{"id":2980,"date":"2021-03-08T12:24:44","date_gmt":"2021-03-08T17:24:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportsreporting\/?p=2980"},"modified":"2021-03-15T13:03:50","modified_gmt":"2021-03-15T17:03:50","slug":"2020-21-nba-trade-deadline-tracker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportsreporting\/2021\/03\/08\/2020-21-nba-trade-deadline-tracker\/","title":{"rendered":"2020-21 NBA Trade Deadline Tracker"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This 2020-21 NBA season has proven to be one of the strangest we have ever seen in the sport. Amidst a worldwide pandemic, the league chose to forgo it\u2019s recent \u201cNBA Bubble\u201d experience and operate with teams traveling to cities across the country, similar to the NFL and MLB\u2019s protocols.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As a result, with players regularly missing games due to virus contact tracing or having COVID-19 for extended periods of time, this has put an added emphasis on general managers around the league to build team rosters that have deep rotations to counteract this problem.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">With the NBA\u2019s trade deadline of March 25<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">th<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> fast approaching, we here at Clarity Stripe will be reporting the latest in team transactions, free agency signings, contract buyouts, and rumors league-wide.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>List of Notable Transactions<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>3\/13\/21 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">&#8211; Oklahoma City Thunder trade Hamidou Diallo to the Detroit Pistons for Svi Mykhailiuk<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>3\/10\/21 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">&#8211; Utah Jazz sign forward Ersan Ilyasova for the rest of the season<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>3\/7\/20 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">&#8211; Blake Griffin has signed with the Brooklyn Nets<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>3\/5\/20<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> &#8211; Blake Griffin and the Pistons agree to a contract buyout<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><b>Reports and Rumors<\/b><\/h3>\n<h3><b>3\/12\/21 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">&#8211; PJ Tucker leaves Houston Rockets indefinitely, impending trade or contract buyout<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">After weeks of trade rumors and openly expressed frustration, PJ Tucker has left the Houston Rockets indefinitely; deciding not to play Thursday night against the Kings, and is not expected to return to the team. Regarding Tucker\u2019s status, Houston Rockets head coach Stephen Silas announced the following, \u201cWe\u2019re going to try to figure out something that works for him and works for us as far as him not being on the team anymore\u201d &#8211; per ESPN\u2019s Tim MacMahon.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Stephen Silas on PJ Tucker: \u201cWe\u2019re going to try to figure out something that works for him and works for us as far as him not being on the team anymore. I was under the assumption that he was going to play tonight and he didn\u2019t play. That was disappointing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/espn_macmahon\/status\/1370249218393247744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 12, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Also worth mentioning, Stephen Silas mentioned that Tucker\u2019s decision came to him at a surprise. Silas said in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/espn_macmahon\/status\/1370250815802208258?s=20\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">another statement<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that \u201cHe decided that he was just not really with it, and we decided that that\u2019s a good idea. Let\u2019s move on.\u201d PJ Tucker now joins Andre Drummond and LaMarcus Aldridge as players away from their teams while the front offices determine the next steps.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>3\/12\/21<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> &#8211; OKC trades Hamidou Diallo to the Pistons for Svi Mykhailiuk and a 2027 second-round pick<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Thunder and the Pistons have agreed to a perfect contract swap in trading Hamidou Diallo for Svi Mykhailiuk. Each player is making $1,663,861 this year, and are both entering restricted free agency this offseason. This marks the Pistons third mid-season transaction, following the trade of Derrick Rose to the Knicks, and the contract buyout of Blake Griffin just last week. Meanwhile, Thunder GM Sam Presti has now added <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/okcthunderwire.usatoday.com\/lists\/breaking-down-the-oklahoma-city-thunders-future-draft-picks\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">yet another future pick<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to his overwhelming arsenal of draft capital.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Sam Presti and his plethora of draft picks: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/O44a5xmLsN\">pic.twitter.com\/O44a5xmLsN<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Esfandiar | Darth Es (@JustEsBaraheni) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JustEsBaraheni\/status\/1370544464972898308?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 13, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Diallo, the 2019 slam dunk contest champion, has been performing well for the Thunder this season, averaging career bests with 11.9 ppg, and 5.4 rpg. Meanwhile, Mykhailiuk has been in the midst of a bad shooting slump, hitting just 37.7% overall, and 33.3% from three point range.