Crazy T'Wolves Trade Idea

On a recent podcast, the Sports Guys suggested that Minnesota should play the "Bill Belichek" trade-down-forever game. This happens to be the perfect draft to try something like this in the NBA. What if they made the following four trades?

1. Minn trades #2 to Utah for #3+#12. Utah would love to get Derrick Williams, and would probably not like to get any younger with that extra #12 pick. Maybe Minny could toss in Martel Webster or a second rounder to sweeten the pot.

2. Minn trades #3 and Anthony Randolph to Washington for #6+#18. Washington can pick up Enes Canter pair with Javale McGee up front, plus they pick up a mercurial athlete/headcase/talent.

3. Minn trades #6 to Charlotte for #9+#19. MJ is desperate to add an impact player, and could score Kemba or maybe even Knight at #6.

4. Minn trades #20 to Chicago for #28's, #30, and #44. Chicago doesn't want all of these picks, they'd probably be thrilled to pawn them off to move up.

Minnesota ends up with: #9, #12, #18, #19, #28, #30, #44. For those keeping score at home, that's turning 2 picks into SEVEN, four of them in the top 20.

Here's how they play their hand:

#9: Target the starting shooting guard spot. Klay Thompson or Alec Burks (or both) will be available. I like Thompson, he can catch Rubio passes all day and knock em in from deep. He can start right away at the two guard and Wes Johnson can play sixth man on the wings.

#12: Aim for Valanciunas. He's a top-5(10?) talent who, in a year or two, would be a great fit next to Love. Or a replacement if he leaves.

#18 and #19

With one pick, go after a center. Vucevic is probably the only legit guy on the board at this point, but he's an upgrade over Darko. With another pick, go after a backup for Kevin Love. Let's say they pick Markieff Morris.

#28, #30, #44

Having fun yet? With three more picks, they should go heavy on internationals. Davis Bertans should be around at #28 and Bojan Bogdanovic and Giorgi Shermadini at #30 & #44 respectively.

Points: Rubio, Flynn

Wings: Beasley, Klay Thompson, Wes Johnson

Bigs: Love, Markieff Morris, Vucevic, Darko

Overseas: Valanciunas, Bertans, Bogdanovic, Shermadini.

Let's be clear: This team still sucks. All they have done is pick up three rotation guys and four players on the other side of the Atlantic. But they could score a TON of points and be exciting out of the gate and they would have something no other NBA teams: a semi-legit farm system. They might even be able to package their prospects later to make a baseball-style trade (star for prospects + money).

Tier 5, Chicago's Board

Today, Chad Ford at ESPN published a very nice Tier article (link here). While there are some differences between his and mine, I give him the benefit of the doubt. Especially when I consider that he actually has inside info to go on and not just personal opinion.

His first five tiers include 28 players, meaning that the Chicago Bulls (selecting #28 & #30 overall) have a 100% chance of getting at worst one top-five Tier player, and very possibly one more should someone slip. Here is my take on how the thirteen players in tier 5 rank for Chicago's needs:

1. Marshon Brooks

The 6'5" shooting guard from Providence might end up being drafted in the lottery. That shouldn't be a huge surprise, given that he is an elite athlete with great size for his position and that he was the second leading scorer in college hoops last year. The biggest knock on him is his age (22), which would actually be a plus for the Bulls, who are solidly in "win now" mode. This is the type of player Chicago would love to add to their backcourt. He is a solid if unspectacular outside shooter, but he draws lots of contact: in college, he more foul shots than 3pt-ers. Basically, there is very little chance he slides all the way down to #28. The Bulls will have to trade up to try and get him. Note here: ESPN's John Hollinger's Draft Rater is highly skeptical of Brooks, attributing his high scoring to playing a high volume of minutes against poor competition.

2. Donatas Motiejunas

Once considered a top-10 pick, the 7-foot forward has slipped over the past six months. It's mostly due to the fact that the other Euro forwards in this draft are better athletes. But 7-footers who can shoot are rare. Even if he's more Bargnani than Nowitzki, he'd be a bargain so late in the draft.

3. Jordan Hamilton

He's a very talented scorer, finding points all over the floor. This is another player who's number one skill is finding his own shot, something the Bulls needed in the playoffs against Miami.

4. Tobias Harris

He's young, deft with the ball, and smart at both ends. Harris is definitely a project, one of the youngest players in this year's draft (turns 19 on July 15), but he's got the type of playmaking skills the Bulls want. He is a hybrid forward, so Coach Thibs would probably have some trouble finding minutes for him in the beginning, but if he fell to #28 he'd be to good a prospect to pass up.

5. Davis Bertans

This is the first player on this list who is likely to be on the board when the Bulls select. He's a bit of a mystery, another 7-foot European forward with outside shooting prowess. Beyond that? Who really knows? The reason I have him so high is that there are rumors going around that the Spurs plan to take him at #29, and they have a quite a history of finding hidden gems at the end of the first round (Manu, Parker, and George Hill chief among them). It's like cheating off the smart kids paper, except it's ok!

6. Tyler Honeycutt

This one's personal. I live within a mile of Pauley Pavilion, and have been a big UCLA fan since I started working there in 2004. I've been lucky enough to see coach Howland navigate the team to three Final Fours and get previews of some terrific NBA players. Kevin Love, Russel Westbrook, Aron Afflalo, Jordan Farmar, Darren Collison, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Jrue Holiday... all of these guys (with the exception of Holiday, who was rather unremarkable in his one season) looked like great prospects to me. For the most part, they have been way above the curve as pros. Though he was injured a few times in his two seasons for the Bruins, Honeycutt passed the eye test in a major way. His basketball IQ is phenomenal, which helps him do the little things well: passing, boxing out, etc. He also has good athleticism and shooting range. I think he could be a great addition to the Bulls, logging minutes at both wing spots off the bench or starting at shooting guard.

7. Nikola Mirotic

If you can't tell, I think the Bull's best option is to pick a young European and let him play overseas for a couple years. If he pans out, you get an impact player on a rookie salary. If he flat out stinks, you aren't stuck with his salary against your cap. Mirotic appears to be in the classic finesse forward mold and will be in the Euroleague for at least one or two more years. If he's half the player Toni Kucoc was, this would be a good pick.

8. Kenneth Faried

This guy is a rebounding monster. He dragged a pretty bad team to the NCAA tournament and helped them upset Louisville in the first round. That's impressive when a player does it offensively, but he was doing it purely on the glass. It was crazy fun to see rebounding used as a weapon, much like Rodman used to do.

Here the remaining players in this tier:

Josh Selby (PG)

Reggie Jackson (PG)

Darius Morris (PG)

Nikola Vucevic (F)

Markeiff Morris (F)

All three poing guards on that list are unlikely to be better than CJ Watson, so I don't see the appeal of drafting any of them. Vucevic has some potential as a stretch four, but I don't see giving him minutes over Taj. Markeiff Morris is similar in many ways to James Johnson, a player the Bulls had no use for.

Here are seven players I would rather the Bulls pick, with a quick rationale:

Malcolm Lee (defense, UCLA pedigree); Nolan Smith (defense, Duke pedigree); Jeremy Tyler (freak athlete, lottery talent?); Justin Harper (size, outside shooting); Chandler Parsons (versatility, team focused); Norris Cole (all-around talent, good trade chip?); Jon Leuer (size, shooting, Omer's broken leg)