NBA trade deadline recap and buyout market preview with Michael Scotto and Yossi Gozlan
On the Locker Room app, HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto and Yossi Gozlan recap the biggest NBA trade deadline moves including the Bulls acquiring All-Star Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon and JaVale McGee heading to the Nuggets, Victor Oladipo joining the Miami Heat, Norman Powell going to the Trail Blazers, and the Celtics trading for Evan Fournier. Plus, a preview of the buyout market for Andre Drummond, LaMarcus Aldridge, and more. Click this link to download the Locker Room app for future HoopsHype conversations with fans. Listen to the podcast above or check out some snippets of the conversation in a transcribed version below.
0:35 Thoughts on the Bulls trading for Nikola Vucevic
Scotto: To me, I thought that was a really good move for the Bulls. With Zach LaVine getting ready in the near future to come up on free agency, it’s been important for him internally to be a part of a winning organization. Lauri Markkanen and his camp were far apart on extension talks with Chicago during the earlier part of the season when they had the timeframe when they could sign him. When Vucevic was being talked about to the Bulls, some people were wondering if Markkanen would be a part of that deal instead of Wendell Carter Jr. It’s going to be an interesting forecast for his restricted free agency this summer. Gozlan: The Bulls could re-sign Markkanen. They could also decide to have cap space this summer. Not too much. They could get something a little over $20 million but that would require them letting Markkanen go, and they’d have to cut or trade Thaddeus Young and Tomas Satoransky. MORE: The pick-and-roll with Nikola Vucevic and Zach LaVine will be glorious
6:35 Thoughts on the Nuggets trading for Aaron Gordon and JaVale McGee
Scotto: RJ Hampton is a young guy that we had on the HoopsHype podcast who I think has a bright future in the league and is going to get a chance to shine in Orlando at that guard position with Markelle Fultz. MORE: One sneaky reason JaVale McGee was an excellent pickup for Nuggets MORE: NBA trade deadline: Projected rotation for Nuggets with Aaron Gordon
12:50 Rockets fallout from the Victor Oladipo trade to the Heat
Scotto: No matter what executive you talk to around the league once the dust settled I’d ask some executives what they thought and what stuck out, and the first one was always, “Why didn’t the Rockets keep Caris LeVert?” Gozlan: The Heat basically did their free agency today trading for Oladipo, they got Nemanja Bjelica. They get to try out Oladipo early. Assuming Oladipo and Bjelica play well and want to return, they don’t need cap space. They’ll just re-sign those guys. One advantage of that is then they can use the full mid-level exception instead of the room mid-level exception.
16:50 What the Blazers trading Gary Trent Jr. and Rodney Hood to the Raptors for Norman Powell means for free agency
Gozlan: For Toronto, they didn't want to pay Powell, which is why they traded him. They’re going to have to pay Trent if they’re going to keep him. What’s interesting about him is he has a very low cap hold because he’s on a minimum contract. They’re going to have a bunch of cap space of $20-25 million. They could spend all that and then go over to re-sign Trent.
20:50 Evan Fournier to the Celtics
23:00 JJ Redick to the Mavericks
25:00 Rajon Rondo to the Clippers and Lou Williams to the Hawks
28:00 George Hill to the 76ers
29:30 Buyout market for Andre Drummond and LaMarcus Aldridge
Gozlan on Drummond: If the Knicks are going to offer him a contract right now, they can offer him up to four years, and they’ve got about $13.5 in cap space, so they can give him up to that much this season if they wanted. MORE: NBA buyout season begins: Best players who could be available
38:00 Otto Porter’s buyout market
40:00 Avery Bradley as a potential buyout candidate
43:30 Spencer Dinwiddie not getting traded
45:30 Kyle Lowry staying with the Raptors and his free agency future
You can follow Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) and Yossi Gozlan (@YossiGozlan) on Twitter.
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