2014 NBA Draft Trades Analysis

When it comes to trades, the 2014 NBA draft hasn’t been quite as nuts as last year.

Nevertheless, there have been a handful of deals. Here’s a breakdown:

Philadelphia 76ers trade Elfrid Payton to Orlando Magic for Dario Saric, 2015 second-round pick and 2017 first-round pick.

Philadelphia didn’t need another point guard with Michael Carter-Williams entrenched at the position, and the Sixers are all about assets. Injured Joel Embiid went third and now Dario Saric will be in Turkey for the next two seasons. They’re going to continue to be a bad team going forward and stockpiling high picks.

“These two 20-year-olds represent another layer to the construction of our program,” Sixers President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Sam Hinkie said referring to Embiid and Saric. “Dario is an extremely versatile and highly accomplished player at various international levels. His basketball instincts, his ability to pass and his desire for greatness drew us to him. Our staff has tracked him across the globe for many years now, and we were ecstatic to be able to acquire him.“

Orlando’s trade for Payton, a fast riser in the draft, means that the Magic will finally begin to move on from Jameer Nelson. He’s going to form a very dynamic backcourt with Victor Oladipo. So the deal makes sense, though trading a 2017 first rounder to move up two spots seems a lot.

Chicago Bulls trade Jusuf Nurkic, Gary Harris and a 2015 second-round pick to Denver Nuggets for Doug McDermott and Anthony Randolph

I like this trade a lot for both teams. Chicago has a void at small forward that McDermott could fill, and with Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah attracting defenders high and low, McDermott could take his shots and be a very strong role player. Randolph provides frontcourt insurance if Carlos Boozer is released and there’s reportedly enough interest in Randolph that he could be jettisoned elsewhere in a trade to create salary space for a megastar like LeBron James or Carmelo Anthony.

This was also a really good day for the Nuggets. They barely sent anything to Orlando for Arron Afflalo and got a steal in Gary Harris and a solid European big man who will come to the NBA right away, according to his agent.

Nurkic was regarded by some as the second best pure center prospect in the draft, and he could be developed into the team’s long-term starter ahead of the perpetually injured and perplexing JaVale McGee.

Harris represents a really strong value at 19 and someone who could be a long-term starter at shooting guard. He could learn under Afflalo for a year. Nice job by Denver and Chicago overall.

Miami Heat trade P.J. Hairston, Semaj Christon and a future second-round pick to Charlotte Hornets for Shabazz Napier

LeBron James said he wanted Shabazz Napier on the Heat as a point guard and just got his wish. Napier is a playmaking guard who knows how to win games, which got James’ notice during the NCAA Tournament.

This likely means the end of Mario Chalmers’ run as Miami’s starting point guard and the beginning of a very wild and raucous week of rumors surrounding how the Heat will build their team over the next few seasons, led by the possibility of Kyle Lowry and Carmelo Anthony replacing Chris Bosh.

Hairston played in the D-League last season after being suspended off the UNC team and could be a strong value pick for the Hornets. Charlotte’s main point of emphasis for the draft, many believed, was a shooter with the 8th pick. They elected to pick for value with Vonleh over a surefire shooter like McDermott or Michigan’s Nick Stauskas but ended up having a fine shooter in Hairston falling to them at 26. Steve Clifford would probably love for Hairston to ultimately supplant Gerald Henderson at the position.

Utah Jazz trade Jarnell Stokes to Memphis Grizzlies for 2016 2nd round pick

Memphis just got a rangy, hard-nosed player that the Grizzlies really liked. A lot of people thought he’d go in the first round, so the price is pretty low for the Grizzlies.

Philadelphia 76ers trade Russ Smith to New Orleans Pelicans for the rights to Pierre Jackson

Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the Sixers are trading Louisville’s Russ Smith, who they just picked, to New Orleans for the rights to PG Pierre Jackson. Jackson is another stash player who played in Europe last season after a standout career at Baylor.

Russ Smith is a small, jittery player who can slash to the hoop and find openings on the floor. Maybe he can be a nice bench sparkplug for the Pelicans.

Milwaukee Bucks trade Lamar Patterson to Atlanta Hawks for future 2nd round pick

Patterson poured in 17 points per game last season for Pittsburgh. He shot 38.8 percent from three last season for the Panthers and has length.

Nets buy trio of second-round picks

Brooklyn wasn’t about to be left out of the action in its own home, so Billy King worked the phones and purchased the 44th, 59th and 60th overall selections to close out Thursday night’s draft.

From the TimberWolves, Oklahoma State combo guard Markel Brown was purchased for $1.1 million, according to the boss man. Brown has some youthful versatility and explosiveness that the team liked, King said to reporters after the Draft. Brown was Marcus Smart’s teammate with the Cowboys and compared himself to Russell Westbrook in a Friday afternoon conference call.

San Diego State’s Xavier Thames was bought for $500,000 from Toronto and the pick that netted Baylor’s Corey Jefferson from San Antonio cost Brooklyn $300,000. These two players will join Brown in Orlando for summer league, but King mentioned that Thames and Jefferson, whose names he could not discuss on the record late Thursday because the deals had not yet been completed at the time, would likely play overseas next season.

For a team that was reportedly trying to cut costs, spending nearly $2 million on late round picks was a weird way of proving that. If the Nets are serious about trimming the fat, Brown would allow the team to trade Marcus Thornton, an expensive backup combo guard. This writer will remain skeptical when it comes to the Nets trying to become more fiscally fit.