Official Trade Thread Part XLVI

[nate33]

Would removing the protections on the 2030 pick enough comp to move Kuzma for Wiggins? Maybe they can move Wiggins to a third team.

I would need more than that. The way Wiggins has played, merely absorbing him should cost a pretty high FRP. And that doesn't even account for the value of Kuzma.

Also, I doubt our new management team is going to value a pick 6 years down the road all THAT much. Their job security isn't infinite.

[Frichuela]

On the Kuzma sweepstakes:

SAS has appetizing 1sts that our FO may crave. In 2025, they own ATL 1st and CHI 1st (top 10 protected).

And MEM has Aldama+fodder+one of their future 1sts (2025 or 2026 as lightly protected as possible would be ideal).

As Nate pointed out, GSW is tricky as we do not want to end up with Wiggins in the fold. Only if he gets rerouted to a 3rd party. And even in that case, I'd be asking for Kuminga.

[payitforward]

Siakam is better than Kuzma. Yeah, his contract is worse, but teams will pay a premium for a guy who is a legit #2 guy on a contender versus Kuzma who might be conceivably capable of being a #3 on a contender.

You dont avg 22 pts in the NBA and maybe be a #3 on a contender .

You aren't even in the starting lineup of a contender if you post a TS% of .546 (4% below league average). Honestly, Kuzma hasn't actually proven he is anything better than a 5th starter on a good team. In this comparison with Siakam I'm charitably assuming Kuzma can post a significantly improved TS% in the 58%-60% range if his usage rate comes down to 3rd option territory; but that hasn't even been proven yet....

Actually, I think it's fair to say that it's been proven false. On his career, Kuz has a .545 TS%. He has never posted a TS% as high as .55 in any season. Even in his best year -- his last with LA -- when he was at best the third option (& took the fewest shots per 40 minutes of his career) -- his TS% was well below average.

...All Kuzma has proven so far is that he absolutely cannot shoulder the load of a #1 option while maintaining acceptable efficiency....

If by "acceptable" you mean "as good as an average player at his position," then Kuz has proven that he can't be the #3 option while maintaining acceptable efficiency. Would you not think that at least average efficiency would be required for the #3 option?

[TGW]

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[DCZards]

...All Kuzma has proven so far is that he absolutely cannot shoulder the load of a #1 option while maintaining acceptable efficiency....

If by "acceptable" you mean "as good as an average player at his position," then Kuz has proven that he can't be the #3 option while maintaining acceptable efficiency. Would you not think that at least average efficiency would be required for the #3 option?

Has Kuz really "proven" that he can't be a #3 option with an acceptable efficiency? I don't think so given that he's rarely been a #3 option in the past 3-4 seasons.

Kuz's last/best season with LA was in 2021-21 where he was not a top two or three option. Others may disagree, but I believe Kuz is a better all-around offensive player now than he was in LA when he posted his best TS%..and I think it's a safe bet that his efficiency would likely improve on a team where he's taking fewer shots and is not the primary focus of the other team's defense like he is with the Zards.

[payitforward]

...Kuzma for Aldama, filler and a first would interest me.

Asbolutely!!
But, I don't think they give up a R1 pick in this deal.

[pcbothwel]

...Kuzma for Aldama, filler and a first would interest me.

Asbolutely!!
But, I don't think they give up a R1 pick in this deal.

Then hard pass. Aldama looks like a decent prospect, but doesn’t fit our timeframe. We need picks

[Frichuela]

...Kuzma for Aldama, filler and a first would interest me.

Asbolutely!!
But, I don't think they give up a R1 pick in this deal.

Then hard pass. Aldama looks like a decent prospect, but doesn’t fit our timeframe. We need picks

Why doesn’t he? Santi is the same age as Deni. For the record, I’d be ecstatic if we got Santi on a trade.

[pcbothwel]

Asbolutely!!
But, I don't think they give up a R1 pick in this deal.

Then hard pass. Aldama looks like a decent prospect, but doesn’t fit our timeframe. We need picks

Why doesn’t he? Santi is the same age as Deni. For the record, I’d be ecstatic if we got Santi on a trade.

Because Santi is under contract for 1 more year, not 4 like Deni.
Give me a pick in 23-27 range and another top 45 pick instead. Zero question.

[Frichuela]

Then hard pass. Aldama looks like a decent prospect, but doesn’t fit our timeframe. We need picks

Why doesn’t he? Santi is the same age as Deni. For the record, I’d be ecstatic if we got Santi on a trade.

Because Santi is under contract for 1 more year, not 4 like Deni.
Give me a pick in 23-27 range and another top 45 pick instead. Zero question.

