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Grizzlies Trade Mike Conley To Jazz

July 6th, 2019 at 12:48pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6: The trade sending Conley to the Jazz is now official, per the NBA’s transactions log. Darius Bazley, who was selected with the No. 23 overall pick last month, will be re-routed from Utah to Oklahoma City in a subsequent deal, while Korver will be sent to Phoenix.

JUNE 19: The Grizzlies and Jazz have reached an agreement on a trade that will send standout point guard Mike Conley to Utah, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter), Memphis will receive a package made up of Jae Crowder, Kyle Korver, Grayson Allen, the No. 23 pick in the 2019 draft, and a future first-round pick. Per Wojnarowski (via Twitter), that second first-rounder will be a 2020 pick, which features protections through 2024.

Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian provides the full details on those protections, tweeting that the Grizzlies will get the pick in 2020 or 2021 if it falls in the 8-14 range. If it doesn’t convey in either of those drafts, it would become top-six protected in 2022, top-three protected in 2023, and top-one protected in 2024.

The deal will be completed once the new league year begins in July for cap reasons, according to Wojnarowski and ESPN’s Bobby Marks (via Twitter). The Jazz will have to absorb Conley using their newly-opened cap room, but won’t necessarily have to waive Derrick Favors‘ non-guaranteed contract to make the deal work, Marks notes (via Twitter).

It’s a huge acquisition for the Jazz, who will be able to pair Conley with Donovan Mitchell in their backcourt, with Favors and Rudy Gobert up front and Joe Ingles providing floor spacing on the wing.

Conley, 31, is coming off perhaps the best season of his NBA career, having averaged a career-high 21.1 PPG to go along with 6.4 APG, 3.4 RPG, 1.3 SPG, and a .438/.364/.845 shooting line.

Utah reportedly tried to land Conley at the trade deadline, putting an offer on the table that featured expiring contracts and a first-round pick, but that wasn’t enough to get Memphis to accept. The Jazz figured to face competition for the point guard from possible suitors like the Pacers, Heat, Celtics, and Mavericks when they circled back this offseason, but they were able to get a deal done early in the summer.

The Jazz can now focus on filling out their roster with complementary players. With Conley’s lucrative contract set to hit their books, they’ll no longer be a player for major free agents, but will have the room exception available. It’s projected to be worth $4.76MM.

Conley is owed $32.5MM in 2019/20 and $34.5MM in 2020/21 before his contract expires in 2021. His deal aligns him with Utah’s other core pieces — currently, Mitchell and Gobert are both on track to reach free agency in 2021 as well.

As for the Grizzlies, they’re expected to shift into rebuilding mode after trading long-time cornerstones Marc Gasol in February and Conley now. They’re poised to select Ja Morant with the No. 2 overall pick in tomorrow’s draft to supplant Conley as their point guard of the future. He and Jaren Jackson Jr. project to be the franchise’s building blocks going forward.

It’s not clear yet whether the Grizzlies intend to keep all the players and draft picks they’re acquiring in exchange for Conley. Crowder and Korver are on fairly modest expiring contracts (Korver’s salary is only partially guaranteed) and could appeal to contenders. Allen and the picks, on the other hand, represent solid assets for Memphis’ rebuild, though David Aldridge of The Athletic (Twitter link) hears that the club will listen to offers for the No. 23 selection.

The Grizzlies are also in position to create a massive traded player exception in the swap, assuming they remain an over-the-cap team. Cap expert Albert Nahmad estimates the value of that exception to be about $25MM (Twitter link).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Northwest Notes: Schroder, Lillard, Towns, Crowder

July 24th, 2018 at 4:56pm CST by clarkcrum

In an extended analytical piece, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer takes a look at how the Thunder‘s soon-to-be acquired point guard Dennis Schroder will fit with incumbent starter and All-Star Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City’s backcourt.

Consistently ranked near the bottom of the league in passing metrics, Thunder head coach Billy Donovan has regularly spoke about how he wants better ball movement on offense. But, as Donovan admits, “There’s a balance between [giving the ball to your stars] and then trying to play faster with more ball and player movement.”

Enter Schroder, who can create against a defense with his quickness perhaps better than any other point guard the Thunder have had in recent years outside of Westbrook, including Reggie Jackson.

