2016 NBA Draft-Day Trades Recap

There were a lot of rumors about possible trades going down on draft day, and like each year, there were some big moves made before the night ended. Here is a list of all the trades that were made before and during the 2016 NBA draft. Jesse Blancarte and Jabari Davis compiled the trades and provided analysis.

Oklahoma City Thunder: Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova and rights to Damontas Sabonis

Orlando Magic:  Serge Ibaka

Analysis: This significant trade caught everyone by surprise. Reports surfaced before the draft that teams were making offers to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Serge Ibaka, but it was not apparent that players like Victor Oladipo were in play.

While Ibaka is a talented player and should fortify the Magic’s defense in the frontcourt, he is only under contract through next season. Giving up a young player like Oladipo, as well as a young prospect like Sabonis, is pretty significant considering the risk that Ibaka could walk after one season in Orlando. However, Ibaka is an ideal player to put next to Magic center Nikola Vucevic, who has a nice offensive game but lacks the ability to effectively protect the rim on defense.

For the Thunder, this is a very interesting move considering that superstar forward Kevin Durant is days away from becoming an unrestricted free agent and Russell Westbrook only has one year left on his contract. Thunder general manager Sam Presti undoubtedly made this deal with some sort of feedback from Durant and Westbrook, as he is doing everything he can to keep his superstars in town.

The Thunder made the decision to explore the market, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Wojnarowksi also reported that Ibaka did not request a trade. Oladipo pairs up with Westbrook, which could be one of the most athletic backcourts in the NBA. Oladipo’s arrival also puts Dion Waiters’ future with the Thunder into question, as there is some overlap between these two players.

Sabonis is another nice addition for the Thunder. He averaged 17.5 points, 11.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists for Gonzaga last season. He is also a talented offensive player and plays with a lot of intensity. He doesn’t project to be a top-level defender, however, but isn’t a complete liability on that end either.

Brooklyn Nets: Caris LeVert (20^th pick), future second-round pick

Indiana Pacers:  Thaddeus Young

Analysis: The Brooklyn Nets and Indiana Pacers got off to an early start, agreeing to terms on this trade hours in advance of the draft. Indiana brings in Young after recently acquiring point guard Jeff Teague in a three-team trade. The Pacers fired former head coach Frank Vogel after their season ended and promoted Nate McMillan to be his replacement. With McMillan in place and these aggressive moves to bring in veteran talent, it seems clear that the Pacers are trying to restructure on the fly and compete for a deep playoff run next season.

The Nets entered today’s draft with new general manager Sean Marks, who has the tall task of rebuilding a Brooklyn franchise that has recklessly traded away players and draft assets in recent seasons in a failed attempt to compete for a championship. By trading Young, Marks unloads significant cap space and gets a young player and future second-round pick in return. This is just the beginning of what will be a multi-year restructuring process in Brooklyn.

This trade cannot officially be made until July 1.

Sacramento Kings: Bogdan Bogdanovic, Georgios Papagiannis (13^th  pick) and Skal Labissiere (28^th pick).

Phoenix Suns:  Marquese Chriss (8^th pick)

Analysis:
With four first-round picks heading into the draft, it came as no surprise that Phoenix was active on Thursday night, as the Suns helped the Kings solidify their frontcourt depth while bolstering their own with a highly-regarded prospect in Chriss.

Bogdanovic was the 27th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft and averaged 11.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists per contest for Fenerbahce Istanbul last season. It is believed he will play one more season of international basketball before transitioning to the NBA for the 2017-18 season.

Papagiannis could be another player Sacramento decides to leave playing overseas for the time being, but Labissiere will see time with the team and/or their D-League affiliate in the upcoming season. Chriss joins a talented, young core in Phoenix and adds a bit of frontcourt versatility lost with last season’s roster moves.

This trade cannot officially be made until July 1.

Charlotte Hornets: Marco Belinelli

Sacramento Kings:  Malachi Richardson (22^nd pick)

Analysis: The Charlotte Hornets acquire Belinelli, age 30, who is coming off of arguably the worst season of his NBA career. Belinelli adds shooting for the Hornets and is only owed roughly $13 million over the next two years, but is a poor defender and doesn’t project to get any better on that end moving forward.

The Kings used their acquired pick to select Malachi Richardson, who averaged 13.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 steals in his one and only season at Syracuse. Richardson has good size for his position and projects to be a good defensive player, but his shooting percentages were pretty low in his one college season. However, analysts generally believe that Richardson will be a good shooter at the NBA level and that his poor percentages are a result of bad shot selection. If Richardson is able to clean up his decision making and hone in on his strengths, he could be a steal for the Kings considering they only had to give up Belinelli.

This trade cannot officially be made until July 1.

Boston Celtics: Deyonta Davis (31st pick), Rade Zagorac (35th pick)

Memphis Grizzlies: Future first-round pick (2019) of the Los Angeles Clippers (owned by Memphis)

Analysis: Davis ended up waiting to be selected about twice as long as many scouts seemed to anticipate heading into the draft, but remains a talented option to groom as an eventual replacement for Zach Randolph at the power forward position for Memphis.

This trade cannot officially be made until July 1.

Los Angeles Clippers: Cheick Diallo (33rd pick)

New Orleans Pelicans: David Michineau (39th pick), Diamond Stone (40th pick)

Analysis: The Clippers get a bit of a value pick with Stone as he could be seen as a backup for DeAndre Jordan. He can score beneath the rim and shot 75 percent from the free throw line last season at Maryland. Michineau is an athletic, but unpolished guard option for the Clippers to explore. Diallo might be a bit undersized to play the PF/C at this level, but could transition into a defensive-minded combo forward role for the Pelicans.

This trade cannot officially be made until July 1.

Milwaukee Bucks: Patrick McCaw (38th pick)

Golden State Warriors: Financial considerations

Analysis: Although he may need to improve his ball handling a bit, McCaw is precisely the type of “jack-of-all-trades” shooting guard that should fit in well with the Warriors. He has the skill set and athleticism to potentially contribute on both ends of the court at this level.

This trade cannot be officially made until July 1.