With the NBA All-Star Game over, it’s time for trade season to heat up. Hours after the Pistons and Magic kicked off the dealing, the first three-team swap of the winter has arrived.
Reports of the trade arrived in pieces from Yahoo!’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Memphis is trading Courtney Lee to Charlotte, sources tell @TheVertical
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 16, 2016
Sources: As part of Lee deal, Charlotte sending Brian Roberts, PJ Hairston and two 2nds to Memphis.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 16, 2016
Charlotte's Brian Roberts will move to Miami as part of three-team deal with Charlotte and Memphis, sources tell @TheVertical
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 16, 2016
Sources: Miami will send two future second-round picks to Memphis as part of 3-team deal, although one is heavily protected.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 16, 2016
Miami will send Chris Andersen to Memphis in deal too, sources tell @TheVertical
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 16, 2016
So assuming Woj is done adding pieces to this deal, here’s how it shakes out:
Charlotte gets: Courtney Lee
Memphis gets: Chris Andersen, P.J. Hairston and four second-round picks
Miami gets: Brian Roberts
So this seems like one of those deals where a lot of parts move around and you can’t immediately figure out what any of them mean.
Basically it looks like Charlotte is gearing up for a playoff run, Memphis is starting to think about the future (and apparently all-in on strong personalities) and Miami is looking to dump salary.
The move makes the most sense for the Hornets, who for several years have been hurt by their lack of spacing and now add a career 38 percent 3-point shooter to their starting lineup. Charlotte needed a competent wing player to replace the injured Michael Kidd-Gilchrest, and Lee seems like a good fit for a bargain price. The guard was averaging 10 points in 29 minutes a game for the Grizzlies. He’ll be on the sixth team of his seven-year career.
The Grizzlies, already stocked with some interesting personalities (Matt Barnes, Tony Allen) add a pair of wild ones, in Hairston and Andersen. Hairston has had his fair share of legal trouble over the years, from getting arrested while in college to assaulting a high school kid, and he was known as a bit of a headache in Charlotte. From a basketball standpoint, Memphis’ objective seemed to be to cash in on a free-agent-to-be in Lee in preparation for the future. Hairston could be a useful piece down the road, and four second-round picks are worth something.
https://twitter.com/Sam_Vecenie/status/699690745842696192
https://twitter.com/Sam_Vecenie/status/699694189244653568
As for Miami, well there’s not much going on here, but an expiring contract and two second rounders seems like a lot to give up for Brian Roberts. It’s very possible the Heat’s goal was to clear some cap space for a future trade.
The trade deadline is Thursday afternoon, so get read for a lot more deals to come.
