UTA-DET-SAS

[HadAnEffectHere]

Utah gets: #5 pick, 2025 Hawks pick top 4 protected, 2027 Hawks pick top 2 protected
Detroit gets: Lauri Markkanen
San Antonio gets: Ausar Thompson

Why for Utah: Turn Lauri into three very good though not great picks to finally tank.

Why for Detroit: Get a star who fits great with Cade Cunningham and who they can easily keep for five years by having the cap space to re-neogitate and extend mid-season.

Why for San Antonio: Get an elite defensive PF who can thrive next to Wemby and who Wemby can protect on offense by drawing the center away from the paint due to his gravity. Give up good picks, but the highest end upside is still protected.

Why Utah trades Ausar to San Antonio instead of keeping him: They don't have a true stretch 5 and hate non-shooters in general.

[LaSheed]

I mean I'd definitely do it but Lauri seems to have much more value?

[jayjaysee]

I feel like Utah should just cut out SAS? A two year tank isn’t terrible to live through and Utah would be set up perfectly to try to make play-in in 2027 led by young talent when the LAL pick conveys and you hope Cleveland/Minn have a short run..

Thompson is a really good prospect, though I know some think he’ll never make an impact.

Atlanta has no reason to tank and is set up nicely to add a really good player to Trae/Jalen this summer. The picks to me seem very average and pretty unexciting, beyond the lack of protection… Though I know some think Atlanta will fail in retooling and win the lottery again next year..

[HadAnEffectHere]

I feel like Utah should just cut out SAS? A two year tank isn’t terrible to live through and Utah would be set up perfectly to try to make play-in in 2027 led by young talent when the LAL pick conveys and you hope Cleveland/Minn have a short run..

Thompson is a really good prospect, though I know some think he’ll never make an impact.

Atlanta has no reason to tank and is set up nicely to add a really good player to Trae/Jalen this summer. The picks to me seem very average and pretty unexciting, beyond the lack of protection… Though I know some think Atlanta will fail in retooling and win the lottery again next year..

Utah philosophically doesn't value defense and hates non-shooters right now, Ausar is just an awful fit for their philosophy.

[HadAnEffectHere]

If Ausar has more trade value than this and the Jazz can get better protections on those Hawks picks, I would be very happy about that. I just try to avoid over-valuing Jazz guys because I am obviously biased.

I also think Ausar has not good trade value as explained in the other thread (only OKC and SAS can realistically have interest in him as they have the timeframe and stretch 5 needed for Ausar to thrive)

[One_and_Done]

Why are the Spurs in this trade? They certainly don't want Thompson at this price.

[HadAnEffectHere]

Why are the Spurs in this trade? They certainly don't want Thompson at this price.

The Spurs and Thunder are the only teams where one of the Thompson twins can thrive and seem like great personality and culture fits.

[One_and_Done]

Utah gets: #5 pick, 2025 Hawks pick top 4 protected, 2027 Hawks pick top 2 protected
Detroit gets: Lauri Markkanen
San Antonio gets: Ausar Thompson

Why for Utah: Turn Lauri into three very good though not great picks to finally tank.

Why for Detroit: Get a star who fits great with Cade Cunningham and who they can easily keep for five years by having the cap space to re-neogitate and extend mid-season.

Why for San Antonio: Get an elite defensive PF who can thrive next to Wemby and who Wemby can protect on offense by drawing the center away from the paint due to his gravity. Give up good picks, but the highest end upside is still protected.

Why Utah trades Ausar to San Antonio instead of keeping him: They don't have a true stretch 5 and hate non-shooters in general.

Fans are obsessed with pairing a flawed player next to a guy who 'covers' his weakness. This is incorrect thinking, because what you're actually doing is weakening the player who 'covers' for him, and taking away part of what makes him special. If you've got a unicorn, you want to pair him with guys who optimise his talents. The last thing you want to do is nerf him to help the Ben Simmons and Rondos and Westbricks of the world stay on the court.

And the Spurs know this. The only interest they're likely to have in Thompson is as a bench guy they can try to teach to shoot. He'd be getting acquired as a low cost project, not for value.