Only time will tell whether or not Westbrook and Schroder will be able to play together, but if they can, Donovan will be able to install more pace and ball-movement concepts featuring multiple ball handlers running the show, rather than relying on Westbrook alone, which should help the Thunder be less one-dimensional against the better Western Conference teams come playoff time.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

While the Trail Blazers may not have been able to bring in as much talent as they had hoped for during this summer’s free agency period in an effort to improve upon last season, Damian Lillard says that he’s ready and excited for the upcoming season and that he has a “deeper connection” with the city of Portland that goes beyond basketball, per Sean Meagher of The Oregonian.
As part of a Wolves’ mailbag, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic opines that although the relationship between Karl-Anthony Towns and the Timberwolves could obviously use some work right now, the opportunity for repair remains, as Towns likely would have cancelled his recent basketball camp in the Twin Cities had he already completely written off Minnesota as a long-term home.
After struggling on-court to adjust to a new role and new teammates at the beginning of last season and coping off-court with the death of his mother from cancer, Jae Crowder finally feels at home with the Jazz, writes Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. “I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t difficult,” Crowder told The Tribune. “It was hard being thrown into the fire. But, from Day One, the locker room and my teammates [in Utah] were great. The coaching staff was great. … It helped build toughness.”

Central Notes: Wade, Bucks, Casey, Lowe

June 24th, 2018 at 11:43am CST by Arthur Hill

The signing of Dwyane Wade just before the start of the season led to jealousy in the Cavaliers‘ locker room, according to Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com. J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert were most affected, with Smith fearing Wade would take his starting spot and Shumpert believing Wade would cut into his playing time. Wade did start briefly, before asking to be moved to a bench role. Injuries limited Shumpert to just 14 games before he was traded to the Kings in February.

Pluto outlines other problems with the Cavs’ roster, including Tristan Thompson‘s distractions with the Kardashian family and his notoriety on gossip websites, Kevin Love‘s panic attacks and a team meeting where he felt he was being attacked by Wade and Isaiah Thomas, and Jae Crowder‘s ineffectiveness without the structured offense he had under Brad Stevens in Boston.

There’s more from the Central Division:

The Bucks contemplated a pair of draft night trades before selecting Donte DiVincenzo at No. 17, reports Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated. They talked about swapping picks with the Pacers and moving down to No. 23, and discussed a deal with the Hawks involving the 19th and 30th selections. Atlanta, which planned to take Kevin Huerter with the 17th pick, ended negotiations when word that the Bucks were drafting DiVincenzo leaked on Twitter. The Hawks expected the Spurs to grab Lonnie Walker at No. 18 and were confident that Huerter would fall to them at No. 19. DiVincenzo was happy to wind up in Milwaukee, which he and his representatives had singled out as a preferred destination.
Developing young players will be a priority for new coach Dwane Casey in his first season with the Pistons, writes Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. The front office believes improvement from Stanley Johnson, Luke Kennard and Henry Ellenson is necessary for the team to return to the playoffs. “Three very talented young players,” Casey said at his introductory press conference this week. “That’s going to be on us, the coaching staff, to really draw as much of that as we can. The talent level on the roster is there. Getting it together and identifying how we’re going to play is very, very important. That’s the fun part of it because the talent base is there.” The Pistons plan to experiment with Kennard as a point guard in summer league play, Ellis tweets.
After adding Bucks assistant Sean Sweeney to their coaching staff this week, the Pistons are now targeting Wizards assistant Sidney Lowe, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times.

Woj’s Latest: Cavaliers, Clippers, Kings, Jazz

February 14th, 2018 at 8:47am CST by Luke Adams

In his latest piece for ESPN.com, Adrian Wojnarowski goes into extensive detail on the deadline deals completed last week by the Cavaliers, and offers some fascinating tidbits on how those trades got done, and one potential blockbuster that didn’t get done. Let’s dive in and round up the highlights…

