Tag: Steven Adams

Trade idea: Thunder’s Steven Adams joins Toronto Raptors

If the Thunder are looking to salary dump Steven Adams, the Toronto Raptors could be an option with Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol entering free agency.

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The two Toronto Raptors bigs, Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol, are entering free agency.

A quick way to replace them with a starting center on a short-term deal is to trade for Steven Adams.

This trade isn’t exciting for the Thunder, but it does save $20 million in the payroll, which would certainly interest ownership.

The proposal

Thunder receive: Patrick McCaw, Stanley Johnson, 2023 second-round draft pick

Raptors receive: Steven Adams

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Why the Thunder do it

It’s a salary dump. A rebuilding team wouldn’t want to pay Adams $27.5 million, and this adds inexpensive depth, a future second-round pick and makes the Thunder’s draft pick next year more likely to be better.

McCaw and Johnson have not proven themselves to be productive NBA players, but the Thunder can still get a look at them for a year. Perhaps they can be used at the trade deadline to get more second-round picks. If not, they fill space on the depth chart for one year and then both parties move on.

It’s not exciting. It’s just the organization saving $20 million.

Why the Raptors do it

With Serge Ibaka testing free agency and rumors that Marc Gasol is returning to Spain to play for Barcelona, Toronto needs a new center.

They could re-sign Ibaka, but he may want a multi-year deal. There’s an important reason to not give a deal into 2021-22: Giannis Antetokounmpo’s contract is expiring after this season, and if he doesn’t re-sign with the Milwaukee Bucks on a supermax, the Raptors could make a run at the two-time MVP.

So they get Adams instead, who provides a good post presence on both ends of the court and can fit into the defensive scheme, and on a one-year deal is not a commitment.

The Raptors throw in McCaw and Johnson to trim a little more salary, and there’s the deal. A starting center on a one-year deal to replace their former bigs.

Why the Thunder don’t do it

This is very minimal return. Adams is a fan-favorite, and it’s important to keep players who mean something to a city. There’s a good chance that one more year of Adams is worth more than the second-round pick will be.

But is that worth the $20 million extra it would cost to keep him instead of the salary dump? If I’m in ownership’s shoes, I might lean no.

Why the Raptors don’t do it

Toronto is sitting at $86 million with a few needs: Yes, they need a center. But they also need to either re-sign Fred VanVleet or to replace him. They may have to use the mid-level exception in free agency on such a point guard, or use that No. 29 pick on one — maybe hope that Tyrell Terry is still around, or perhaps they like Cassius Winston enough to make him the backup — and hope that he’s ready for playoff time immediately.

Who says no?

The Raptors need a center, but they can find other ways to bolster the lineup without trading for Adams. Maybe they convince Ibaka to sign a one-year deal by loading him up with cash. That second point guard behind Lowry is also important; VanVleet has stepped up time and time again for Toronto.

Adams would help them, but the pieces Toronto would not be able to sign may be too much for the team to go through with it.

But it’s something to consider.

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Trade idea: Thunder, Hornets swap giant contracts in Steven Adams, Nicolas Batum

The Oklahoma City Thunder would have to take Nicolas Batum, but they’d get a first-round pick from the Charlotte Hornets for Steven Adams.

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Steven Adams for Nicolas Batum? Don’t close out of this page quite yet, Oklahoma City Thunder fans.

Batum, a Charlotte Hornets forward, may have among the most untradeable contracts in the league, but now that he’s on an expiring deal, the Thunder may listen without laughing and hanging up the phone.

In this deal, Oklahoma City gets a first-round pick. It’s one of the few ways I can envision the organization receiving such return for Adams.

The Hornets, in exchange, get a center who will help them be a better team in a season in which they likely want to contend for that seventh or eighth spot in the Eastern Conference.

The proposal

Thunder receive: Nicolas Batum, 2021 top-7 protected first-round pick

Hornets receive: Steven Adams

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Why the Thunder say yes

It’s all about that draft pick. Adams isn’t going to fetch a major return from any team, but if Thunder brass is willing to pay Batum $27 million, this trade could earn them a lottery pick.

That, the few hundred thousand dollars in savings, and the increased chance that the Thunder’s own 2021 draft pick is better because Batum isn’t as good as Adams would make this trade interesting for Oklahoma City.

Why the Hornets say yes

The Hornets were a 10th seed in the Eastern Conference this season. This trade would net them a new starter to pair with the draft pick, who will be a starter, and they would still have a ton of salary cap space for free agency.

