Sheridan is assessing each of today’s deals as they go down, but we don’t want to leave out the two deals that got done Wednesday.
Nets Acquire Marcus Thornton From Kings For Jason Terry And Reggie Evans
Brooklyn wanted to improve its bench without adding much to their historically bloated payroll, so they acquired a scoring guard in Thornton who’s shooting the ball at an abysmal rate this season.
The 26-year-old Thornton is in his fifth NBA season and is easily having the worst campaign of his career. Let’s count the ways:
| Thornton 2013-2014 | Number |
| Field Goal % | 38.1 |
| 3-point FG % | 31.8 |
| 2-point FG % | 43.8 |
| Field Goal Attempts | 8.1 |
| Points | 8.3 |
| Assists | 1 |
| Steals | 0.7 |
| Free Throw Attempts | 1.1 |
| True Shooting % | 48.4 |
| Effecting FG % | 45.7 |
| Offensive Rating | 101 |
| PER | 9.8 |
| Win Shares/48 | 0.035 |
Thornton is shooting under 40 percent from the field, not getting to the line, not playing efficiently on offense and has less on-court value now than at any point in his career. So the Nets are gambling that a change of scenery will work for Thornton, whose Kings were being outscored by 11 points per 100 possessions while he was on the floor, and that he’d be an upgrade over Terry.
Terry is shooting over 37 percent from three but is shooting a career worst 36.2 percent overall from the floor and wasn’t really getting on the floor much ahead of the longer, more athletic players who were helping the Nets turn around their season (15 minutes per game with Brooklyn in February).
Sacramento benefits from clearing Thornton and enabling playing time for rookie Ben McLemore, who rewarded the Kings by picking up three fouls in four first-half minutes on Wednesday. The Kings also get Reggie Evans, a solid rebounding big and positive locker room presence, who was seemingly in Jason Kidd’s doghouse with Brooklyn.
It’s certainly a good deal for the Kings, who got some value out of Thornton even though they sold low. It’s a bench shakeup for the Nets, something general manager Billy King decided his team needed.
Warriors Acquire Steve Blake From Lakers For Kent Bazemore And MarShon Brooks
A prevailing NBA trend is for teams to have at least two players that can handle the ball on the court at the same time, and now the Golden State Warriors have that in Steve Blake.
Blake joins his seventh NBA team while enjoying the best distributional season in the league, averaging a career-best 7.6 assists per game.
Like fellow Warriors Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, Blake can stroke it from deep, shooting 39.7 percent from three this season.
Here’s the shot chart to match:
Besides for being a really poor shooter from the right corner, Blake has been proficient in every area behind the 3-point line, which would give Golden State just another offensive dimension to add to their diverse lineup. Golden State could have three ball-handlers on the floor in late-game situations with Blake, Curry and Andre Iguodala and be confident that the ball will be taken care of. Blake’s PER of 12.5 is his highest total since the 2008-2009 season.
The Lakers needed to get under the luxury tax and wanted to get an asset for Blake, which was achieved in Bazemore. He’s only played 6.1 minutes per game this season, but his defensive numbers are quite good. Golden State allowed just 101 points per 100 possessions that he was on the floor this season, and was very well liked by his teammates.
Brooks might be one of those players who are best suited for Mike D’Antoni’s push-and-pop, seven second or less system, but is a bit piece in this trade and any other trade he’ll be in for the rest of his career.
Shlomo Sprung is a national columnist for Sheridan Hoops who loves advanced statistics and the way they explain what happens on the court. He is also the web editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. A 2011 graduate of Columbia University’s Journalism School, he has previously worked for the New York Knicks, The Sporting News, Business Insider and other publications. His website is SprungOnSports.com. You should follow him on Twitter.