Before making his series of trades, Cavaliers GM Koby Altman got an elusive face-to-face sitdown with LeBron James to let his star player know what he was working on. Altman later met with LeBron again to tell him that the trades for Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance, George Hill, and Rodney Hood were complete, and to ask for his blessing on the deal that sent Dwyane Wade to Miami, says Wojnarowski.
Altman had received ownership approval to trade Jae Crowder, Channing Frye, Iman Shumpert, and the Cavs’ own 2018 first-round pick to the Clippers for DeAndre Jordan, according to Wojnarowski. Los Angeles was on board with the deal, but wanted to find a third team to take Shumpert and to give the Clips a center, since they didn’t want another shooting guard. Altman and Clippers GM Michael Winger weren’t able to find that third team, and since L.A. was unwilling to take on Shumpert (or Tristan Thompson or J.R. Smith) and the Cavs had some reservations about extending Jordan’s contract in the offseason, the deal ultimately fell through.
The three-way trade between the Cavaliers, Kings, and Jazz nearly fell apart on deadline day when Sacramento insisted that Georgios Papagiannis be included in the deal. According to Woj, Cleveland and Utah were “adamant” that Papagiannis had never been discussed, but Kings assistant GM Brandon Williams insists that his notes confirm that either Papagiannis or Malachi Richardson would be included.
As an aside, Wojnarowski writes that Williams was handling negotiations because GM Vlade Divac “seldom gets on the phone for the trade-building parts,” even though any Kings trade requires his approval, along with the approval of owner Vivek Ranadive.
The Cavaliers were very much against Papagiannis’ inclusion in the trade, since taking on his $2.3MM cap hit would have cost the club significantly more than that in tax payments. Utah also had no interest in acquiring the former lottery pick, with Wojnarowski suggesting that Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey was “livid” about the insertion of Papagiannis and was ready to call off the trade. As for the Kings, they were hoping to move 2016’s 13th overall pick to avoid the embarrassment of waiving him themselves, says Woj.
Eventually, Altman was able to work out a solution and talked Lindsey into it, per Wojnarowski. Papagiannis’ rest-of-season salary for this year and his guaranteed salary for 2018/19 totaled $3.2MM, and the Cavaliers were willing to pay that amount to Sacramento, but Cleveland was limited to sending out $2.1MM for the rest of this league year. Altman convinced the Jazz to send the Kings the remaining $1.1MM, with Lindsey getting a little something out of the deal: the ability to swap 2024 second-round picks with the Cavs. The Kings, having been compensated for Papagiannis’ remaining salary, simply waived him rather than insisting he be a part of the trade.

Northwest Notes: D. Harris, Crowder, Harkless, Wolves

February 11th, 2018 at 10:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

Devin Harris is happy to have another shot at the postseason in Denver, relays Gina Mizell of The Denver Post. The veteran guard found his way back into the playoff race on Thursday when he was shipped from the Mavericks to the Nuggets in a three-team trade. Harris was preparing for a game at Golden State when he heard about the deal, then caught a flight to Dallas and then Phoenix to join his new team in time for Saturday’s game.

At age 34, Harris brings not just experience to Denver’s young backcourt, but playoff experience. He has been in 64 postseason games, including a trip to the Finals with Dallas in 2006.

“I don’t want to be playing golf right now,” Harris said. “I’d rather be playing meaningful basketball.”

There’s more tonight from the Northwest Division:

Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey has been a longtime fan of Jae Crowder, who was acquired Thursday in a three-team deal, says Eric Woodyard of The Deseret News. Crowder made an immediate impact in his Utah debut with 15 points and four rebounds in tonight’s win over the Trail Blazers. “He’s really versatile defensively and can play really two through four with switches and physicality,” Lindsey said. “His build is quite obvious and the systems that he’s played in with Dallas, Boston and Cleveland, we’ve seen enough to think that he can mesh very well in how we play. We’re really anxious to get him here.” Lindsay also said as many as 20 teams asked about Rodney Hood before he decided to send him to Cleveland in that deal.
The recent re-emergence of Maurice Harkless has created a dilemma for Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts, according to Jason Quick of NBC Sports Northwest. The team’s former starting forward got expanded playing time this week because of injuries to other players and has convinced Stotts to expand his rotation, at least temporarily. “I think it’s just being back in the rotation,’’ Harkless said in explaining his recent success. “It’s hard to not know if you are going to play, how much you are going to play, then get thrown out there for six minutes. It’s tough to play like that and be consistent.’’
The Timberwolves were quiet at the deadline, and Michael Rand and Chris Hine of The Star Tribune make a case for why that was probably Minnesota’s best option.