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>3\/10\/21<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> &#8211;\u00a0 LaMarcus Aldridge and the Spurs have \u201cmutually agreed\u201d to part ways<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Much to everyone\u2019s surprise, in the first NBA pre-game interview following the All Star break, Spurs head coach Greg Popovich announced that LaMarcus Aldridge and the team have \u201cmutually agreed\u201d to part ways. Popovich explained, \u201cHe\u2019s done everything we\u2019ve asked. At this point, we\u2019d just like to do something that will work for him as much for our club, because he deserves that\u201d, per <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/espn_macmahon\/status\/1369809986289692672\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">ESPN\u2019s Tim MacMahon<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Spurs are working on trade scenarios with LaMarcus Aldridge and have been engaged on several fronts, sources tell ESPN.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wojespn\/status\/1369804450978729985?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 11, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rumors of LaMarcus Aldridge and Demar Derozan\u2019s departure from the Spurs have been rumbling <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/hoopshype.com\/storyline\/lamarcus-aldridge-trade\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">for months now<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, but this announcement is still surprising, given that San Antonio is currently sitting at the seventh seed in the West with a 19-16 record. As the Spurs approach a 2021 offseason with a projected $50M+ in cap space and a young roster, it was never expected for Aldridge and San Antonio to negotiate a contract extension.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Aldridge\u2019s contract will be difficult for the Spurs to move via trade. The 35-year-old Center is on an expiring $24M deal, averaging a career low in rebounds this season (4.5 rpg), as well as his worst points per game average since his 2006-2007 rookie season (13.7). Despite his contract and performance woes, he\u2019s still garnered interest from several teams, including the Heat, Celtics, and Trail Blazers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>3\/7\/20 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">&#8211; Blake Griffin signing with the Brooklyn Nets<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">After agreeing to a buyout of his remaining $56.5M salary with the Pistons just two days ago, Blake Griffin is now headed to Brooklyn on a one-year, veteran minimum exception. Griffin is expected to be a \u201csmall-ball center option off the bench\u201d for the Nets, who are currently sitting at 2nd in the Eastern Conference, according to ESPN\u2019s Adrian Wojnarowski.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Free agent forward Blake Griffin has agreed to a deal with the Brooklyn Nets for the rest of the season, his agent Sam Goldfeder of <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/excelbasketball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@excelbasketball<\/a> tells ESPN.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wojespn\/status\/1368714370994364425?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 8, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The signing adds some much needed depth for Brooklyn at the power forward slot, especially in games without Kevin Durant. The MVP forward has played just 19 of the Nets 37 games this season, having now been out since February 13th. Amidst his absence, the team has relied on secondary power forward options in veteran Jeff Green and stretch-guard Timothe Luwawu-Cabarro. But with these players battling injury in recent weeks, it has left the Nets running heavily small-ball lineups.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The addition of Blake Griffin allows head coach Steve Nash more flexibility for taller opponent lineups like the Clippers and the 76ers, as well as higher efficiency for a James Harden-led second unit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>3\/5\/21<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> &#8211; Blake Griffin has agreed to a contract buyout with the Detroit Pistons<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">According to ESPN\u2019s Bobby Marks, Griffin gave back $13.3 million in his contract to get the deal done. This leaves Detroit with a $32.7M cap hit for this season, and a $29.8M cap hit for 2021-2022; which the Pistons have elected to not use a stretch provision on.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Cap hit on the Griffin buyout in Detroit:<\/p>\n<p>2020\/21: $32.7M<br \/>2021\/22: $29.8M<\/p>\n<p>No stretch provision for the Pistons for next year which is the smart play.<\/p>\n<p>Full financial breakdown on my <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/instagram?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@instagram<\/a> page on why it makes sense for both sides. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/XQnPZMudHo\">pic.twitter.com\/XQnPZMudHo<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BobbyMarks42\/status\/1367986239253721099?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 5, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Griffin hasn\u2019t played since Feb 12<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">th<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, as he was held out of the lineup indefinitely while the Pistons worked toward a potential trade or contract buyout. Finding a trade was nearly impossible, as the six-time All Star was owed a remaining $36.6 million on his contract this season, as well as $39 million for his 2021-22 option.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Prior to his benching last month, Griffin was averaging a career low 12.3 ppg this season, as well as 5.2 rpg and 3.9 apg. Following a string of knee injuries that forced him to miss a bulk of last season, many fans and analysts were calling for him to begin <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pistonpowered.com\/2021\/01\/07\/detroit-pistons-face-truth-blake-griffin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">coming off the bench<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Despite his struggles, Griffin has already spurred interest from multiple championship contending teams, including Los Angeles Lakers and the Clippers, with the Brooklyn Nets reportedly as leaders to sign him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>3\/5\/21<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u2013 Andre Drummond receiving trade interest from the Bulls and Knicks<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">With the team sitting near the bottom of the Eastern Conference yet again, at 14-22, the Cavaliers appear to be receiving trade calls regarding multiple players, including Andre Drummond.