NBA 2015 Trade News: Complete List & Analysis of Every Team’s Trade Activity

Feb 4, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Denver Nuggets guard forward Arron Afflalo (10) controls the ball during the first quarter against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Northwest Division:

Portland Trailblazers: 36-17

Arron Afflalo and Alonzo Gee come to Portland in exchange for Thomas Robinson, Victor Claver, Will Barton and lottery protected 2016 and 2017 first round draft picks.

Afflalo brings 14.5 points, 42.8 FG%, 33.7 from three and 1.9 assists, however last season he averaged a much higher 18.2 points, 42.8 FG% shot close to 43% from 3 and had 3.4 assists. One would imagine playing with the talent the Blazers have will increase his production. Gee is also a good pick up to add to the bench alongside Chris Kaman and Steve Blake. This also will allow Nic Batum and Wesley Matthews some rest something they haven’t been afforded up until now.

While the Thunder and Heat may be considered the big winners of the day, Portland can’t be overlooked. Their starting five have been arguably the best in the NBA for the past few seasons, but a lack of bench depth has stymied their ability to move up. This was most apparent last season when the Spurs easily dispensed of the Blazers in the second round. Now with a buoyed bench including Afflalo, Gee, Kaman, Leonard and Blake they should be able to not only retain home court, but also bring some resiliency deep into the playoffs. The immediate benefit of the Afflalo signing will be the ability to rest Batum who is desperate need of his healing time prior to April.

Report: The Nuggets send Arron Afflalo to the Blazers in a 5-player trade http://t.co/wgMDJWPmm1 pic.twitter.com/rU6Wde6SU1

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 19, 2015

Oklahoma City Thunder: 28-25

The winners of the day (in my opinion) In just one trade Sam Presti was able to completely restructure his bench. The area most media pundits have claimed was their Achilles heal (paint production) gets answered via a young big in Enes Kanter .With Kanter’s addition suddenly the Thunder boast one of the youngest, most athletic versatile front courts in the Association including Serge Ibaka, Mitch McGary and Nick Collison.

They aslo get D.J. Augustin as a solid back up point guard who is great at initiating plays and a team player.

They add shooters Kyle Singler and Steve Novak who are both probably jumping up and down for joy thinking of all the wide open shots they are about to get playing beside the Thunder stars. They also get a 2019 second round pick. WOW!

Though the team will miss Kendrick Perkins, he was no longer able to fulfill the needs of the team on the court. Repeatedly today in interviews it was Perk who the team and coach were bemoaning the loss of.

In fairness when Perkins came to the Thunder (also on a trade deadline day) he brought with him the wisdom of what was required to win a championship, specifically in terms of work ethic, game preparation and in the locker room.

His presence on the team beside last season’s MVP: Kevin Durant, All-Star MVP: Russell Westbrook when he first arrived led to their rapid growth into young leaders.

Sam Presti is the early odds on favorite to win General Manager of the Year with this one move. PLUS he sheds malcontent Reggie Jackson who wanted to run a team (but has yet to prove he can) and as mentioned literally revamps his entire bench.

What a haul for OKC. Built their bench (Augustin, Novak, Singler, Kanter) for a guy they couldn't re-sign & a guy that wasn't in future.

— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) February 19, 2015

While Kanter isn’t necessarily a great defender and it’s somewhat concerning how low his field goal percentage is for a big man certainly he should perform better with the talent he’ll now be surrounded by. Also, with Perkins on the down side of his career this is a great move in that the Thunder get a young athlete with the capability of scoring inside and grabbing rebounds to add to Serge Ibaka and Steven Adams when he returns.

Possibly the best move though is picking up D.J. Augustin who is the perfect back up point guard, a younger Jarrett Jack if you will, who’ll fit the Thunder perfectly and will deliver a capable play creator off the bench. Augustin is very familiar with Durant having played alongside him in Texas.

The big take away if your sitting atop the Western Conference….

Imagine you finish with 60+ wins on the season and your reward is you get to face this newly upgraded, healthy Thunder team in the first round of the playoffs. SCARY MONSTERS!

