24/1/20
Oklahoma City conclude two separate deals as their rebuild enters its next phase
The Oklahoma City Thunder seem to enjoy dropping trades on us without warning, like the Paul George deal in 2017. So it comes as no great shock then that Sam Presti has just surprised us with two trade deals in as many days.
The first deal went down on Thursday morning and saw Nerlens Noel and Danilo Gallinari sent to the Atlanta Hawks. Then, just hours before a home game against the Detroit Pistons tonight, another trade sent point guard Dennis Schroder to Minnesota.
It has left Thunder fans trying to wrap their heads around just what happened and how it changed their team's position moving forward.
Most people expected Chris Paul to be the first player traded by Oklahoma City this season, but it seems as though the trade market for him is non-existent. His massive contract just makes him too unappealing for teams to take on right now.
------------------------------Atlanta acquire Noel & Gallinari as they aim for deep playoff runAtlanta have built up a really nice core of young talent over the past several drafts, with Trae Young, John Collins, Cam Reddish, Kevin Huerter and De'Andre Hunter. But one thing they have lacked is a defensive-minded big man to play alongside Collins and free him up to focus on the offensive side of the game.
That is why they jumped at the chance to acquire Nerlens Noel. The former sixth overall pick has been in stellar form this season as Steven Adams' backup, averaging 11 points, 9 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. He is one of the leading candidates for the Sixth Man of the Year award.
Joining the Hawks should give Noel his wish of being a starter on an NBA team again. Injuries and competition for spots have seen him reduced to a backup role for the past four seasons on three different teams.
The Hawks are currently sitting in sixth place in the eastern conference standings, mainly on the back of the fearless play of their young stars. Noel will add some real grit and toughness to their team and will help them when they inevitably face the likes of Joel Embiid or DeAndre Jordan in the playoffs.
Noel will turn 26 in April, so he is still young enough to be a key part of this young team as it grows.
Adding Gallinari will give the Hawks not only another solid bench scorer, but a level-headed veteran presence in the locker room. That is an underrated commodity in the NBA, especially for a young group of players who will likely be experiencing playoff basketball for the first time.
This trade is almost a free swing for Atlanta. They only gave up a pick which is tied to Brooklyn and will likely be in the 25-30 range come draft night. So they still have their own first round pick in 2020 and also will have about $95 million in cap room to spend next summer, although that will probably fall to around $75 million after contract options are picked up.
For Oklahoma City, this deal was all about cashing in on two assets which were expiring at the end of the season. They get two more draft picks to throw on their already impressive pile of assets.
It was probably unlikely that they were going to re-sign either Noel or Gallinari beyond this season. Noel because Steven Adams has the starting center role locked down, and Gallinari because at 31-years-old he doesn't fit with their rebuild.
Perhaps they could have squeezed out a little bit more value in this deal, but it probably won't make a big difference in the long run with their vast pick arsenal.
At this stage both Turner and Len are expected to play out the season with the Thunder. Neither would be likely candidates to be bought out of their contracts so that they could join a playoff contender.Atlanta receive
Nerlens Noel - 25 - C - $1.6m - 1 year (84)
Danilo Gallinari - 31 - SF - $22.6m - 1 year (81)
Projected line-up:
Nerlens Noel - John Collins - Jabari Parker - Cam Reddish - Trae Young
Reserves:
Danilo Gallinari, Kevin Huerter, De'Andre Hunter, Damian Jones, Trevon Duval, Allen Crabbe, Chandler Parsons, DeAndre Bembry, Bruno Fernando, Vince Carter, Brandon Goodwin*, Charlie Brown Jr*
Oklahoma City receive
Alex Len - 26 - C - $4.2m - 1 year (75)
Evan Turner - 31 - SF - $18.6m - 1 year (74)
2020 Brooklyn first round pick (Lottery protected)
2022 New Orleans second round pick
Projected line-up:
Steven Adams - Deyonta Davis - Carmelo Anthony - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - Chris Paul
Reserves:
Dennis Schroder, Mike Muscala, Terrance Ferguson, Justin Patton, Andre Roberson, Hamidou Diallo, Deonte Burton, Alex Len, Evan Turner, Darius Bazley, Luguentz Dort*
------------------------------Timberwolves hoping that Schroder can help solve their offensive strugglesThe second deal that Presti completed involved him sending Dennis Schroder and a 2021 second round pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Jeff Teague and a protected 2021 first round pick.
Minnesota, who currently sit in seventh place with a 24-20 record, are right in the middle of a seven-team battle to decide the western conference playoff seeding. Only four games separate fourth-placed Phoenix and tenth-placed Portland.
Adding Schroder immediately upgrades their point guard rotation and hopefully gives them someone who can get their offense running much more smoothly. The German playmaker has been one of the top bench players in the league this season, but will be relishing a return to the starting role. He has been averaging 20 points and 11 assists (per 36 minutes) as backup to Chris Paul.