Maybe, instead of drafting James Wiseman at No. 3, Charlotte goes for Obi Toppin or Deni Avdija and then slots him next to Steven Adams. These additions to the lineup is suddenly a corps that can fight for a playoffs pot in the east.

Maybe the Hornets trade up one pick to ensure they can get LaMelo Ball or Anthony Edwards, and add a guard and a big to this team. No matter what they do, they will be a better team by flipping Batum for Adams.

Why the Thunder say no

If the Hornets do get into playoffs, they could have a pick around No. 17. This range might not be worth it to ownership to have paid a player $27 million this season.

That’s why the pick is top-7 protected. Charlotte limits the risk of trading a franchise player for what could be one year of Adams, and the Thunder could feel good about their chances of pulling off a pick in the 8-14 range for a salary swap.

The financial situation brought on by the coronavirus may dictate if this would even be considered by OKC brass.

Why the Hornets say no

I touched upon it in that last section — if Charlotte does not make the playoffs, the franchise may have given up a pick as high as No. 8 pick for one season of Adams. That would be impermissible.

Who says no?

Both? Neither? I don’t know. I don’t think either team loves this deal, but I think it’s one that both teams would benefit from.

The Hornets would probably lose a draft pick between 8-20. But they would gain a player who will actually be productive on the court.

The Thunder would add to their collection of other team’s draft picks, but they would be stuck with paying Batum $27 million. I don’t see how they could get rid of that.

With only one more year on his deal, though, Oklahoma City may be best suited to take a breath and take that pick.

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Trade idea: Thunder C Steven Adams joins Pelicans for playoff push

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.

Welcome to OKC Thunder Wire Trade Week

This week, OKC Thunder Wire dive into trade ideas for the team, particularly involving Chris Paul, Dennis Schroder and Steven Adams.

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Welcome to the OKC Thunder Wire trade week.

Over the next seven days, staff writers will be posting our own trade ideas that the Oklahoma City Thunder could pursue if they are looking to rebuild.

Many of these trade proposals will involve point guard Chris Paul, sixth man Dennis Schroder or center Steven Adams. They are the three most expensive contracts on the team, they don’t fit a rebuild timeline and can be viewed as positive assets for other teams.

The Thunder appear to be entering a rebuilding phase with the departure of Billy Donovan. With the salary cap and luxury tax floor expected to decline and Schroder and Adams both on expiring deals, it makes sense for them to get a head start on the new young corps that can play around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the future.

Tune in daily to check out different trade avenues the Thunder could pursue to cut costs and retrieve players for the future.

This post will be updated daily with links to content throughout the week.

Thunder trade proposals:

Making the case for and against trading Chris Paul

Dennis Schroder, Steven Adams ranked in 5th tier of NBA players

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Dennis Schroder and center Steven Adams were in the fifth tier of The Athletic’s rankings.

In an effort to rank the quality of NBA players without putting an actual number on them — after all, who can truly separate the No. 36 player in the league from the No. 38? — The Athletic is undertaking an endeavor to create tiers for each player in the league.

Led by Seth Partnow, a group of reporters defined the top 125 players in the league grouped into five tiers. A player’s value over the last three years lands them into one of the categories.

Two Oklahoma City Thunder players ended up in the fifth tier. Guard Dennis Schroder and center Steven Adams were listed among the best 80-125 players in the league.

Over the last three years, Schroder has averaged 17.8 points, 4.7 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game while shooting 43.9% from the field and 34.2% from deep.

Adams, whose strong and consistent post presence is defined by more than just stats, has averaged 13 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks per game over the last three years.

While the bottom tier sounds like an insult, this fifth tier shows just how deep the NBA is.

Blake Griffin, who is only one year removed from an All-NBA team appearance, is there, as is Jerami Grant, who could make close to $20 million in free agency, depending on salary cap and luxury tax figures. His teammate Paul Millsap is in the tier too, as are Kevin Love, Al Horford and Andre Drummond.

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Partnow expanded on how the rankings were made in the methodology.

It appears that the basis comes from tiers that are slightly expanded. A graph shows the fifth tier as the 125-150 range, at which players are referred to as high-rotation pieces.

Ahead of them is the top starter/key reserve, which goes as deep as 75 players.

After the 2019-20 season, Schroder specifically feels like he should be part of the key reserve company, but this season was by far the best of his career and the previous two likely dropped his value to a spot just below that range.