Cavs Acquire Rodney Hood, George Hill In Three-Team Trade

February 8th, 2018 at 7:57pm CST by Luke Adams

7:57pm: The trade is official, according to press releases from the Jazz and Cavaliers. The terms of the deal are as follows:

Cavaliers acquire George Hill (from Kings), Rodney Hood (from Jazz), and the draft rights to Arturas Gudaitis (from Kings).
Jazz acquire Jae Crowder (from Cavs), Derrick Rose (from Cavs), and the right to swap 2024 second-round picks with the Cavs.
Kings acquire Iman Shumpert (from Cavs), Joe Johnson (from Jazz), the Heat’s 2020 second-round pick (from Cavs), cash ($2.1MM from Cavs; $1.1MM from Jazz), and the draft rights to Dimitrios Agravanis (from Cavs).

1:41pm: ESPN’s Brian Windhorst adds more details on this complex three-team deal, tweeting that the Kings will receive $2.1MM from the Cavs and $1.1MM from the Jazz. Utah will have the option of swapping second-round picks in 2024 with the Cavs. Cleveland also acquired the draft rights to Arturas Gudaitis from the Kings and surrendered the draft rights to Dimitrios Agravanis.

12:03pm: A busy day in Cleveland continues, as the Cavaliers have agreed to acquire Rodney Hood from the Jazz in a three-team trade, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links). The Cavs will also receive George Hill from Sacramento in the deal, with the Jazz acquiring Jae Crowder and Derrick Rose.

The Kings will get Joe Johnson and Iman Shumpert, per Woj (Twitter link). TNT’s David Aldridge tweets that Sacramento will also acquire a future draft pick and cash considerations, with Sam Amick of USA Today providing some details (via Twitter), reporting that the pick will be Miami’s 2020 second-rounder from Cleveland. The Kings will also get a little over $3MM in cash, Amick adds.

The move, which comes on the heels of the Cavs reaching a deal with the Lakers for Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr., further reshapes a Cleveland roster that will look a whole lot different by the end of the day than it did at the start of it.

By surrendering Crowder, Rose, and Shumpert in exchange for Hood and Hill, the Cavaliers will take on about $4MM in extra salary, and far more than that in projected tax payments. However, the cost of the deal may be worth it for the on-court impact, as Crowder, Rose, and Shumpert have all underperformed and/or battled injuries this season.

Hood will give the Cavs a young, perimeter scorer who has fought through some injuries of his own, but has enjoyed a career year when he’s been on the court. In 39 games, the 25-year-old has averaged 16.8 PPG on .424/.389/.876 shooting. As for Hill, the veteran point guard has struggled mightily in Sacramento this season, but has historically been a good shooter (.454/.384/.800 career shooting line) and a solid defender. His ability to play off the ball should make him a good fit to play alongside LeBron James.

Hood will be a restricted free agent this summer, while Hill remains under contract for two more years beyond this one. He’ll earn $19MM in 2018/19, and has a $18MM salary in 2019/20 that only features a very small partial guarantee.

From Utah’s perspective, the trade will allow them to get out from under Johnson’s $10.5MM salary — the veteran forward was viewed as a buyout candidate if he had remained on the roster through the deadline, and will likely remain a buyout candidate in Sacramento. The Jazz had to give up Hood as part of the deal, but he had been mentioned frequently in trade rumors in recent weeks and no longer appeared to be part of the club’s long-term plans.

In exchange, Utah will acquire Crowder, who has a reputation as a solid three-and-D wing on a team-friendly contract despite his struggles this season, and Rose, who may not be in the team’s plans. Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets that the Jazz will likely release Rose.

As for the Kings, they’ll get out from under Hill’s expensive multiyear deal, acquiring Johnson’s expiring contract as well as Shumpert, who has a $10.3MM+ player option for next season. The deal creates nearly $9MM in 2018/19 cap flexibility for the Kings, and also nets them that aforementioned 2020 pick and some cash. Sacramento had committed to playing its young players over its veterans down the stretch this season, so Hill’s playing time had been sporadic.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

George Hill Trade Between Cavs, Kings Not Imminent

January 25th, 2018 at 12:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Despite multiple reports earlier this week suggesting that momentum was building toward a trade that would send George Hill to Cleveland, the Cavaliers and Kings are further apart than initially believed, writes Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. According to Vardon, there are still “significant hurdles” to clear before a deal can be completed.

