Which hypothetical trade would you like the most for us to make? The NYK trade is a no brainer, to me, and helps facilitate something far larger. I think the minute Bogi gets healthy you make this move if not sooner. That first + Stew (potentially) + expiring’s makes it a lot easier to get a good player than just a bunch of expirings for a team to have Cap Space in the same shitty FA summer we don’t even want to have cap space.
Let’s go over these individually:
This is an immediate no-go from the Warriors unless they believe, for some health-related reasons, that Wiggins is not going to recover. They lose a strong and relatively young contributor at forward whom they absolutely cannot replace given their cap situation and how polarized their salaries are (acquiring Wiggins was made possible only by them having Russell at the time); they replace him with Bojan, whose defense is a problem in the postseason and whose offensive contributions will be much less on that team; and Burks, a bench-caliber role player. That’s a big downgrade.
If they’re confident enough that Wiggins won’t recover from this short dip such that they’d be willing to make this trade, then the Pistons shouldn’t want him anyway.
Beyond bad for the Pistons, regardless of how Ivey develops, given that Anunoby will be a free agent at year’s end unless some catastrophic issue compels him to accept his player option instead (there are no guarantees that he’d re-sign). Ivey may also end up being pretty darned good, he’s five years younger than Anunoby, his cheaper contract will offer the Pistons more flexibility over the next two seasons, he’s a secondary handler the likes of which the Pistons may not be able to replace in the draft or in free agency, and OG has had some issues staying healthy over the last two seasons. All told, I’d deem this a questionable win-now trade even if OG did re-sign, and I don’t think the Pistons are in position to be making win-now trades. I don’t think this makes sense for the Raptors in the first place.
The least unrealistic of the three, but I don’t think the Knicks will give away a potentially valuable future 1st (especially given the present uncertainties about the rebuild, with how this season has begun) for a guy who would play off the bench in New York and whose postseason defense is a significant concern.
good points, just playing the hypothetical game really as its all we can do. I would love Wiggins on that deal, at his age and defensive prowess. I would add Stew to it, tbh, just to sweeten the pot. Guys like Stew can be had in FA…there were a number of them just this past offseason.
Thanks! I don’t think Stew has all that much value on the trade market. Maybe a very late 1st from a contender that feels he fits postseason needs very well. I don’t think he’s necessarily a common commodity; he’s a very strong interior defender under the right circumstances, and he can shoot. He’s just somewhat context-dependent and has weaknesses thanks to his poor size and athleticism.