The Plan for the NBA Season and Trade Mania 1.0

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The Crevice

7 min readOct 11, 2017

The NBA season is a little more than a week away. Throughout the season, I’ll be writing a weekly column, detailing the three biggest takeaways from the week. I’ll finish up the column with three game picks for the upcoming weeks. Pretty simple, much shorter than those massive season previews, but a strict routine’s what we’re good at, here at The Crevice.

That being said, here’s Trade Mania 1.0.

ESPN recently ran a column where they ranked each of the remaining 29 teams and how likely there were to beat the Warriors in a single game. They ran some numbers with their RPM projections, made some really pretty graphics, and it all made for a pretty great read.

Here at The Crevice, we don’t have the resources to gather the NBA data that ESPN has access to nor the elite graphics experts to make pretty HTML files. But what we do have is me: a dweeb with the trade machine, but I like to think that I’m a pretty talented dweeb.

Here are the six best contenders to knock off the Warriors in a playoff series, and one trade, massive or subtle, that can severely increase their chances.

Houston Rockets

Best lineup to combat the Death Lineup

Chris Paul on Steph Curry
Eric Gordon on Klay Thompson
James Harden on Andre Iguodala
Trevor Ariza on Kevin Durant
Clint Capela on Draymond Green

The recipe to a series win

Chris Paul does not have brain farts in the clutch
James Harden goes nuts for two games, one of which is in Golden State
Clint Capela is a monster on defense and on the boards

The trade

The Rockets need more bodies to throw at Durant. Ryan Anderson is unplayable against the Warriors, even though he’s a perfect piece for them in the regular season.

Houston gets Tobias Harris
Detroit gets Ryan Anderson and 2019 first round pick and 2020 second rounder

Anderson’s contract is an albatross, especially since it’s for another 3 years. But beside Drummond, in a spread offense, he makes sense, especially if the Pistons are sneakily trying to tank the next few years. Tobias Harris is perfect as a wing who can play the four, and even thump against Draymond Green at center. He can be a pivot between small and big lineups, and he’s playable against any Warriors lineup. And hovering around 35–36% from three, he’s not an offensive liability.

San Antonio Spurs

Best lineup to combat the Death Lineup

Patty Mills on Steph Curry
Danny Green on Klay Thompson
Rudy Gay on Andre Iguodala
Kawhi Leonard on Kevin Durant
LaMarcus Aldridge on Draymond Green

The recipe to a series win

Leonard is, by far, the best player on the court.
Aldridge punishes the Warriors when they go small.
Mills and Green throw fireballs at the rim.
Dejounte Murray, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, and Pau Gasol are not unplayable.

Steps 1–3 up there are conceivable. Step 4 is not.

The trade

The Spurs need athletic bodies. Letting Dedmon go may haunt them. Aldridge may not be the best complement to Leonard.

San Antonio gets Greg Monroe and Rashad Vaughn
Milwaukee gets LaMarcus Aldridge

Yes, this is a “WAIT, WHAT?!” trade. Here’s the idea: Aldridge on or off the court isn’t going to change the outcome of a series. Leonard’s impact, offensively and defensively, Green’s shooting and defense, and Mill’s hustle are the most important. So, why not punt on the season, open up sure cap space for a run at some free agents?

Monroe’s shown that he’s a bully-ball center now, if not anything else. But he’s also a gifted passer, which can be unlocked in a Spurs offense.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Best lineup to combat the Death Lineup

Russell Westbrook on Steph Curry
Andre Roberson on Klay Thompson
Carmelo Anthony on Andre Iguodala
Paul George on Kevin Durant
Patrick Patterson on Draymond Green

The recipe to a series win

Westbrook is aggressive against Curry and is disciplined against him on defense.
Carmelo Anthony has an efficient series.
Paul George plays Durant down to his level.
Steven Adams exacts revenge on Draymond Green on account of his testicles.
Andre Roberson shoots 33% from three.

The trade

The Thunder needs to shed the Singler contract. That’s the way the Thunder can save a little money. But why not try to get marginally better while you’re at it?

Oklahoma City gets Sean Kilpatrick
Brooklyn Nets get Kyle Singler and some Thunder second-rounder

This is a subtle trade that may make the Thunder much better. Singler is unplayable: a defensive turnstyle and an average, when he’s hot, shooter. He will not get on the field when the Thunder are playing teams that are above .500.

So here’s the pivot: the Thunder package the around $5 million a year contract with a second rounder and trade for Sean Kilpatrick, a heady, Big East guard with plenty of toughness. He’s not the defensive player that Roberson is, but the skill set is there. He can guard point guards and smaller wings pretty well, and he has a 35% three point shot. Regardless, he’ll be in the rotation, adding depth to an already thin team.

It also provides an defensively-intriguing small-ball lineup that unlocks some more crazy offensive sets, the Westbrook-Kilpatrick-Roberson-George-Anthony lineup. Kilpatrick can chase Thompson around, Anthony can bang with Green, and whoever of Roberson and George who’s guarding Iguodala can roam.

Milwaukee Bucks

Best lineup to combat the Death Lineup

Malcolm Brogdon on Steph Curry
Tony Snell on Klay Thompson
Khris Middleton on Andre Iguodala
Giannis Antetokuonmpo on Kevin Durant
Jabari Parker on Draymond Green

The recipe to a series win

Giannis runs amok.
Jabari shoots 43% from three for the series.
Khris Middleton plays at an actual All-Star level.
Everyone else snipes well.

The trade

Snell and Parker should not be playing crunch time minutes against the Warriors. Snell can hang, but Parker’s defensive liabilities are going to expose the Bucks, regardless of how much length they’ll have on the court.

Milwaukee gets Kemba Walker and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
Charlotte gets Mirza Teletovic, Matthew Dellavedova, D.J. Wilson, Rashad Vaughn, and two future first rounders

Let’s say Dwight poisons Charlotte and Batum’s injury is too much to overcome. Charlotte wants to cash in, tank, and build around Monk and whoever they draft in the next few years. This is that scenario.

Imagine the offensive capabilities of a Kemba-Giannis pick-and-roll with Middleton, Brogdon, and Parker surrounding it. Kidd-Gilchrist is still a crazy good perimeter defender and, in a controlled situation, is a perfect defensive complement to these pieces.

Boston Celtics

Best lineup to combat the Death Lineup

Marcus Smart on Steph Curry
Kyrie Irving on Klay Thompson
Gordon Hayward on Andre Iguodala
Marcus Morris on Kevin Durant
Al Horford on Draymond Green

The recipe to a series win

Is there really one? I’m so low on this team…

Brad Stevens outcoaches Steve Kerr to a significant degree.
Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward are unconscious shooting.
Marcus Smart bothers Curry significantly.
Durant or Curry gets injured…

The trade

Horford’s great and all, but he can’t be your only good big. They need a third star, especially since Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving aren’t on the level of Kevin Durant and Steph Curry.

Boston receives Anthony Davis and E’Twaun Moore
New Orleans receives Al Horford, Jaylen Brown, and every single first rounder in 2018 and 2019 that the Celtics possess