The actual list that the Athletic put together players from No. 80-125 in the fifth tier, so it’s possible that Schroder is just barely out of the higher section.

Ahead of the top starter and key reserve section (41-75) on the graph is All-Star consideration, which is made of the 16th-40th best players in the league.

Ahead is All-NBA, a group of players one can expect to be a top-15 athlete and lead his team to the playoffs.

The top is franchise tier, which is made of the best five or so players in the league, the five a team can be confident will lead them to a championship against any other individual player.

A few other Thunder players are likely to be on the list somewhere. Danilo Gallinari is one of the better shooters in the league, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder in scoring, and Chris Paul was a Second Team All-NBA player last season.

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One Thunder player is on B/R’s overpaid list, and it’s not Chris Paul

Bleacher Report put together its list of the 10 most overpaid NBA players, and Thunder guard Chris Paul wasn’t part of it. Steven Adams was.

Bleacher Report put together its 2020-21 season ranking of the NBA’s most overpaid players list, and an Oklahoma City Thunder player was on it.

The fact that a Thunder player made an appearance isn’t as notable is which one was not part of the list.

Point guard Chris Paul entered the season with a league-wide perception that his contract — which will be $41 million in 2020-21 season — was an albatross. But after a remarkable first season in Oklahoma City, it’s not considered one of the 10 worst in the league.

Bleacher Report does consider center Steven Adams’ contract as one of the worst, though.

Adams is set to make $27.5 million this coming season. As a relatively traditional center — one who doesn’t step out to space the floor, one who’s a good but not great passer — that’s too much, in B/R’s point of view.

Reporter Grant Hughes writes:

Steven Adams may very well be carved from a block of granite, and he’s probably the NBA player most likely to treat compound fractures by rubbing dirt on them and nonchalantly returning to the court. But a conventional center whose years spent absorbing physical punishment seem to have initiated his decline phase ahead of schedule isn’t worth anywhere near $27.5 million.

Adams averaged 10.9 points and 9.3 rebounds this season while shooting 59.2% on 7.6 shots per game. He averaged 1.1 blocks and 0.8 steals.

He anchored the best five-man lineup in the league as the man down low.

From Bleacher Report:

“Those are fine numbers, and they reflect the effort and force with which Adams operates. But as the league continues to shrink, further marginalizing bigs who can’t spread the floor or defend in space, Adams only becomes harder to imagine on the court in meaningful games.”

Adams was No. 9 on the 10-player list. Former Thunder player Russell Westbrook, now on the Houston Rockets, was No. 3, and Washington Wizards point guard John Wall topped the list.

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Thunder players Chris Paul, Steven Adams earned All-Defensive votes

Two Oklahoma City Thunder players received votes for the 2019-20 NBA All-Defensive Team.

While no Oklahoma City Thunder players were selected for either of the NBA All-Defensive Teams, two received at least one vote.

Point guard Chris Paul and center Steven Adams garnered recognition at their respective positions.

Paul had four First Team votes and five Second Team votes. Of the guards who did not make a team, he had the fourth-most voting points.

Adams had one vote for the Second Team. He was one of seven centers to earn at least one vote, including the two who made a team.

Here is the breakdown of players who received votes but did not make a team. Graphics come from NBA.com.

Had Paul been selected, it would have been his 10th All-Defensive selection in his career. From 2008-2017, the only year he did not get selected was 2010, when he was injured for half the season.

As it stands, Paul is tied for the seventh-most selections of all-time. No point guard has more selections than he does.

Adams has not made an All-Defensive team in his career.

The All-Defensive First Team was made up of Ben Simmons and Marcus Smart at guard, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Anthony Davis at forward, and Rudy Gobert at center.

The Second Team was made up of Patrick Beverly and Eric Bledsoe at guard, Kawhi Leonard and Bam Adebayo at forward, and Brook Lopez at center.

Noteworthy is that three Milwaukee Bucks players made a team, as did two Los Angeles Clippers.

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If Chris Paul is traded, Dennis Schroder and Steven Adams could follow

The Thunder will have some major decisions to make this offseason.

From the time he arrived in Oklahoma City, there were more than a few people who thought that Chris Paul’s time with the Thunder would be short-lived.

And despite him leading the Thunder further than anyone else could have imagined, the video he posted to his social media channels did little to put the speculation to rest. It sounded every bit like Paul was thanking the fans of Oklahoma City for a wonderful season while saying goodbye.

