0 of 12
During the NBA's season of fervent rumors and breathless speculation—well, at least the trade-deadline portion of the 24/7/365 sport's calendar—you'll inevitably see your favorite team linked to a handful of different potential acquisitions.
A few should inspire instant feelings of panic. They'll make you want to call the general manager and plead for him to see reason. They'll inspire you to break the glass case and push the big red button.
They're just bad fits.
These teams and players haven't necessarily been linked by official rumors with substantiated sources. But the players are likely all available, and the teams could be tempted into thinking they'd be beneficial acquisitions.
They wouldn't be.
Stay away. Stay far away.
1 of 12
Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors pace the NBA in offensive rating by a significant margin and sit sixth in defensive rating. Their starting lineup is brimming over with star power, and their bench is a cohesive unit with talent and upside at every position.
Plus, head coach Steve Kerr and the culture of this organization have proved capable of making just about anyone work in their schemes. If you can think of a single player who'd wreck the Warriors' championship dreams upon landing in Golden State, please advise.
Houston Rockets
Where exactly do the Houston Rockets need to improve?
Chris Paul, James Harden, Trevor Ariza, Ryan Anderson and Clint Capela make for one helluva starting lineup, and they have top-tier backups like Eric Gordon and PJ Tucker. This is a deep team nearly devoid of exploitable weaknesses, and general manager Daryl Morey has already stated this could become the rare trade season in which he sits back and watches.
The Rockets have made a swap between the start of January and the trade deadline every year since 2003. But as Morey told Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: "I don't expect to do much. There's outside-the-rotation stuff potentially. We're always looking for something to upgrade us. I would guess the odds of us doing nothing are much higher than normal."
2 of 12
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves are on the verge of earning "contender" status in the Western Conference, as they're currently trailing only the Warriors, Rockets and San Antonio Spurs. They could make a wide variety of moves that would lead to future improvement, since they could use more defensive pieces or an explosive bench guard such as Lou Williams.
But the T-Wolves find themselves in an interesting spot.
They could go after big-name players at virtually any position. If a star becomes available and they can somehow acquire him, they should pull the trigger. They also need more bench pieces across the board, as finding go-to members of the second unit alongside Jamal Crawford would force head coach Tom Thibodeau to give his starters some much-needed rest.
Basically, everyone can work. Even if the 'Wolves wind up serving as buyers before the deadline, there's no name that should inspire panic among the fanbase.
San Antonio Spurs
See: Popovich, Gregg.
The San Antonio Spurs have teased high-quality production out of Rudy Gay when he's healthy. They've managed to overcome Pau Gasol's defensive deficiencies by building schemes that limit the need for any mobility from him. They've made LaMarcus Aldridge a featured piece and an All-Star shortly after he'd become so disgruntled that he requested a trade.
If any basketball player couldn't work in San Antonio, please alert the authorities. He shouldn't be in the NBA.
3 of 12
For the last few years, rebounding has been the Boston Celtics' Achilles' heel. Despite all the good Al Horford provides on both ends of the floor, his lackluster work on the boards is a distinct weakness, as it forces the C's to eschew some second-chance opportunities and allow the opposition to crash the offensive glass.
That's OK.
No team is perfect, and this weakness is easy to cover up through sheer excellence in other areas. Plus, the presence of Aron Baynes and motivated play from all smaller members of the Beantown roster has helped mitigate the ill effects of boasting a non-traditional center. The Celtics still rank No. 22 in offensive rebounding percentage (directly behind the Golden State Warriors), and they've climbed all the way to No. 12 in the defensive counterpart.
Could those numbers be better? Of course. The Celtics just shouldn't feel the need to address them by acquiring a rebounding specialist such as Tristan Thompson.
If Boston can land a player who provides a glass-eating boost without detracting from its efforts in other areas, it should pursue him without hesitation. But while head coach Brad Stevens could figure out how to mitigate the negatives associated with Thompson's spacing limitations, that's an unnecessary and detrimental challenge.
Thompson likely would be unplayable alongside Baynes, and his playing style doesn't fit with the Celtics' preferred schemes in 2017-18. They should stay far away, even if Cleveland makes him available for cheap in an attempt to rejigger their entire roster composition.
