One Trade That Every Team Should Do
Indiana gets: PG Reggie Jackson, C Kendrick Perkins
Oklahoma City gets: PF/C Luis Scola, SF Chris Copeland, PG Donald Sloan, PF Shayne Whittington, Indiana’s 2017 first-rounder, Golden State’s 2015 second-rounder (via Indiana)
Finances: A lot of the players involved in this deal are just to make the money work, but there are a few key players that the teams actually want. Scola, Copeland, and Sloan are all on expiring contracts, worth $4.5, $3.1, and $1 million respectively, but calling them contract fill-ins would be insulting to the solid seasons each are having. Whittington, who’s a bench warmer, is due for just $500,000 this year, after which his deal ends, and he is certainly a contract fill-in. This is also the case for Perkins, whose hefty expiring $9.2 million deal is critical in making the finances work. Jackson is the star of this trade, and is playing on the last year of his rookie contract at just $2.3 million, and is most definitely due for a raise this offseason. For both teams, the money is not much of an issue as all of these deals don’t run past this season
The Fit: Jackson has been openly frustrated about his role backing up superstar PG Russell Westbrook for the Thunder, saying that he wants a starting gig. He can easily get that In Indiana, as the Pacers look to add another piece for the title run they look to have next season, where superstar SF/SG Paul George will return from his gruesome injury suffered last summer. Jackson easily deserves a starting role, as he averaged 19.5 points, 7.5 assists, and 5.5 rebounds when handed 38 minutes a game in November, where Westbrook and superstar teammate SF/PF Kevin Durant were riding the pine with injuries. Though he only connected on 41.5% of his shots and coughed up the ball 3.2 times a game, those stats certainly scream starter, if not all-star. Losing key role players in Scola, Copeland, and Sloan certainly hurts, as do the picks, but it is well worth it to snag someone with as much potential as Jackson.
Why the other team does it: Oklahoma City actually has little use for Jackson, as they have Westbrook to run the point, as well as the newly acquired SG Dion Waiters to be the go-to scorer in the second unit. Trading him makes the most sense, especially considering how unhappy he is, and this is the perfect package. Scola is averaging a solid 9 points and 6 rebounds, Copeland chips in 1.2 threes a game, and Sloan does a bit of everything, as he puts up 9.5 points, 4.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds and a three per contest. Sloan would fill in for Jackson as the backup to Westbrook, and Scola and Copeland would play key minutes for the Thunder’s relatively thin rotation behind Durant and up front, which is barely affected by the loss of Perkins. The picks also help, and could be used as trade bait to land other players in Oklahoma City. Losing Jackson hurts, but Sloan can replace him just as well, and the Thunder get many other assets to boot.
Indiana gets: PG Reggie Jackson, C Kendrick Perkins
Oklahoma City gets: PF/C Luis Scola, SF Chris Copeland, PG Donald Sloan, PF Shayne Whittington, Indiana’s 2017 first-rounder, Golden State’s 2015 second-rounder (via Indiana)
Finances: A lot of the players involved in this deal are just to make the money work, but there are a few key players that the teams actually want. Scola, Copeland, and Sloan are all on expiring contracts, worth $4.5, $3.1, and $1 million respectively, but calling them contract fill-ins would be insulting to the solid seasons each are having. Whittington, who’s a bench warmer, is due for just $500,000 this year, after which his deal ends, and he is certainly a contract fill-in. This is also the case for Perkins, whose hefty expiring $9.2 million deal is critical in making the finances work. Jackson is the star of this trade, and is playing on the last year of his rookie contract at just $2.3 million, and is most definitely due for a raise this offseason. For both teams, the money is not much of an issue as all of these deals don’t run past this season
The Fit: Jackson has been openly frustrated about his role backing up superstar PG Russell Westbrook for the Thunder, saying that he wants a starting gig. He can easily get that In Indiana, as the Pacers look to add another piece for the title run they look to have next season, where superstar SF/SG Paul George will return from his gruesome injury suffered last summer. Jackson easily deserves a starting role, as he averaged 19.5 points, 7.5 assists, and 5.5 rebounds when handed 38 minutes a game in November, where Westbrook and superstar teammate SF/PF Kevin Durant were riding the pine with injuries. Though he only connected on 41.5% of his shots and coughed up the ball 3.2 times a game, those stats certainly scream starter, if not all-star. Losing key role players in Scola, Copeland, and Sloan certainly hurts, as do the picks, but it is well worth it to snag someone with as much potential as Jackson.
Why the other team does it: Oklahoma City actually has little use for Jackson, as they have Westbrook to run the point, as well as the newly acquired SG Dion Waiters to be the go-to scorer in the second unit. Trading him makes the most sense, especially considering how unhappy he is, and this is the perfect package. Scola is averaging a solid 9 points and 6 rebounds, Copeland chips in 1.2 threes a game, and Sloan does a bit of everything, as he puts up 9.5 points, 4.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds and a three per contest. Sloan would fill in for Jackson as the backup to Westbrook, and Scola and Copeland would play key minutes for the Thunder’s relatively thin rotation behind Durant and up front, which is barely affected by the loss of Perkins. The picks also help, and could be used as trade bait to land other players in Oklahoma City. Losing Jackson hurts, but Sloan can replace him just as well, and the Thunder get many other assets to boot.