The New Orleans Pelicans need to replace Derrick Favors. The Oklahoma City Thunder need to reduce salary. Is a Steven Adams trade mutually beneficial?
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Oklahoma City Thunder brass, about to embark on a rebuild, likely does not want to pay center Steven Adams $27 million for another season.
There isn’t much love for traditional centers around the league anymore, but there are still some teams with cap room who could use a big on an expiring contract.
One such team is the New Orleans Pelicans, who will need a center to replace Derrick Favors as they make a playoff push.
Adams could be that new center.
The Proposal
Thunder receive: Darius Miller, No. 39 pick in 2020 draft
Pelicans receive: Steven Adams
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Why the Thunder do it
This is a fairly simple salary dump for the Thunder. Steven Adams is a fan favorite, but if the team does plan to rebuild, it would be in its best interest to get some return on Adams’ expiring contract.
Second-round picks typically don’t amount to much, but with the Thunder holding the 25th pick, there are plenty of players in the late-first to early-second round they’ll have done their due diligence on. It’s very possible that one of the players they consider at No. 25 is still available at No. 39. It doubles the chance of getting a usable young player on a very, very cheap contract.
Meanwhile, Darius Miller suffered an Achilles injury just before the start of last season and hasn’t played since. He’d be a risk to bring on. However, he was a productive role player off the bench before the injury, shooting almost 39% on five 3-pointers per game off the bench.
He could play a role on the Thunder and perhaps gain enough value to trade at the deadline for another second-rounder.
It’s all about throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks. And if none of it does stick, at least $27 million is off the books and ensures that the organization is under the salary cap.
Why the Pelicans do it
Derrick Favors was an underrated part of the Pelicans last season, but they may not want to sign him to a multi-year deal with the loaded 2021 free agency class rapidly approaching. If all goes well, New Orleans can pitch a star on joining Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram.
Replacing him with Steven Adams, whose deal expires after this season, gives them a similar veteran presence who can fill a role on both ends of the court and give Jaxson Hayes another year to develop before moving into the starting lineup.
New Orleans has plenty of salary to work with this offseason, but with a relatively weak free agency class, there isn’t a whole lot of areas to fill it.
Instead of searching around and competing with the other 29 teams for depth, Adams is a longtime starter who can help them reach the playoffs, which would in turn make the team more attractive to a high-quality free agent in 2021.
There aren’t a lot of teams in need of an expensive center, but Adams would certainly help the Pelicans.
Why the Thunder don’t do it
This trade is pretty much as minimal a return the Thunder could get for a top-125 player. A second-round pick is a second-round pick, and Miller is coming off an Achilles tear. As optimistic as I was when saying he may have positive value at the trade deadline, there’s also the chance OKC essentially replaces the $10 million contract of the injured Andre Roberson with a $7 million injured Miller.
Maybe it’s better for the Thunder if the Pelicans simply don’t guarantee Miller’s final year, but that’s less fun to speculate about. In that case, it’s the No. 39 pick for Adams, which doesn’t feel equal when looking back at his time with OKC. Taking a chance on a role player at wing wouldn’t hurt.
Why the Pelicans don’t do it
Adams is expensive. They could use that $27 million to add depth and beef up other areas on the court as they make a playoff push.
They don’t need to give up a pick for one year of a center when they could look to free agency or even Hayes.
Who says no?
The Pelicans are more likely to say no because of how expensive Adams is. With that said, I think his presence on the team and his contract ending ahead of the 2021 free agency would be more beneficial than spreading that money across several players on multi-year deals.
The Thunder, meanwhile, would be open to getting off of Adams’ deal and hope that one of the prospects they like is still around early in the second round.
