The NBA trade deadline was lackluster to say the least. The rumors didn’t have the typical buzz that the deadline normally provides and the actual trades that were made were okay. Nothing out of this world but a few teams did help themselves like Cleveland and Detroit. With such an underwhelming trade deadline what this say about the NBA?
The entire league is watching the Warriors and as usual keeping an eye out for the Spurs. These two teams are the creme of the crop and they affected the trade deadline. There are teams out there that could have made moves but would any of those have the impact to offset the Warriors or Spurs come the playoffs or Finals? If you’re a championship contender, you’re looking at trades and thinking, “Can this trade put us over the Spurs or Warriors?” A team like the Thunder, who aren’t too far behind them traded for Randy Foye. That’s a good move from what they had but time will tell if the addition will put them over the hill. They should have been aggressive in getting someone like Pau Gasol. An impact player who would have catapulted the Thunder right in the same conversation as the Spurs & Warriors.
The Cavs are another championship contender that helped themselves in acquiring Channing Frye because he’ll actually play for one and he stretches the floor as a big man. The Cavs are a basically a lock to get through the east so this may have the best move they can make in order the bolster their roster for a potential finals rematch. Not many moves that will have playoff impact this trade deadline.
However, despite the trade deadline being what it was, it means that we’re going to get an insane summer. It’s clear that most teams didn’t like what was on the market for this trade deadline, so they CANNOT wait for July. Why trade for Dwight when he’s going to opt out anyway, right? Even though it’s always bad to depend on free agency to change your fortune because you can be the Knicks and get Stoudemire & Anthony and go nowhere or be like the Heat who won 2 rings. Not to mention getting free agents can cause major problems when it comes to flexibility with your roster.
But this July the cap jumps to as high as 92 million, so we’re going to see a slew of money being tossed. It’s not a question of is this player worth x amount, but what is the market price. Not to mention this free agent class has plenty of game changers. The number 1 free agent on the market will be Kevin Durant but there are plenty All-Star caliber players. Players like DeMar DeRozan, Andre Drummond, Mike Conley, Dwight Howard, Harrison Barnes and Pau Gasol to name a few will be available. GM’s will be ready to throw the bank at players which makes it compelling because teams are going to aim for the sky all while trying to dethrone the Spurs & Warriors in the process. (Sidenote: If Durant were to sign with Golden State, we can cancel free agency).
The amount of potential moves that can be made will make this incredible. We’ll all sit and watch and see guys get paid WAY more than their actual value and talent level and wonder what are these GM’s doing. Summer 2016 will be one to remember.