Tag: Steven Adams

ESPN, Sports Illustrated give Thunder good grades on Steven Adams trade

In trading Steven Adams to the New Orleans Pelicans, the Oklahoma City Thunder netted players and picks. ESPN and Sports Illustrated approved.

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It might have hurt Oklahoma City Thunder fans to have traded away Steven Adams, but to the unbiased observer, the team made out well in this deal for the long-time Thunder center.

Adams was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in a four-way deal that netted Oklahoma City a handful of players that helped the other teams match salary and three draft picks, one of which is in the first round.

The full trade, using details of reporting from The Athletic’s Shams Charania, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and ESPN’s Kevin Pelton:

Players: George Hill, Darius Miller, Josh Gray, Zylan Cheatham, Kenrich Williams, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

Picks: 2023 lottery-protected first-round pick via Denver Nuggets, 2023 second-round pick via the Washington Wizards, 2024 second-round pick via the Charlotte Hornets, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (he appears to have the second-round teams flipped in the tweet).

ESPN and Sports Illustrated applauded the value Oklahoma City got in return.

Pelton gave the organization an “A” grade, saying they got draft picks without having to dive into long-term salary.

“Understandably a little concerned that the Pelicans might overtake them in their unofficial race to stockpile the NBA’s biggest cache of first-round picks, the Thunder managed to jump into this trade to add another — the lottery-protected pick from the Denver Nuggets starting in 2023 that New Orleans had added on draft night.”

He suggested that the Thunder may be able to add another young asset or draft pick because of Hill’s value and contract.

Hill should have trade value to a contender at a reasonable $9.6 million this season. Ordinarily, I’d suggest that might happen before the deadline. Given how quickly Oklahoma City has been moving this week, Hill might be traded by the time you read this sentence.

Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated also gave the Thunder an “A” for the deal.

Though Adams is a good player, it’s tough to find a team who wants a center at that large of a contract when he won’t be a lead offensive creator.

“Realistically speaking, the market for a non All-Star center on a hefty expiring contract was never going to be especially hot, but the Thunder were never going to let him walk for nothing, and landing a real first-round pick (the Denver selection is only lottery-protected) and two seconds that could also have value is a pretty good return, considering the circumstances.”

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New Orleans Pelicans complete four-team Jrue Holiday, Steven Adams trade

The New Orleans Pelicans completed the four-team trade on Sunday that will see Jrue Holiday depart and Steven Adams and Eric Bledsoe arrive.

The New Orleans Pelicans completed the trade of Jrue Holiday on Sunday afternoon. Once a swap between just the Milwaukee Bucks and Pelicans, the deal morphed into a four-team trade to include both Steven Adams from Oklahoma City and the draft-day trade of the No. 24 pick between the Nuggets and New Orleans.

Per Shams Charania of The Athletic, here’s the breakdown of the trade

  • Milwaukee gets: Jrue Holiday, No. 60 pick Sam Merrill
  • New Orleans gets: Steven Adams, Eric Bledsoe, 2025 and 2027 Milwaukee first round picks, 2024 and 2026 pick swap rights with Milwaukee
  • Oklahoma City gets: George Hill, Josh Gray, Kenrich Williams, Zylan Cheatham, Darius Miller, 2023 protected first round pick from Denver, two second round picks
  • Denver gets: RJ Hampton

The deal will see the Pelicans part with more players than initially reported in Gray, Cheatham and Williams. The former two of those players were the two-way players for New Orleans last season, though both saw very limited playing time. Williams, meanwhile, did see playing time during the season, though that came largely at the beginning of the year.

Each of Gray, Cheatham and Williams will have three-year contracts with the Thunder, per Bobby Marks of ESPN.

Full Steven Adams trade details, which is an extension of the Jrue Holiday deal

See the full return that the Oklahoma City Thunder got in the Steven Adams deal that was part of a four-way trade involving Jrue Holiday.

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Late Friday night, news broke that the Oklahoma City Thunder had agreed to trade center Steven Adams to the New Orleans Pelicans.

It’s a bit of a complex deal that also involves the Jrue Holiday trade from the Pelicans to the Milwaukee Bucks.

There is a massive exchange of players and draft picks involving two playoff teams trying to get closer to the NBA Finals, a competing team hoping to make the playoffs and one rebuilding trade stockpiling assets.

Here are the full details of the trade:

Thunder’s return

Players: George Hill and Darius Miller

Picks: 2023 lottery-protected first-round pick via Denver Nuggets, 2023 second-round pick via Charlotte Hornets, 2024 second-round pick Washington Wizards, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Pelican’s return

Players: Steven Adams and Eric Bledsoe

Picks: 2024, 2026 first-round pick swap from Bucks; 2025, 2027 unprotected first-round pick from Bucks, according to ESPN’s Kevin Pelton.