I disagree. I much rather trade for Santi and extend him in the offseason vs. a pick in the 23-27 range plus a second. Santi has clear starter potential at the 4 position plus I don’t think is going to be that expensive to extend him. Probably in the Deni range or less.

[pcbothwel]

Why doesn’t he? Santi is the same age as Deni. For the record, I’d be ecstatic if we got Santi on a trade.

Because Santi is under contract for 1 more year, not 4 like Deni.
Give me a pick in 23-27 range and another top 45 pick instead. Zero question.

I disagree. I much rather trade for Santi and extend him in the offseason vs. a pick in the 23-27 range plus a second. Santi has clear starter potential at the 4 position plus I don’t think is going to be that expensive to extend him. Probably in the Deni range or less.

Fair enough. I like aldama, but we just view the path forward differently.
I love Bilal & Deni, but I want the decks clear as we NEED to take the BPA with our 24/25 picks. Deni and Coul are versatile enough to fit in with most anyone, but everything else needs to be wide open.

[gesa2]

Because Santi is under contract for 1 more year, not 4 like Deni.
Give me a pick in 23-27 range and another top 45 pick instead. Zero question.

I disagree. I much rather trade for Santi and extend him in the offseason vs. a pick in the 23-27 range plus a second. Santi has clear starter potential at the 4 position plus I don’t think is going to be that expensive to extend him. Probably in the Deni range or less.

Fair enough. I like aldama, but we just view the path forward differently.
I love Bilal & Deni, but I want the decks clear as we NEED to take the BPA with our 24/25 picks. Deni and Coul are versatile enough to fit in with most anyone, but everything else needs to be wide open.

Aldama is valuable as a proven entity, he’s likely to be better over the next several years than an average pick in the 20s.
The argument against him is the other side of the coin - we may prefer the higher variance of a pick with it’s small chance of giving us a real difference maker over a proven solid 4th or 5th best player on a good team.

[TGW]

Looks like the Pacers are flush with power forwards. I think Jalen Smith or Toppin are good targets.

[pcbothwel]

I disagree. I much rather trade for Santi and extend him in the offseason vs. a pick in the 23-27 range plus a second. Santi has clear starter potential at the 4 position plus I don’t think is going to be that expensive to extend him. Probably in the Deni range or less.

Fair enough. I like aldama, but we just view the path forward differently.
I love Bilal & Deni, but I want the decks clear as we NEED to take the BPA with our 24/25 picks. Deni and Coul are versatile enough to fit in with most anyone, but everything else needs to be wide open.

Aldama is valuable as a proven entity, he’s likely to be better over the next several years than an average pick in the 20s.
The argument against him is the other side of the coin - we may prefer the higher variance of a pick with it’s small chance of giving us a real difference maker over a proven solid 4th or 5th best player on a good team.

Again, it’s not just the variance. It’s timing. If we were to get the 23rd pick and take a guy who ends up being exactly like Aldana (ie. Kwame Evan’s or Almansa). Their peak being in 2027-31 aligns better with our path.

[DCZards]

Again, it’s not just the variance. It’s timing. If we were to get the 23rd pick and take a guy who ends up being exactly like Aldana (ie. Kwame Evan’s or Almansa). Their peak being in 2027-31 aligns better with our path.

This sounds to like an argument for trading for Aldama….assuming that the Zards believe he’s a quality starter down the road.

If the Zards expect to be truly competitive by around 2027 they’re going to need to begin developing talent ASAP. I don’t have a problem with Aldama being 25 or 26 years old in 2027. He’d be at or near his peak.

It’s unlikely that Evans, who is 19 yrs old, would be at or near his peak at 22 or 23.

[FAH1223]

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[popper]

I'm guessing Gaff's about to be traded as well?

[TGW]

I'm guessing Gaff's about to be traded as well?

Why? At $12MM a year, Gaff is good value and still relatively young. Unless they get a really good draft pick, there really is no reason to trade him.

[FAH1223]

I'm guessing Gaff's about to be traded as well?

Why? At $12MM a year, Gaff is good value and still relatively young. Unless they get a really good draft pick, there really is no reason to trade him.

In #SoWizards fashion, Matt says he wrote about all 30 teams but the Wizards are the only one that doesn't have its own paragraph space here.

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The ROCKETS have called about Gafford.

[tontoz]

I'm guessing Gaff's about to be traded as well?

Why? At $12MM a year, Gaff is good value and still relatively young. Unless they get a really good draft pick, there really is no reason to trade him.

That's exactly why other teams would want him, teams that are trying to win now. The fact that the wizards traded for Bagley makes me think it is more likely they will trade Gafford.