Tag Archives: trade

The Padres Making Huge Moves for 2021 Season

This MLB offseason has been far from a ‘Hot Stove’ as teams took a financial beating from the COVID-19 shortened season. Teams have been looking to cut payroll, but many haven’t found any takers.

The Padres made two huge moves this week when they traded for Rays starting pitcher Blake Snell and then pulled the trigger on a trade for Cubs starting pitcher Yu Darvish. They managed to complete both trades without giving up their best pitching prospect, starter MacKenzie Gore.

The Rays will receive a nice load of prospects in return for Snell. The package is headlined by pitcher Luis Patino, with catcher Blake Hunt, pitcher Cole Wilcox and the former highly-touted prospect (and now possible reclamation project) catcher Francisco Mejia rounding out the deal. Patino is a steep price, but the Padres still have some great pitching prospects in their farm system.

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The Kings Have No Idea What They Are Doing

The Sacramento Kings keep showing the world how NOT to run an NBA team.

Owner Vivek Ranadive was supposed to bring life to the stagnant Kings franchise, but since he took over ownership a few years ago, they just keep making huge mistakes.

The Kings agreed to trade potential franchise cornerstone DeMarcus Cousins (and Omri Casspi and a second-round 2017 pick) to the New Orleans Pelicans for rookie Buddy Hield, former Kings player Tyreke Evans, Langston Galloway and a top-three protected first-round pick.

I realize Cousins was a cancer in the Kings locker room, but I think he’s at a level that a team in Sacramento’s current situation should exhaust all attempts to appease him. I realize that the Kings were going to have to pony up a huge contract extension soon, but I think this trade was a huge mistake.

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Pacers Acquire Jeff Teague in Three-Team Deal

With the NBA Draft taking place on Thursday, NBA teams are trying to fill holes right before the draft.

The Indiana Pacers, Atlanta Hawks and Utah Jazz got together on a deal on Wednesday that sent Atlanta point guard Jeff Teague to the Pacers, Indiana point guard George Hill to the Jazz and the Hawks would receive Utah’s #12 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft.

The Pacers have been rumored to be interested in Teague for quite some time. They needed a third team’s involvement since a straight point guard for point guard swap wouldn’t work due to Atlanta’s possible salary cap issues and the fact that Atlanta point guard Dennis Schroder has played well enough to now start at point guard for the Hawks.

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It’s Okay to be Happy about the Roy Hibbert Trade

I’ve been an Indiana Pacers fan as long as I can remember. It was great during the Reggie Miller years, but after the ‘Malice at the Palace’, it became really difficult. Not only is your favorite team look at as ‘thugs’, but the years after it was just a mess.

After years of drafting ‘high character’ guys and signing ‘safe’ players, things finally turned around for the Pacers when they were lucky enough to draft Roy Hibbert, Paul George and Lance Stephenson. Things didn’t work out with Lance in the long-term, but there was hope for George and Hibbert to be a part of the team for a long time.

Well, everything went bad in a hurry.

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Lance Stephenson traded to Clippers

As a long-time Lance Stephenson fan, I hated to see his playing time cut in his first season in Charlotte. He left the Indiana Pacers and signed a 3-year/$27 million contract with them last Summer.

Well, his stay in Charlotte was a brief one. The Hornets traded Stephenson to the Los Angeles Clippers for Matt Barnes and Spencer Hawes.

The eccentric guard lead the league in triple-doubles in 2013-14 with Indiana, but only started 25 games in Charlotte last season. He fell into coach Steve Clifford’s doghouse for his selfish play (and random tomfoolery).

The Clippers are a perennial contender in the Western Conference. What does the addition of Stephenson mean for the Clippers this offseason?

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Will the Suns trade Goran Dragic?

The NBA trade deadline is Thursday and many teams are looking make some deals. There are a handful of teams that want improve their roster for the playoffs and the rest are basically trying to dump as many assets they can. Those assets are usually expiring contracts, but a few quality players do get moved at the deadline.

Goran Dragic, who won the Most Improved Player award last season (and even got a few MVP votes), looks to be on the move. He made it clear he won’t re-signing with the Phoenix Suns next year. Even though Phoenix is currently holding onto the 8th playoff spot in the West, they can’t afford to let him walk without getting anything in return.

