Tag: trades

Grading the Dante Exum-Jordan Clarkson trade for both Jazz and Cavaliers

We break down the deal between the Utah Jazz and the Cleveland Cavaliers which involved Dante Exum and Jordan Clarkson.

On Monday night the Jazz and Cavaliers reportedly agreed to a trade that will see former No. 5 overall pick Dante Exum traded to Cleveland, along with two second-round draft picks, for Jordan Clarkson. The news was reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The second-round picks heading to Cleveland from the Jazz are in 2022 (via San Antonio) and 2023 (via Golden State).

Clarkson, a five-year veteran of the league, spent the majority of his career with the Lakers before joining the Cavaliers in 2018. This season he is averaging 16.8 points per game, and will provide the Jazz with some much needed bench scoring for a team that has struggled offensively for much of the season.

So, that’s the deal. How do we grade it?

Cavaliers: A-

This is pretty clearly an asset grab, and the chance to take a flyer on a player in Dante Exum who has a good pedigree — he was the fifth overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft.

Exum has never really put it together for the Jazz. There was a torn ACL, and recurring injuries, and rumblings that head coach Quin Snyder didn’t like Exum. SLC Dunk has a really nice breakdown of everything that went wrong with the relationship.

But now Exum gets a fresh start. He’s just 24 years old, and has shown ability in flashes. In Cleveland, he should get his chances.

Will it work? Who knows.

But it’s not like the Cavaliers were going anywhere with Jordan Clarkson, and they basically got gifted two draft picks (second rounders, but still) to see if they can revive Exum’s career. If they don’t, he’s only got one year left on his current contract. That’s a fantastic gamble, if you ask me.

Jazz: B-

Jordan Clarkson is a nice player, and will provide the Jazz’s laboring offense (currently 21st in the league) with a bit of pop. Mike Conley has struggled to find his game since arriving in Utah, and if the team is done with Exum, they might as well give up a couple draft picks and bring someone in they think can score the basketball.

Still, for a win-now trade, this feels pretty … tepid. The Jazz are currently in sixth in the Western Conference, and this trade should help them get going. But are they winning a title with Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, Bojan Bogdanovic, Conley in his current iteration, and Clarkson? I mean, maybe they win a playoff series?

If they felt they needed to get Exum off the team, fine. But to give up two draft picks, even second rounders, to bring in Clarkson — who, again, I like! — feels a bit shortsighted. Assets are assets, and I’m not sure this is a trade that moves the needle.

[jwplayer hJOrVwm8-q2aasYxh]

What kind of welcome should Paul George expect Sunday in OKC?

Former Thunder forward, Paul George, returns to Oklahoma City first the first time since being traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in July.

Let’s go ahead and address the elephant in the room.

Paul George is making his first trip back to Oklahoma City since being traded to the Clippers in July.

The biggest question on Sunday isn’t going to be if the Thunder are going to be able to get a win over their old forward and his new team. The biggest question is going to be how the fans inside Chesapeake Energy Arena welcome him back.

After all, George is primarily responsible for the situation Oklahoma City finds itself in now. Sam Presti trading George to the Clippers was the catalyst for sending Russell Westbrook to the Houston Rockets.

Now, instead of another season with title aspirations, it’s a season in which the Thunder and their fans are left wondering what the team is going to look like a month from now, let alone by the time the postseason rolls around.

If there is a postseason for Oklahoma City this year.

And it’s not just the fans.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal in September, Kevin Durant said that there was a “toxic feeling” from the members of the organization the first time he returned to Oklahoma City after leaving OKC for the Golden State Warriors.

Granted, the situations are different. Durant left for the team that had just knocked the Thunder out of the postseason while George requested to be traded so he could team up with the guy that had just helped the Raptors win the NBA Championship.

It will be interesting to see what kind of greeting awaits George in Oklahoma City. Warm and welcoming? Or boos and bitterness?

The answer will come tomorrow when the Clippers and Thunder tip-off inside Chesapeake Energy Arena at 6 p.m. CT.

Report: Heat’s interest in Chris Paul is ‘extinct’

According to The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor, the Miami Heat have completely moved on the idea of trading for Chris Paul.

There was a time that Chris Paul to Miami seemed like a foregone conclusion.

Apparently, that time has come and gone.

The fact that Oklahoma City and the Heat couldn’t come to an agreement over the summer should have been the first clue that Paul was likely to stay in OKC throughout the duration of the 2019-20 season.

The idea that Paul would get off to a good start, while teams that would need the services of a veteran point guard to position themselves for a playoff push, would struggle, was simply that – an idea.

Paul hasn’t gotten off to a bad start. He’s averaging 16.2 points, 6.3 assists, and 4.5 rebounds per game. More than that, he’s providing leadership and mentorship to a young Thunder squad that’s surprisingly still in contention for a spot in the West.

The fatal flaw in the plan, however, was anticipating that Miami (or other potential trade partners) would struggle through the first two months of the season.

Unfortunately for Oklahoma City, that hasn’t been the case, especially with regards to the Heat. So much so, that according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, Miami’s interest in bringing in CP3 “is extinct”.

The Heat inquired about a trade for a relic point guard in Chris Paul but weren’t able to come to an agreement with the Thunder this offseason (or with the Rockets when a three-way deal was discussed before the Paul-for–Russell Westbrook agreement). At this point, Miami’s interest in Paul is extinct, according to league sources. Miami is more likely to chase someone like Jrue Holiday, multiple front office executives believe. Holiday was recently made available by the Pelicans, according to The New York Times’ Marc Stein.

It’s not just the Miami Heat that aren’t willing to take on Paul. The market for a 34-year-old point guard with a huge contract is slim at best.

At this point, it’s more likely that Paul will stay with the Thunder through the end of the season, at which point he could either decide to stay or, the more likely scenario, is one in which both sides could come to an agreement on a buyout and allow Paul to pursue other avenues.