Trade Deadline Open Thread: Toronto has traded Valanciunas for Marc Gasol

Strap. In.

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Photo credit: Ernest Doroszuk/Toronto Sun

3:15 pm: Big day, and there’s more to come. I’m exhausted, but I’m hopping over to re-write my pregame stuff for the Atlanta game. I’ll also be on the all-star draft tonight. Thanks so much for sticking with me all day.

3:11 pm: Some late Toronto news! Toronto just wants… zero players / second-round draft picks on the roster?

3:07 pm:: Some Atlanta stuff: they traded for Jabari Bird from Boston, basically for nothing. Expect him and Shelvin Mack, who they acquired earlier today, to be waved. Mack could be an interesting buyout candidate guy for Toronto.

3:00 pm: We made it. Holy moly. Did I run a marathon or sit on my couch in sweat pants drinking coffee and smelling terrible all day? Who knows, but I sweat about the same amount either way. Some stuff usually trickles in after the deadline, but a quick recap. The East got a lot better. Toronto got Marc Gasol (my quick reaction here). Milwaukee got Nikola Mirotic. Philadelphia got Tobias Harris, as well as a host of other wings, including James Ennis and a Simmons who can shoot (but of the Jonathan variety). Boston did nothing, lol, but who cares about them.

2:58 pm: It looks like Davis is not going to be traded today!

2:54 pm: Six horrible minutes left. Please end soon. Also, it looks like Toronto isn’t getting Wes Matthews.

2:45 pm: Per Chris Haynes and Varlas Nikos, the Clips are going to waive Michael Beasley and Milos Teodosic. Add them to the pool of buyout candidates.

2:43 pm: HERE COMES SOME CRAZY.

But also, this is a good thing for a young player who hasn’t found his stride. He needed a new home, and hopefully, Fultz can get his career back on track in Orlando. I love this for the Magic. I’m also just happy that the Sixers aren’t getting Ross.

2:35 pm: This is getting ridiculous, and I just want to mourn over here. The Grizzlies are trading a point guard, just… not the one you think. Shelvin Mack is on his way to Atlanta. Update: they straight up aren’t trading Conley.

2:31 pm: More small stuff:

2:29 pm: Some minutia in Los Angeles. Acquiring Mike Muscala… may be all that the Lakers do today? There’s still another half hour. Most importantly, this opens a roster spot, which is probably Melo’s music.

2:24 pm: I’m not gonna lie, I’m hurting. This is hard to continue. But the show must go on. Shams re-enters the game.

Haynes says that he wants to join the Warriors, which, everything is awful, so whatever. I’m just sad.

1:54 pm: Gasol.

Gasol is a force. He is a former defensive player of the year, and he’s an elite passer and solid defender from the center position. His shooting is also something the Raptors don’t have at that spot. He is 34-years-old, but his deal expires in 2019-20, coinciding with almost everyone else in Toronto. Valanciunas is great, but Gasol is likely an upgrade. We’ll have much more in reaction to come.

Valanciunas has been the longest-tenured Raptor, other than Kyle Lowry, so this is a sad one. He’s never been on another team, and he’s sacrificed his starting spot and minutes without a complaint to help the team win. Now he’ll be stuck in Memphis during a rebuild. He was set to return from injury TODAY, so damn, also. Otherwise, Wright is a promising prospect for Memphis, and Miles is likely just to make salary match. Good on Masai Ujiri to keep from selling a first-rounder. For Toronto, they’re really just swapping Valanciunas for Gasol, as neither Wright nor Miles were likely to see time during the playoffs.

You can read a my deeper take here. (and you better believe that there will be far more ink spilled on the topic in the days to come.

1:51 pm: The great Memphis fire sale begins!

This one is vaguely confusing. Clearly, despite selling Tobias Harris (at a very high price, mind you), the Clippers are still trying to compete and make the playoffs. Good on them, or whatever. But for Memphis, Bradley isn’t expiring! Both Temple and Green are.

1:23 pm: While I make a new pot of coffee, we’re flipping to fellow RR writer, Matt Shantz, with his take on the Niko trade:

Four second round picks is potentially a heavy price to pay for a rental (especially if two of them are Washington second rounders in 2020 and 2021), but the Bucks used just that to basically upgrade from Thon Maker to Nikola Mirotic. That’s some excellent work and the East just got that much tougher. Mirotic has his faults on defence, but is another long range bomber for the team currently second in the league in 3 Point Attempts per game. Rotations will need to be on point for any team facing off against Milwaukee come playoff time.