Bucks’ return

Player: Jrue Holiday

Pick: 2020 second-round pick (No. 60, Sam Merrill) (from Pelicans via Bucks)

Nuggets’ return

2020 first-round pick (No. 24, RJ Hampton) (from Milwaukee Bucks via Indiana Pacers)

Details on the Thunder

Let’s dig a little deeper into the Thunder’s return.

They found a spot for Adams, who is to be paid $27.5 million on the final year of his contract.

Hill makes $9.6 million this season and has a player option for $10 million next year. He can play a role at either guard position if the Thunder do not trade him.

Miller’s $7 million contract became guaranteed as part of the trade, according to The Athletic’s John Hollinger. Miller suffered an Achilles injury that cost him all of last season. A career 38% 3-point shooter, he could be a trade target for a contender if plays well and is healthy.

The first-round pick from the Nuggets is lottery-protected, according to Pelton.

In full, the Thunder saved about $11 million and got a first-round pick and two second-round picks for Adams. Hill is tradable, and Miller could build back his value by the deadline. It’s possible Oklahoma City nets more down the road from this trade.

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Report: Brandon Ingram remains ‘top priority’ for Pelicans, will receive max contract

The New Orleans Pelicans are still expected to give Brandon Ingram a four- or five-year max contract this offseason after a breakout year.

While the New Orleans Pelicans have certainly made moves this off-season since the trade embargo was lifted at the start of the week, the one that most expected, and hoped, would come has not yet been completed. Brandon Ingram’s breakout season in New Orleans made him a fan favorite and forced the Pelicans’ hand in negotiations this summer as he was expected to get a massive contract swiftly at the start of free agency.

However, with more than 24 hours having passed since the start of free agency, Ingram’s name has hardly been mentioned aside from a pair of tweets from Marc Stein of the New York Times reaffirming that he would receive a max deal. The Athletic’s Will Guillory explained the delay in Ingram’s contract.

“The All-Star forward was, and still remains, the biggest priority for New Orleans this offseason, but the team has prioritized finalizing their complicated Holiday trade before handing Ingram what’s expected to be a four- or five-year max contract.”

Originally reported at the start of the week, the Jrue Holiday trade morphed from a Bucks-Pelicans deal to a multi-team trade that will eventually net the team Thunder center Steven Adams. It’s likely that the Pelicans and Ingram have already held discussions and the framework of a deal is in place that both sides are happy about, allowing New Orleans to turn its attention to the complicated multi-team trade.

Ingram’s max contract, should it be a five-year contract, will come in just north of $158 million.

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Steven Adams has 1 career 3-pointer. It was a half-court shot at the Pelicans’ arena

Steven Adams has made one career 3-pointer. It was a half-court shot from Smoothie King Center, home of his new team, the New Orleans Pelicans.

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Who says Steven Adams can’t be a floor spacer for the New Orleans Pelicans?

The center, who was traded by the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Pelicans, according to reports late Friday night, has limitless range.

At least, he does at the Smoothie King Center — the home of his new team.

Adams has made exactly one 3-pointer in his NBA career. It was a half-court shot at the Smoothie King Center on Feb. 13 of last season, and it was just about the most casual heave you’ve seen.

Seconds before halftime, Adams inbounded the ball to Chris Paul, who passed it back to Adams. The center flipped it up from the other side of the court.

If you watch the replay, it looks like he took a little power off as he flicked it toward the rim. It was like tossing paper into a waste basket, and he held the follow-through.

He ended it with a little shimmy a la Steph Curry.

What we’re saying is that Adams may or may not comparable to the greatest shooter in the game, but only when he takes his shot from half court at Smoothie King Center.

Luckily for him and the Pelicans, he’ll play there 36 times next season.

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Former OKC center Kendrick Perkins likes Pelicans’ trade for Steven Adams

Kendrick Perkins, who played with Steven Adams on the Oklahoma City Thunder, loves the New Orleans Pelicans’ trade for the tough center.

When Kendrick Perkins was in the NBA, he spent parts of five total season with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

For part of that team, he was teamed up with a young Steven Adams.

Perkins was acquired by the Thunder from the Boston Celtics during the 2011 trade deadline. He played for Oklahoma City until 2015, at which point he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

From 2013-15, he was the veteran big on a team that had just drafted Adams.

Perkins started all 62 games he played in 2013-14 while Adams started the other 20. Perkins took the starting job back at the end of the season and for the playoffs, but Adams earned it going into his second season, starting in 67 of the 70 games he appeared in.