Even if this doesn't turn out to be the long-term solution to their point guard problem, it won't be a big deal. Worst case scenario it will only cost them an extra year of salary and maybe ten or fifteen spots in the 2021 draft, thanks to getting back a second round pick in the deal.
The best case scenario for Minnesota would be if they got the top seed next season and Oklahoma City finish as the worst team in the league, then the Timberwolves would only drop back one selection in the order, from 30 to 31.
Oklahoma City decided to trade Schroder whilst his value was at it's highest. His form has him as the favourite to win the Sixth Man of the Year award and he still has another year remaining on his contract beyond this season.
The long term goal for the team is to have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander take over the point guard role, so having both Schroder and Chris Paul on the team as well impeded those plans. And Schroder was easier to move out of the two.
Exchanging Schroder for the expiring contract of Jeff Teague also opens up an extra $15 million in cap space for the Thunder. It gives them as much as $35 million to spend next off-season, however that number will likely be reduced to roughly $23 million after contract options are exercised.
Although history suggests that they won't be big players in the free agency market, it wouldn't be surprising to see Sam Presti put a big contract offer to Brandon Ingram. If nothing else it will at least get the Pelicans to pay top dollar to keep him. But if they decline to match he would be a great fit on this rebuilding team at just 22-years-old.
The addition of yet another first round pick now gives the Thunder the potential of having an incredible 17 first round selections over the next 7 years. If the 2020 draft order was based on current standings, Oklahoma City would hold picks 7, 17 and 23 in the first round.
Normally teams wouldn't include a second round pick in a deal like this, but second round picks probably won't be much use to the Thunder over the next few years as they will need roster spots for all of their first round selections anyway.
Jeff Teague would likely draw interest from both Los Angeles teams if he were to get bought out, but there is no official word yet about that happening.Minnesota receive
Dennis Schroder - 26 - PG - $31m - 2 years (84)
2021 Oklahoma City second round pick
Projected line-up:
Karl-Anthony Towns - Noah Vonleh - Andrew Wiggins - Jarrett Culver - Dennis Schroder
Reserves:
Robert Covington, Shabazz Napier, Gorgui Dieng, Jordan Bell, Jake Layman, Josh Okogie, Keita Bates-Diop, Naz Reid, Tyrone Wallace, Jaylen Nowell, Kelan Martin*, Jordan McLaughlin*
Oklahoma City receive
Jeff Teague - 31 - PG - $19m - 1 year (77)
2021 Minnesota first round pick (Lottery protected)
Projected line-up:
Steven Adams - Deyonta Davis - Carmelo Anthony - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - Chris Paul
Reserves:
Jeff Teague, Mike Muscala, Terrance Ferguson, Justin Patton, Andre Roberson, Hamidou Diallo, Deonte Burton, Alex Len, Evan Turner, Darius Bazley, Luguentz Dort*
------------------------------Looking ahead to the upcoming off-season
After completing these two trades the Thunder are now looking at having between $23 million and $35 million to spend on contract offers when free agency starts on July 1st.
The team options on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Terrance Ferguson and Hamidou Diallo are likely to be picked up, but Deonte Burton has question marks over his future. Mike Muscala has a $2.3 million player option for next season and it will be interesting to see if he exercises it or looks for more financial security by opting-out.
The 2020 free agency market was already looking fairly underwhelming, at least compared to the all-star laden bonanza we just witnessed this season. The recent extensions signed by Pascal Siakam, Jaylen Brown, Buddy Hield, Domantas Sabonis and Dejounte Murray have weakened the free agent pool even further.
In terms of restricted free agents available, Brandon Ingram, Dario Saric, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kris Dunn, Jakob Poeltl, Cedi Osman, Thon Maker, Juan Hernangomez and Malik Beasley are the pick of the bunch.
The biggest names in the unrestricted free agent pool at this stage would probably be Andre Drummond, Marc Gasol, Hassan Whiteside, Danilo Gallinari, Serge Ibaka, Paul Millsap, Jordan Clarkson, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Fred VanVleet, Reggie Jackson, Tristan Thompson, Montrezl Harrell, Nerlens Noel, Willy Hernangomez, Jahlil Okafor, Jae Crowder, Isaiah Thomas, Joe Harris and Allonzo Trier.
It's not the most inspiring list of names, but given that there could be as many as six teams able to hand out at least one max-level contract, we could see the likes of Anthony Davis, Gordon Hayward, Otto Porter Jr, Jabari Parker and Nicolas Batum opt out of their 2020-21 player options and chase a long-term deal.
Realistically most of those players don't fit with the Thunder's new timeline, so they may end up not being big players in the free agency market. Maybe they will follow Atlanta's lead and use their cap space to take on bad contracts in exchange for future draft picks.
Perhaps they will preserve their cap room for another year and put themselves in the Giannis sweepstakes, however unlikely their chances would be at actually signing him.
Oklahoma City future pick summary