Reports on Tuesday indicated that the Cavs and Kings were making progress on a trade that would include Iman Shumpert and Channing Frye, and perhaps Derrick Rose and/or a second-round pick. However, one source tells Vardon that the two teams were speaking “conceptually” and weren’t on the verge of pulling the trigger. Another of Vardon’s sources said that the Cavs wanted to change the parameters of a potential deal.

As I noted on Tuesday, a deal involving Hill, Shumpert, Frye, and Rose would make sense for both clubs. Shumpert, Frye, and Rose have a combined cap hit of $19.23MM this season, which nearly matches Hill’s $20MM cap charge. Both Frye and Rose are on expiring contracts, which would appeal to the rebuilding Kings, who would subsequently be on the hook for Shumpert’s $11MM player option for 2018/19 instead of Hill’s fully guaranteed $19MM salary. The Cavs, meanwhile, would add a veteran guard who has had a down year but would be a good fit in their rotation if he can recapture his previous form.

The Cavs still have two weeks until the February 8 trade deadline, so there’s plenty of time to work out the specifics on a trade for Hill. If the two teams can’t reach an agreement and the Kings don’t find another taker for the veteran guard, a buyout isn’t out of the question, according to Vardon, who writes that Sacramento is ready to move on from Hill.

As they weigh the merits of a deal, the Cavs are also making changes to their lineup in the hopes of busting out of their current slump. Head coach Tyronn Lue said today that Tristan Thompson will replace Jae Crowder in the club’s starting lineup, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link).

Cavaliers Notes: Lue, Smith, Defense, Blatt

January 21st, 2018 at 10:18am CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers are in their worst position since LeBron James returned and nobody is sure what’s coming next, writes Jason Lloyd of The Athletic. Dan Gilbert is known as an emotional and reactionary owner, and giving up 148 points to the Thunder on Saturday may push him to make a move. That could be a trade, alterations to the lineup or changes on the coaching staff.

Head coach Tyronn Lue is probably safe because there is no obvious choice to replace him. If Lue is dismissed, assistants Larry Drew and Mike Longabardi would probably follow, and Jim Boylan isn’t viewed as a potential head coach, according to Lloyd. The other assistants, James Posey, Phil Handy and Damon Jones, don’t have the experience to handle a high-profile team like the Cavaliers. Someone outside the organization would be put in a difficult position trying to install a new system in the middle of a season, Lloyd adds.

There’s more news out of Cleveand:

The Cavs aren’t getting much production from J.R. Smith, but they don’t have a good option to replace him until Iman Shumpert returns from knee surgery, Lloyd adds in the same story. Kyle Korver isn’t an option to start at age 36, and Cedi Osman isn’t a long-term solution. Dwyane Wade began the season as a starter, but has settled into his role as the leader of the second unit. Another problem is the poor play of Jae Crowder, Lloyd writes, which could force Lue to reinsert Tristan Thompson into the starting lineup and put Channing Frye back in the rotation.
Personnel changes are the only thing that can fix the mess in Cleveland, contends Sam Amico of AmicoHoops. The Cavaliers aren’t as good as they appear on offense, he writes, with poor ball movement and too much one-on-one play that leads to too many 3-pointers. They’re even worse at the other end of the court, with no rim protectors and no strong defenders on the perimeter. “I think it’s tough for us one-on-one [to defend],” Lue said Saturday when asked whether the issue was personnel or effort. “Look at the final score — you score 124 and still lose by 24, that’s tough to swallow.”
The Cavaliers’ problems haven’t escaped the notice of former coach David Blatt, relays Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. “I hope we don’t give up as many points as Cleveland did last night,” Blatt said before the Turkish All-Star Game.

Cavaliers Notes: Jordan, Rose, Thomas, Crowder

January 7th, 2018 at 12:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

Trading for Clippers center DeAndre Jordan might be the answer to the Cavaliers’ defensive woes, writes Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com. Although they have a 26-13 record, defense has been a problem all season for Cleveland, which is allowing 107.2 points per game and ranks 28th in the league in defensive efficiency. One of the issues is the lack of a shot blocker in the middle, which Jordan would immediately solve.

