How Did The Trade Deadline Shake Up The East?
This year’s NBA trade deadline seemed to have plenty of potential to be one that would be remembered for some time. With superstars such as DeMarcus Cousins, Jimmy Butler, and Paul George all being involved in trade rumors, there were expectations that at least two of those players would be moved.
Cousins was arguably the one that was least expected to be moved considering he had been vouching for the city of Sacramento the past couple of weeks. Not because he loved the Sacramento Kings as an organization, but because he wanted to take advantage of the supermax contract of $200 million that the new CBA implemented. Instead, in a stunning move Cousins was traded and told about it in the middle of a media scrum. The New Orleans Pelicans performed highway robbery to snag the 6'11" three-time NBA All-Star. The other surprising part about this deal was it happened four days before the deadline. Usually deals that involve superstars happen on the last day and sometimes the last 10–15 minutes.
George or Butler weren’t moved. The Boston Celtics were the team that was in heavy talks with each player. Of course, they could only target one of the two, but GM Danny Ainge wasn’t prepared to throw in the plethora of draft picks plus a couple young assets to make either deal work. If the Celtics acquired either Butler or George, they would certainly be the favorites to finish second in the Eastern Conference and even bolster their chances of competing with the Cleveland Cavaliers in a seven-game series. Instead, they’ll roll with their 5'9 All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas who despite being one of the worst defenders in the league has been hands down the most dynamic fourth quarter scorer in the NBA.
With that being said, standing pat may be what is best for this Boston team. After all, it has gotten them to a 37–20 overall record and 3.5 games behind the Cavaliers who are still without J.R. Smith and will continue to be without Kevin Love until mid-April. Whose to say they can’t make a run at first place if they play like they did in the first half of the season? Two teams actually. The Washington Wizards and Toronto Raptors made their moves to put them in better position for the final stretch.
With a struggling bench that ranks 29th league-wide with 23.4 points per game, the Wizards made a trade with the Brooklyn Nets to acquire Bojan Bogdanovic and Chris McCullough in exchange for Andrew Nicholson, Marcus Thornton (who has since been waived), and a 2017 first-round pick. While McCullough will be used scarcely if at all in the rotation, Bogdanovic will eventually insert himself as the sixth-man for the hottest team in the East. Kelly Oubre Jr. held that title for the first half of this season, but his inconsistency left the front office uneasy in terms of having to depend a great deal on his production once the playoffs arrive.
Bogdanovic brings a knack for scoring after averaging 14.2 points in 26.9 minutes per game this season. His 35.7 percent success rate from deep doesn’t shout “elite shooter,” but considering he was in Brooklyn playing alongside the worst point guards the league has to offer, that number will likely increase now that he is playing with one of the best playmakers in the league in John Wall.
This move won’t be described as a home run by any means, but it was the necessary one that the Wizards had to make in order to become a more dangerous and credible team come playoff time. If all bodes well, Bogdanovic and the increased minutes of Ian Mahinmi since returning from injury could make this bench rotation respectable. Mix that in with the elite production from the starting five and the Wizards have the potential to make the Celtics cautious at number two.
Remember when second place was pretty much guaranteed for the Raptors? Well, they hit a rough patch winning just five of their last 16 games heading into All-Star break that made them drop to fourth. The problems have come at the offensive end. In the last 15 games, they have an offensive rating of 104.1 (23rd) compared to their overall offensive rating on the year of 110.9 (4th). As a result, they were active during trade deadline week acquiring Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker. Similar to the Wizards, these are moves that guarantee they’ll make the Eastern Conference Finals, but it bolsters those chances much more than they were before.
Ibaka hasn’t been the player most remember who was a dominant defensive force when he starred for the Oklahoma City Thunder, but he is very capable of having an impact on this team. Mainly because of his ability to hit the long ball. He’s cashing in on 38.8 percent of his attempts from three thus far and the Raptors have benefitted when they feature big men who can do just that. The only problem was Patrick Patterson was the only one on the roster that can do so. Now, head coach Dwayne Casey will have the option to throw Ibaka at the five and Patterson at the four in attempts to open plenty of space for Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan to create off the dribble. Having dependable bigs who can knock down threes is a primary part of finding success in today’s game.
Tucker was done on the last day of the deadline and has the chance to be a viable weapon moving forward this season for Toronto. He isn’t going to put up 20 a game. He’ll knock down a shot here and there, but his value will come on the defensive end. DeMarre Carroll hasn’t been the Atlanta Hawks-era version of himself that Toronto was hoping for when they signed him to a four-year, $58 million deal last two summers ago, but he is still a respectable defender. Having two of these guys to throw at LeBron in a potential playoff match up for seven games is much better than just one. The two of them most likely won’t be enough to dethrone The King, but it’s worth the try. Toronto put themselves in a tough position this summer with Ibaka, Tucker, and Lowry all becoming free agent. They won’t be able to retain all of them, but they are making it clear that they are serious about getting back to avenge their 4–2 loss to the Cavaliers in last year’s Conference Finals.
We have the easy job of sitting back and watching how all of this unfolds. Will Boston regret not making a move? Can one addition to a bad bench be enough to make the Wizards realistic contenders? Can the Raptors get back on track to capture a second or third seed in the East to avoid facing the Cavaliers any earlier than the Conference Finals? We’ll have to wait and see. One thing is for certain, and that’s that the finish to this NBA season in the top of the East alone will be one to remember.
