Trade grades: Who wins the Thunder-Sixers deal?
The deal
— --
Thunder get:?Forward Jerami Grant
76ers get:?Forward Ersan Ilyasova, protected future first-round pick
Oklahoma City Thunder: B-
There are layers to this move from the Thunder's perspective, some positive and some negative. Let's start with the good.
Grant's contract, which falls into the category known as "the Hinkie Special" after former Philadelphia general manager Sam Hinkie, is one of the league's most favorable from the team's perspective. Grant will make the veteran's minimum this season, fully non-guaranteed, then has a 2017-18 team option for the minimum that's fully non-guaranteed, even if exercised.
At that price, Grant is a good value. He started 52 games and played more than 2,000 minutes last season, and while that had more than a little something to do with the 76ers' weak roster, Grant has translated his athleticism into prodigious shot-blocking for a power forward: 2.2 blocks per 36 minutes last year, a rate better than that of the average center.
The issue is the other end of the floor, where Grant can't shoot at all. After hitting 31.4 percent of his 3-pointers as a rookie, Grant regressed to 24 percent last season, which is probably closer to his true ability. The non-shooting means Grant can't really play on the perimeter, and Oklahoma City will find it difficult to play him at power forward alongside its starting perimeter trio of Russell Westbrook, Victor Oladipo and Andre Roberson.
The Thunder were already shooting a dismal 29 percent from 3-point range this season, and now they've swapped one of their better shooters for a much weaker one. So right now, this move probably makes Oklahoma City a worse team. That's tougher to say in the long run.
The most interesting part of this deal is that the Thunder create a $7.4 million trade exception by swapping Ilyasova's $8.4 million salary for Grant's $1 million salary. That could allow Oklahoma City to help another team save money between now and the deadline by acquiring a more expensive player or add talent this summer, when the team will be over the cap. The Thunder could also renounce the exception, drop $7.2 million below the cap and outbid most playoff teams for any free agents who hit the market after buyouts.
The pick the Thunder are sending to Philadelphia is top-20 protected in 2020 and then converts into two second-round picks (in 2022 and 2023) if not conveyed. That limits the downside to this deal for OKC.
On its own, paying a late first or two second-round picks for Grant is probably an overpay for Oklahoma City. Adding in the additional cap flexibility, however, makes this a more favorable swap that could result in a stronger Thunder team by the playoffs.
Philadelphia 76ers: B
The 76ers' floor-spacing issues are every bit as bad as Oklahoma City's, and Grant was a poor fit alongside their center trio of Joel Embiid, Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor. So despite his favorable contract, Grant was probably not long for Philadelphia.
In the short term, the addition of Ilyasova is of a piece with signing Gerald Henderson as a free agent last summer. He's a veteran with complementary role-player skills who can help make the 76ers more competitive on the court this season -- and theoretically help the development of the centers. Like Henderson, Ilyasova costs Philadelphia almost nothing financially because the team is below the salary floor this season and his contract expires next summer.
In the long term, the Sixers are betting they can get more value out of either a late first-round pick or a pair of second-rounders than they got out of Grant. From a pure value standpoint, turning the No. 39 pick of the 2014 draft into that is a win for Philadelphia.
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