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Intra-Division Trades
The Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics agreed to a trade on draft night that sends two future Hall of Famers to Brooklyn. Just three days later, the Toronto Raptors agreed to send a former number one overall pick to the New York Knicks. It’s very rare for teams within the same division to trade with each other. When a intra-division trade involves key players it is lunacy. Two trades involving key players that happen only a few days apart, both between teams within the same division, is flat out unheard of. But that is exactly what happened in the Atlantic division as two teams that share the same state hope to make final pushes to win a championship before the window closes.
The Trade Heard Round the Draft
Not much can overshadow the draft on draft night, but the proposed trade between the Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics came very close. It isn’t official yet and won’t be for another couple of weeks, but it seems to be agreed upon. The trade was mentioned multiple times on draft night because it all depended on Kevin Garnett of the Celtics waiving his no-trade clause and approving his move to Brooklyn, it seems like that has happened and the trade will eventually go through.
The blockbuster deal sends future Hall of Fame forwards Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, as well as guard Jason Terry, to the Nets in exchange for Keith Bogans, Kris Joseph, Kris Humphries, MarShon Brooks, Gerald Wallace, and 3 first round picks in 2014, 2016, and 2018.
For the Nets, this is a giant step forward towards backing up owner Mikhail Prokhorov’s promise that the team would win a championship in five years. This trade gives the Nets the best starting lineup in the NBA as well as a former 6th Man of the Year winner coming off the bench. With Deron Williams and Joe Johnson in the backcourt and Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Brook Lopez in the frontcourt, the entire starting lineup is made up of All-Stars. Now, from what we’ve learned from the Lakers last year, talent on paper does not mean wins on the court. However, the egos on this team seem to be a lot lower than they were in Los Angeles. Pierce and Garnett, unlike Howard, know what it takes to win a championship. The two of them, along with Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo, were more focused on winning a championship than they were on individual stats when they all teamed up in Boston and won the NBA championship in 2008.
In addition, the team has the advantage of having essentially three head coaches on their team. Newly retired, future Hall of Famer Jason Kidd was hired as head coach of the Nets almost immediately after stepping away from the game. Outside of the coach on the sideline, Garnett and Pierce, who are just as accomplished and respected as Kidd, will act as coaches on the court. A coach on the bench can only do so much, but having Pierce and Garnett adds a whole other dimension. Neither, given their advanced age and high mileage, should be getting significant playing time during the regular season. That means that if all goes to plan, the Nets will have them fresh for the playoffs. The worst-case scenario for this team is that they become the 2012-2013 Lakers; the best case is that they play like the Spurs of the same year. Like the Nets, the Spurs last year had a good mix of older and younger players and they knew that the important thing was getting their veterans, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili, to the playoffs without any injuries. The seed they got in the playoffs did not matter because it wasn’t indicative of their true potential. The result? A 2-seed in the West, when they could have easily gotten the 1-seed if they wanted, that led to them reaching the NBA Finals thanks to the three veterans they rested during the regular season. They were a miracle Ray Allen game-tying Game 6 3-pointer shot away from winning their 5th NBA Championship in franchise history.
For the Nets, it will be the job of Williams, Johnson, and Lopez to get them into the playoffs. Once there, it will be the job of the well rested Pierce and Garnett to get them to the Finals.
For the Celtics, this trade was the start of their rebuilding process. With former coach Doc Rivers leaving for the Los Angeles Clippers’ job, Boston knew there was no longer an opportunity to win another championship with their Hall of Famers. It was time to strip the team for parts and start building assets. The problem was that Garnett had a no-trade clause that allowed him to reject any trade he was involved in. Garnett reportedly did not want to go anywhere without Pierce, which made trading both players even more complicated. The Celtics seemed so desperate to get something for their best players that they did not appear to get much in return. They traded Jason Terry’s bad contract for Gerald Wallace’s bad contract and then got an expiring contract in Kris Humphries, a handful of role players, most of whom will not be in Boston when their contracts eventually expire, and three future first round picks.
Of all the players traded to Boston, MarShon Brooks is the one I believe the Celtics would be most likely to keep, but at best he is a 3rd or 4th scoring option. He is a solid role player who can get points, but he is definitely not someone you can build a team around. Then there are the three draft picks (2014, ’16, and ’18). Those seem good on paper and for a team that wants to start rebuilding, draft picks are certainly the way to go. The issue for the Celtics is that those draft picks are coming from a team that is more than likely going to make the playoffs and has its sights, realistically, on the Finals. The Celtics need to hope that at least two of those three picks wind up in the lottery because if Boston does not get some very high draft picks as a result of this trade, they will have essentially traded away Pierce and Garnett for next to nothing. It seems that they were forced to take 75 cents on the dollar for their two star players because of the corner they were backed into thanks to Garnett’s no-trade clause.
In addition, the team has the advantage of having essentially three head coaches on their team. Newly retired, future Hall of Famer Jason Kidd was hired as head coach of the Nets almost immediately after stepping away from the game. Outside of the coach on the sideline, Garnett and Pierce, who are just as accomplished and respected as Kidd, will act as coaches on the court. A coach on the bench can only do so much, but having Pierce and Garnett adds a whole other dimension. Neither, given their advanced age and high mileage, should be getting significant playing time during the regular season. That means that if all goes to plan, the Nets will have them fresh for the playoffs. The worst-case scenario for this team is that they become the 2012-2013 Lakers; the best case is that they play like the Spurs of the same year. Like the Nets, the Spurs last year had a good mix of older and younger players and they knew that the important thing was getting their veterans, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili, to the playoffs without any injuries. The seed they got in the playoffs did not matter because it wasn’t indicative of their true potential. The result? A 2-seed in the West, when they could have easily gotten the 1-seed if they wanted, that led to them reaching the NBA Finals thanks to the three veterans they rested during the regular season. They were a miracle Ray Allen game-tying Game 6 3-pointer shot away from winning their 5th NBA Championship in franchise history.