Adams wouldn’t give up the starting role again, anchoring Oklahoma City at center through 2020. The Big Kiwi was traded  to the New Orleans Pelicans, according to reports late Friday night.

Perkins knows the Pelicans got a good player in return.

The Pelicans will use him to replace Derrick Favors, who signed with the Utah Jazz. New Orleans will role out a frontcourt of Adams, Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, which has defensive and scoring upside along with toughness.

In return, the Thunder acquired George Hill, Darius Miller, a protected 2023 Denver first-round pick, a 2023 Charlotte Hornets second-round pick and a 2024 Washington Wizards second-round pick.

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Twitter reacts to Steven Adams trade with jokes, sadness and thanks

After news broke that Steven Adams was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans, Oklahoma City Thunder fans tweeted their thanks to the Big Kiwi.

The longest tenured Thunder player and fan-favorite is no longer in Oklahoma City.

Center Steven Adams was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans, Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania reported late Friday night.

Rebuilds and salary sheddings have its costs to a team and a fan base. The Big Kiwi is the latest sacrifice in general manager Sam Presti’s efforts to transform the roster with an eye purely on the future.

Over Adams’ seven years with the Thunder, he averaged 9.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.0 blocks and 0.9 steals per game. His 58.87 field goal percentage is the fourth-best career mark of any player in league history.

People on Twitter responded after the trade was reported, with many Thunder fans and reporters alike thanking Adams for his time in Oklahoma City.

There was even a pretty apt comparison to a particularly upsetting Thanos scene in the Avengers.

While some think Adams will fit well on the Pelicans, some are more excited about his fit in New Orleans.

Others are expressing incredulity of what Adams and Zion Williamson will look like on the floor together, punishing opponents for running into their screens.

The Thunder will have plenty of opportunities to get their next great with all the draft picks they have accumulated, but while they struggle on the court, it will be difficult for fans to have said goodbye to all their favorite players.

Adams hits harder than most players who have been moved.

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Thunder agree to trade Steven Adams to Pelicans for draft compensation

It’s the end of an era. Steven Adams’ time in Oklahoma City has come to an end.

The Oklahoma City Thunder continued wheeling and dealing on the first day of NBA free agency, as the franchise agreed to trade Steven Adams to the New Orleans Pelicans in a deal that is expected to bring the Thunder multiple future draft picks, including at least one future first-round pick.

The trade, which was first reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic, ends up being a part of a larger, four-team trade which will result in Jrue Holiday landing with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Earlier this week, the Pelicans agreed to trade Holiday to Milwaukee in a deal that saw the Bucks send a bevy of future picks to New Orleanns. The deal involving Adams heading to the Pelicans is an expansion of the Holiday trade, which will also include the Denver Nuggets.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Denver will send a 2023 lottery-protected first-round pick to Oklahoma City, as well as two future second-round picks.

For the Thunder, the trading of Adams truly represents the end of an era.

Adams, who was drafted by the Thunder with the 12th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, has spent the entirety of his seven-year career with the franchise.

Although a fan favorite, Adams is entering the final year of a four-year, $100 million extension signed in 2016. Similar to Jerami Grant and Dennis Schroder, the Thunder did not foresee re-signing him to a market-value contract at the conclusion of his current deal and ultimately opted to proactively trade him for value.

As a result, Adams will take his talents to New Orleans where he will join a talented club that hopes to compete for a playoff berth. To that end, his acquisition will likely pay major dividends.

Report: New Orleans Pelicans in talks to acquire Steven Adams from Oklahoma City Thunder

In need of a center, the New Orleans Pelicans are reportedly in talks to acquire center Steven Adams from the Oklahoma City Thunder, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.

In need of a center, the New Orleans Pelicans are reportedly in talks to acquire center Steven Adams from the Oklahoma City Thunder, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Also according to Charania, the deal will be an expanded version of the trade that will send Jrue Holiday to the Milwaukee Bucks. The deal right now includes the Thunder, Bucks and Pelicans and could even expand to include a fourth team.

An expanded version of the deal could see one of Eric Bledsoe and George Hill, both who were originally set to be sent to New Orleans, routed to another team as the Pelicans have a trio of young point guards on the roster in Lonzo Ball, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Kira Lewis, the team’s No. 13 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.

Adams is a 27-year old that is entering the final year of his contract in which he’ll be paid $27.53 million.

The Pelicans saw last year’s starting center, Derrick Favors, return to the Utah Jazz on a three-year, $27 million deal, per Tony Jones of The Athletic. Aside from the first half of his rookie season, Favors spent his entire career in Utah before being trade to New Orleans.

