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The Hornets won the Las Vegas Summer League championship this weekend. We’re going to celebrate this by taking Friday off from the newsletter. Or maybe it’s just a company-wide day off. Either way, we’ll be back in action a week from today with some fun stuff!
Rough Trades
About two historically bad deals
Back in the 2023 offseason, the Suns and Bucks both went for it. The Suns traded for Bradley Beal in June of that summer, attempting to form a big three with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. The Bucks acquired Damian Lillard that September, looking to take control of the East as they raced the Celtics for the conference crown.
Two years later, Beal and Lillard have both been waived by those respective teams, with Lillard’s cap number officially being stretched over the next five years even as he plays elsewhere. And those trades can’t be looked at as anything but abject failures for both Phoenix and Milwaukee. Albeit, they’re failures for very different reasons. The question is whether or not these ended up being two of the worst trades in NBA history.
Context and timing is everything. Remember the first year of Rudy Gobert on the Timberwolves had people saying the Wolves had committed the worst trade in league history. In the two years since, the Wolves have made the conference finals, so nobody seems to call that deal a disaster anymore. The Suns and Bucks didn’t get that revival of hope from their respective deals.
First, let’s take a look at the Suns’ trade for Beal:
The Suns sent out:
- Chris Paul
- Landry Shamet
- 2024 pick swap (not exercised)
- 2024 second-rounder (Melvin Ajinça, 51st)
- 2025 second-rounder (Micah Peavy, 40th)
- 2026 pick swap
- 2028 pick swap (lesser of Nets and Suns pick)
- 2030 pick swap
- Second-rounders in 2026, 2027, 2028, 2030
- $3.5 million in cash
(As part of the Beal acquisition, the Suns did also receive Jordan Goodwin and Isaiah Todd. Goodwin was involved in the trade package to acquire Royce O’Neale. They traded Todd with pick swaps to Memphis for three second-round picks. One of those seconds was used in a salary dump of Cameron Payne to San Antonio.)
As you can see, the Suns still owe three pick swaps and four second-round picks, and Beal isn’t even on the team anymore. He’s now signed to the LA Clippers, a division opponent (scroll down for more about that). Beal went from averaging 25.5 on 47.3/36.3/83.4 shooting splits in his seven seasons prior to joining Phoenix to just 17.6 points with the Suns. To his credit, he was hyper efficient as the second or third option (depending on team injuries) with 50.5/40.7/80.8 shooting splits. However, Beal missed 29 games in each of his two seasons on the Suns.
The Suns got nothing out of the experience, could still have pick swaps hurt them through 2030 (especially with Durant also now gone) and maintain a $19.3 million dead cap on their books for the next five years, due to presumably stretching his contract. That’s abysmal.
As for the Bucks getting Lillard two years ago, this is what they gave up:
The Bucks sent out:
- Jrue Holiday
- Grayson Allen
- 2028 pick swap
- 2029 first-round pick
- 2030 pick swap
This was a three-team deal that involved the Suns. The Blazers flipped Holiday to Boston within the week, which both undercut what Milwaukee had just done and gave the Blazers an even bigger return in these two trades.
Including the Holiday flip, the Blazers also received:
- Deandre Ayton
- Toumani Camara
- Robert Williams III
- Malcolm Brogdon (moved to Washington with picks for Deni Avdija)
- 2024 first-rounder (moved with Brogdon)
- 2029 first-rounder
Granted, the Blazers eventually reacquired Holiday this summer and had to give up Anfernee Simons to do so. And they recently waived Ayton to get rid of him after two seasons. However, Camara has been a revelation for them on defense, making All-Defensive Second Team in his second season after being a second-round pick in 2023.
To add insult to injury, though, Lillard ended up back in Portland, signing a three-year, $45 million deal this past week, after he tore his Achilles’ tendon in the playoffs. Lillard likely won’t play next season, and there’s no guarantee he’ll be close to his old ability when he is back at 36 years old. The Bucks got only two first-round exits out of that trade, and they have $22.5 million of dead cap from stretching his contract each year for the next five seasons. Yes … five!
We don’t know what that draft capital owed to Portland will end up being. But we know the Bucks ended up with nothing but dead cap space to show for that deal. Milwaukee and Phoenix probably didn’t make the worst trades ever, but they’re in the conversation due to minimal return and the dead cap space that sits for the next half decade.
The Last 24
Does the league even want more teams?
🏀 Expansion coming? John Hollinger talked to people in Vegas. Why isn’t there urgency to expand?
🏀 Good sign? Luka Dončić has a contract extension decision coming. He’s also been recruiting for the Lakers.
💰 Pro colleges? The NIL money has turned college basketball into a professional venture. Is this a problem for the NBA?
❓ Any questions? Here are 10 WNBA questions not involving Caitlin Clark for the rest of the season. Are the Aces cooked?
🏀 Pelican injured. Rookie Derik Queen needed to have wrist surgery for New Orleans. He’s out at least three months.