Word.

1:13 pm: The Rockets are flipping Nik Stauskas and Wade Baldwin to the Pacers, per Woj. They have now been traded from Portland to Houston to Indiana this week. Holy cow. The Rockets are adding a second-round pick, so it’s another move from Houston to cut costs. The Pacers are likely to cut both.

12:53 pm: The first Woj bomb has entered the game, and it’s a doozy. The Pelicans have made a move, and it’s BAD for the Raptors. Their scariest potential opponent in the East just picked up yet another shooter, and for a cheap price, in terms of players. Per Marc Stein, the Pelicans will receive four second-round draft picks (lol).

Because the Thon Maker-Stanley Johnson trade from yesterday isn’t yet completed, the trade will be a three-way. The deal will involve Maker heading to Detroit, and Johnson and Smith heading to New Orleans.

Nikola Mirotic is a fantastic shooter and underrated creator from the big position. He can play a few minutes per game at center, and he’s not a helpless defender when he’s there. His ability to stretch the floor will be terrifying in Milwaukee, where his 36.8 percent from deep will provide those extra few inches for Giannis Antetokounmpo to pick apart opponents. Like new teammate Brook Lopez and many of the Houston Rockets’ shooters, Mirotic is unafraid to bomb away from several feet behind the arc. This is just bad for the entire East.

12:45 pm: The Sixers are waiving Malachi Richardson to make room for James Ennis. This is expected, but sad. Philadelphia is building a better team this trade deadline and sparing no cost doing it. Houston and Toronto are saving money, but Philadelphia has improved the most thus far.

12:09 pm: Charlotte seems to be trying to dump Frank Kaminsky. I swear I’ll stop reporting every rumour once the actual trades start. With the Pelicans in a holding pattern, it appears that the league is too.

12:07 pm: We got something! More Houston and Philly stuff (they’ve been supes active), and minor, but something nonetheless! Houston is trading James Ennis to Philadelphia for the rights to a second round pick swap in 2021. Houston has already acquired Saucey McSaucerson, or whatever his nickname is, as well as Iman Shumpert, so minutes were going to dry up for Ennis in Houston. The Rox did well to recoup future draft consideration, however minor. The open roster spot will surely be put to use, as well. Philadelphia has also been acquiring wings, most prominently Tobias Harris. They did part with a boatload of depth in Wilson Chandler and Landry Shamet, so this is a smart move to recoup some bodies. Ennis will slot ahead of Malachi Richardson on Philadelphia’s depth chart.

11:47 am: This can always change, but all is quiet on the Anthony Davis front. In other news, I may soon finishing binge re-watching Brooklyn 99 and need another way to spend my time while I refresh Twitter.

10:57 am: Per a bunch of guys with the Raptors right now in Atlanta, Jonas Valanciunas will return tonight. Also, Nick Nurse is doubtful that the Raptors will make a trade today:

10:20 am: Some noise coming from Woj and Marc Stein that Memphis will heat up dramatically before the deadline. It makes sense for Memphis to sell off some pieces, but they seem to be asking a lot. The price may come down as we near 3 PM, but it all adds up to the probability of more quiet for the next few hours. After the flurry of trades yesterday, we’re still waiting on the first domino today.

9:26 am: Still nothing. I feel like this is starting to read like the diary entries of a mad man: “We hear drums, drums in the deep. They are coming…” On another note, I’m pretty ready to report anything. Fake Woj and Shams, where you aaaat!?

8:52: Something! It’s not so much news as something we kind of already figured, but it really lays to bed any remaining notion that Lowry-Conley is a real thing. From Michael Grange:

8:31 am: It’s been an hour, so I figured I’d update. Nothing yet. My pot of coffee sucks, if you were wondering. I hope everyone is having a wonderful day!

7:28 am: It’s early. I’m here. We’re still catching up on trades that happened late last night. The Wizards do, indeed, seem to be trading the entire team elsewhere. Fallout from the Wall injury, but we’ll see if Bradley Beal is available throughout the day.