4 of 12
The Cleveland Cavaliers are going to be tempted into doing something dramatic at the deadline.
They trail the Boston Celtics in the hunt for the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed by a significant margin, Kevin Love has a fractured hand and could miss 6-8 weeks, and Cleveland is trending in the wrong direction. Not only does their season-long net rating (0.1) place them behind 14 of the NBA's 30 organizations, but they sit at No. 28 since the start of January. With a minus-6.5 net rating during the first month of 2018, they've proved superior to only the Brooklyn Nets (minus-6.6) and Phoenix Suns (minus-10.9).
The rotation has fundamental issues. It's different than previous iterations that could flip a switch during the playoffs, given the widespread defensive malfeasance, the complete lack of on-court chemistry and the icky feelings that currently seem to pervade the franchise from top to bottom.
The Cavs could be coaxed into parting with their No. 1 future asset—the Brooklyn Nets' unprotected 2018 first-round pick.
They shouldn't deal it, given the looming specter of LeBron James' upcoming free agency and the ever-increasing feeling he'll be looking to jump ship and escape the turmoil currently plaguing Northeast Ohio. They especially shouldn't part with it for Marc Gasol, who is finally showing his age for the Memphis Grizzlies.
Gasol might be able to jumpstart Cleveland's defense, injecting some effort into the rest of the Cavs with his impressive knack for positioning and ceaseless desire to assert himself as a rim protector. But he's a 33-year-old center having his least valuable season in quite some time, to the point that he objectively ranked behind seven other players when we looked at the top contributors likely to become available heading into this year's deadline.
Making a move for the Memphis Grizzlies big would be a shortsighted disaster.
5 of 12
Lou Williams is having a phenomenal, All-Star-caliber season, even if he hasn't been selected to represent the Western Conference in the midseason festivities (much to his own chagrin). But that doesn't mean the Denver Nuggets, who may be in the market for ball-handling talent, should go after him.
The Philadelphia 76ers should pursue Williams. The Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors could be interesting landing spots. He'd be fascinating on the Minnesota Timberwolves or Oklahoma City Thunder.
But he'd be a poor fit in the Mile High City.
Whichever team goes after the high-scoring guard needs to be capable of allocating massive numbers of possessions to his pick-and-roll proclivities, allowing him autonomy as he darts around screens and anticipates ICE responses. Should the Los Angeles Clippers move him in the wake of their blockbuster Blake Griffin trade, his new team also needs to be capable of covering up his defensive deficiencies.
The Nuggets can do neither of those tasks.
Thanks to the ball-handling and distributing excellence of Nikola Jokic, Denver runs unorthodox offensive schemes that rely on the creation abilities of its bigs. Dribble-handoffs and kick-outs from the post are the staples, and just 13.9 percent of the Nuggets' possessions feature a pick-and-roll ball-handler—the fifth-fewest throughout the league. Isolation isn't quite as anathema to their endeavors, but they still aren't inclined to clear out and give guards space too frequently.
Couple that with Denver's No. 22 placement in defensive rating—No. 18 since the start of January!—and it becomes increasingly clear the Nuggets aren't the right home for Williams. They should go after George Hill or Tyreke Evans if they covet another ball-handling guard, but paying the necessary ransom for Williams would be ill-advised.
6 of 12
The Detroit Pistons have been one of the league's most accurate three-point-shooting bunches in 2017-18, marking a drastic departure from their previous reputation as a squad starved for marksmanship. Only three teams—the Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings and Portland Trail Blazers—have been more accurate to date, although 17 have fired away more frequently.
Now, that status could be in jeopardy.
Gone in Monday night's blockbuster deal are Avery Bradley, Tobias Harris and Boban Marjanovic, who combined to take 10.6 triples per game and connected at a cumulative 39.8 percent clip. Coming back are Blake Griffin, Willie Reed and Brice Johnson, whose numbers stand at 5.8 and 34.2 percent, respectively.
That's over a third of Detroit's overall deep attempts heading out the door, as well as arguably the two best shooters—Anthony Tolliver, Reggie Bullock and Luke Kennard are the only other candidates, but they don't have the same level of
0 Response to "Stay Away! 1 Target Every Buyer Should Avoid at NBA Trade Deadline - Bleacher Report"
Post a Comment