
Grizzlies get:?Cleveland's 2018 first-round pick
Bobby Marks:?Taking on Evans' $3.3 million salary comes at a cost for Cleveland. Acquired into the $5.8 million Kyle Korver trade exception that was created in January 2017, Evans would cost Cleveland an additional $14 million in luxury tax.
Is it worth it for a four-month rental? In the case of Evans, yes. The Grizzlies' best player this season (sorry, Marc Gasol) gives the Cavaliers a dimension they lack -- a combo guard who can play on or off the ball if needed. The cost for the Cavaliers is their own first-round pick.
From a roster standpoint, Cleveland would need to waive Derrick Rose, who has been ineffective. For the Grizzlies, acquiring a first-round pick for a player such as Evans -- set to enter free agency in July -- is a great return.
Love for DJ
Cavs get: DeAndre Jordan
Clippers get:?Kevin Love
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Andr? Snellings:?Kevin Love is a five-time All-Star, but his skill set overlaps too much with LeBron James' for them to mesh perfectly. Like LeBron, Love needs the ball to be maximized.
Jordan is the interior defensive anchor Cleveland needs, and he doesn't require the ball on offense -- he can play off LeBron and the Cavs' other playmakers. Jordan is also healthy and would make a great big-man platoon with Channing Frye, who would fill in when a shooter is needed.
Meanwhile, Love would be a perfect fit for the Clippers. He has the game to fill Blake Griffin's old role and then some. Compared with Griffin, he is just as natural as an offensive hub out top but has a better jumper and is a much better rebounder. Love's game also fits well with that of newly acquired Tobias Harris.
As an added perk, it would be a return to L.A. for Love -- a former star at UCLA -- who would give the Clippers a marketable face of the franchise with championship experience.
The Brow to Philly
76ers get:? Anthony Davis
Pelicans get:? Amir Johnson, Dario Saric, Markelle Fultz, the Lakers' 2018 first-round pick (No. 1, or Nos. 6-30) or the Kings' 2019 first-round pick
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Jeremias Engelmann:?We already know New Orleans does not intend to trade Davis, but I think they should consider it.
The Pelicans are in a tough spot. With DeMarcus Cousins out for the season, they probably won't make the playoffs. And the future looks even more bleak.
Why? Without Cousins, whose return to the roster and to full health is far from assured, the Pelicans won't have enough to compete for a top seed in the playoffs. This potentially creates the situation we've seen many times over the years -- a superstar who is good enough to get his team to the middle of the pack, where it probably misses the playoffs and misses out on getting a top draft pick. That's no-man's-land, and that's where the Pelicans appear to be.
Fultz's shooting woes are well-known, but he's just 19 -- chances are he'll return to the form that made him the No. 1 pick in the draft just months ago. The Pelicans would also receive a high draft pick this year or next year, in addition to Saric, a promising 23-year-old already playing big minutes for a potential playoff team.
It's extremely difficult to give up a player like Davis and take a step back in the standings, which is why the Pelicans probably won't do it until their hand is forced -- Davis is under contract until at least the summer of 2020. But while the Pelicans would be starting at the bottom, this trade would brighten their long-term future.
On the Sixers' side, the equation is easy. With Davis, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, they would have a huge trio of stars that could dominate the league for years to come.
Tyreke to Philly
76ers get:?Tyreke Evans, Brandan Wright
Grizzlies get:? Jerryd Bayless,?Philly's 2018 first-round pick (protected Nos. 1-14 in 2018, weaker of 76ers' and Kings' picks protected Nos. 1-14 in 2019, Nos. 1-4 2020, converts to DAL and PHI second-round picks in 2020 if not previously conveyed)
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Pelton:?Although the Sixers are in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, I think there's a chance for them to make some noise in the playoffs this year. Philadelphia has the fifth-best point differential in the East, and FiveThirtyEight's CARM-Elo projections have the 76ers finishing just one game shy of home-court advantage.
