I'm going full Bleacher Report/Blazers Edge with this. What's the best package for Napier in terms of likeliness it could happen, as well as a good deal for both/all teams involved? 1.) BAZZ to IND IND Gets: Shabazz Napier, 2019 MIN/LAL 2nd (~38th?) POR Gets: Glen Robinson III, 2018 IND 1st (~20th) IND Does It Because: They get Napier, who would immediately be their starting PG, as he's having a better season than Collison and Joseph (who are good bench guards) and is a piece for the future. The likely early 2nd in 2019 makes their 2018 1st easier to part with. POR Does It Because: They're able to add another 1st for the upcoming draft, and Glen Robinson is a Harkless-style acquisition with more offensive upside. 2.) BAZZ to UTAH UTA Gets: Shabazz Napier, Ed Davis, Jake Layman POR Gets: Thabo Sefelosha, Raul Neto, Right to Swap 2018 1sts with UTA (~16th for 11th) (Top 8 Protected - If Not Conveyed or POR Doesn't Swap, POR gets UTA's 2018 & 2019 1sts) UTA Does It Because: Napier fits in as someone who can defend while adding a much needed scoring punch. Napier+Mitchell would form a dynamic backcourt for the future. They don't have a good backup C, so adding Davis is an upgrade for them as well. They risk swapping their 1st round pick with the idea that it would be a minimal move down at worst. They have a logjam of wings so losing Thabo won't hurt. POR Does It Because: It gets them under the luxury tax line, adds a 3-and-D wing in Sefelosha who likely starts at SF, and gives them an opportunity to compete for a playoff spot while still getting rewarded with a lottery pick. If the swap is minimal, they can decline and add 2nd round picks which have turned into Napier and Harkless in the past. 3.) BAZZ to NYK NYK Gets: Shabazz Napier, Maurice Harkless POR Gets: Lance Thomas, Michael Beasley, 2018 NYK 1st (~14th) (Top 7 Protected), Two 2018 NYK 2nds (~37th & 42nd) NYK Does It Because: They add two young rotation pieces (Both from the Northeast) while shedding Lance Thomas' bad contract. They're competing for playoffs right now, and Ntilikina and Jack are holding them back. Harkless is an upgrade over McDermott and is known to be coveted by NYK. Ntilikina is a true PG at 6'5, while Napier is more of a SG at 6'1, so you could play both them together and Ntilikina could guard SGs and be the PG on offense. POR Does It Because: They add a likely late lottery-mid 1st round pick. They also get under the tax while adding two 2nds that they can use to land a Jordan Bell/Malcolm Brodgon prospect. 4.) BAZZ to LAC LAC Gets: Shabazz Napier, Meyers Leonard, Jason Smith (TPE), Sheldon Mac (TPE), 2018 WAS 1st (~21st) POR Gets: Sam Dekker WAS Gets: Lou Williams, Willie Reed LAC Does It Because: They swap Williams (who is likely gone in Free Agency) for a younger, starting PG (or 6th Man) for the next few years in Napier. They get rewarded for taking on Meyers Leonard's contract with a WAS 1st. WAS Does It Because: They need bench help desperately. Other than Kelly Oubre and Mike Scott, they don't have a single good bench player. Adding Lou Williams and Willie Reed (who's been a very underrated backup C this season) greatly increases their depth at the price of a 1st round pick that should be lower than 20. POR Does It Because: They're able to shed Meyers Leonard's contract while swapping out Napier (who doesn't have a big role to obtain in POR) for Sam Dekker (who's shown some promise as a young SF, which would be a good bet for POR) 5.) BAZZ to DEN DEN Gets: Shabazz Napier, Al-Farouq Aminu, 2019 MIN/LAL 2nd POR Gets: Will Barton, Darrell Arthur, 2018 DEN 1st (~19th) *This deal could be a straight up Barton for Napier swap* DEN Does It Because: They desperately need a PG, as Mudiay isn't progressing and Murray is more of a SG. They don't need a true PG as Jokic is their main distributor, so Napier (who's a good cutter and shooter) fits their offense. This move allows Murray to move to SG. While they give up Barton, they get a SF back in Aminu who gives their defense a needed boost. They do trade their 1st but recoup a likely early 2nd in the process. POR Does It Because: They need wing scoring and are familiar with Barton, who can slot in as a starting SF. While losing Aminu hurts, his future is cloudy anyway as Collins should be deserving of the starting PF spot in the coming years and Aminu doesn't give the needed scoring punch at SF. The 1st round pick gives them the ability to trade up into the lottery if they make the playoffs. Which deal is the best for all teams and most likely to happen? What can you come up with?
Id like to move Bazz to Utah for Exum. Portland would likely have to add some additional value (Pat or 2nd?), but I'd still make the trade
If you can get a mid first for Napier that’s a win. Getting multiple firsts in this years draft could yield great results if you keep the picks or trade them. A lot of interesting prospects. Plus if we have a new GM having multiple firsts give him/her some fire power. The Indy deal is nice but I think Napier would need to play at this level consistently up to the deadline. Either way I think you gotta shop him.
This. Best trade partner is Denver though imo. Beasley, Hernangomez, and Barton would/should all interest Portland, while Denver needs an actual point guard.
Don’t see a fit there. We’d have to match salaries and I don’t see Denver interested in either Leonard or Harkless.
Phoenix is another team that might have interest in Napier and I would love to get T.J. Warren or Josh Jackson in a trade.
I’m not in this corner, but if I was in that corner that thinks Dame and CJ don’t work together, you trade CJ and whatever for a more traditional shooting guard. Then, Bazz is the perfect #3 guard.
Napier seems like he'd make a good fit in Cleveland next to Lebron, as a bench spark when Thomas is back, and insurance in case of re-injury. Not a whole lot to be super interested in from them, and who knows how much they'd be willing to pay for a bench scorer. Something like: Napier, Vonleh, Leonard for Shumpert, Osman, Calderon. Shaves a year off of Leonard's deal with Shumpert, at perhaps a greater position of need(when he comes back from injury), gets a bench PG in Calderon just because, and then an intriguing prospect in Osman. Shaves a little over a million from our tax bill, as well.
First of all, trading Ed Davis is a bad idea. He has anchored our defense and rebounding. The only trade that makes sense for both teams is NYK. Beasley can get 30+ points on any given night and we need another guy like that on our team. Napier would start in NY and become a star.
