Chapter 229 Trade Deadline

The days between the All-Star Weekend and the trade deadline are the busiest time of the season for NBA general managers.

Trade rumors fly left and right.

Markieff Morris, disgruntled with the management's pressure, Jamal Crawford and Rudy Gay, who are always on the trade block, and Brandon Jennings, whose performance has declined sharply since returning from injury…

This year's trade market has significantly more rumors than last year.

There are even some unusual ones.

For example, the Warriors, who are riding high, are considering trading Andre Iguodala.

For example, the Rockets want to trade Luc Mbah a Moute, who has been performing well, to get a first-round pick again.

For example, many teams are trying to clear cap space, even if it means giving up their first-round picks.

These unusual moves have led many to take notice of something happening next summer.

Next summer, Kevin Durant, who failed to reach an early extension agreement with the Thunder, will become an unrestricted free agent.

Although Durant suffered a serious injury last year, his performance upon returning is as good as before the injury.

There are All-Star players every summer, but superstars are rare.

A weak team with Durant becomes a playoff team immediately, a strong team with Durant becomes a championship contender, and a championship contender with Durant has the opportunity to create a dynasty!

Moreover, the salary cap will increase significantly next summer. As long as enough cap space is cleared, they will have the opportunity to assemble a Big Three out of thin air, just like the Heat did back then.

Al Horford, Mike Conley, Hassan Whiteside, and Joakim Noah are all All-Star players with comparable skills.

Trade market rumors are swirling, and the situation is turbulent.

With one day left until the trade deadline, the intensity of the rumors reaches a peak.

It was at this time, before the last day, that the Pelicans reached a three-team trade with the Clippers and the Thunder.

The Pelicans sent Anthony Morrow and a $5 million trade exception (from the summer's Eric Gordon trade) to get Lance Stephenson and a 2016 second-round draft pick from the Clippers.

The Clippers sent Lance Stephenson and a 2016 second-round draft pick to get Kyle Singler, a $5 million trade exception, and a 2016 first-round draft pick from the Thunder.

The Thunder sent Kyle Singler and a 2016 first-round draft pick to get Anthony Morrow.

The Pelicans' trading purpose is the same as before: to turn Morrow's two-year contract into one year, and then gamble on Stephenson's form.

Ariza won't return until the end of the season, and Morrow's performance is poor, so they need to improve their rotation strength.

Moreover, Stephenson only has a one-year contract, so the loss to them won't be too great if the gamble fails.

The Clippers' purpose is even clearer: to send Stephenson away to reduce salary pressure this season, and to get a first-round draft pick in the process.

The Thunder are paying for their actions last summer. Singler, who was signed to a 5-year, $25 million contract in the summer, can't even make the rotation list. It's a stinky and long garbage contract.

Taking advantage of the team's good record, they want to digest it as quickly as possible at the lowest cost (the first-round pick sent out is basically at the end of the first round).

And Anthony Morrow, who is coming in, is a former three-point king, the kind of space shooter that the Thunder needs, and there's a possibility that he can regain his form in the Thunder.

All in all, this is a three-way trade where each party gets what it needs.

This trade was made before the deadline, which can be regarded as a warm-up.

A day later, as the trade deadline approached, information about trades continued to be revealed by Woj.

Last summer's arms race in the West means that the main focus of this year's trade market is also in the West.

The Rockets and Mavericks assembled luxurious lineups last summer, but their results have been unsatisfactory, and reinforcement is imperative.

Morey once again makes a masterful move.

The Rockets sent Chris Andersen, a $2 million trade exception, and two future second-round draft picks to get Markieff Morris from the Suns.

The Rockets' power forward position has always been a weakness. Previously, they relied on Mbah a Moute and Tucker to swing between positions.

Markieff Morris averaged 15.3 points and 6.3 rebounds last season. He has excellent inside strength and three-point ability. He is simply perfect.

As for the Suns, Morris and the management have fallen out completely. He even took the initiative to ask the management to trade him to another team, otherwise he would refuse to play.

Morris and the Suns signed a 4-year, $32 million contract, which only just started to take effect this season. The Suns got Chris Andersen's expiring contract, also to clear cap space to prepare for the summer.

However, in addition to getting Andersen, they only gained two second-round picks.

The Rockets' Big Three are excellent, and second-round picks are worthless, so they essentially exchanged Morris for air.

The fact that this trade could be reached can only be attributed to the Suns' management's routine operations and Morey's excellent negotiation skills.

But no matter how the process goes, the Rockets have been fully reinforced at this trade deadline, and they continue to launch an attack on the championship.

The same thing also happened to the Mavericks, who sent some players at the end of the bench and a second-round draft pick to trade for Brandon Jennings from the Pistons.

Jennings' $8 million contract expires this summer, and given his performance since returning from injury, it's basically half a garbage contract.

The Pistons took advantage of his remaining trade value to get rid of him as quickly as possible, and the players they got are also easy to deal with and won't affect next summer.

The Mavericks' purpose is even clearer: Deron is not up to the task, and they need to reinforce their point guard within a limited operating space. Jennings is their best choice.

A starved camel is bigger than a horse. The 55-point rookie still has some skills. Maybe he can play well in a different environment.

The powerhouses in the West continue to improve, and the Cavaliers in the East have also made a move.

The Cavaliers' lineup is already luxurious enough, but their record before the All-Star Game makes it difficult for them to accept.

They made another wave of reinforcements to the backup power forward position.

They sent Jared Cunningham, a $6 million trade exception, and a second-round draft pick from the Trail Blazers to trade for Channing Frye from the Magic.

Frye originally signed a 4-year, $32 million contract with the Magic in the summer of 2014.

Now is only the second year of his contract, and considering Frye's age of 33, and the Magic's new round of rebuilding, they don't need him.

Being able to get rid of his contract and get a second-round pick, as well as Cunningham with a non-guaranteed contract, is not a loss for the Magic.

And Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert is really spending money like water this season.

It's not enough to have spent $300 million during the offseason, but now he's adding another $8 million to his luxury tax.

The last time LeBron James took his talents to Miami because the Cavaliers refused to reinforce, this time he is really going all out.

The addition of Frye continues to increase the depth of the Cavaliers' bench.

Matthew Dellavedova, JR Smith, Thaddeus Young, Frye, Tristan Thompson—the bench alone is comparable to the starting lineup of some weak teams.

Their only goal now is the championship.