Thunder bring in banner haul at trade deadline: Thunder may have bought themselves more time on a few fronts w… http://t.co/j2OTSoMTro

— Sports Wire (@Sports_WireMag) February 20, 2015

Utah Jazz: 19-34

In the move to send Enes Kanter to Oklahoma City the Jazz take Kendrick Perkins and Grant Jerrett and the rights to Tibor Pleiss back as well as 2 draft picks. Early reports indicate the Jazz will buy-out Perkins contract. This move allows the Jazz to play Rudy Gobert more, who as we saw in the BBVA Rising Stars Game this past weekend is a beast and likely to be among the best centers in the league as he adds a bit more weight to his 7′ frame.

While the Jazz are out of the mix for the playoffs this season the BBVA rising stars game proves the Jazz and Wolves are poised to rise in the coming seasons to become contenders in the ever difficult Western Conference.

Updated Utah Jazz salary figures after the trade deadline http://t.co/miRqBxMD7F pic.twitter.com/h5rWjxvRyp

— SLC Dunk (@slcdunk) February 20, 2015

Denver Nuggets: 20-33

Sent Arron Afflalo and Alonzo Gee to Portland in exchange for Thomas Robinson, Victor Claver, Will Barton and lottery protected 2016 and 2017 first round draft picks.

In perhaps a statement of how far  JaVale McGee has fallen the person returning in exchange for him is Cenk Akyol, I know right… who? Akyol is Turkish professional player who was acquired in the 2005 draft as the 59th pick. Also involved in this trade was Chu Chu Maduabum (56th pick of 2011 draft) and a first round pick (via OKC) to Philadelphia.

Some felt the Manimal: Kenneth Faried, Wilson Chandler and possibly Ty Lawson would also be moved, but they remain in Denver. Initial reports were  Denver was asking for too much for these players, something the other GM’s around the league can thank Cleveland GM David Griffin for, due to his overpayment of Mozgov (including two future first round picks).  Obviously Denver is in a complete retooling mode with these changes and were looking to save cap space and lesson their salary overhead. To that end they received a trade exception of 7.5 in Afflalo deal and 11.25 in McGee deal.

Following the deal with Portland the Nuggets have bought out Thomas Robinson who would’ve come to Denver (as his 4th team in less than 3 years in the NBA).

Thomas Robinson receives buyout from Nuggets after earlier trade from Trail Blazers: Portland receive… http://t.co/oelahfGEFg #Blazers

— NBA Sneakers (@NBA_Sneakers) February 20, 2015

So, remove Robinson from the list below, though the Nuggets still have a glut of players at the power forward, guess they are looking to corner the market.

Guys who can play PF for the #Nuggets: 1) Faried 2) Hickson 3) Arthur 4) Lauvergne 5) T. Robinson 6) Claver 7) Gallo 8) Chandler Wowza

— Nate Timmons (@NateTimmonsCO) February 19, 2015

Minnesota Timberwolves: 11-42

In the most emotional and sentimental move of the day, Kevin Garnett elected to waive his no-trade clause to return home to the team who drafted him. Garnett has said following his retirement he would like to become a part owner of the Wolves so this move wasn’t necessarily surprising. News Thursday night is the Wolves are hoping to extend Garnett for 2 years in an effort to have him work with their youthful core.

RT @APkrawczynski: AP Source: Timberwolves are not bringing KG back for just this year. They want to do a two-year extension with him

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) February 19, 2015

Specifically the front court of  Anthony Bennett, Gorgui Dieng and  will reap major rewards from his knowledge, but so to will future super star Andrew Wiggins and dunk champion Zach LaVine will learn the proper way to prepare for games and what is essential to becoming a winner in this league. I have to admit as much as Garnett has been a thorn in the Raptors side for years it brought a tear to my eye to hear he would return home to finish off where he began his career.

Should the Wolves be successful in their effort to bring him back next year I wouldn’t be surprised to see them become a team similar to the Bucks of this season or Suns of two years ago. Garnett will be playing for his original coach Flip Saunders and former teammate Sam Mitchell who is now an assistant coach.

KG goes back to where it all started for him. For more on the trade go to: http://t.co/qDHnZO1PoW pic.twitter.com/OgbHMqSwWN

— NBA TV (@NBATV) February 20, 2015

Garnett returns to where it all started #ComingFullCircle pic.twitter.com/kwz0S8vRz6

— NBA TV (@NBATV) February 20, 2015

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