Raptors-specific trades and rumours:

  • Toronto traded Greg Monroe and a second to Brooklyn. Not sure why, as he’s on a minimum contract, so there’s no tax implications. There has to be more info to come.
  • Toronto has traded Jonas Valanciunas, Delon Wright, CJ Miles, and future second-round pick to Memphis for Marc Gasol. You can read a my deeper take here.
  • The Raptors traded Malachi Richardson, the rights to Emir Preldzic, and a second-round pick to the Philadelphia 76ers for cash consideration.
  • Toronto dealing Kyle Lowry has been mentioned in depth by a variety of reports, most frequently in exchange for Michael Conley. None have been Toronto-based, and the only leak coming out of Toronto was to Michael Grange saying that Toronto hasn’t initiated any of the discussions. Woj shot it down last night, saying that the two sides haven’t progressed very far at all. I would be shocked if this is a real thing, but it’s a rumour, so it’s going in the rumour section, by gum. More detail here.

Completed trades:

  • Toronto traded Greg Monroe and a second to Brooklyn.
  • Boston traded Jabari Bird to Atlanta for a heavily-protected second-rounder and cash.
  • Orlando is trading Philadelphia Jonathon Simmons, OKC first-round pick, and Cleveland second-round pick for Fultz.
  • The Kings traded Skal Labissiere to the Blazers for Caleb Swanigan.
  • The Clippers traded Mike Muscala to the Lakers for Michael Beasley and Ivica Zubac.
  • Toronto has traded Jonas Valanciunas, Delon Wright, CJ Miles, and future second-round pick to Memphis for Marc Gasol. You can read a my deeper take here.
  • The Pacers are acquiring Nik Stauskas, Wade Baldwin, and a second-rounder from the Rockets. They will cut Stauskas and Baldwin.
  • The Milwaukee Bucks will send Jason Smith and Stanley Johnson (via the Detroit Pistons) to the Pelicans for Nikola Mirotic. The Pistons will receive Thon Maker, and the Pelicans will also receive four second-round draft picks. Here’s the breakdown, per Tim Bontemps: Pelicans are receiving Denver’s 2019 second rounder, Washington’s 2020 and 2021 second rounder and Milwaukee’s 2020 second rounder. Some of those could have a lot of value.
  • Houston is trading James Ennis to Philadelphia for minor draft consideration.
  • New Orleans is trading Wesley Johnson to the Washington Wizards for Markieff Morris and a draft pick to be named.
  • Sacramento traded Justin Jackson and Zach Randolph to the Dallas Mavericks for Harrison Barnes.
  • Houston, Cleveland, and Sacramento have engaged in a three-way trade that is seeing Nik Stauskas, Wade Baldwin, and Iman Shumpert move to Houston, Alec Burks to the Kings, and Brandon Knight, Marquese Chriss and a protected first to Cavaliers.
  • The Washington Wizards traded Otto Porter Jr. to the Chicago Bulls for the LOW price of Jabari Parker, Bobby Portis, and a second-round pick.
  • Detroit Pistons guard Reggie Bullock has been traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for Svi Mykhailiuk and a future second-round pick.
  • The Los Angeles Clippers have traded Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic, and Mike Scott to the Philadelphia 76ers for Wilson Chandler, Mike Muscala, Landry Shamet, a 2020 first-round pick, a 2021 first-round pick (from Miami), and two future second-round picks (from Detroit).
  • The Portland Trailblazers have traded Wade Baldwin IV, Nik Stauskas, and two future second-round picks to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Rodney Hood.
  • The Chicago Bulls have traded a second-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot and cash.
  • The New York Knicks traded Kristaps Porzingis, Tim Hardaway, Jr., Courtney Lee, and Trey Burke to the Dallas Mavericks for DeAndre Jordan, Dennis Smith, Jr., Wesley Matthews, and two future first-round picks.

Resources:

  • Vivek Jacobs covered the Malachi Richardson deal in detail here for RR. This frees up a roster spot, but it may not be filled today because the Raptors save more money if they wait 13 more days. Still, it gives them much more freedom today.
  • There are also a few columns here at RR about whether or not there will be deals, or what they might look like. Here’s one from Tim Chisholm and one from Nick Tutssel that offers four possibilities.
  • Blake Murphy at the Athletic has a monster primer, both regarding the rules  and deeper information of trades and cap minutia, and also regarding what the Raptors might do today and how they might do it. This is behind a paywall.

Hello and welcome! A lot has already happened. We’re starting early, and we’ll be updating this bad boy throughout the day. Everything, both Raptors and non-Raptors, will be covered in this threat. Feel free to comment throughout the day, but please be nice to each other. If there’s more specific Raptors-related stuff, we’ll hear from a few other voices besides mine throughout the day. The trade deadline is at 3 PM ET, and I’ll be here refreshing Twitter until the bitter end. Let’s have some fun.

 

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