Trade Idea: Bradley to OKC

[Megalodon]

BOS sends: Bradley
OKC sends: Adams, Lamb, Novak

For us the trade is twofold - we get a real defensive center and gamble on Lamb. If Lamb breaks out, then we get a decently sized shooting guard. Novak is a cost of making a deal - need to make salaries work and provide additional incentive for OKC.

For OKC, they finally get they missing defensive spot up shooter to pair with Durant and Westbrook. Bradley is also cost-controlled, and is on a very cheap contract. In addition, they get rid of Novak (does not play) and Lamb (barely ever plays) thus freeing up both roster spots and playing time. More importantly, for Thunder this trade saves on luxury tax which they get into after extending Kanter. They do not really have a use for him anymore with Kanter there, and a lot of cost-controlled back up bigs such as McGary and Collison.

[Csfan1984]

Not happening. But in fairness I'd do AB and TPE for Ibaka. Which also is not happening.....

[mahcus smaht]

How's Adams career gone?

I know there was a lot of really positive energy/excitement at the beginning of the year but from the looks of it that excitement died down a lot this year.

I sort of lost track of him can anyone fill me in?

Going off what I recall (Adams could be a starting 2way center with a defensive focus) id do the deal. However it's not really wise for me to make a comment having admittedly not followed up on the guy for a year or so

[crimson_stallion]

Not happening. But in fairness I'd do AB and TPE for Ibaka. Which also is not happening.....

Cannot combine a player with a TPE, unfortuantely.  You can only combined TPE with Draft picks and cash.

At least that's my understanding.

I'd definitely love to get Ibaka, not really that high on Adams.  Just another JaVale McGee.

[LooseCannon]

They do not really have a use for him anymore with Kanter there, and a lot of cost-controlled back up bigs such as McGary and Collison.

I disagree.  If they trade Adams, who do the Thunder use if they need a defensive-minded center?  I think they should start Adams and Ibaka and have Kanter come off the bench.

[LooseCannon]

How's Adams career gone?

I know there was a lot of really positive energy/excitement at the beginning of the year but from the looks of it that excitement died down a lot this year.

I sort of lost track of him can anyone fill me in?

Going off what I recall (Adams could be a starting 2way center with a defensive focus) id do the deal. However it's not really wise for me to make a comment having admittedly not followed up on the guy for a year or so

Other than taking more shots and making a higher percentage of them while fouling at a lower rate, his per36 numbers were much identical to his rookie season, despite having an expanded role in which he started 67 of 70 games.  He didn't get better and he didn't get worse.

[Csfan1984]

Not happening. But in fairness I'd do AB and TPE for Ibaka. Which also is not happening.....

Cannot combine a player with a TPE, unfortuantely.  You can only combined TPE with Draft picks and cash.

At least that's my understanding.

I'd definitely love to get Ibaka, not really that high on Adams.  Just another JaVale McGee.

You do it Rondo trade style. Trade TPE and a 2nd* for Ibaka. Then OKC trades part of TPE and a 2nd back for AB. So they end up with a TPE and AB for Ibaka.

[Endless Paradise]

The Thunder ended the season with one of the five worst defenses in the league in no small part due to Ibaka's absence, yet people here still keep suggesting trades that get rid of their only other defensive big man (that is, their only defensive big man who isn't a soon-to-be 35-year-old Nick Collison who should not be seeing any serious minutes for a contending team in the West). It's not happening; they're not going to go into the season riding on Ibaka alone and expecting him to anchor their defense without any kind of help.

The fact that Ibaka's had some recent injury issues (calf strain in last year's playoffs, knee surgery this year) makes it even less logical to trade Adams away. No, Kanter doesn't make Adams expendable, unless you're under the impression that the statistical worst defensive center in the league can somehow fill in for a guy who's been a plus-defender for his two years in the league. It's quite literally akin to saying that having Al Jefferson on your team would make DeAndre Jordan on a rookie deal playing for that same team expendable.

At best, OKC should explore trading their draft pick for help; otherwise, they ought to ride the season out since all they really need is health for next season. The shooting guard spot isn't in such need of an improvement that they should be sacrificing interior defense, ESPECIALLY since they have Adams on a rookie deal for another two years. Memphis has managed to work around Tony Allen not being able to shoot; I'm not going to be convinced that an OKC team with significantly higher top-level talent can't similarly make do with a platoon of Roberson for defense/Morrow for offense/Waiters for crazy.

[Boris Badenov]

How's Adams career gone?

I know there was a lot of really positive energy/excitement at the beginning of the year but from the looks of it that excitement died down a lot this year.

I sort of lost track of him can anyone fill me in?

Going off what I recall (Adams could be a starting 2way center with a defensive focus) id do the deal. However it's not really wise for me to make a comment having admittedly not followed up on the guy for a year or so

Other than taking more shots and making a higher percentage of them while fouling at a lower rate, his per36 numbers were much identical to his rookie season, despite having an expanded role in which he started 67 of 70 games.  He didn't get better and he didn't get worse.

I think the lower foul rate is pretty important actually. Staying on the floor is often the biggest obstacle for young big guys and Adams went from 6.1 per-36 to 4.5. If he keeps it up he'll become significantly more useful.

[saltlover]

Not happening. But in fairness I'd do AB and TPE for Ibaka. Which also is not happening.....

Cannot combine a player with a TPE, unfortuantely.  You can only combined TPE with Draft picks and cash.

At least that's my understanding.

I'd definitely love to get Ibaka, not really that high on Adams.  Just another JaVale McGee.

You do it Rondo trade style. Trade TPE and a 2nd* for Ibaka. Then OKC trades part of TPE and a 2nd back for AB. So they end up with a TPE and AB for Ibaka.

You're sort of right in the general idea, but the mechanics are different.  The rule with trades is that each tea has to be able to structure a trade so that it works on their end, but the two teams do not have to structure it the same.  For OKC, it would be one trade -- Ibaka for AB.  For the Celtics it would be two trades.  One would be Ibaka fitting under the TPE (and for a pick or Colton Iverson, because they have to get something), and the second would be AB to OKC, with the C's earning a trade exception for AB.  It's not that OKC creates an exception by trading Ibaka and then uses that exception to get Bradley -- that would not be legal.

Also, in case someone misses the original comment, no one here thinks AB for Ibaka would be at all reasonable.

[LGC88]

... and no one here thinks OKC will have a reason to trade Ibaka either.

[ThePoeticWolf]

BOS sends: Bradley
OKC sends: Adams, Lamb, Novak

For us the trade is twofold - we get a real defensive center and gamble on Lamb. If Lamb breaks out, then we get a decently sized shooting guard. Novak is a cost of making a deal - need to make salaries work and provide additional incentive for OKC.

For OKC, they finally get they missing defensive spot up shooter to pair with Durant and Westbrook. Bradley is also cost-controlled, and is on a very cheap contract. In addition, they get rid of Novak (does not play) and Lamb (barely ever plays) thus freeing up both roster spots and playing time. More importantly, for Thunder this trade saves on luxury tax which they get into after extending Kanter. They do not really have a use for him anymore with Kanter there, and a lot of cost-controlled back up bigs such as McGary and Collison.

Personally I think this is a horrible idea.  I seriously don't get why everyone is saying trade Bradley.  He's a good player, specially for his talents and price tag we have him for.