Evans would be a huge upgrade to the second-unit offense and capable of finishing games as a spot-up shooter alongside Ben Simmons. Plus, Philadelphia sheds Bayless' $8.6 million salary for 2018-19. Taking that on might prevent the Grizzlies from using their full midlevel exception this summer, even if they stretch Bayless' salary, but they get a first-round pick with more upside to finish in the teens than the others they're likely to be offered for Evans.
Avery Bradley to OKC
Thunder get:?Avery Bradley
Clippers get:? Alex Abrines, Josh Huestis, OKC's 2018 second-round pick,?$1.6 million trade exception
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Marks:?The eight-game winning streak in Oklahoma City has been replaced by a four-game losing streak (with Golden State on deck), after the loss of defensive stopper Andre Roberson for the season. The Thunder have been relying on a committee to fill the void, including rookie Terrance Ferguson.
The challenge for OKC to cobble a deal together is matching $8.8 million (125 percent) of Bradley's salary without trading Ferguson and top three reserves Raymond Felton, Jerami Grant and Patrick Patterson. Because of those restrictions, a trade for Bradley would cost it Abrines and Huestis.
The Thunder would love to add the $4.7 million Kyle Singler contract (plus his 2018-19 salary) to the deal, but they don't have much additional salary to get the finances to work, unless they want to include current contributors. The cost for the Thunder is also $4 million in additional luxury tax penalties for a player who will hit free agency in July.
For the Clippers, the decision to move an expiring contract and take on the additional salary next season (Abrines is owed $5.7 million) will need to be weighed. Does 24-year-old Abrines play a part in the future? And if he doesn't, wouldn't the Clippers be best just letting Bradley walk for nothing? Besides its own second-round pick added in the trade, Oklahoma City can also include Boston's 2018 second.
Lou Will to Miami
Heat get: Lou Williams
Clippers get:? Tyler Johnson, Justise Winslow
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Snellings:?The Heat are a scrappy team that can string together wins in the regular season. But they lack the top-end offensive talent to be dangerous when defenses tighten up in the playoffs.
Williams would be a Megatron version of what they got from Dion Waiters a year ago, and would give them a legitimate No. 1 scoring threat who wouldn't necessarily disturb their team chemistry since he could ease into his role off the bench.
Johnson is redundant with Heat starting point guard Goran Dragic, but he has the talent to potentially be the Clippers' lead guard of the future. He would have to waive his trade kicker for this deal to work, and he is owed $19 million in each of the next two seasons. Still, he's only 25 and would help upgrade LA's backcourt long term.
Winslow was a dark-horse favorite out of the 2015 draft to become an impact wing as an athletic defensive stopper, but his offensive game hasn't developed. He would get a fresh start with LA and, at age 21, has time to find his game.
Dragic and Whiteside to Cleveland
Cavs get:? Wayne Ellington, Goran Dragic, Hassan Whiteside
Heat get:?Kevin Love, Channing Frye, Isaiah Thomas, Derrick Rose, Brooklyn's 2018 first-round pick
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Engelmann:?The Heat are seventh in the East after riding a four-game losing streak down the standings, with a negative scoring margin on the season -- essentially an average team.
To make matters worse, they have one of the highest expected payrolls next season and owe two future first-round picks to Phoenix.
The solution seems rather obvious, if they can do it: acquire expiring contracts and draft picks. Enter the Cavs, who have a coveted first-round pick from Brooklyn and multiple expiring contracts attached to Thomas, Rose and Frye, none of whom is making a big contribution in Cleveland.
Losing Love (currently injured) would hurt, but the Cavs would be getting three talented players who could plug gigantic holes immediately.
Whiteside is the league's best player in defensive real plus-minus (DRPM) and would be a major boost to a Cleveland defense that is ranked 28th. Ellington is a tremendous shooter who could replace JR Smith, who hasn't played well. And Dragic would be a significant upgrade over Thomas and Rose at point guard.?
If LeBron leaves in free agency, then losing the Brooklyn pick hurts, but this move would give the Cavs a real shot to compete while they still have James.
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