The Phoenix Suns have traded for Bradley Beal, Boston Celtics have successfully trade for Kristaps Porzingis and Golden State Warriors have done same to get Chris Paul.
With these headline trades, expectations are heightened way before the upcoming season starts but here comes the twist in the money laden, ultra competitive tale the NBA is.
In the world of early off-season work in the trade market from NBA teams that has generated a ton of conversations involving high profile players, the outfit regarded as the worst is the one that is seemingly set to meet expectations.
The Washington Wizards have been for the better part of a quarter of a century a terribly run franchise that had brief spells of brilliance through the Gilbert Arenas era and John Wall-Bradley Beal combo.
After trading away Beal and Chris Paul-the man they got from a three team trade- the Wizards are set for the future after walking away with multiple draft picks.
Lost in the mix of the bevy of draft picks was Washington acquiring Jordan Poole and Tyus Jones. Look away but Washington’s future is set with the pair a perfect mesh as Poole’s volume scoring style fits fine next to the efficient pass first Point Guard Jones.
While Poole had an underwhelming 2022-2023 season, the former Golden State Warriors Shooting Guard averaged 24 points in 43 games as a starter minus Steph Curry. Jones averaged 16.4 points and 8.1 assists in 22 games as a starter for Memphis Grizzlies in the absence of Ja Morant.
While defence is sure to be a problem for this backcourt duo, its upside offers the Wizards a clearer and better way to build themselves into a legit contender than the Wall-Beal run that often looked clunky offensively largely due to Wall’s poor three-point stroke.
Speaking of draft picks, Portland Trailblazers’ draft selections in recent years (Scoot Henderson, Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe) are all Guards and are a tantalizing trade package to nab an established talent to aid Damian Lillard realize his title ambitions in a Trailblazers uniform.
Should nothing at all happen by way of trades of such ilk, Portland becomes the next hottest trade watch stop with Lillard heavily liked by the Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat and New York Knicks. Portland is yet to make a move but focusing on the aforementioned trio that has made major trade moves, none is set to win big the way these trades promise.
Porzingis traded to Boston Celtics
Boston somewhat disappointed again in the just ended season after failing to make it back to the NBA Finals as expected after running into the lowly ranked Miami Heat and losing the series.
Adding Porzingis to the core of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum backed by a group of solid role players like Al Horford, Robert Williams and Derrick White is a great move. Porzingis’ length, size (7 foot 3 inches) and three point shooting touch is the kind of addition that takes a talented roster like Boston’s over the top to clinch a first NBA title since 2008.
However, Porzingis showed his displeasure over the number of touches he had on offense during his time with Dallas Mavericks where Luka Doncic dominates the ball.
If he was upset over standing in the corner and just shooting three pointers, how does his temperament translate into a situation where Tatum and Brown dominate the ball?
It’s inevitable that Tatum and Brown will dominate the ball since both players made the All NBA teams and are set to command over $45 million in annual salary respectively.
Besides, Porzingis’ availability is another major question mark the Celtics have to work hard to fix. Another argument against trading for Porzingis has to do with whether he was the right trade choice.
Looking at the playoff struggles of Tatum and Brown in successive deep playoff runs and the distrust shown to the now departed Marcus Smart in the postseason, getting a top scoring point guard was what Boston needed. A younger version of Chris Paul a la Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the sort of player Boston should have gone for.
Bradley Beal traded to Phoenix Suns
For a while, it looked like the era of the Big Three was over considering the flat performance of the Warriors in the postseason and seeing the ascent of Tatum and Brown and the NBA title winning combo of Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic.
Someway, somehow, the Phoenix Suns are reaching for the old ways by trading for Kevin Durant and Beal to pair with Devin Booker. Phoenix made this move possible by trading Chris Paul to Washington of course with the help of Beal who waived his no trade clause in his contract to facilitate the move.
Had Paul been a few years younger and healthier, Suns wouldn’t have made this trade since CP3 is everything Phoenix needs and not an undersized, secondary playmaker but score first shooting Guard in Beal.
Trading for Gilgeous-Alexander would have meant Phoenix’s stars get to play their roles at peak levels with Booker operating as the primary scoring option with Gilgeous-Alexander setting the table on offense with Durant serving as the finisher whose game is so well rounded that he does everything else so well.
Booker and Beal are very at good getting teammates into the right spots to run an offence, they aren’t the best at it-only a few are as a matter of fact. Gilgeous-Alexander is one of them and moving draft picks and Paul for him would have been the best move to optimize the Suns title winning chances to the max.
Chris Paul traded to Golden State Warriors
The Point God Chris Paul is expected to serve as a primary backup to Steph Curry in the point guard position on the Warriors roster.
The younger and somewhat inefficient Jordan Poole couldn’t grasp the concept of playing fewer minutes and having fewer touches on offense in a reserve role.
Paul is set to slide nicely into this role but in playoff situations and crunch situations in the regular season, Paul will join Curry in the backcourt. This wouldn’t be a problem since Curry is a shooting guard trapped in a point guard’s body and is talented enough to play the position at a high level.
However, adding the 37 year old Paul to a core group that has players in their early and mid 30’s in Draymond Green and Klay Thompson is a no no. Health wise, Paul’s availability means bench points may be absent when it is most needed as Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns can attest to.
On top of that, Denver leveraged its bigger roster to win its first ever NBA title at the expense of the “smaller” Miami Heat and pairing the 6 footer Paul and the 6 foot 2 inch Curry in the back court is a weakness the deep Western Conference teams will easily exploit. Sacramento Kings showed the Warriors older legs and slower foot speed is a major concern to Golden State’s title aspirations.
The old heads got past the youngings of Sacramento by leaning into their vast and very deep playoff experience. Adding Paul to this mix worsens this scenario and makes Curry and company more vulnerable than ever.
