Doc's Rolling Trade Challenge: Days of Thunder--Voting Open

[Texas Chuck]

So as we are all too well aware, Kevin Durant's free agency is next summer. Last time he didn't even hesitate and just took the max from OKC and didn't even do one of those Lebron multiple early opt-out deals. This time there appears to be at least mild concern that he might leave and I think a very good chance that he at least listens to other teams.

But there is one way to nearly ensure his return and that's to hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy this summer. So the challenge is to make ONE trade that you think increases their odds at a championship. The Thunder are already deep into luxury tax for this year and while it would be nice if you could lower that bill a little at the same time, salary for this year is no object. But do keep in mind this is a small market team and Durant will need a max deal next year and Westbrook and Ibaka the year after that. So take on long-term salary at your own risk.

You may not trade Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka, or Enes Kanter(he has made it clear in this scenario that he will not agree to any trades). It's up to you to decide how major of a move needs to be made and what area(s) you want to shore up. As per usual, your trade will be judged on how well it meets the challenge, it's uniqueness and creativity, how accurate the value is, and how well it takes the other team(s) needs into account as well. No cannibalizing another team to shore up the Thunder.

Everyone has approximately 48 hours to post their scenario and good luck to all.

[Trader_Joe]

Poor Bondom.

I think there should be only one vote that matters...Bondom's.
The ultimate challenge!

[bondom34]

I'm actually lost where to look. All the guys I'd really love as an over the top sort of move are off limits from their own teams.

[RealityIsDemar]

Interesting idea. I'm gonna look for a vet who can sure up their SG position and bring dead-eye shooting to the table.

http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=o3msjyg

Oklahoma City In: Kevin Martin, Trey Burke

Minnesota In: Dion Waiters, Steve Novak, 2017 GS 1st, 17' NYK 2nd, 2016 Charlotte 2nd

Utah In: Cam Payne

Oklahoma City gets Martin who is a good fit for the 2 and is fairly cheap for the next 2 years. Martin is a dead-eye shooter and fits what OKC needs very nicely. As for Minnesota, they get some value for Kevin Martin who is somewhat unnecessary to them unless they're looking to contend right now.

Westbrook/Augustine/Burke
Martin/Morrow/Roberson
Durant/Singler/Huestis
Ibaka/McGary/Collison
Adams/Kanter

[bondom34]

Interesting idea. I'm gonna look for a vet who can sure up their SG position and bring dead-eye shooting to the table.

http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=nev999z

Oklahoma City In: Kevin Martin

Minnesota In: Dion Waiters, Steve Novak, 2017 1st Round Pick (Lotto Protected), 2016 Charlotte 2nd

Oklahoma City gets Martin who is a good fit for the 2 and is fairly cheap for the next 2 years. Martin is a dead-eye shooter and fits what OKC needs very nicely. As for Minnesota, they get some value for Kevin Martin who is somewhat unnecessary to them unless they're looking to contend right now.

Westbrook/Payne/Augustine
Martin/Morrow/Roberson
Durant/Singler/Huestis
Ibaka/McGary/Collison
Adams/Kanter

I'd like it, but can't trade the pick, they owe to Philly and Utah already.

[jazzfan1971]

The restrictions are pretty restrictivey, but, here goes.

OKC trades
-------------------
Steven Adams
Mitch McGary
Dion Waiters
Steve Novak


OKC gets
------------------
Markieff Morris
Jamal Crawford

Why for OKC: I cannot stomach the idea of Kanter getting major minutes for OKC, so my mission was to move him out of the starting lineup. I move Ibaka to C and slide Morris in at PF. Crawford is an upgrade to WAiters and gives the team some outside shooting and veteran experience.

Pho trades
--------------
Markeiff Morris

Pho gets
-------------------
Steven Adams
Mitch McGary
Steve Novak


Why for PHo: They've got to move Morris somewhere. Steven Adams and Mitch McGary are two good young prospects and Novak is expiring.

Clips trade
----------------------
Jamal Crawford

Clips get
-------------------
Dion WAiters

Why for the Clips: Crawford is looking out, so they move him for Waiters getting younger and more athletic in the deal.

OKC depth chart
---------------------------
C - Ibaka, Kanter
PF - Morris, Collison
SF - Durant, Singler
SG - Crawford, Morrow
PG - Westbrook, Augustin
B - Payne, Huestis, Roberson

I also try to sign Larry Sanders to a min contract.

[bondom34]

Alright, I'll try one, a few thoughts:

1. I don't think Kanter starts no matter what.
2. Adams likely will, and is a great starter for them.
3. They're kinda down on trade chips.

So:

OKC Out: McGary, Waiters
In: Courtney Lee

Get the upgrade at the 2 they've been looking for.

Memphis Out: Lee, Green
In: Waiters, Morris

Memphis gets a bit younger and moves on from the Green experiment. He's never seemingly fit too well there.


PHX Out: Morris
In: McGary, Green

Phoenix moves Kieff for a replacement young 4 and a big expiring, I'd say this is about the value I'd expect for him at this point.

