With the NBA Trade Deadline right around the corner, not many deals have been made. Usually in the last 24 hours of the deadline (now) is when things start to get juicy…
Last night, our first blockbuster trade of the season happened. It was a 4-team trade including the Rockets, Hawks, Timberwolves, and the Nuggets.
ESPN Sources: 4-team trade agreement: Houston: Robert Covington; Atlanta: Clint Capela and Nene; Minnesota: Malik Beasley, Juancho Hernangomez, Evan Turner, ATL 1st round pick via Nets; Denver: Gerald Green, Houston FRP.
Adrian Wojnarowski @wojespn
This was a somewhat surprising trade, but I can see how it makes sense. The two big players in this trade were obviously Clint Capela and Robert Covington with Minnesota getting some young role players and Denver freeing up some space off their everlasting bench. From Houston’s standpoint, giving up Capela is a risky move, but as they are turning into a team that literally only takes 3-pointers, I can see where they’re coming from. The Rockets are 10-1 on the year without Capela. They are also freeing up a massive contract in Capela by trading him over to Atlanta. While also getting one of the top 3 point shooters in the league in Robert Covington. The problem now is that they have no center to match up with players of Anthony Davis, Jokic, and Gianiss’ caliber, BUT that is where I see another blockbuster trade coming into play…
Kevin Love to the Houston Rockets
With the Rockets making this move in shipping out Capela, I can totally see them going hard for Love before the deadline hits. A stretch five with former ties to Russell Westbrook at UCLA, Love would be the perfect fit for the Rockets. The Cavs have reportedly not received good enough offers for Love thus far, but you can definitely tell that this man wants out. He has a HUGE contract though, so it will be tough to come up with a deal that makes sense. The Cavs are in rebuild mode and a 31 year-old Kevin is doing them no good. Love would be a perfect fit alongside Russell and Harden, just as he was with Lebron and Kyrie. He just can’t be successful as the number one option.
A trade that can make this happen is something like this;
- Austin Rivers, Ben McLemore, 2020 First Round pick, 2021 First Round pick via Thunder, 2020 Second Round pick via Kings
While this trade may not look very sexy, it could help the Cavs release the huge Love contract and begin their full-out rebuild.
D’Angelo Russell to the Timberwolves
This trade needs to happen for two simple reasons;
- One: I don’t see D-Lo as a good fit when Curry and Klay are back and healthy
- Two: The Timberwolves are in desperate need of a player that can help fix their struggles.
The 23 year-old has been passed around a lot in his young career, but I see the Timberwolves as a nice stop for him. He’s already played for the Lakers, Nets, and Warriors and has shown that he is a great scoring point guard in this league. I can see KAT and D-Lo as a good future Duo with Andrew Wiggins complementing them well. Also, with the assets they just recently picked up they could really start looking to the future and building a playoff contending team.
I can see a trade going something like this;
- Josh Okogie and a 2020 First Round pick
The Timberwolves may be reluctant to let go of their first round pick, but if they see a bright future in D-Lo as I do, then they will take this opportunity and get him while they can.
