There has been plenty of movement in the NBA this offseason. With such a limited number of teams having cap space, executing trades was the only way some of them could make upgrades to the roster. Some teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves and Atlanta Hawks took major swings to acquire All-Star talents, including Rudy Gobert from the Utah Jazz and Dejounte Murray from the San Antonio Spurs.
Just below All-Star performers such as Jerami Grant of the Detroit Pistons and Christian Wood of the Houston Rockets were traded to the Portland Trail Blazers and Dallas Mavericks respectively. Jalen Brunson, the second-best player on the Western Conference runner-up Mavericks, departed and signed a deal with the New York Knicks as a free agent.
Again, we did see two All-Stars on the move this offseason as well, as Dejounte Murray was traded by the San Antonio Spurs to the Atlanta Hawks. Rudy Gobert was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves as the Utah Jazz are entering a rebuild as well.
Both trades were focused on acquiring as many draft picks as possible as the Spurs landed three unprotected picks and a pick swap. Utah landed three unprotected first-rounders, a top-five protected first-round pick and one swap.
LATEST NBA NEWS AND TRADE RUMORS: Will Minnesota Timberwolves Regret Pursuing Rudy Gobert Over Atlanta Hawks’ Dejounte Murray?
That kind of haul has reset the trade market. With two more All-Stars potential on the move in Kevin Durant and Mitchell Robinson, their teams are looking for gigantic hauls as well. Some executives around the league believe these moves are going beyond teams taking risks.
“But there is always risk, no matter how great the players involved. Several front-office executives around the league used a word beyond “risk” to describe the recent Atlanta and Minnesota deals for Dejounte Murray and Rudy Gobert respectively: reckless. Even Durant is 34, and any team that acquires him will slice away a big part of its roster doing so. If it ends up being the Phoenix Suns — less likely after they matched the Indiana Pacers’ offer sheet for Deandre Ayton on Thursday — any unprotected Phoenix picks will have value given Durant is 34 and Chris Paul 37.”
LATEST NBA NEWS AND TRADE RUMORS: Will Minnesota Timberwolves Regret Pursuing Rudy Gobert Over Atlanta Hawks’ Dejounte Murray?
Front office personnel overseeing rosters with players that could fetch a price that high are probably smiling ear to ear. People negotiating to try to acquire such talents likely aren’t as thrilled as the price continues to go up.
Utah is reportedly looking for at least six first-round picks and all of the young players that the Knicks have to offer such as Immanuel Quickley, Obi Toppin, Quentin Grimes and Deuce McBride. Before acquiring Gobert, the Nets sent a proposal to the Timberwolves asking for Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards and multiple draft picks.
LATEST NBA NEWS AND TRADE RUMORS: Will Minnesota Timberwolves Regret Pursuing Rudy Gobert Over Atlanta Hawks’ Dejounte Murray?
Those are prices no one is going to reach, so they will have to come down a little bit on their asking prices, but all it takes is for one team to get desperate enough and a deal can be reached. They are looking for historic packages and after what Murray and Gobert went for, they will hold out as long as they can until that price is met.