For the Nets, it will be the job of Williams, Johnson, and Lopez to get them into the playoffs. Once there, it will be the job of the well rested Pierce and Garnett to get them to the Finals.
For the Celtics, this trade was the start of their rebuilding process. With former coach Doc Rivers leaving for the Los Angeles Clippers’ job, Boston knew there was no longer an opportunity to win another championship with their Hall of Famers. It was time to strip the team for parts and start building assets. The problem was that Garnett had a no-trade clause that allowed him to reject any trade he was involved in. Garnett reportedly did not want to go anywhere without Pierce, which made trading both players even more complicated. The Celtics seemed so desperate to get something for their best players that they did not appear to get much in return. They traded Jason Terry’s bad contract for Gerald Wallace’s bad contract and then got an expiring contract in Kris Humphries, a handful of role players, most of whom will not be in Boston when their contracts eventually expire, and three future first round picks.
Of all the players traded to Boston, MarShon Brooks is the one I believe the Celtics would be most likely to keep, but at best he is a 3rd or 4th scoring option. He is a solid role player who can get points, but he is definitely not someone you can build a team around. Then there are the three draft picks (2014, ’16, and ’18). Those seem good on paper and for a team that wants to start rebuilding, draft picks are certainly the way to go. The issue for the Celtics is that those draft picks are coming from a team that is more than likely going to make the playoffs and has its sights, realistically, on the Finals. The Celtics need to hope that at least two of those three picks wind up in the lottery because if Boston does not get some very high draft picks as a result of this trade, they will have essentially traded away Pierce and Garnett for next to nothing. It seems that they were forced to take 75 cents on the dollar for their two star players because of the corner they were backed into thanks to Garnett’s no-trade clause.
A Former #1 Pick is Moved
Andrea Bargnani was the first overall pick in the 2006 NBA draft by the Toronto Raptors and as a #1 pick, Bargnani has been nothing but a bust, due in part because of his inability to stay healthy. Over the last three seasons, the 7-footer has missed a total of 114 games and his career stats, 15.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, do not exactly jump off of the page. However, there are aspects of Bargnani’s game that could help the Knicks out this coming season as long as he can remain on the court.
The first thing that makes me optimistic about the Knicks’ trade for Bargnani is that they did not have to give up much to get him. The Knicks sent backup center Marcus Camby and shooters Steve Novak and Quentin Richardson as well as a 2016 1st round pick and two future 2nd round picks to Toronto in exchange for their 7 foot power forward. Neither Camby nor Richardson played much this past season, Richardson was signed by the team right before the playoffs, so from a basketball standpoint there is not much given up there. Novak, as a Knick, has been one of the best 3-point shooters in the NBA, shooting well over 40% from deep in his two seasons with the Knicks, but Novak became a liability on the defensive end, especially during the playoffs, and for that reason only averaged 5.6 minutes per game this past postseason. What worries me is that 2016 1st round pick the Knicks gave up. 2016 seems far away, but by the time that year comes around, the Knicks could be back to the rebuilding process and in desperate need of a top pick in that draft. The contracts of the Knicks four most expensive salaries all come off the books after the 2014-2015 season: Bargnani (set to make $11.5 million in 2014-2015), Carmelo Anthony ($24, 351, 924), Amar’e Stoudemire ($23,410,988), and Tyson Chandler ($14,598,888) will all have expiring contracts in2015. If the Knicks don’t make a splash in the 2015 free agent market, which is not expected to have many gems, then that pick could be worth a lot more than the Knicks were hoping.
What Bargnani does bring to the table is the ability to stretch the floor and create more space for Carmelo Anthony. With Stoudemire and Anthony on the floor, the paint in very congested as both players thrive in the same, mid-range area. But with Bargnani, who plays more of a stretch power forward and can hit the three; Anthony has more room to operate inside. However, the issue with Bargnani, aside from being plagued with injuries, is his lack of defensive and rebounding intensity. Chandler needs help on the boards and Bargnani won’t be able to provide that assistance unless he commits himself to going after rebounds, as a 7-footer, Bargnani’s best single season rebounding average is 6.2 rebounds per game.
Bargnani also allows the Knicks to move Amar’e Stoudemire to the bench where he can lead a 2nd unit that is lacking power. If J.R. Smith signs with another team then the Knicks would be in desperate need of some bench scoring. With Jason Kidd already retired and Smith, Kenyon Martin, Chris Copeland, and Pablo Prigioni all free agents, the Knicks need to bolster a depleted bench while being severely over the salary cap, meaning a high-profile signing to bring to solve that problem is not possible due to luxury tax restrictions. Not having to start Stoudemire thanks to the addition of Bargnani means that Knicks bench can get some scoring output when Carmelo Anthony is resting.
This trade for Bargnani was no doubt a response to the sudden acquisitions of Pierce and Garnett by the rival Nets. Bargnani is definitely not a player who is going to solve all of the problems the Knicks had last season and his play won’t guarantee the Knicks make it any further in the playoffs than they did this past season. But if all goes to plan and if Bargnani can stay healthy, and that is a big ‘if,’ then the Italian gives the Knicks an added dimension that they did not have last season and could take some pressure off of both Anthony and Stoudemire.
*Contract information courtesy of basketball-reference.com
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