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Trades To Consider During Early NBA Season
No NBA roster is perfect this time of year. Stick with us, and some will get a little bit closer to the ideal.
Hypothetically, of course.
This early in the 2015-16 season, it’s already easy to identify areas creating problems for certain organizations. Maybe there’s not enough depth at a certain position. Maybe there’s too much. Maybe chemistry concerns are rearing their ugly heads, despite the fact we’re only midway through November.
We can fix the issues—or at least try. Big trades don’t typically occur during the campaign’s opening salvo—no, the Mario Chalmers-to-Memphis deal doesn’t qualify as “big”—but they sometimes should. Tempting as it may be to let things play out, it’s often beneficial to get a jump-start and spend the majority of the season playing with an upgraded roster.
Here’s how it’s going to work: Yours truly, Adam Fromal, will put together two trades and include justification for each. These theorized moves will then be critiqued by Bleacher Report’s own Dan Favale, who will ultimately decide whether they’re feasible.
These deals may not happen for weeks or months—and that’s assuming any of them actually come to pass in real life at all. But we’re not here to wait on the rumor mill. We’re here to act now.
 Fromal’s Fake Trade No. 1
DeMarcus Cousins Boogies to Boston
Sacramento Kings Receive: 2016 first-round pick (via Brooklyn Nets), 2017 second-round pick (via Cleveland Cavaliers), 2018 first-round pick (via Brooklyn Nets, lottery-protected), David Lee
Boston Celtics Receive:Â DeMarcus Cousins
It’s time for both of these teams to make a move.
George Karl and DeMarcus Cousins are already butting heads, according to multiple reports compiled by ESPN.com news services, and keeping the two together in SacTown isn’t a tenable solution. There are simply too many volatile personalities in the Kings locker room, and that’s not going to change until management is willing to stick by a head coach and blow things up in an attempt to alter the culture of this struggling organization.
As for the Boston Celtics, they need a star. It’s no more complicated than that.
The roster general manager Danny Ainge assembled is loaded with above-average players, but there isn’t enough star power to truly compete in the Eastern Conference. The C’s need a stud capable of taking them over the top, and Cousins is a perfect fit.
Not only is he the borderline top-10 player this franchise desires, but his newfound ability to connect from the perimeter should allow him to thrive in a Brad Stevens scheme that loves nothing more than bigs capable of knocking down triples. Already this year, Cousins is making 3.8 three-point attempts per game and shooting 43.5 percent from beyond the arc.
Ainge isn’t technically allowed to comment on a trade for Boogie, but he might as well have during a Thursday appearance on Boston’s 98.5 The Sports Hub, via ESPN.com’s Chris Forsberg:
Listen, we consider all talented players, but what is the price? Who are the players that we have around to support? All of that is [discussed] when we have trade talks. I think everybody knows who you are talking about. The bottom line is I can’t talk about any players, but I can assure you that we’re familiar with every player in the league and every player’s background and their character. We consider it all.
Parting ways with this year’s unprotected first-round pick from the Brooklyn Nets—and a future first-rounder with more protections—would be tough to swallow, but this organization can’t keep collecting assets. Even if that selection ends up being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft, dealing it is made far more palatable by the possible presence of three other selections: Boston’s own, a first-rounder from the Dallas Mavericks (protected for the top seven picks) and one from the Minnesota Timberwolves (protected for the top 12).
Eventually, Boston will have to make some trades. This roster is already brimming over with an excessive number of rotation players, which is a problem. A good problem, sure, but it’s a problem nonetheless.
Adding four first-round rookies into the mix during the coming offseason simply isn’t feasible, and there’s no guarantee anyone in the upcoming draft class ends up being nearly as valuable as Cousins has already become.
Cousins to Boston is a nice sentiment. The two sides have been linked to one another since, well, forever. The Celtics need a star, and like Fromal says, Cousins is a patented megastar.
But this deal won’t even come close to getting it done.
Yes, that unprotected Brooklyn first-rounder is a tasty asset. The Nets could end up being the league’s worst team this season, giving the Kings a No. 1 pick around which to build. But we don’t yet know if it’ll be that high, and draft picks, no matter where they lie, are glorified crapshoots.
Besides, selling off Cousins for picks and an expiring contract would thrust the Kings into the rebuild they so obviously tried to avoid over the offseason, when they handed deals to Marco Belinelli, Kosta Koufos and Rajon Rondo.
If they’re going to pull the trigger on this, they’ll need one of Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk in addition to those picks. One of Marcus Smart or Avery Bradley may even need to be included as well, since it’s unlikely the Kings bring Rondo back next season after hitting the reset button.
Lee is of no value to them, either—not unless the Celtics are also absorbing the final two years and $27.6 million remaining on Rudy Gay’s deal.
