The NBA’s offseason will be moving at a lightning speed this time around as the league has to fit the draft, free agency, training camp and the preseason all before the regular season tips off on Dec. 22. The NBA Draft is right around the corner on Nov. 18, with free agency starting two days after on Nov. 20. While the free agency market won’t be as robust this offseason as teams prepare for bigger names to become available in 2021, the trade market is expected to be incredibly active.
Now that the transaction moratorium has lifted around the league, trades can now be made official, and teams are starting to deal players and picks to better position themselves for the upcoming season. Here are the latest trades that have been reported around the league.
Bucks acquire Bogdan Bogdanovic and Justin James from Kings for Donte DiVincenzo, Ersan Ilyasova and DJ Wilson
Bogdanovic, 28, will join the Bucks on a new contract, the terms of which have yet to be reported. Milwaukee will also receive wing Justin James in the deal.
With this move and the Jrue Holiday deal announced earlier, the Bucks have made their big splash. Bogdanovic has seemed like a logical target since they elected not to re-sign Malcolm Brogdon last summer, as he brings an appealing combination of shooting and playmaking to a roster in need of both. Milwaukee was short on creators even when it had Brogdon, and Bogdanovic will add some juice to an offense that was nearly unstoppable in the regular season but could get stagnant come playoff time.
Holiday, 30, is one of the league’s best defenders and one of the top players on the trade market. He is one of the few guards in the league who does not represent a downgrade from Bledsoe when it comes to perimeter defense, and his size makes him more versatile. More importantly, Holiday is a massive upgrade on the other end of the court. For two straight seasons, Milwaukee’s dominant regular-season offense has looked stilted and predictable against elite playoff defenses. It needed more playmaking, and Holiday provides just that, while only strengthening its defense-first identity. Last season, he averaged 19.1 points, 6.7 assists and 4.8 rebounds for the Pelicans.
Hill was one of the league’s better reserves last season, and the Bucks have sacrificed some depth in trading two rotation players for one. That is a problem for the front office to solve as the offseason moves forward, as is the need for more shooting. Holiday is a decent but not great spot-up shooter, which is par for the course on this Milwaukee roster. Hill was an exception to that — he made an extraordinary 46 percent of his threes last season.
Covington will be a welcome addition for the Blazers, who lacked wing depth all of last season after the departure of Al-Farouq Aminu and Moe Harkless. The prototypical modern NBA 3-and-D wing, the 6-7 Covington is a 36 percent career 3-point shooter who should be able to space the floor for Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum in a Portland offense that finished third in efficiency last season at 113.2 points per 100 possessions.
The Rockets reacquire Ariza, who averaged 12.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.8 steals while shooting 36 percent from the 3-point arc in four seasons with Houston from 2014-2018. Ariza might not want to look into Houston real estate just yet, however. If the Rockets are truly committing to a rebuild, he’s a strong candidate to be flipped to a contender given his championship experience.
Phoenix has positioned itself as a team that could fight for playoff positioning next season after acquiring Chris Paul from the Thunder in exchange for Kelly Oubre Jr., Ricky Rubio, Ty Jerome and Jalen Lecque, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania. Paul will be reunited with head coach Monty Williams, who coached him in his early days with New Orleans. The veteran guard will provide the Suns with leadership they desperately needed. With Paul installed as the starting point guard, it will take some of the offensive load off Devin Booker, who may finally be able to realize his full potential under Paul’s guidance.
For the Thunder, this is the second trade the franchise has executed so far in the offseason, but this time, the return of Oubre, Rubio, Jerome and Lecque gives them young pieces for the future.
After being crowned champions inside the NBA bubble, the Lakers are already making moves to ensure they can defend their crown for the 2020-21 season. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Los Angeles is sending Danny Green and the 28th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft for Dennis Schroder. The veteran guard gives L.A. another player who can create for himself, which should help strengthen the bench when LeBron James and Anthony Davis need a rest. It also shores up the Lakers backcourt if they don’t re-sign Rajon Rondo, who reportedly opted out of his $2.6 million player option for next season, making him an unrestricted free agent. Schroder’s deal expires after this upcoming season, so it also allows L.A. to be flexible for 2021.
For the Thunder, moving Schroder signals that this team is going full rebuild heading into the 2020-21 season. Getting back a first-round pick just adds to the stockpile of draft selections that OKC has accumulated over the last two years, and the Thunder can now also flip Green to a different contending team for another draft pick, or perhaps a young prospect.
The Nets reportedly like the defensive toughness that Brown can bring to their squad, while the Pistons will be getting Musa, who was selected 29th overall in the 2018 NBA Draft, per Wojnarowski. Musa never found his footing in the Nets organization, but will get more opportunity to prove himself with a Detroit team that is in the process of a rebuild.