[One_and_Done]

Why are the Spurs in this trade? They certainly don't want Thompson at this price.

The Spurs and Thunder are the only teams where one of the Thompson twins can thrive and seem like great personality and culture fits.

Until he can shoot he doesn't fit anywhere.

[HadAnEffectHere]

Utah gets: #5 pick, 2025 Hawks pick top 4 protected, 2027 Hawks pick top 2 protected
Detroit gets: Lauri Markkanen
San Antonio gets: Ausar Thompson

Why for Utah: Turn Lauri into three very good though not great picks to finally tank.

Why for Detroit: Get a star who fits great with Cade Cunningham and who they can easily keep for five years by having the cap space to re-neogitate and extend mid-season.

Why for San Antonio: Get an elite defensive PF who can thrive next to Wemby and who Wemby can protect on offense by drawing the center away from the paint due to his gravity. Give up good picks, but the highest end upside is still protected.

Why Utah trades Ausar to San Antonio instead of keeping him: They don't have a true stretch 5 and hate non-shooters in general.

Fans are obsessed with pairing a flawed player next to a guy who 'covers' his weakness. This is incorrect thinking, because what you're actually doing is weakening the player who 'covers' for him, and taking away part of what makes him special. If you've got a unicorn, you want to pair him with guys who optimise his talents. The last thing you want to do is perform him to help the Ben Simmons and Rondos and Westbricks of the world stay on the court.

And the Spurs know this. The only interesting they're likely to have in Thompson is as a bench guy they can try to teach to shoot. He'd be getting acquired as a low cost project, not for value.

I think five out is pretty useless compared to 4 out with a high level finisher. The Thunder really struggled on offense mostly due to shooting luck, but Jalen Williams etc having no dumpoff options made it really hard for those guys to score in the paint as the center could just focus on the ball handler instead of a dumpoff guy.

Wemby should be mostly on the perimeter like Jokic or Embiid due to how elite his handle is and it's not like teams will be able to send PFs at him and have a center guard Thompson in Wemby's prime. He'll just shoot over every PF.

[HadAnEffectHere]

Why are the Spurs in this trade? They certainly don't want Thompson at this price.

The Spurs and Thunder are the only teams where one of the Thompson twins can thrive and seem like great personality and culture fits.

Until he can shoot he doesn't fit anywhere.

I mean, he's basically as good at shooting as Andre Drummond or Dwight Howard, he's not going to be a shooter.

[oldncreaky]

Yeah, I've got this as outstanding value for Detroit. Lauri is a very good player who will probably make a couple of all-star teams if he's in the right situation. If Ausar learns to shoot, he's a solid starter at a minimum with a lot of room to grow; if he can't learn to shoot, he's Hamidou Diallo. Ausar and a #5 pick in this draft is little to pay for Lauri.

However, I also question the direction for Detroit. Do we have a core we want to build around? I don't think so. The resulting team would also have enough holes that the play-in would look very optimistic.

But Lauri for Ausar and a pick? Gotta take it

[One_and_Done]

The Spurs and Thunder are the only teams where one of the Thompson twins can thrive and seem like great personality and culture fits.

Until he can shoot he doesn't fit anywhere.

I mean, he's basically as good at shooting as Andre Drummond or Dwight Howard, he's not going to be a shooter.

And if those guys could shoot 3s imagine how much better they'd have been. Wemby actually let's that become your reality.

You're dead wrong that playing 5 out offers no advantages. It offers huge advantages. Wemby can play inside too of course, and when he does he's going to want a 3pt shooter to space him; not an inferior shooter trying to occupy the same space he's using. Wemby is not going to mostly be on the perimeter, he's flashed incredible inside scoring ability. In that sense he's different to Chet (and no, OKC doesn't want Thompson until he learns to shoot either).

[wemby]

I feel like Utah should just cut out SAS? A two year tank isn’t terrible to live through and Utah would be set up perfectly to try to make play-in in 2027 led by young talent when the LAL pick conveys and you hope Cleveland/Minn have a short run..