Where will Dragic end up? What kind of deal will Phoenix get in return?

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Cavs Still Don’t Know How to Make LeBron Happy

The Cleveland Cavaliers have made a couple head-scratching moves. First, they traded Dion Waiters for Iman Shumpert’s flat top and J.R. Smith’s ability to get into VIP rooms. Then today, the Cavs traded a couple protected first-round picks to Denver for Tomofey Mozgov (who apparently survived that Blake Griffin dunk).

I get why the Cavs are making trades, but they feel like panic moves. LeBron James is battling knee and back problems and they need to right the ship in a hurry. It clearly wasn’t working out with Waiters and he needed a new home, but the deal they received could be more toxic than helpful.

Will these move put Cleveland one step closer to being a title contender or is it a step backwards?

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What the Heck are the Padres Doing This Offseason?

The San Diego Padres aren’t trying to use a slow-build process to rebuild their team. New general manager A.J. Preller is charging out of the gate. He was a scouting director for the Texas Rangers for the last decade. During his time there, Texas used their farm system to trade for MLB-ready bats and arms.

He appears to be trying to use the same method in San Diego.

The Padres have already traded for former All-Stars Matt Kemp & Justin Upton, former top prospects Wil Myers & Will Middlebrooks and acquired underrated talents like Derek Norris and Brandon Morrow.

Can the San Diego Padres instantly contend with the Dodgers and Giants in the NL West or will they need a year to tinker with their current roster?

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Cubs trade Samardzija & Hammel to Oakland for Prospects

The Chicago Cubs FINALLY made the trade fans knew was coming for a long time.

Cubs’ fans assumed it would take two separate deals to trade both Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel, but they found their trade partner in the Oakland A’s.

The Cubs need young pitching, so you would expect the deal would surround some young arms. Right? Not exactly.

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Chicago Cubs: Trade Candidates

We are a quarter into the 2014 MLB season and the Chicago Cubs are already playing for the 2016 season (yes, not even 2015).

Their farm system is deep, but lacks pitching. They have bats for days (Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, Jorge Soler) and have used their high draft picks on position players. I assume they will draft a starting pitcher with the #4 overall pick in the 2014 MLB Amateur Draft, since they desperately need a future ace.

The Cubs currently have a handful of players that contenders would love to have down the stretch.

There is one player specifically that has been the focus of nearly ever Cubs trade rumor, Jeff Samardzija.

Which Cubs players are currently on the trading block? We will list the most likely trade candidates and any players the Cubs have their eye on in return.

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End Of An Era: Pacers Trade Danny Granger to 76ers

Today, NBA teams were scrambling up until the final minutes to make something happen before the 3pm trade deadline. The day is always filled with hype and hopes their team can make a blockbuster trade to either stockpile draft picks or build for a playoff run…but only minor deals were made today.

The biggest trade of the day was made between the Indiana Pacers and the Philadelphia 76ers. Indiana sent former All-Star Danny Granger and a future second-round pick to Philly for former Ohio State standout Evan Turner and backup power forward Lavoy Allen.

This marks an end of an era for the Indiana Pacers. Granger has been with Indiana since he was drafted in 2005. He was the face of the franchise after Reggie Miller retired that same year. I think his biggest accomplishment is that he survived the Jim O’Brien head coaching era (that was brutal).

How will Evan Turner be used in the Pacers rotation? What does this mean for Lance Stephenson’s impending free agency?

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What Will Pacers Do With Danny Granger?

The Pacers are currently 11-1 with the best record in the Eastern Conference. They have exceeded all expectations and even took the Miami Heat to a Game 7 in the conference finals last season…but they have a huge problem. It’s a problem many teams in the NBA wish they could have. Danny Granger.

Granger, who has been out for nearly a calendar year, is due back next month. Lance Stephenson replaced him in the starting lineup and is becoming a star. He has already recorded two triple-doubles this season.

When Granger comes back, do you mess with the chemistry of the team and replace Stephenson in the starting lineup? Could they bring Granger, their longest tenured player, off the bench? Is a trade the best long-term solution to the problem?

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