Westbrook/Augustin/Payne
Lee/Morrow/Roberson
KD/Singler
Ibaka/Collison
Adams/Kanter

Still start Kanter, and honestly I don't see a way they trade Adams unless its a home run deal.

[Texas Chuck]

Okay so I'd love to find them a 30 minute starting 3&D guy. But I don't think that's realistically out there because the teams who have those guys aren't typically interested in dealing them and certainly no Western team wants to give them one. So I looked at what I think is the other big need and that's a legit center. Yeah they gave huge money to Kanter and yeah I like the potential of Adams but when I compare them to Duncan, Jordan, Howard, Bogut, Gasol, Gobert, Chandler, and even Asik/Ajinca I feel like they come up short both in ability and experience.

I also look at their assets and see 2 pieces with the most value: Adams and Payne. With Westbrook entrenched, I see Payne as the piece I'd rather give up even tho my plan is to add another center.

And to make this work I needed 3 teams.

Knicks trade:
Afflalo

Knicks receive:
Novak
Waiters
McGary

Knicks pull another young asset out of the rental of AA in McGary plus Waiters can be a secondary scoring option allowing them to maximize return on him. And heck the only time Novak was ever useful was doing the discount double check in NY. More cap space for next year and an asset. Knicks have plenty of min guys to waive to make roster spots work.

Bulls trade:
Noah
Snell

Bulls receive:
Payne
Afflalo

Bulls need another veteran on the wing and so they deal from their position of plenty to fill a position of need. But perhaps more importantly they get a really nice young PG prospect as long-term Rose insurance and he should be ready to help this year as well.

Thunder trade:
Novak
Waiters
McGary
Payne

Thunder get:
Noah
Snell

So OKC looks like this:

Noah/Adams/Kanter (2 young guys interchangable really)
Ibaka/Collison/street FA (Boozer?)
Durant/Singler/Huestis
Snell/Morrow/Roberson
Westbrook/Augustin/street FA(Baron Davis/Kendall Marshall?)

I'd start Snell because I think he defends almost as well as Roberson but not nearly as useless offensively. Durant is really going to be the backup 4 tho you could play Noah some there as well against some of the bigger West teams(Memphis, LAC, SAS)

Noah brings a true defensive anchor something as good as Ibaka can be as a shot-blocker he really isn't. He also brings leadership, toughness, and heart. Not to mention his playmaking ability offensively can really help a team that can get too iso-heavy. Now Adams and Ibaka have to earn their minutes creating competition behind him. And having 3 bigs means you can really save Noah in the RS. Snell gives them another wing under cheap control next year which will help. And frankly his game complements the team better than Waiters. Obviously Noah is a bit of a gamble, but remember just a year ago he was DPOY and a top 5 MVP candidate. This is potentially a true difference maker the way Bogut was for the Warriors.

[Texas Chuck]

The restrictions are pretty restrictivey,

.

I didn't think they were that bad

Only real restriction imo is Ibaka and even then I think you'd be hard pressed to find a trade moving him out that improves the Thunder's chances at a title. Surely no one wanted to deal Durant or GOATBrook? I didn't put any hard restrictions financially but did want people to think about that somewhat realistically. As great a fit as say Wes Matthews would be, there really is no realistic way for that to work long-term financially in OKC.

[jazzfan1971]

Couldn't trade Kanter. Don't have any draft picks. Don't have enough salary to land an expensive guy.

Lots of restrictions IMHO.

[Texas Chuck]

Couldn't trade Kanter. Don't have any draft picks. Don't have enough salary to land an expensive guy.

Lots of restrictions IMHO.

Talk to Sam Presti then I guess since I can't do anything about those. The Kanter deal is a CBA issue where he can void trades for a year since they matched an offer sheet.

[bondom34]

Yeah they're a tough scenario given the assets available. Unless Kanter agreed to something, but that's not too likely yet I don't think. Interesting scenario though for me.

[stitches]

Send Enes Kanter to OKC Blue for Maurice Sutton... I kid, I kid! I will think about it and give a scenario later today.

[spearsy23]

There's nothing out there that guarantees a championship, the roster is already loaded. I guess if we have to try...

End of December and Sac still doesn't look like a playoff team
OKC out
McGary
Payne
Waiters

Sac out
Ben Mclemore
Omri Casspi

Okc gets a long term three and D player. Frankly Mclemore hasn't been that great, but this is what (besides the guys already mentioned) our collections of assets get you.

Sac does it because they get two players who MAY be better than Mclemore in the long term , plus roll the dice on Waiters being their premiere off off the bench scorer (uh....yeah, good luck guys.).

[RealityIsDemar]

Interesting idea. I'm gonna look for a vet who can sure up their SG position and bring dead-eye shooting to the table.

http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=nev999z

Oklahoma City In: Kevin Martin

Minnesota In: Dion Waiters, Steve Novak, 2017 1st Round Pick (Lotto Protected), 2016 Charlotte 2nd

Oklahoma City gets Martin who is a good fit for the 2 and is fairly cheap for the next 2 years. Martin is a dead-eye shooter and fits what OKC needs very nicely. As for Minnesota, they get some value for Kevin Martin who is somewhat unnecessary to them unless they're looking to contend right now.

