FanPost

A 4 Team Trade That Makes Sense For Everybody

This piece is the culmination of the best trade I could come up with for Kyrie Irving and Carmelo Anthony. It ended up snowballing into a massive 4 team deal, but I think it is the rare case where it makes perfect sense for everybody. Each franchise in the trade has different goals, and in my mind would be better off after the trade than before. There are a lot of moving pieces, and so it would be hard to construct such a monstrosity in real life. I’m not too concerned about the rough edges; if you have better ideas, by all means raise them in the comments. I do believe that the main components would be enough to motivate all the parties involved to get the deal done.

The Trade:

Four Team Trade

As you can see, a lot of players are getting moved. It might take a while to digest what exactly is happening, and what each team is giving up for its return. Rather than breaking it down as a whole, I will go by team by team and examine the impact on each one.

Cavaliers:

Obviously, the team with the most at stake here. Not only has Kyrie directly told the team his wish to be traded, there are serious rumors of Lebron bolting for LA after this year, which he has not denied so far. As a result, in any deal the Cavs consider, they must simultaneously weigh the short and long term consequences.

Of the 4 teams that Kyrie wishes to be traded to, Miami and New York jump out as the two most likely clubs to make a deal happen. It doesn’t appear that Minnesota will offer Wiggins, because if they were willing, a deal would have been done by now. Besides Wiggins, neither the Spurs nor the Timberwolves wield the assets necessary to land such a player. Now, it is true that the Cavs could trade Kyrie to anyone. However, it has also been reported that he is unwilling to commit long term to any one team, potentially hampering his value.

On the other side of the coin, multiple sources have reported that Carmelo would only consider a trade to Houston and Cleveland. Others report that Houston is the only possibility. Admittedly, I have no idea what Carmelo is thinking. Maybe he would hang up the phone, and the whole trade would blow up. Given all we know about Lebron’s relationship with Melo, and the fact that Cleveland represents a much better chance to win a championship, and that it is closer to New York, I would have to think that Melo would at least consider it a possibility. He also has an opt out next year which would be the failsafe if LBJ leaves.

Cavs trade

Now, obviously, just Melo for Kyrie doesn’t get it done. Kyrie is the better player right now, so the deal needs to be tilted in Cleveland’s favor. This could present a good opportunity to get rid of Iman Shumpert, who the Cavs previously attempted to dump on the Rockets. Perhaps Kyle O’Quinn could be a useful cheap big man who can soak up some minutes at C when Tristan Thompson is banged up. And finally, Frank Ntilikina gives the Cavs a blue-chip prospect who will be used later.

The problem is that Melo and Love would play the same position. I am of the opinion that Love is somewhat a liability against the Warriors, the Cavaliers likely Finals opponent next year (if they make it that far). Here are his numbers (per game) against Golden State in the last three years (since Draymond became the starting PF):

love stats

No matter how you slice it, Love is a liability against the NBA’s best team. He’s too slow to switch on the perimeter, and not long or quick enough to protect the rim, making him a target on defense the Warriors can exploit. On offense, Love isn’t utilized enough to make a difference, as his AST and PTS attempts are way down. The only place he really makes a positive impact is on the boards, but that trade off isn’t worth his downside in other areas. It’s not hard to see a scenario where the Cavs would like to trade Love.

The final piece of the puzzle is moving Love and Ntilikina for players that fit the team’s short and long term needs. Phoenix is the obvious trade partner, as Bledsoe would fill the void at PG and add value on both the offensive and defensive end. Marquese Chriss is an intriguing option as a raw long-term prospect who Lebron could mentor. Chriss would also inject some much-needed athleticism to Cleveland’s lineup. Finding a good fit for Love was more difficult. I ended up with the Jazz, who would send Alec Burks to Cleveland in this scenario. Burks is a young wing who has shown flashes of shooting and defense, exactly what the Cavs needs against the Warriors.

At the conclusion of the trade, the Cavs are set up better for the short and long term than they were before. Melo would instantly give the Cavs elite offense as the second option, while Bledsoe would fortify the PG position on defense and serve a secondary playmaking role on offense. O’Quinn and Burks give the Cavs more depth and are options if the Cavs want to add more defense to the second unit. Chriss is a long term project who could possibly develop faster next to Lebron, and he gives the team a piece to rebuild around if LBJ bolts.

New York:

New York accomplishes two key things in this trade: it finally consummates the long overdue divorce of Melo, and it obtains a star that fits Porzingis’ timeline in Kyrie. In order to do so, New York gives up their most valuable young asset in Ntilikina and takes on two overpriced veterans in the process.

knicks trade

It’s very easy to see why New York would do the deal: not only would Kyrie change the trajectory of the team, but he also has previously expressed desire to play in NY, so he might be willing to play for the them long term. Chandler, a veteran who Phoenix has no use for, could be a serviceable pick and roll partner for Kyrie and also cover up his mistakes on defense by protecting the rim with Porzingis. Shumpert is another body New York could use on the perimeter and can adequately space the floor.

