I gave it a D
I don't feel you can look at the McD trade in a vacuum. He was traded not because he isn't a decent roster piece. 6'9" 25 year old ,versatile on offense and defense, at a high demand position, team held his Bird rights - why would PHI who are about to compete for the Eastern Conference Championship want him? No, the Hornets had to do this trade because they have hamstrung their cap with bad contracts to Hayward and Rozier. They were forced to choose between two young players, Pj and McD.
ESPN gave POR and PHI A grades for the McDaniels trade, and CHA a C. They noted:
Because the Hornets will almost certainly use cap space, taking advantage of McDaniels' minimum cap hold to spend that money and then go over the cap to re-sign him would have been a good outcome. As a result, it's imperative that Charlotte make good use of its pick the second time around.
Team messaging is confusing. 6 mths ago Kupchak traded away a 1st because the team had "too many young players." Thursday they traded a 25 year old with 4 yrs experience about to enter his prime years for a second shot at their own 2nd rd pick. Maybe Kupchak will select a college senior so he won't be too young.
I admire the barely mentioned Svi's high IQ, rugged play and shooting. Not sure why he never gets any PT wherever he's traded, maybe because he looks heavy these days. He's expiring so I assume he's not in the team's plans anyway.
Kind of can't believe Hornets had to include the 2024 2nd, and, like others, I would have felt a lot better about this trade if it landed Thybulle, instead of facilitating his move to POR.
I've grown so disillusioned with the perennial overcooked veteran PG signings (Parker, Thomas, Smith, you know the names) that frankly the Plumlee trade for Jackson triggered me. I will feel better about the trade if reports are true the team plans to buyout Jackson. I'll believe it when I see it.
It's dispiriting on Deadline day to see guys like Thybulle, Kennard, Beasley, Bey, and more, change teams. I'm sure this will elicit quibbles about each player's worth, but it's hard to deny that each might add a dimension to a roster that's won 15 games, and so I wonder, what might have been if the team packaged Plumlee and McD, for instance, instead of dumping them individually. Or shown some sort of creative way out of its current dilemmas. We talk about bball IQ for players. I feel like our GM's trade IQ at the very least lacks imagination.
Glad the team opened PT for Mark Williams and Nick Richards. Reports are they plan to play the young guys more. I hope that means more than just Williams and Richards. If shipping McD means PT for McGowens, I will also raise the grade. But Kelly will be back. And I look down the sideline and see Clifford. I simply don't trust Old School Clifford with this roster.
If they do buy out Jackson and continue to play the young guys and pick wisely with this year's 2nd my score might float up to a C for Contended that they emphasized youth, but for now I gave the day's trades a D. Dispiriting that guys like Thybulle or Kennard, guys in their mid-twenties, switched teams and might have been useful pieces here. Shipping Plumlee, McD and the Knicks 2nd yielded essentially the return of this year's 2nd, plus a distant 2nd. Options were hampered by the Hayward and Rozier contracts. Discouraging when bad contracts meted out by team management cause asset dumps or missed opportunities. This year's 2nd is nice, but that will bring a teenager, will they choose wisely and use that player, contrary to last spring's complaint that the team has too many young players, and Clifford's Old School approach? Addition by subtraction seemed to be the theme for the day. I simply think that if you're talking trades that deserves a D.
