Trade Grades
Click here for link to Philadelphia 76ers Trade Grades
76ers get: C Joel Anthony, 2017 second-rounder
Rockets get: Rights to Chukwudiebere Maduabum
Having trouble with this one. On the surface, it looks like your average salary dump: "here, take this bad contract and I'll give you a draft pick for doing so". One problem: where's the bad contract? Anthony was on an expiring $2.5 million deal, thus was giving them no future financial problems. They basically just gave up a second-rounder for free. Talk about a head-scratcher...
Grade: C-
Trade Grades
Click here for link to Detroit Pistons Trade Grades
Pistons get: PF Donatas Motiejunas, SG Marcus Thornton
Rockets get: C Joel Anthony, protected 2016 first-round pick (top 8 protected this year, top 10 the following two years)
Welp, even with C Dwight Howard and PG Ty Lawson still in town, it's clear that Houston has absolutely no ambitions of winning this season. The disaster of a season having left them at 27-28 and 9th in the West, as well as this current trading away of key role players, are clear evidence of that assumption. Anthony holds little to no value, having averaged just 0.7 points in 4 minutes per game thus far this season.
Thornton has always played an important role in Houston as Harden's backup. The shooting guard is a great second-unit gunner that has been putting up 10 points and 1.6 threes per game this season. Motiejunas holds great potential as a two-way force at power forward, averaging 12 points and 5.9 rebounds last season. But he has regressed greatly this season due to persistent back injuries and will need to be paid mightily this offseason.
Thus this trade makes sense, as the Rockets have no present to play for anyways, thus the key is that they didn't exactly mortgage their future in this trade. And in fact, they did the opposite, because that first-round pick is almost guaranteed to change into theirhands this summer. GM Daryl Morey fixed the mistake (and my mistake as well, admittedly) of the Ty Lawson deal, and then some.
Grade: A
Trade Grades
Click here for link to Denver Nuggets Trade Grades
Nuggets get: SF/PF Kostas Papanikolaou, SG/PG Nick Johnson, PG Pablo Prigioni, C/PF Joey Dorsey, 2016 first round pick from Houston (lottery protected)
Rockets get: PG Ty Lawson
With Lawson’s trade value and Denver’s leverage in trade negotiations at an all-time low due to many factors, such as the point guard recently picking up his fourth DUI, GM Daryl Morey and Co. pounced at the opportunity to buy low. They had the cap space to take on Lawson’s reasonable 2 year/$25.6 million contract, and were due for an upgrade over ex-starter PG Patrick Beverley. Lawson is that upgrade and then some, as he put up 15.2 points and 9.6 assists per game on an underachieving Denver team last season. In addition, he ranked seventh amongst all players in points produced via either scoring or assists last season. SEVENTH! Spare role players and a late first-rounder are well worth the cost of giving Houston as good of a shot as anyone to win it all.
Grade: A+
Trade Grades
Rockets get: SG/SF K.J McDaniels
76ers get: PG Isaiah Canaan and second-rounder
This is an outright steal for a player of McDaniels’ caliber. The rookie does it all, averaging 9 points, 4 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, 1 steal, and 1 three per game. Becoming a sort of Nicolas Batum or Draymond Green is this kid’s FLOOR, so you can only imagine how high is ceiling must be by default. Although he will be playing behind superstar SG James Harden, there is no doubt that McDaniels will carve out a significant role for himself in Houston. Canaan is averaging 6 points and 1.5 threes a game, but is also chipping in just 1 assist in only 15 minutes per contest. After the acquisition of PG Pablo Prigioni from New York, Canaan was made expendable and so is the second-rounder, which isn’t a big deal to a team chasing the title. Philadelphia made a good move with McGee, and now makes a bad move to even it out. In turn, Houston made a bad move with Prigioni, and now makes a good one to compensate. Funny how that works.
Grade: A-
Trade Grades
Rockets get: PG Pablo Prigioni
Knicks get: SG/PG Alexey Shved, two second-rounders
I get the need to upgrade at point guard, I really do. In fact I agree with it, as it’s hard to imagine PG Patrick Beverley being the starter for a championship team. But let’s just take a look at some of the other floor generals traded this year: Rajon Rondo (DAL), Mo Williams (CHA), Goran Dragic (MIA), Reggie Jackson (DET), Isaiah Thomas (BOS), Michael Carter-Williams (MIL), Brandon Knight (PHO), and more. I could go on, with the likes of Norris Cole (NO) and D.J Augustin (OKC) also on the move, but you get my point. How is it, that with valuable assets like young PF Terrence Jones, New Orleans’ first-rounder this year, and more, that GM Daryl Morey ends up with PABLO PRIGIONI? No disrespect to Prigioni, who is a serviceable backup point guard averaging 4.5 points, 2.5 assists, and 1 three per game, but he just doesn’t compare to those star point guards listed above. It’s a head-scratcher, especially when you consider Houston coughed up two second-rounders and a role player in Shved for the 37 year old.
