Top-heavy, that’s the best word to describe the state of the Eastern Conference over the last three years. The Cleveland Cavaliers were clearly head and shoulders above their competitors in the East because of an overwhelming collection of talent on their roster.
That status quo could change this year as the Cavs might have actually found their match. The Boston Celtics bolstered their lineup with their acquisition of Gordon Hayward and former Cavs’ Kyrie Irving this offseason. All of a sudden, Boston has new ‘Big 3’ – including All-Star forward Al Horford - to counter LeBron James’ group of All-Star players.
Just outside the tier one of Eastern Conference elites are the Milwaukee Bucks. Giannis Antetokounmpo’s ascendance to superstar level has brought the Bucks to relevance over the last three years. Under head coach Jason Kidd, the Greek Freak has blossomed into a multi-tool basketball player, impacting the game on both ends of the floor. The Bucks front-office recognizes the talent in Giannis, that’s why each year they have made a steady effort to surround him with a great supporting cast.
These three teams are poised to begin a battle that’s going to sweep through the conference for the next eight months. The most intriguing part about this new three-way deadlock is each of these teams still has something up their sleeves – a trump card of a trade that will shake up the East.
DeMarcus Cousins to Bucks
ESPN’s Micah Adams suggested a trade will help the Bucks hit two birds with one stone. Milwaukee is at risk of losing one of its promising young players for nothing after failing to reach a contract extension with Jabari Parker before the Oct. 16 deadline. Worse, Re-signing Parker won't be easy as it requires a lot of player movements in order to create room for him.
It’s not going to be a popular move for the Bucks but trading former no.2 pick and disgruntled big man John Henson ($11.5M) to the Pelicans for Cousins is intriguing for many reasons. The presence of Cousins in the middle would instantly address the Bucks’ rebounding problems and lack of interior scoring. More importantly, it is the potential of the Cousins-Antetokounmpo combo that makes this trade idea worth exploring for.
Tyson Chandler to Celtics
Let’s get it right, the Celtics already have the lineup to compete with the star-studded Cavaliers. The trio of Horford, Hayward, and Irving along with highly-talented youngsters Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are enough reasons why the Celtics are destined for another deep playoff run. Having said of that, the Celtics can still reach another level with another blockbuster move. Danny Ainge can still use a couple of highly-valued first-round picks and perhaps swing for another trade, this time for a pure center.
Tyson Chandler appears to be an under-the-radar trade target for Boston. The 35-year old veteran still averaged 8.5 PPG and 11.3 RPG during the 2016-17 NBA season.
At 13M per year, the former All-Star bigman is a cheap trade target compared to other centers.
Sending a package consists of Marcus Smart (flight risk prospect next summer), Marcus Morris / Aron Baynes and draft picks to Phoenix would do the trick. By adding Chandler, Celtics can now put Horford to his natural power forward position and form one of the better front-line tandems in the East.
Marc Gasol to Cavs
The Cavaliers are aware that teams are already catching up with them in terms of talent. To maintain their three-year stranglehold, another blockbuster deal seems necessary. Thankfully for the Cavs, they have the asset to pull off that magnitude of a trade.
The Brooklyn Nets 2018 first round pick they acquired in the Kyrie Irving trade will play a crucial role in the Cavs’ grand plan.
One intriguing trade idea out there is trading Tristan Thompson, Channing Frye and the Nets pick to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for All-Star bigman Marc Gasol.
The acquisition of Gasol will stabilize the Cavs front-line and give them another scoring option outside LeBron, Dwyane Wade, Isaiah Thomas and Kevin Love.
