The most wonderful time of the year
A player many teams were interested in was traded. Do you know that means? Turn on your Twitter notifications and smell the roses. It's trade season, baby.
Yesterday marked a big milestone. A player that many teams were interested in was traded. This, my friends, is the most wonderful time of the year:
Trade season.
I love trade season. I wake up a bit happier, more energized. I'm more productive. The air smells great. I dress a little bit better. Everything just feels right.
From now until Feb. 10th, and a few days after, front offices across the NBA are in nonstop meetings, phone calls, and group chats deciding how they really feel about their team. The tolerance for bias and bullshit is at its highest in training camp, and gets paper thin in February. General managers make ultimate decisions on players and their franchise's future. It's a high stakes game we're playing, baby, and if you can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen.
The two notable deals from yesterday — New York's surprise acquisition of Cam Reddish for Kevin Knox and a protected Hornets first round pick, and Bol Bol's arrival in Detroit being voided after a failed physical — paint a picture of a vast trade landscape that is only getting started. The protected pick acquired by Atlanta could be the keystone to their potential acquisition of Ben Simmons and/or departure from John Collins. The Pistons will again canvass the league for upside swings. The Knicks appear to be more future-focused than they previously appeared.
Reddish is the first real domino to drop. Who's next? Here's all of the stuff that has been brought up in reports from ESPN's Zach Lowe, Bobby Marks & Adrian Wojnarowski, The Athletic's Sam Amick and Shams Charania, and Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer.
The other names that seem most likely to be traded, besides the aforementioned Simmons and Collins, are Jerami Grant, Myles Turner, Caris LeVert, Eric Gordon, Christian Wood, Terrence Ross, Dennis Schroder, and Buddy Hield.
The Simmons situation has revealed that both De'Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton are on the table for Sacramento, along with Hield, Harrison Barnes, and Marvin Bagley.
The Lakers' only hope at a deal is to swing Talen Horton-Tucker and Kendrick Nunn to a willing suitor.
With Damian Lillard out in Portland, we could see any of CJ McCollum, Norman Powell, Jusuf Nurkic, or Robert Covington out the door.
A few teams should look into Phoenix's Jalen Smith as a rotation big stuck at the bottom of the depth chart.
The Mavericks have several suitors for Dorian Finney-Smith.
Memphis, Chicago, and Utah each should go all-in on a 3-for-1 deal to confirm their contender status.
And while it's unlikely, there's still the potential for moves including Domantas Sabonis, Karl-Anthony Towns, Jaylen Brown, Bradley Beal, or even James Harden.
Are you out of breath? Because I am. The title conversation is wide open, with many perennial playoff teams underwhelming and many lottery loungers at the top of the table. The West is top heavy. The East is deep. There's a lot going on, which means this trade season could bring fireworks.
Keep your phone on you and your Twitter notifications on. You never know when lightning is going to strike.
About last night…
The Bucks destroyed the Warriors. It was over right as it started. With 5:59 left in the second quarter, Milwaukee was up 60-28. At halftime, it was 77-38. Giannis put up 30-12-11 in just under 30 minutes played.
This is an interesting Finals preview. Nobody can stop Giannis, but I trust Draymond Green to do something to contain him. Green's Defensive Player of the Year case is getting stronger with each absence. Milwaukee, without Holiday, played like the best team in the league last night.
Something else to watch: the Warriors just didn't have it. Steph was 4-11 from the field for 12 points. Klay is still working his way back to greatness. Wiggins and Kuminga were alright, but the rest of the Warriors were just flat.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put up a masterful performance at Barclays Center, finishing with 33 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists. He's such an easy player to get excited about. He's as elite of a driver as we have in the league, with every single finish in his arsenal:
The Nets lost the lead four minutes into the game and were never able to recover. Kevin Durant rested against his original squad, though I'm not sure he still knows any of the Thunder players or staff anymore.
It's not news, but I had the realization yesterday of just how dire the Nets look without two of their three stars in the lineup. De'Andre Bembry, Kessler Edwards, Day'Ron Sharpe, and Bruce Brown started next to Harden. With Milwaukee as dominant as they were against Golden State and Brooklyn's roster so depleted, it's becoming clearer by the day that the Bucks are far and away the best team in the East.
Scores, stats, & notes
Bucks 118, Warriors 99 — Bobby Portis' emergence as a super important role guy in Milwaukee cannot be understated. Every one of his buckets makes the crowd go nuts. He is human momentum.
Grizzlies 116, Timberwolves 108 — That's 11 in a row for Memphis, who were led by... John Konchar? Yep. 15 points, 17 boards. Morant finished with 16-8-9. 25 of Anthony Edwards' 30 points came in the first half.
Pelicans 113, Clippers 89 — The Pelicans hit on Herb Jones in this year's draft. He's a starter who is super efficient and hounds offensive players for 32 minutes a night.
Thunder 130, Nets 109 — Let's take a second to appreciate Cam Thomas for his ability to always be himself: 21 points, 8-18 from the field, zero assists. Lu Dort finished with 27 points. ICYMINBA darling Josh Giddey posted 19 and 7 assists.
Nuggets 140, Trail Blazers 108 — Denver's box score is amazing. Barton with 21, Jokic with 20, Jeff Green with 19, Campazzo with 18, Bones Hyland with 17, and Zeke Nnaji with 16.