Curious to how you develop trade suggestions

[louc1970]

When you look at suggesting a trade how do you approach the concept?

I see some trades where the OP is trying to equate value of the players. I find this difficult as the value can change depending on team need. Team A may have the better player but willing to send them away for a player that fits a needed position to enhance the "team" - trading a upper tier guard for mid-tier center on a center deprived team.

I see some that try to balance the money involved. While necessary to make the trade legal, skill level of the players can be skewed.

I see some that trade a popular player only for another popular player. I Team A sends out an all-star level player, they have to get similar returned.

Just wondering your approach.

[Texas Chuck]

I generally start by looking at one specific team. Then I try and identify a need. That could be addressing a hole in their lineup. That could be addressing their cap situation. Then once I know what I'm trying to achieve I try and find the simplest deal I can that best addresses it. And often this leads to a trilogy. Where I explore a variety of ideas around the same concept to get some feedback of which if any are reasonable.

Ideally these ideas would then be interesting to the board, but I can assure no there is no regular poster of original ideas with an average number of responses as low as my threads get lol. So in other words, don't emulate my approach.

We have some OP's who are really good at getting engagement. Hopefully they will weigh in for you.

[gswhoops]

I start by identifying a problem - i.e., "this team needs [X]" or "this player is a bad fit on [team X]"

Then I try and figure out who has the right pieces to solve the problem, that they might be willing to part with for a reasonable price. Ideally, you find two teams with complimentary problems and pair them together - i.e., "this team has too many bigs and needs a wing, this team has too many wings and needs a big"

Then you get the big pieces in place.

Then you build out from there to make value/fit/salary match.

[TheBrooklynKidd]

I almost exclusively post from the perspective of my team, Brooklyn. I think most posters on this forum do the same. There are a select few folks who post for all teams and I appreciate their contributions the most.

I think most fans start with their team’s needs. You’re probably painfully aware of them if you’re a super fan, which is basically a prerequisite for RealGM.

The trick to a good trade is figuring out what you have that other teams want. Are they rebuilding and want picks? Do they have a glut of guards while you have excess wings? Are they looking for a specific type of role player?

Then salary matching, which is essential. Then add appropriate draft compensation but be ready for pushback on it.

[kobe_vs_jordan]

Think in a nutshell , trade ideas is getting talent to make a bad team a contender or marginal moves to make good teams better.

Marginal moves , look at the teams with bad records and examine role player contracts.

Numbers wise, I have spent some many hours on real GM I probably know most players salaries off the top of my head lol

[Skybox]

I think about what my team would or, imo, should reasonably make available...then look at who would value that. The most significant thing that many ignore with their trades is that "trade value" doesn't matter if both teams' timelines, cap situations (present and near future), and priorities aren't considered.

Timeline and present situation is everything...Tanking teams should love picks or expiring salaries. Sadly (for fans), a team like POR, that isn't very good BUT has a very high payroll, might welcome a cap space team taking salary off of their hands. That's real world stuff - even if it's no fun. I guess you could say that I look for teams that, for whatever reason, could be "victimized" by my team, who happens to have cap space, a very young team on the rise, and extra frps...it's not really predatory, more meeting needs for a win-win but, fortunately for ORL, that should mean on-court instant gratification. ORL has had their really down, focus on the draft, be smart with money years recently...this side of it is a lot more fun.

It's pretty rare for two teams to just swap equivalent value players for fit...team situations are much more significant. There's usually a pretty clear "winner" in the public eye...but that's just the team with the immediate boost, in most cases.

[NYG]

I just kind of think about the league as a whole, consider a problem a certain team has then scan rosters for who can solve it. Then I think about which trade each of those other teams could/would make and post the one I find to be the fairest for each side.

[shrink]

1. Identify the team’s overall goal. Do they want win-now vets for a championship run? Are they re-tooling? Are they looking at a few years in the lottery?

2. Identify the team’s specific goals. Are they trying to generate cap space? Are they weak at a certain position? In a certain skill?

3. Access their assets. What do they have to trade? What doesn’t fit their goals? What players on other teams are “worth more to others than their current team?”

When you make a good trade, each team should feel like they improved. I think the best trades spring from partners with widely different goals, because it can cause each team to value their trade components quite differently. In the end, a good trade brings every team closer to their goals.

[BeiBeau]

I operated on this board almost exclusively as if I am the general manager for the Dallas mavericks. So I identify what I think we need and then I evaluate a move based on 1. Does it make Dallas better on the court, 2. Does it improved Dallas’s assets, and 3. Does it improve Dallas’s salary cap situation. Most deals involve Dallas sacrificing 1 or 2 categories to improve the others.

[HartfordWhalers]

I just send Korkmaz somewhere with 2nds.

[jayjaysee]

Whatever is bad for the “your favorite team” is typically my plan..