That’s not to say that this trade lacks downside. For starters, giving up Ntilikina would leave the cupboard almost completely bare of young prospects. It would also effectively tie up the Knicks cap space. If the team stalls out, it could be stuck on the mediocracy treadmill, too good to get high picks but not good enough to make it deep into the playoffs. Kyrie, Chandler, and Shumpert could all leave after two years. I still think the core swap of Melo for Kyrie makes it worth it though, and New York could make some other moves later to balance out the team’s roster (Shumpert for Roberson? Noah+2nd round picks for Parsons?).

Phoenix:

For the Suns, this trade is about going all-in on "The Timeline." Dudley would be the only veteran left, and the Suns would be fully committed to developing their youth. Given Sarver’s recent commitment to rebuilding, this trade makes sense for the team’s long term outlook.

The key piece for the Suns here is Ntilikina. He would be a perfect complement to the wing duo of Booker and Jackson, both of whom are capable enough playmakers to initiate the offense themselves. Ntilikina could slide into a secondary role on offense and space the floor, while taking the toughest guard assignment on defense. He and Booker could be a lethal backcourt for years to come.

suns trade

Parting with Chriss would certainly be the tough part about this trade. However, he was extremely raw as a rookie and disappointed during this past summer league. In a crowded frontcourt rotation with Bender, Dudley, now Favors, and potentially Len, Chriss is the most likely of the current Suns prospects to flame out. Favors would be a great fit next to Bender and Len, as he can act as the anchor on defense and show the youngsters the ropes while they space the floor for him on offense. They also recoup some value with Utah’s pick next year, and could even make a run at Noel after dumping Chandler’s contract. Even if Favors leaves next offseason, Phoenix will still have a young point guard who is a great fit with their core and a very high draft pick next year. They also get Utah’s first round pick next year as another avenue to add young talent.

Utah:

The Jazz arguably get the best deal of the four teams, as they swoop in and provide facilitating pieces in exchange for landing Love. There is a little bit of risk in giving up an unprotected first due to the extremely deep Western Conference, and one injury to Love or Gobert could haunt the Jazz for years. However, after losing their primary option on offense in Gordon Hayward, it’s certainly a risk I would think the Jazz are willing to take.

jazz trade

It might be that the Jazz are getting too good a deal here for the trade to happen in real life. However, when you actually look for teams that A. Have a void at Power Forward B. Are trying to be competitive next year and C. Have a center who can cover up for Love’s defensive deficiencies, the number of suitors that would want Love is relatively small. ESPN and other outlets reported that the Cavs were about to trade Love to the Nuggets for Gary Harris "and other pieces," which then would have been routed to the Pacers for Paul George. First of all, the Nuggets now have Paul Millsap, so you can cross them out of the Love sweepstakes. Second of all, that package isn’t that great. I think Alec Burks, when healthy, is a better option for the Cavs against GSW than Harris because he can matchup with bigger players and has a longer track record of being successful from 3. They are essentially getting Burks and Chriss for Love, and I’m not sure they could do better on the market.

If this deal were to happen, swapping Favors for Love is a huge win for the Jazz. He can be hidden on defense next to Gobert, who is the best rim protector in the NBA. On offense, he can reclaim the first option role in which he thrived in Minnesota. In an interesting twist, he would get a second chance at teaming up with Ricky Rubio, one of the best point guards in the league at getting easy shots for teammates. The Jazz would essentially be a souped-up version of the 2014 Timberwolves, but with Gobert and Rodney Hood taking the place of Pekovic and Kevin Martin. If Love can rediscover the magic he had with Rubio and be a top 10 offensive player again, the Jazz should be able to compete for home court advantage in the playoffs. Alec Burks is a nice player, but if that’s the difference in getting Love, I’m doing that every time if I’m the Jazz GM.

Conclusion:

Obviously, this trade isn’t perfect. Few 4 team trades are. Maybe Cleveland would rather have Dudley than Burks (I’m sure Phoenix would oblige, although I think that would be a mistake for Cleveland). It may be that it makes more sense for the Cavs to just do a 3-team trade with Phoenix and New York, or go another route entirely. However, I do believe that the core parameters of the trade help every team achieve their respective goal. Maybe I’m too high on Burks, but I think that the Cavs would be more competitive with the Warriors next year if they pulled the trigger on the trade.

This is a Fan-Created Comment on FearTheSword.com. The opinion here is not necessarily shared by the editorial staff at FearTheSword