Westbrook/Payne/Augustine
Martin/Morrow/Roberson
Durant/Singler/Huestis
Ibaka/McGary/Collison
Adams/Kanter

I'd like it, but can't trade the pick, they owe to Philly and Utah already.

Ah, Thanks for the heads up. It wasn't listed on picks owed, didn't realize it was conveyed until I read it, edited thanks.

[pacers33granger]

Best I can come up with and I'm iffy on the value all around:

OKC out: Waiters, Novak, Mcgary (or Payne), OKC's own 2016, 17, and 18 2nds, cash
in: Gibson, Hollis Thompson

OKC makes sure they can keep all of their bigs minutes down in the regular season and has great insurance if Ibaka goes down again. The one issue is whether there are enough minutes for everyone, but I think they could make it work. Gibson would help cover Kanter on defense off the bench. This also keeps Durant from playing the 4 unless they want him to which should help keep him fresh. Thompson shot 40% from three the last 2 years and is cheap for 2 more years. He's also big enough to play the 2 or 3. They also shave about 1 mil with this trade.

CHI out: Gibson
in: Waiters, Mcgary (or Payne if CHI chooses)

Chicago opens up minutes for Mirotic and Portis here. I know they love Gibson and this may not be enough, but I think Waiters could do well with some of the same sets that are run for Rose. If not, he expires anyways. I'd assume they'd want Payne since they are already crowded up front and Mcgary would make that worse. Imo an expiring and recent lotto pick is good value for Gibson, but I can see why Chicago fans may not like it.

PHI out: Hollis Thompson
in: 3 OKC 2nds, Novak, cash from OKC

I don't know exactly how Philly feels about Thompson, but they just brought in Stauskas and a couple other guards. They pick up 3 future 2nds for Thompson and taking on Novak and get cash to buy Novak out with.

[loserX]

Always an interesting one...sometimes it's harder to improve a great team than a bad one! I'll try to keep this one short and sweet (partly because I'm on my phone )

Pacers trade/Thunder receive
Ian Mahinmi or Jordan Hill (Thunder's choice)
CJ Miles

I wanted to get OKC two pieces: a capable veteran C and a capable shooting wing. Well, here's both.

Thunder choose between Hill and Mahinmi: Hill is taller but Mahinmi may be the better rim protector. Kanter and McAdams can handle most of the season minutes, but come playoff time it'll be a great idea to throw a cagey vet on the floor with all the West's terrific bigs. CJ Miles can shoot and played pretty well for Indy; he'll be a better choice than the Thunder's other more limited wings.

Thunder trade/Pacers receive
Mitch McGary
Dion Waiters
Steve Novak

The Pacers continue to add young talent in exchange for veteran players. Miles and Mahinmi/Hill can contribute but they have depth at those positions. Waiters can play with George Hill and learn from Monta, but the prize is McGary, a college stud from Indiana who may be a very nice complement for Myles Turner in the future. Novak is expiring filler.

So Indy gets a bit younger and a local kid to boot without setting themselves too far back, and the Thunder get some veteran help at key positions. They also shave off a couple mil in salary, plus the related taxes!

Good luck to all

[giberish]

I think OKC's big upgrade moves were last season, when they dealt future 1sts for Waiters and Kanter (IMO they did not choose wisely). Now there's a limited amount that they can do. Like many others, I figure that if Kanter stays, they need to keep Adams and likely McGreary as other C options. This leaves the non-KD wing rotation as the upgrade area.

Philly trades: Covington, Canaan, 2016 2nd for Payne, Waiters

Philly cashes in their winning Covington ticket for Payne.

Milwaulkee trades: Mayo for Singler, 2016 Philly 2nd

Mil's forward depth is a bit shaky while they've got several reserve guards (Vasquez, Bayless, Ennis). This balances their roster some.

OKC trades: Payne, Waiters, Singer for Covington, Mayo, Canaan

OKC loses their last notable trade chip in Payne, but they get back Covington who's an upgrade as a backup SF and can run as a small-ball PF (making those already effective lineups better and keeping KD from having to guard bigs in those lineups). They also add Mayo as a better offense-creating SG (compared to Waiters) and get a replacement 3rd string PG. They even save a bit of money.

[brackdan70]

sometimes the best trades are the ones you don't make. I can't come up with a realistic one that makes them better with in the constraints of the challenge.
maybe I am a lazy fake GM, but I do nothing. Can't get anything for Waiters unless he starts to play a little better and then if he is playing better you should keep him. Adams and McGary really help the team, trading them for a middling scoring 2 guard makes the thunder worse IMO.
My entry if it is an entry sit on your hands

[jazzfan1971]

sometimes the best trades are the ones you don't make. I can't come up with a realistic one that makes them better with in the constraints of the challenge.
maybe I am a lazy fake GM, but I do nothing. Can't get anything for Waiters unless he starts to play a little better and then if he is playing better you should keep him. Adams and McGary really help the team, trading them for a middling scoring 2 guard makes the thunder worse IMO.
My entry if it is an entry sit on your hands

I considered going with, 'buyout Kanter, sign Sanders' for my entry, but, I decided to play nice instead.