In case you missed the NBA finals, LeBron James, who statically played the best finals in the history of the NBA, was soundly defeated in five games. That same Cavaliers team destroyed the Boston Celtics in five games.
If either team thinks adding Jimmy Butler or Paul George will close the gap, then they're wrong. The Cavs would have to part with Kevin Love or Kyrie Irving to get either George or Butler. While a move of that magnitude would improve the Cavs, the Cavs would have three all-stars to the Warriors four.
Boston is even further away. In my opinion, they need three more all-star caliber players to even get a seat at the table with Golden State.
Both teams have to think bigger than Jimmy Butler or Paul George. I have the perfect trade that makes sense for both Cleveland and Boston.
Before you start crying, just know that New Orleans would also receive Bostons trove of assets including: 2017 #3 pick, the Nets 2018 unprotected 1st round pick, the Lakers or Kings pick from Philly for trading down, the 2019 Clippers protected pick, and Memphis' 2019 protected pick.
Why this Trade Works for Cleveland
Simply put, the Cavs came up short in the 2017 finals because they have three all-stars and Golden State has four. Swapping out Tristan Thompson and Iman Shumpert for Al Horford makes Cleveland worse defensively, but there's no sustained defense for Golden State. Thompson was horrendous against the Warriors. Horford has his rebounding deficiencies but Steph Curry got more boards that Tristan Thompson.
Adding Al Horford adds more versatility to the Cavs' offense. He can dribble hand-off, facilitate the offense from the high post, and stretch to three (all things Thompson lacks). Losing Shumpert's defense would hurt but his defense is replaceable for far less than his salary.
Most importantly, Cleveland adds a fourth all-star, more offensive flexibility, and allows the Cavs to employ the tactic that won them the championship in 2016, SIZE. A front court of James, Horford, and Love allows the Cavs to exploit the Warriors lack of size and rebounding while keeping pace with the Warriors offense.
Why this Trade Works for Boston
Boston's major flaw is their lack of front-line elite talent. Isaiah Thomas is, at best, the third best player on a championship team. He's the Celtics' best player. Adding Anthony Davis and Demarcus Cousins would give the Celtics a top five NBA talent at power forward (also the most versatile player in the league outside of LeBron James and Giannis) and the best offensive center in the league.
Adding the Brow and Boogie would also resolve their rebounding and front court shooting woes as both players stretch to the three. More importantly, the move adds elite talent while allowing Boston to enhance their cap flexibility. The deal would allow Boston to keep Bradley, Crowder, and Smart and still make significant upgrades in free agency.
It the Celtics move Bradley (which they have to do by February anyway), the Celtics could still sign Gordon Heyward this summer. Boston could also go the depth route and add the likes of a Joe Ingles and James Johnson with their remaining space and keep Bradley. Either way, the Celtics would roll out a line up with four all-stars or three all-stars supplemented by five starter quality players.
Option 1
I. Thomas
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M. Smart
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G. Heyward
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A. Bradley
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D. Cousins
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A. Davis
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A. Johnson
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J. Crowder
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Option 2
I. Thomas
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T. Rozier
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A. Bradley
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M. Smart
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D. Cousins
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A. Johnson
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A. Davis
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J. Johnson
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J. Crowder
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J. Ingles
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Option 1 allows the Celtics to trot out four starters that could drop 25-30 without hesitation. Option 2 would give Boston a line-up with three volume scorers and an incredible defensive starting line-up. Option 2 would also allow Brad Stevens to work his wizardy with flexible offensive and defensive players.
Why this Trade Works for New Orleans
While I think the Davis/Cousins experiment could be ultimately successful, it can't work in New Orleans. The Pelicans are a desperate franchise. They have to appease to Davis and Cousins but don't have the resources to do so. The Pelicans don't have a 2017 pick. They have dead weight contracts (hello Asik) and they would have to overpay Jrue Holiday in order to keep him.
The latter option is not preferable, considering Holiday's injury history. New Orleans simply do not have the resources to get Davis and Cousins close enough to the Warriors to keep them happy. Cousins will brood, Holiday will injure, and Davis will become annoyed.
Including Davis and Cousins now allows the Pelicans to reset. The haul from Boston would include the Jaylen Brown, 2017 #3 pick, the Lakers 2018 pick from Philly (#1 or 6-14 as that Lakers aren't making the playoffs in 2018) or the unprotected 2019 Kings pick, Brooklyn's unprotected 2018 pick, the Clippers 2019 protected pick, and the Grizzlies 2019 protected pick.
In total, that's four potential lottery picks along with two additional first round picks. This treasure trove and an accompanying rebuild would allow New Orleans to gain Jaylen Brown and six potential lottery assets over the course of two years (if you include New Orleans protected 2018 1st rounder and their 2019 pick). Clearing the decks would allow the Pelicans to let Jrue Holiday walk and clear the salaries of Davis and Cousins.
By the time of the 2019-20 season, when the cap jumps to $120 million, the Pelicans would have given their young assets valuable experience and Shumpert's salary would be off the books. Thompson's $18.6 million dollar salary would be a bargain for a starting big (only 15.5% of the cap) and the Pelicans would be looking at having $50 million to throw at free agents in 2020 (right in time for the Kyrie Irving and Kawhi Leonard free agencies).
The Big But...
After trading Chris Paul in 2011, trading Davis and Cousins would kill basketball in New Orleans!
That might not be such a bad thing!
Seattle Supersonics
Killing basketball in New Orleans may not be such a bad thing if it results in the return of the Seattle Supersonics. Basketball has always had its struggles in the Big Easy. New Orleans is one of the smallest TV markets in the league and relocating the team to Seattle would be a major boon for the league.
While Benson the 89 year old settled his financial with his heirs, adding a couple billion to his estate would go a long way to maintaining the peace.
Seattle, full of billionaire investors, could easily muster 2.5-3.5 billion to move the team to the Northwest, pay off any debts the team would owe the city of New Orleans, and build a killer new stadium. A sale would increase the value of the other 29 franchises as it would take the least valuable team in the league and make it one of the most valuable.
The NBA would also correct a grave injustice by restoring basketball in Seattle and would allow New Orleans to fully recover from Katrina before revisiting NBA basketball again.
All in all, this trade is good for the league. It would restore competitive balance to the league by creating two additional super teams to battle Golden State in the short-term and lead to an increase the value of league by nudging the Pelicans to Seattle.
Can Danny Ainge and GM LeBron make this happen.
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