One trade can swing the entire balance of power in the NBA. Last year’s Raptors are proof. No, I’m not talking about the Kawhi Leonard trade.
When they traded for Marc Gasol from the Grizzlies, the Raptors became a real title contender. That was a massive upgrade. They replaced a dinosaur, Jonas Valanciunas, with a modern big in Gasol who could shoot 3’s and protect the rim.
That swung things in the Raptors’ favor. It was an unconventional move — they were already a great team. But that put them over the top.
Every title contending team this year should be looking for that swing move. We have those moves right here for you.
The Lakers and Derrick Rose
Look, Pistons fans. I know your team wants a lottery pick back for Derrick Rose. In the same way, I, too, would love a chance to date Rihanna. Guess what? Ain’t never gonna happen.
No, the Pistons won’t get back the lottery pick – but Kyle Kuzma is a good enough prospect to get the job done. Now Lakers fans don’t have to watch Rajon Rondo dribble around in circles like a headless chicken before he throws it to Anthony Davis in some awkward position.
The Clippers and Andre Drummond
Now, I realize that Pistons fans will probably hate me for ripping their team to shreds. But let’s say the Clippers throw their 2020 first in the ring this time. This one makes a lot of sense!
The Clippers need size to deal with Anthony Davis, Nikola Jokic and Rudy Gobert in whatever order they come in. Well, Drummond has that. He’s also one of the best rebounders the league has ever seen. They’d have to give up a valuable wing defender in Mo Harkless, a prospect in Jerome Robinson and a late first but it’d be worth it to have a one-two punch at center with Drummond and Montrezl Harrell’s scoring punch coming off the bench.
The Nuggets and Jrue Holiday
The Nuggets will finally get a point guard that is actually a point guard. Jamal Murray is great but, fam, we know he absolutely does not need to be making decisions with the ball.
His decision tree should consist of only three decisions. They are: Shoot, pass the ball to Jokic, shoot again. Holiday helps him get there and would immediately be their best perimeter defender at guard.
The Bucks and Davis Bertans
As much as it pains me to send my sweet, sweet Latvian prince Davis Bertans anywhere but Washington, I must also admit that it makes too much sense not to do.
The Bucks would immediately upgrade here with Bertans over Ersan Ilyasova and could throw in that Pacers first round pick from the Malcolm Brogdon sign-and-trade this summer to sweeten the pot. It’s worth it. They need to prove to Giannis Antetokounmpo they want to win now. This is how you do it.
The Raptors and Dewayne Dedmon
It’s not a flashy move by any means. Dedmon isn’t a transcendent player, but he’d give the Raptors some much needed help in their front court behind Marc Gasol who has been injured this year.
They’d lose a bit of wing depth, but they wouldn’t be giving away players who were actually contributing big minutes. Their rotation would be pretty much the same.
The Celtics and Aron Baynes
BAYNES BYKE! The Celtics need an Embiid stopper for the playoffs and they know Baynes can do that for sure. It also shouldn’t take much to get him, either, on such a cheap deal.
He’s cooled off from three since the beginning of the season and the Suns are in tank mode at this point, or should be. They should be willing to move on from him.
Plus, I just want to put Devin Booker and Enes Kanter in the same locker room. Who doesn’t love to watch the world burn?
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