Houston Rockets trade: Donatas Motiejunas and Marcus Thornton
Detroit Pistons trade: Joel Anthony and top 8 protected 1st round draft pick
Trade Analysis: It is probably too early to say that the Rockets are giving up on this season. After all, Motiejunas has barely played due to injuries and Thornton is merely an alright volume bench scorer. Nevertheless, giving up two players for a guy who was immediately flipped elsewhere and a 1st rounder indicates they have no plans to contend this season. However, the 1st round pick doesn't have too many protections, and odds are that they get a mid teens pick this season. That is a nice haul for what they gave up. The Pistons just continue adding depth to their bench, and while a 1st round pick is a steep price to pay, Motiejunas is a restricted free agent this offseason. This means that if Detroit likes what they see from him, they should be able to retain his services. Thornton will provide scoring off the bench to replace that of Brandon Jennings and insurance for the oft-injured Jodie Meeks. Great trade for Houston, remains to be seen for Detroit.
Cleveland Cavaliers get: Channing Frye
Portland Trailblazers get: Anderson Varejao, 2018 1st round draft pick
Orlando Magic get: Jared Cunningham, 2nd round draft pick
Trade Analysis: The Cavaliers get the only real NBA player in this deal: Frye is no stud, and his contract is pretty bad, but he is a solid big man rotation player, and will absorb all the minutes that James Jones and even Richard Jefferson have received at the stretch 4 so far. If Mozgov continues to struggle, Frye might even get some minutes as a center alongside Tristan Thompson or Kevin Love. The Trailblazers are going to waive or stretch Varejao, but taking on his salary for next year netted them a valuable 2018 first round pick. That far in the future, the Cavs may not be the top team they are today, and the pick could be quite valuable. The Magic continue to clear space for this summer's free agency and get a 2nd round pick in the bargain. While Frye was well liked and still had some value, getting out from his contract was a nice move by them. This is a common theme of today's deals, but I really think all the teams came out well here.
Phoenix Suns trade: Markieff Morris
Washington Wizards trade: Kris Humprhies, DaJuan Blair, top 9 protected 2016 1st round pick
Trade Analysis: This is probably the biggest gamble anyone made at the deadline. Morris has a ton of talent. He is also facing felony charges and was a locker room dissonant for much of this year undermining ex-coach Jeff Hornacek. Now that he is away from the Suns and on a "playoff contending team", he might be happier and play harder. Markieff is without question a great fit as a stretch 4 on the Wizards: John Wall will find him whenever he is open and Bradley Beal will receive most of the defense's attention from deep. If this pays off the Wizards should be much improved: Humphries and Blair weren't providing anything, and this pushes Jared Dudley back to a more manageable bench role. The downside could be very bad if Morris does act up or continues to shoot badly however. The 1st round pick is a lot to give up, but it is top 9 protected and this is an awful draft class. Since Markieff is signed for 3 years at just 8 million per year after this, his deal is super affordable and easy to trade in the future if need be. As for the Suns, they get rid of a malcontent, add two guys who can soak up minutes while on shorter contracts, and will most likely receive a pick anywhere from 11 to 17. Very nice indeed.
Denver Nuggets trade: Randy Foye
Oklahoma City Thunder trade: DJ Augustin, Steve Novak, and two 2nd round draft picks
Trade Analysis: Randy Foye has had a down year but is one of the most respected and well liked locker room guys around the league, and his track record of shooting predicts a bounce back at some point. The Thunder always need more shooting around the Westbrook-Durant/Westbrook-Ibaka pick and rolls, and Foye provides that. He also has some ball handling ability and tries on defense. Augustin and Novak weren't getting minutes, and for a team trying to win it all this year, two low 2nd rounders are expendable. It is a lot to give up for a player who hasn't been good this year, but (tip to David Aldridge) the Thunder also save 9.8 million dollars in salary and luxury taxes, which is always important to OKC. The Nuggets are doing this entirely for the picks, which are not great but still assets that could be packaged for something bigger. Augustin and Novak probably won't see minutes with them either.
Miami Heat trade: Jarnell Stokes and cash
New Orleans Pelicans trade: highly protected 2nd round draft pick
Trade Analysis: The Heat continue to save money and try to closer to the luxury tax line. This will be followed up by another move to get them fully under it. New Orleans gives up virtually nothing and receives a young player with limited minutes played to check out in this lost season of theirs.
Miami Heat trade: Brian Roberts and 2nd round draft pick
Portland Trailblazers trade: Nothing
Trade Analysis: And here it is. As I predicted above, the Heat made another small move and are now under the luxury tax. The Blazers pick up another pick and get a solid 3rd string guard.
Atlanta Hawks trade: Shelvin Mack
Utah Jazz trade: 2nd round pick
Trade Analysis: Atlanta had no more use for Mack with the continued improvement of Dennis Schroeder. Shelvin has barely played this season after contributing a decent amount to the Hawks the previous two years. Utah gives up a 2nd rounder but gains a steady 3rd point guard who can definitely play in the rotation for a while if need be. This could be a sign they are still planning on trading Trey Burke. I like it for the Jazz, as Mack has been good in the past.
Atlanta Hawks trade: Justin Holiday, 2nd round draft pick
Chicago Bulls trade: Kirk Hinrich
The Bulls are doing this to save some money. I don't really get why the Hawks did this trade, since Hinrich has been just about unplayable for a couple years and Mack is better than him. Holiday might get some rotation minutes on the Bulls if Snell and McDermott keep playing as badly as they have been.
Houston Rockets trade: Joel Anthony, 2nd round draft pick
Philadelphia 76ers trade: Nothing
Just another quick move to save the Rockets some money.
Does Any of this Matter to the Clippers?
Yeah, kind of. The Jazz and Thunder made small moves to upgrade for the playoffs, and the Jazz are a potential 1st round opponent while the Thunder are a possible rival in the later rounds. The Rockets also got weaker, pushing them a bit further out of contention, though they could still make the playoffs easily with the roster they have today. The Clippers swap with Memphis should hurt their overall roster this season as well, adding to the blow of losing Gasol and trading Courtney Lee. The Suns unloading Markieff Morris took away one of their few remaining legit NBA players, making them an even easier opponent.