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Drummond has been out of the lineup indefinitely since Feb 12th, as Cleveland explores his potential trade or buyout options. The Bulls have <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/theathletic.com\/2425373\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">reportedly<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> explored trade options to acquire him, as well as the Knicks, Celtics, Trail Blazers, and Clippers over the past month. The Knicks, however, are viewed as frontrunners, according to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/fortyeightminutes.com\/bulls-cavs-andre-drummond\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sam Amico<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ever since Cleveland obtained Jarrett Allen via trade in mid-January, Drummond\u2019s team status has been in question ever since. He and the Cavaliers were <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbssports.com\/nba\/news\/cavaliers-andre-drummond-arent-close-on-contract-extension-could-be-trade-candidate-next-season-per-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">reportedly<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> far apart in contract extension negotiations heading into this final year of his contract, making him a likely trade option this year. Now with Jarrett Allen thriving at the center position, (leading the league in field goal percentage, and among the Top 15 in rebounds per game), Cavs GM Koby Altman has all the more reason to explore the market on the former Detroit bigman.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>3\/4\/21<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u2013 PJ Tucker drawing interest from playoff contenders, including the Lakers and Nets<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The 35-year-old Forward for the Houston Rockets is reportedly on the trade radar of the Nets, Bucks, Heat, Nuggets, and Lakers, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Tucker has been in Houston since 2017 and has thrived as a defensive swiss-army knife for the team. Many remember his pivotal role in guarding Anthony Davis during the Western Conference Semifinals of the recent 2020 NBA bubble.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">P.J. Tucker applying pressure to Anthony Davis \ud83d\udc40<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NBAPlayoffs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#NBAPlayoffs<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ESPNonDSTV?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#ESPNonDSTV<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/DStvSenegal?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#DStvSenegal<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/g4r3BBJJjs\">pic.twitter.com\/g4r3BBJJjs<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; DStv Senegal (@DStvSn) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DStvSn\/status\/1302262076547780616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 5, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Tucker has been struggling this season, averaging career lows with just 4.4 ppg. and a poor 31% from the three. However, those numbers aren\u2019t stopping championship level teams from exploring the market for the 15-year veteran. He\u2019s currently in the final year of his four-year, $32 million contract. Shams Charania <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/nba.nbcsports.com\/2021\/03\/06\/lakers-nets-bucks-others-reportedly-interested-in-p-j-tucker-trade\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">reports<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that the Rockets are seeking a young player in return for their veteran, as Houston sits at 14<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">th<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in the Western Conference, with a 11-23 record.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This 2020-21 NBA season has proven to be one of the strangest we have ever seen in the sport. Amidst a worldwide pandemic, the league chose to forgo it\u2019s recent \u201cNBA Bubble\u201d experience and operate with teams traveling to cities across the country, similar to the NFL and MLB\u2019s protocols. As a result, with players&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4986,"featured_media":2983,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[358,34,356,31,39,357],"class_list":["post-2980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","tag-andre-drummond","tag-blake-griffin","tag-brooklyn-nets","tag-nba","tag-nba-trade-deadline","tag-p-j-tucker"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportsreporting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportsreporting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportsreporting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportsreporting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4986"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportsreporting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2980"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportsreporting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2980\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3095,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportsreporting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2980\/revisions\/3095"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportsreporting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportsreporting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportsreporting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportsreporting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}