Something along the lines of Lee, Smart, Sullinger and James Young, plus those two Brooklyn selections, for Cousins and Gay could work. Boston could also wait until the recently signed Jae Crowder, Jonas Jerebko and Amir Johnson are eligible to be moved so they can field an offer without Lee that wouldn’t involve taking back Gay.
Remember, superstars are kings (no pun intended) in the NBA, even ones such as Cousins with a short fuse and nonexistent playoff resume. He’s a proven commodity, and while the Celtics have the assets to get the Kings to talk turkey, they can’t be shy about using them.
Verdict: Boston has the means to put together a killer package—one that should even catch the attention of Sacramento. But this proposed deal, when left alone, seriously undervalues Cousins.
 Fromal’s Fake Trade No. 2
San Antonio Upgrades Behind Kawhi Leonard
 Toronto Raptors Receive: Kyle Anderson, Cleanthony Early
New York Knicks Receive: Ray McCallum
San Antonio Spurs Receive: James Johnson
As good as Kawhi Leonard may be, the San Antonio Spurs are putting a little too much pressure on him. It’s tough to consistently serve as a premier offensive threat while taking on such difficult defensive assignments, but that’s what the reigning Defensive Player of the Year has been tasked with doing night in and night out.
If the Spurs want to play him 33.4 minutes per game for the rest of the season, that’s fine. But it would help them out rather significantly if they had a legitimate backup, keeping him fresh for the inevitable postseason run and preventing the team from taking too large a step in the wrong direction when he does take a seat.
Right now, San Antonio has been squeezing production out of Rasual Butler’s 36-year-old frame and giving Kyle Anderson sparse opportunities for playing time, but that’s not enough. Adding a legitimate backup 3 who’s ready to make an instant impact would do wonders for their chances of rising to the top of the Western Conference, even if it’s not traditionally the Spurs way to acquire significant rotation pieces during the middle of a campaign.
James Johnson may not be a glamorous name, but he’d have that immediate impact. Though the versatile forward has found playing time unnecessarily difficult to come by during each of his two seasons with the Toronto Raptors, he’s a lockdown defender who can provide some athletic contributions on the more glamorous end.
“The undeniable fact is Johnson has the capability to do it, as long as the mental aspect of the game doesn’t get to him,” Doug Smith wrote for the Toronto Star before the start of the 2015-16 campaign. “He may never be an all-star—his jump shot needs improvement, the rogue nature of his play sometimes irks coaches and teammates, but being prepared in both aspects will help him.”
He might not have spent much time at the 3 since moving north of the border, but he’s still capable of serving as a key backup at both forward positions. It’s something the Spurs desperately need, despite the plethora of quality players littering the current roster.
As for the Raptors and New York Knicks, both gain players at positions of need by getting involved.
Toronto receives two replacements for Johnson, both of whom should be appealing to the up-and-coming squad because of their untapped talent. New York adds another point guard with upside, one who also has a bit of NBA experience and should help keep Jose Calderon on the bench with even more frequency.
Mr. Fromal has his head in the right place here. The Spurs could most certainly use someone other than Butler to spell Leonard.
James Johnson just isn’t that someone, and this trade falls short of meeting the needs of all involved.
Beginning with the Spurs, Johnson is better suited at the 4 than 3, so this really wouldn’t solve their backup small forward problem. He’s a freakish athlete but has never shot better than 33.3 percent from deep, which is why, per Basketball-Reference.com, most of his minutes have come at power forward and center over the course of his career.
Plus, if the Spurs are going to give up on Anderson, a first-round pick, they need more than a career reserve who has been used sparingly over the last seven years.
Anderson isn’t used much himself now, but he dominated the Las Vegas Summer League and, as someone who can play as a point forward, he could become super important, super soon. Boris Diaw is 33 with a non-guaranteed salary for next season, David West is 35 and Tim Duncan, 39, could retire whenever. The Spurs may find that they need Anderson to step in and soak up playing time at the 4, with LaMarcus Aldridge at 5, as early as next season.
Meanwhile, there’s almost no need for the Raptors to take on Early and Anderson. They’re having enough trouble finding Johnson playing time. What are they going to do with two more unproven players, when they’re already shelling out small forward and power forward minutes to Anthony Bennett (sometimes), DeMarre Carroll, Patrick Patterson and Luis Scola? Employing Early would also further eat into Bruno Caboclo’s development.
Similar issues arise from the Knicks’ side. They’ve been inclined to trot out Lance Thomas, Derrick Williams and Sasha Vujacic before Early. But they need Early as emergency insurance at the 3, behind Carmelo Anthony, more than they need McCallum, who would only ride the bench or steal minutes that should be going to Langston Galloway and Jerian Grant.
And, let’s face it, Jose Calderon is doing enough of the latter.
Verdict: It’s difficult to justify this deal for any of the three teams. And when that’s the case, the suggested trade, framework and all, needs to be reworked.
 Adam Fromal/Bleacher Report