This story will be updated as more is known.

Thunder and Sixers could flip centers Adams, Horford in salary swap

The Philadelphia 76ers need to get off Al Horford’s contract. Would they take on the salary of Steven Adams, who is also not a good fit?

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This isn’t the most glamorous of trades, but the Oklahoma City Thunder and Philadelphia 76ers swapping centers could work out for both teams.

The Sixers need to find a way to get out of Al Horford’s contract and solve the fit problems that he poses in the lineup. The Thunder, meanwhile, have a center who is on an expiring contract in Steven Adams.

It’s not a perfect trade by any means, but both teams would get positives out of it.

The proposal

Thunder receive: Al Horford, 2021 first-round pick

Sixers receive: Steven Adams

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Why the Thunder do it

This trade all comes down to the first-round pick. If Oklahoma City does succeed in trading Adams, there are few few ways to envision a deal landing a first-rounder in return. This is one of the only ways.

Horford has three years left on his deal at an average of $27 million per season. His first year perfectly matches Adams’ $27.5 million contract. In the short-term, this is the Thunder acquiring a first-round pick at no cost.

Beyond one year, Oklahoma City would have to find another trade to get off Horford’s contract. There’s reason to believe he still has talent — he’s just one year removed from a strong season with the Boston Celtics, one which earned him a deal worth $109 million over four years. It’s possible his struggles are more due to the poor fit with the Sixers than any real talent loss.

If that’s the case, he can revive some trade value and the Thunder could feasibly trade him for a second-round pick next offseason. That is what would make this a good deal for Oklahoma City.

Why the Sixers do it

Philadelphia would be a legitimate title contender if their floor spacing was better. Adams wouldn’t solve this problem, but the fact that he only has one year left on his contract does give them a chance to make this work.

There are a few avenues the 76ers could go if they get Adams. The ideal one is to trade him to a team in need of a center on an expiring deal and get back a second-round pick or an inexpensive bench option. That return would be as minimal as possible, but it would be a lot easier to trade Adams than Horford.

Another is to play him as a backup big. Adams a starting-caliber player to be sure, but the Sixers already know he won’t fit next to Embiid. If the star gets 30 minutes per game and Adams gets 20 minutes per game, that only puts them on the court at the same time for two minutes. Adams wouldn’t be happy, but again, it’s only a one-year deal. They’ll separate after the season.

The third option is to simply waive him. Adams would find a different team, and while paying him $27.5 million for no reason hurts, it’s better than paying Horford $81 million over three years.

In fact, saving that $27 million next offseason will put them one Tobais Harris salary dump away from creating max cap space in what is expected to be an absolutely loaded 2021 free agency class.

Why the Thunder don’t do it

The thought of paying Horford $81 million over three years is tough to swallow. If the Thunder can’t trade him and the Sixers are improved next year, they may have eaten this contract for a pick in the mid- to late-20s. That’s not a good deal.

It would be much, much simpler to either let Adams finish out his contract in Oklahoma City or find a suitor who will give the organization a second-round pick.

Why the Sixers don’t do it

In Year 1, this isn’t even a salary dump, as the contract of Horford is within $30,000 of Adams’. Giving up a first-round pick to swap these salaries for what would be an even worse fit is not a good idea, on paper.

But this is Daryl Morey’s team now, and his former organization, the Houston Rockets, never used their first-round picks.

That’s barely an exaggeration. Their last first-round pick was in 2015, when they selected Sam Dekker. Morey is not afraid of missing out on late first-round picks.

Opening up that money ahead of the 2021 free agency class is smart and necessary.

Who says no?

In my mind, giving up a late first-round pick is worth it to get out of Horford’s contract. If the Sixers do their due diligence and find nobody else will take Horford, they almost need to do it, not just for this year but for the 2021 free agency.

The Thunder, however, would be less interested. A rebuilding team needs to be getting off $20 million-plus contracts, not tacking on more years of paying 34-year-old players this much money.

I don’t think Oklahoma City says yes, but their is some relatively similar precedent: Just last offseason they traded for Chris Paul. Granted, his contract is less expensive and for fewer years than Russell Westbrook, but a team that was supposedly rebuilding added an expensive 35-year-old.

Then they revitalized his trade value. If Presti is confident his new coaching staff can do the same, the Thunder just won a first-round pick and potentially more.

If the Sixers need to convince the Thunder, they could also swap 2020 first-rounders. Oklahoma City would get back the No. 21 pick that originally belonged to them, and Philadelphia would slide down to pick No. 25.

That may make it easier for the Thunder.

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