There were reports last month that the Cavs “quietly explored” the possibility of trading for Jordan, who has spent the past decade with the Clippers. He has a player option worth slightly more than $24MM for next year, and L.A. may want to get some value for him now rather than risk losing him in free agency.

Pluto notes that Tristan Thompson at $16.4MM and Channing Frye at $7.4MM would provide a workable salary match for Jordan, and said sources have told him the Clippers would “strongly consider” the deal if Cleveland includes the Nets’ unprotected first-rounder for this year’s draft. However, the Cavs don’t plan to part with that asset given LeBron James‘ uncertain future. Pluto suggests an offer of Thompson, Frye and the Cavs’ draft pick, which falls at No. 25 in our latest Reverse Standings.

There’s more today out of Cleveland:

Depth at point guard is the most valuable thing Derrick Rose will provide when he returns from his ankle injury, Pluto adds in the same story. Coach Tyronn Lue would like to reduce the minutes for Dwyane Wade, and Rose may take some of his playing time.
In just two games since returning from a hip injury, Isaiah Thomas is having a profound effect on the Cavaliers’ offense, notes Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. Thomas came off the bench Tuesday, scoring 17 points in 19 minutes, then added 19 points in 22 minutes in his first start with the team Saturday as Cleveland scored a season-high 131 points in a win at Orlando. “I’m able to push the pace a little more, get the ball out of Bron’s hands and show the defense something different that they haven’t seen all year,” Thomas said. “I think with me being out there it definitely gives us another level that we can reach.”
After being acquired as part of the Kyrie Irving trade, Jae Crowder is enjoying his surroundings with older, more accomplished teammates in Cleveland, relays Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe [subscription account].

Revisiting The Paul George Trade

December 13th, 2017 at 6:16pm CST by Arthur Hill

Paul George is back in Indiana tonight for the first time since the blockbuster trade that sent him to Oklahoma City. The deal was supposed to signal the start of a rebuilding process for the Pacers and the creation of a title contender in Oklahoma City, but things haven’t worked out that way. Indiana enters tonight’s game 16-11 and in fifth place in the East, while the Thunder are a disappointing 12-14 and stuck in ninth place in the West.

George was shipped to OKC in early July in exchange for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis, who are both putting up career-best numbers in Indiana. Oladipo is scoring 24.5 points per game, while Sabonis is averaging 12.1 points and 8.5 rebounds, both more than double his totals from last season.

Meeting with reporters today, George expressed joy in seeing the Pacers playing so well and said the reason he had his agent tell the team he was unlikely to re-sign after this season is so it could start preparing right away, according to Matthew VanTryon and Jim Ayello of The Indianapolis Star.

“When we reached out to the front office, to tell them our plans, our future plans, it was to help them along the way,” George said. “And it was bad at first, so to speak, that maybe this trade wasn’t going to pan out. But it obviously did. They got two great, young pieces.”

We rounded up a few more reactions as writers revisited the July deal:

The Pacers should receive an apology for the initial negative reaction to the trade, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. The general feeling was that Indiana didn’t get enough in return for George, with Cavaliers owner Dan Snyder saying, “I will say [the Pacers] could’ve done better,” and the Oklahoma City police department tweeting about the theft of George. Deveney adds that the deal turned out to be better than some other offers the Pacers received, including Gary Harris and draft choices from the Nuggets, and Jae Crowder, Avery Bradley and some non-lottery picks from the Celtics.
The Thunder had to take the gamble when a star like George became available, contends Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman. Even if Oladipo turns out to be an All-Star, he wasn’t a good fit with Westbrook during his lone season with the Thunder, Tramel writes, with some observers contending he was out of shape and others saying he couldn’t adjust to Westbrook’s ball dominance. George can be a dominant player on both ends, and his acquisition may have been what inspired Westbrook to agree to a five-year extension in September.
The Pacers should be elated with the results of the deal, according to a consensus of writers on an NBA.com Blogtable. Indiana could be headed for a playoff spot, while George may be joining the Lakers next summer — if not earlier.