🎧 Tuning in. Today’s “NBA Daily” ranks the contract buyouts for Lillard, Beal and Marcus Smart.
The story of the greatest players in NBA history. In 100 riveting profiles, top basketball writers justify their selections and uncover the history of the NBA in the process.
The story of the greatest players in NBA history.
Summer Plans
Clippers’ new pieces answer leftover questions
The Clippers had a busy offseason, and we think it’s probably done. They signed Brook Lopez to be the backup to Ivica Zubac. They traded Norman Powell to bring in John Collins from Utah. We assume they’ll re-sign Amir Coffey to add to the depth of their wings. And they’ve signed both Bradley Beal and Chris Paul in the past week. The Clippers seemingly have a better and even deeper team than what we saw last season. Their backcourt alone has Beal, CP3, James Harden, Bogdan Bogdanović and Kris Dunn.
Paul was the biggest remaining name on the free-agent list, and he’ll spend his 21st (and reportedly last) season back on the Clippers. He’ll most likely be coming off the bench, but this Clippers depth still is reliant on Kawhi Leonard being healthy for a deep playoff run. With these two signings, there are only a few big names and questions left, so let’s try to figure out what’s left.
Where is Russell Westbrook going to sign? This is a big mystery.
If he’s looking to actually play, trying to find his way to the Bucks, who lack a point guard, would make sense. Or he could try to add depth to someone like the Rockets?
Marcus Smart is a Laker? It looks like the former Celtics guard is working out a buyout with Washington, and is expected to sign with the Lakers after he clears waivers. He needs to be healthy but adds needed perimeter defense.
Where is Al Horford going? It’s been reported and assumed the 39-year-old Horford will be a Warrior once the dust settles. They might need to figure out their restricted free agency situation first.
What’s going to happen with the restricted free agents left? Jonathan Kuminga (Golden State), Josh Giddey (Chicago), Cam Thomas (Brooklyn) and Quentin Grimes (Philadelphia) are all wondering the same thing. Each player is expected to return to their team, except Kuminga seems to be looking for his way off the Warriors while getting a big payday. Without teams possessing salary cap room to spend, these talks should continue to be drawn out.
Pay What You Owe Them
WNBA players speaking up
Prior to the WNBA All-Star Game, the players came out with a massive statement on their t-shirts. The message on the black shirts in white lettering simply said, “Pay us what you owe us.” The WNBA players’ union is currently negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement with the league, and it’s actually quite shocking what a horrendous deal WNBA players currently have.
One of the common misconceptions that comes up when WNBA players talk about getting paid is that people believe the WNBA’s stars are looking to get annual salaries in the $40 million-to-$60 million range like the NBA’s. The actual task is to get a similar percentage of the basketball-related income. NBA players receive between 49-51 percent of the BRI from the league’s income (media contracts, merchandise sales, etc.). WNBA players earn 25 percent of the WNBA’s BRI, according to the CBA, but it might actually be closer to 9.3 percent, according to Media Watch, when you factor in total league revenue.
The league has been thriving in recent years, and has seen an explosion in growth with Caitlin Clark’s entrance into the league last season. Expansion teams cost $250 million, and the league just recently announced the addition of three new franchises in the coming years. While there is plenty of discussion around the league losing money (and granted, some of this is murky considering the business being intertwined with the NBA to some extent), the WNBA is seeing growth that demands it pays its players far more than what they’re currently getting.
Bizarrely, there are still people on the internet and outspoken in media landscapes mocking the idea of WNBA players demanding more money. Siding with management and ownership over labor for a product you either a) care about or b) don’t care about is absolute nonsense, as Sara Civian wrote on Substack:
“I don’t feel like going over all the ways men jumped on the opportunity to Be Wrong In An Acceptable Way when it came to the WNBA players simply wearing shirts that were speaking to their upcoming CBA expiration on Oct. 31. The WNBA players, as they stated for all to hear, were asking for more of a revenue share than they currently have, and of course they deserve it. I shouldn’t have to sit there and explain to someone who works for ESPN, or The Athletic, — or to anyone willing to enter the public sphere with an opinion — that the WNBA players aren’t asking for more than NBA players. They are members of the players association speaking to the WNBA about the undeniable growth the past year has seen, and how players and their brands, shoes, commercials, names, and likeness have absolutely been a gigantic impetus.”
Viewership, ticket sales and merchandise are skyrocketing in the league. Clark makes roughly $76,000 from her salary. The highest salary is $241,000 and change. The next CBA should absolutely start cutting the players a bigger check and a bigger piece of that BRI pie.
Back in 1964, the NBA All-Stars threatened to not play the All-Star Game, which was going to be the first nationally televised one, if the league didn’t recognize the players union. This past weekend, the WNBA All-Stars decided to put more pressure on commissioner Cathy Engelbert and the league during these labor negotiations. If you’re not for the players getting what they’re owed, I can only assume you don’t believe you deserve a raise at your job either. You should believe in yourself more.
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( Photo: Michael McLoone / USA Today Network via Imagn Images )