26 deals were made during Thursday’s NBA trade deadline. That number does not include the deals that were made ahead of yesterday’s deadline. Here are my thoughts on the major trades and what the fantasy implications are.
Blake Goes to Motown: The Clippers traded franchise cornerstone Blake Griffin along with Willie Reed and Brice Johnson to the Pistons for power forward Tobias Harris and shooting guard Avery Bradley. There were other pieces in the deal including the Clippers getting a first and second round pick in the deal.
The trade benefits Griffin immensley because he can now become the centerpiece of the Pistons offense. Stan Van Gundy will use Griffin more in pick and roll situations with Andre Drummond and will give Griffin more freedom in regards to shooting the ball. Some have speculated a drop off in Griffin’s production with the trade but I don’t see that. I think he becomes the main man in Detroit and the centerpiece of the Pistons playoff push.
As for Harris and Bradley, their production should be the same as it was in Detroit, especially Harris. He will start at the four opposite Danilo Galinari who is healthy again and starting at small forward. Bradley knows Doc Rivers from their time together in Boston. Doc will give Bradley more freedom within the offense so Bradley’s numbers might actually go up.
Cavs Hit the Reset Button: I am not going to get into why the Cavs decided to dump veterans like Channing Frye, Iman Shumpert, Jae Crowder or Dwyane Wade. At the end of the day, the Cavs were an old team that had a lot of parts with name cache but they were no longer productive. Adding George Hill, Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance and Rodney Hood makes the Cavs a younger and more athletic team. As for their fantasy value, I think all four will get a boost playing with Lebron, especially Hill and Hood. Clarkson and Nance’s numbers might stay the same however because they may not play the same number of minutes.
I.T to L.A: Putting Isaiah Thomas‘ feelings aside about the trade to Los Angeles, I think this is a great move for him and his career. Thomas needs to be the first option in an offense. He didn’t fit in Cleveland because the offense didn’t run through him. If you own Thomas, expect a bump in production as gets more minutes and more touches. It remains to be seen if the Lakers buy him out. If you own him, you are hoping they don’t.
D-Wade back to Miami: You knew it was only a matter of time before Wade ended back in Miami. He was a fit with the Bulls last season but he was a horrible fit in Cleveland. Wade is no longer the player he once was but a return to Miami will rejuvenate his career and help a Heat team that has a litany of injuries in their backcourt. Is Wade worth picking up? Not in standard leagues. However he is worth adding in deeper leagues or the occasionally in DFS.
Suns Land Payton: The trade of Elfrid Payton to the Suns made no sense to me for the Magic or the Suns. Why would Orlando trade it’s starting point guard for a second round round pick? It just didn’t add up. As for the Suns, they already have three guards in their line up that play significant minutes. Why would you add another guard when there is already a log jam at the position? It makes no sense.
From a fantasy standpoint, Payton’s value takes a hit. He will play less minutes and will not score like he did in Orlando. Payton averaged 11.1 points per game this season with the Magic. His cross category value isn’t good enough to hold onto him.