Grade: C
Click here for link to Philadelphia 76ers Trade Grades
76ers get: C Joel Anthony, 2017 second-rounder
Rockets get: Rights to Chukwudiebere Maduabum
Having trouble with this one. On the surface, it looks like your average salary dump: "here, take this bad contract and I'll give you a draft pick for doing so". One problem: where's the bad contract? Anthony was on an expiring $2.5 million deal, thus was giving them no future financial problems. They basically just gave up a second-rounder for free. Talk about a head-scratcher...
Grade: C-
Trade Grades
Click here for link to Detroit Pistons Trade Grades
Pistons get: PF Donatas Motiejunas, SG Marcus Thornton
Rockets get: C Joel Anthony, protected 2016 first-round pick (top 8 protected this year, top 10 the following two years)
Welp, even with C Dwight Howard and PG Ty Lawson still in town, it's clear that Houston has absolutely no ambitions of winning this season. The disaster of a season having left them at 27-28 and 9th in the West, as well as this current trading away of key role players, are clear evidence of that assumption. Anthony holds little to no value, having averaged just 0.7 points in 4 minutes per game thus far this season.
Thornton has always played an important role in Houston as Harden's backup. The shooting guard is a great second-unit gunner that has been putting up 10 points and 1.6 threes per game this season. Motiejunas holds great potential as a two-way force at power forward, averaging 12 points and 5.9 rebounds last season. But he has regressed greatly this season due to persistent back injuries and will need to be paid mightily this offseason.
Thus this trade makes sense, as the Rockets have no present to play for anyways, thus the key is that they didn't exactly mortgage their future in this trade. And in fact, they did the opposite, because that first-round pick is almost guaranteed to change into theirhands this summer. GM Daryl Morey fixed the mistake (and my mistake as well, admittedly) of the Ty Lawson deal, and then some.
Grade: A
Trade Grades
Click here for link to Denver Nuggets Trade Grades
Nuggets get: SF/PF Kostas Papanikolaou, SG/PG Nick Johnson, PG Pablo Prigioni, C/PF Joey Dorsey, 2016 first round pick from Houston (lottery protected)
Rockets get: PG Ty Lawson
With Lawson’s trade value and Denver’s leverage in trade negotiations at an all-time low due to many factors, such as the point guard recently picking up his fourth DUI, GM Daryl Morey and Co. pounced at the opportunity to buy low. They had the cap space to take on Lawson’s reasonable 2 year/$25.6 million contract, and were due for an upgrade over ex-starter PG Patrick Beverley. Lawson is that upgrade and then some, as he put up 15.2 points and 9.6 assists per game on an underachieving Denver team last season. In addition, he ranked seventh amongst all players in points produced via either scoring or assists last season. SEVENTH! Spare role players and a late first-rounder are well worth the cost of giving Houston as good of a shot as anyone to win it all.
Grade: A+
Trade Grades
Rockets get: SG/SF K.J McDaniels
76ers get: PG Isaiah Canaan and second-rounder
This is an outright steal for a player of McDaniels’ caliber. The rookie does it all, averaging 9 points, 4 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, 1 steal, and 1 three per game. Becoming a sort of Nicolas Batum or Draymond Green is this kid’s FLOOR, so you can only imagine how high is ceiling must be by default. Although he will be playing behind superstar SG James Harden, there is no doubt that McDaniels will carve out a significant role for himself in Houston. Canaan is averaging 6 points and 1.5 threes a game, but is also chipping in just 1 assist in only 15 minutes per contest. After the acquisition of PG Pablo Prigioni from New York, Canaan was made expendable and so is the second-rounder, which isn’t a big deal to a team chasing the title. Philadelphia made a good move with McGee, and now makes a bad move to even it out. In turn, Houston made a bad move with Prigioni, and now makes a good one to compensate. Funny how that works.
Grade: A-
Trade Grades
Rockets get: PG Pablo Prigioni
Knicks get: SG/PG Alexey Shved, two second-rounders
I get the need to upgrade at point guard, I really do. In fact I agree with it, as it’s hard to imagine PG Patrick Beverley being the starter for a championship team. But let’s just take a look at some of the other floor generals traded this year: Rajon Rondo (DAL), Mo Williams (CHA), Goran Dragic (MIA), Reggie Jackson (DET), Isaiah Thomas (BOS), Michael Carter-Williams (MIL), Brandon Knight (PHO), and more. I could go on, with the likes of Norris Cole (NO) and D.J Augustin (OKC) also on the move, but you get my point. How is it, that with valuable assets like young PF Terrence Jones, New Orleans’ first-rounder this year, and more, that GM Daryl Morey ends up with PABLO PRIGIONI? No disrespect to Prigioni, who is a serviceable backup point guard averaging 4.5 points, 2.5 assists, and 1 three per game, but he just doesn’t compare to those star point guards listed above. It’s a head-scratcher, especially when you consider Houston coughed up two second-rounders and a role player in Shved for the 37 year old.
Grade: C