Thompson is a really good prospect, though I know some think he’ll never make an impact.

Atlanta has no reason to tank and is set up nicely to add a really good player to Trae/Jalen this summer. The picks to me seem very average and pretty unexciting, beyond the lack of protection… Though I know some think Atlanta will fail in retooling and win the lottery again next year..

Spurs are here to make up for the value Pistons aren't providing, by taking a player they don't need. Ausar makes no sense on the current Spurs roster, I'd rather keep Sochan and the picks.

[wemby]

Why are the Spurs in this trade? They certainly don't want Thompson at this price.

The Spurs and Thunder are the only teams where one of the Thompson twins can thrive and seem like great personality and culture fits.

The problem is, the Spurs don't give a rat's ass about helping the Thompson twins reach their potential. This is the recurring theme here, people find a flawed player and go about finding a team that helps him hide his flaws, disregarding that isn't said team's problem in the first place. So no to small, defensively challenged, overpaid guards like Trae Young or Darius Garland, or non shooting prospects like Amen Thompson (who I otherwise like). Spurs aren't a charity, they have THEIR OWN NEEDS TO ATTEND TO.

[wemby]

BTW, if this was Lauri's value, Spurs simply add no. 4 and instantly cut out the Pistons for Markkanen, beating their offer.

[One_and_Done]

It's such crazy reasoning. If you think Wemby is so good he can get by with bad spacing around him, why don't you extend that line of thinking and ask how good he'd be WITH spacing around him.

[HadAnEffectHere]

It's such crazy reasoning. If you think Wemby is so good he can get by with bad spacing around him, why don't you extend that line of thinking and ask how good he'd be WITH spacing around him.

I think you need four guys who operate outside the paint and one guy who operates in the paint in the NBA.

Wemby I see as a midpost guy in the NBA shooting over smaller defenders.

Ausar is there for when Wemby blows by a guy and needs to dump it off near the basket. Ausar also will provide elite defense and has the potential to be the best perimeter defender in the NBA.

[jayjaysee]

I feel like Utah should just cut out SAS? A two year tank isn’t terrible to live through and Utah would be set up perfectly to try to make play-in in 2027 led by young talent when the LAL pick conveys and you hope Cleveland/Minn have a short run..

Thompson is a really good prospect, though I know some think he’ll never make an impact.

Atlanta has no reason to tank and is set up nicely to add a really good player to Trae/Jalen this summer. The picks to me seem very average and pretty unexciting, beyond the lack of protection… Though I know some think Atlanta will fail in retooling and win the lottery again next year..

Spurs are here to make up for the value Pistons aren't providing, by taking a player they don't need. Ausar makes no sense on the current Spurs roster, I'd rather keep Sochan and the picks.

You quoted someone who you disagree with and said the opposite but didn’t say anything about it…

Spurs should want to be included because they should value an elite defender. Sochan isn’t really in the OP? Sochan and Thompson can be your starting forwards as long as they both work on their range just a bit. Or either one gets respectable at least.

Utah would keep the superior prospect. They have enough mystery bag picks. Start Hendricks/Thompson and see if either develop during a two year rebuild.

[wemby]

It's such crazy reasoning. If you think Wemby is so good he can get by with bad spacing around him, why don't you extend that line of thinking and ask how good he'd be WITH spacing around him.

I think you need four guys who operate outside the paint and one guy who operates in the paint in the NBA.

Wemby I see as a midpost guy in the NBA shooting over smaller defenders.

Ausar is there for when Wemby blows by a guy and needs to dump it off near the basket. Ausar also will provide elite defense and has the potential to be the best perimeter defender in the NBA.

Ausar brings a lot of the same Sochan already does, Sochan has great defensive potential and his limitations are much of the same as Ausar's, so this trade makes absolutely ZERO sense for the Spurs. If anything, Wemby needs guys to help prevent teams from collapsing on him, by double or triple teamming him like they did this year, which this trade only worsens. Really, you probably didn't watch a single Spurs game all season if this is your reasoning.