[shrink]

I just send Korkmaz somewhere with 2nds.

LOL! Years back, I probably posted 2-3 trades a day for a few months where I’d use cash or a 2nd to slide a team under the lux, to show how they’d both make money on the deal.

Looking back, I bet that got old pretty fast for readers!

[louc1970]

Thank you to all for being out front on this.

[wegotthabeet]

I usually overestimate the value of Raptors players. aim for the absolute best case scenario, something completely unrealistic. Then tell other posters they overrate their own players when they criticize my suggestions. Rinse and repeat.

[HartfordWhalers]

When you look at suggesting a trade how do you approach the concept?

I gave my flippant answer earlier, but here is my longer more serious reply too.

There are other versions but this was at the top of the forum and it fit so perfectly I'm bumping this.

1) Pick a reasonable 'issue'. Team A is over the tax line by 2.8m.
2) Then look for a reasonable (not the most favorable) solution. Who has a small TPE, a 5m for 2m trade, what are reasonable assets.

The problem can be a big small problem. Not just cutting 3m in cap but rather something blockbuster-ish even up to Atlanta's 2 guards aren't working, how can they either find the perfect 3rd player to make it mesh or do the best they can spinning one off. But the key is start with a problem, not a wish.

Or smaller, find what might best be called a 'underused asset. Washington has Gallo and he is old and they are rebuilding, who would value him elsewhere even if it is a distant 2nd, hey it is something. And again, it can be bigger. Minnesota has Reid and Gobert and Kat, so as great as it all is working can they get more impact overall moving the impact to another position?

I want to single out as an amazingly great example of this:

The Blazers have 4 picks in this year's draft, and not enough open roster spots.

Someone's going to get one or both of those 2nds on draft night, so what team is it going to be?

My suspect:

Brooklyn is entirely out of this year's draft, but also a team that desperately needs rookies. I can see a 2 for 1 (they have a few Memphis future 2nds that likely project to be mid to late 2nd round) for 34.

I mean doesn't start with an absurd ask or goal. Can absolutely be your own favorite team, after all you probably know when they have extra undervalued assets or bigger holes than others. And then just starts a mostly open discussion about what is reasonable including giving a specific guess at a fit for both teams.

In contrast the worst threads are always wishes. I wish Butler demanded a trade to only my team, and I will offer very little as a result. And then followed up with defensive attacks -- well we didn't want Butler anyway he is old and injured and will ruin *our* chemistry, was just trying to help you.

Sadly, we often give more air to those threads, as it is hard not to say, No Jimmy Butler is not worthless and you must be an idiot (within forum rules ideally).

I think the two worst types of threads on here are SUPERSTAR TO _____ and look, superstars do move, and it is a huge topic to consider. But the all caps alone makes it clear to me its gonna be a train wreck of SUPPOSE TATEM WILL ONLY PLAY FOR HOUSTON AND GREEN IS BEING VALUED MORE, WOULD BOSTON ADD OR HOUSTON JUST HAVE TO SAY YES WITHOUT MORE FOR AGE?????
The other is worse. OFFERS FOR MAXEY BUT I WILL SAY NO AND TELL YOU HE IS EVEN BETTER WHY YOU NO AGREE OF COURSE I NEVER TRADE HIM. YOUR WHOLE TEAM IS WORSE. I mean that isn't even a pretend trade.

Anyway just pick a small problem. Make it fun for you. Or pick a scenario that intrigues you, heck even what if LBJ demands a trade to CLeveland or similarly exotic and staresque. But the real key is to try to avoid a wish. Because once you aren't making wishes you are making interesting content imo.

[Wolveswin]

Mine are going to be painful for most when “your team.” It will involve sacred cows. No one is untouchable.

NBA has a ton of trades that are for the fanatic only/mostly. Trades that transcend the fanatic are what make the league interesting. And that is what makes it awesome - those trades happen every offseason and every trade deadline. More often than NFL or MLB.

What is awesome about TNT is a trade scenario shouldn’t be “even.” Blockbuster trades never are in reality. Look at polls from actual NBA blockbuster trades after they happen. Gobert trade (one example), Wolves were laughed at (time of trade). “Who wins the trade” has a life of its own - maturing and changing over years.

[Cappy_Smurf]

I think about a great player that is almost guaranteed to not be available, and then I try creative ways to trade my team's mids and/or trash for said player. When other posters point out the obvious problems with my plan, I use cherry-picked stats to prop up the trash I'm trading while at the same time pointing out the flaws of the guy I'm trying to acquire.

[zimpy27]

I think about a great player that is almost guaranteed to not be available, and then I try creative ways to trade my team's mids and/or trash for said player. When other posters point out the obvious problems with my plan, I use cherry-picked stats to prop up the trash I'm trading while at the same time pointing out the flaws of the guy I'm trying to acquire.

The Pat Riley approach