At 35 years old, Paul has a lot of miles on his odometer and is still owed $85.5 million for the next two seasons. He doesn’t necessarily seem to fit in with a young, rebuilding club, so Sam Presti has a very interesting dilemma on his hands: Does he continue to ride with Paul and the 2019-20 team to see how far they can go? Or would Presti be wise to proactively trade Paul with the hope of receiving valuable assets in return? It’s unlikely that Paul’s stock would get any higher than it is at this moment.

ESPN’s Royce Young is one of the most respected and plugged-in members of the Oklahoma City media, and he’s been pondering those exact questions.

Young recently appeared with host Brian Windhorst (also of ESPN) on The Hoops Collective podcast and shared his thoughts on the matter. But what was interesting about Young’s take was that he indicated that a Paul trade would likely trigger a full-blown rebuild in Oklahoma City.

According to Young, such a move could also lead to the trades of Dennis Schroder and Steven Adams, as well.

“By all appearances, once the Thunder make the move to move on from Chris Paul, that’s kind of when they’re going to hit the reset button…

“That’s when I think they’ll start tearing down some of the pieces. Schroder will go. Adams might go. And they’ll start to sort of begin their first ever rebuild since they moved to Oklahoma City.”

In all fairness, Young doesn’t claim to have any knowledge as to what the Thunder will decide to do with Paul… But he should be considered a good authority on the team, and it seems that the club could decide to fully pull the plug with the intention of rebuilding around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

The offseason has just begun. There is absolutely no rush to determine what Paul’s future holds, but if the team does decide to move him to the highest bidder, it could be the first in a concert of moves.

SGA: Final Thunder inbounds play was drawn up for Gallinari

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said the final inbounds play of the Thunder and Rockets game was drawn up for Danilo Gallinari.

After a whirl of missed referee decisions, the Oklahoma City Thunder had an inbounds pass with 1.1 seconds to go in Game 7 while trailing the Houston Rockets by two points.

Guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ended up passing it to center Steven Adams, who was coming out toward the 3-point line. Adams wasn’t able to corral it, and the Rockets knocked the ball away and won 104-102.

After the game, Gilgeous-Alexander said the play was drawn up for Danilo Gallinari.

Russell Westbrook, who was guarding the Gilgeous-Alexander, jumped out to double-team Gallinari as the power forward got to the 3-point arc.

“They sent two to Gallo,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “No one else was open besides Stevo for a split-second.”

 

Gallinari only had four points in Game 7 and was 2-for-6 from the field, but he is the most prolific Thunder 3-point shooter. This season, he shot above 40% on more than seven 3-point attempts per game.

The Rockets, well-aware of his skills as a stretch-four, converged on him.

Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t see any other players with openings, so he passed it to Adams. Westbrook was still close enough to get a hand on the ball and knock it away.

Chris Paul was guarded tightly by Eric Gordon and Lu Dort was at the 3-point line on the opposite side of the court.

With that play, Oklahoma City’s season came to a close.

Lu Dort led all players with 30 points and Chris Paul posted a triple-double, becoming just the second Thunder player to record such a statistic in a playoff game.

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Thunder center Steven Adams available for Game 4 against Rockets

Steven Adam’s injury in Game 3 was not serious enough to hold him out Game 4 in the Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Houston Rockets series.

Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams will not have to miss time after injuring his right knee late in Game 3 against the Houston Rockets.

Adams is available for the Thunder in Game 4 on Monday, according to Daily Thunder’s Brandon Rahbar.

Head coach Billy Donovan announced Adams’ availability during the pregame Zoom press conference.

Late in the fourth quarter on Saturday, Steven Adams suffered a right knee contusion. He was subbed out for trainers to review the injury and was ruled available to play overtime, but Donovan elected not to put him back in the lineup as the group on the court was steamrolling the Rockets.

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Adams has had positives and negatives for the Thunder this series. While his post presence has helped, particularly in grabbing offense rebounds, he has been taken advantage of in the pick-and-roll game when he’s on defense and has been unable to dominate smaller defenders on offense.

In three games, Adams is averaging 10.3 points and 12.0 rebounds, 3.0 of which are on the offensive glass. He has attempted a total of 11 shots over the last two games and only has one block this series.

Deonte Burton is the only Thunder player unavailable. He is out with illness, according to Rahbar.

Rockets guard Russell Westbrook will miss another game due to his quad injury.

Game 4 begins at 3 p.m. Oklahoma City will try to even up the series at two games apiece and avoid falling behind 3-1 to Houston.

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