The deal
Blazers get: Trevor Ariza, Wenyen Gabriel and Caleb Swanigan
Kings get: Kent Bazemore, Anthony Tolliver and two second-round picks
Get more trade grades for every deal here
Portland Trail Blazers: A-
As they continued to be hit by injuries and slip further behind in the Western Conference postseason race -- they're now tied for 10th in the West, 2.5 games back of the Memphis Grizzlies for the eighth and final playoff spot -- the Blazers continued to own the NBA's largest payroll, an untenable situation. This trade enables the Blazers to cut their luxury-tax bill in half while simultaneously improving in terms of their ability to compete this season and future flexibility, which seems well worth a pair of distant second-round picks.
Let's start with the financial element, which is front and center. Bazemore and Tolliver combined to count $20.9 million against the cap this season (as an 11-season veteran playing on a one-year deal, Tolliver is making $2.6 million, but the team is responsible for just $1.6 million of that). The three players coming back from Sacramento are making a combined $15.7 million. So the Blazers will save about $2.5 million in salary the rest of the season and, more importantly, have shaved nearly $10 million off their tax bill for a total savings of $12.5 million, according to research by my ESPN colleague Bobby Marks.
On the court, an argument could be made that this deal improves Portland's chances of making a playoff run after starting big men Zach Collins and Jusuf Nurkic return later this season. Though he remains a quality defender, Bazemore's shooting has been a disappointment with the Blazers. He has hit just 33% of his 3s and a career-low 37% inside the arc for a dismal .475 true shooting percentage. Buoyed by 35% 3-point shooting -- right on his career average -- Ariza's true shooting percentage is a far superior .543. Ariza's ability to defend power forwards will also give Portland coach Terry Stotts more options with his frontcourt shorthanded.
With Tolliver headed to Sacramento and backup center Skal Labissiere also out another two to three weeks due to a knee injury, it's possible Swanigan could also get some rotation minutes. The Blazers originally drafted Swanigan in the 2017 first round before sending him to the Kings for Labissiere at last year's deadline. He has played sparingly in Sacramento.
Perhaps more interesting than what this deal means for Portland over the next three months is how it gives the Blazers more options going forward. In Bazemore and center Hassan Whiteside, Portland had nearly $47 million in expiring salaries. Because of their tax situation, they wouldn't have wanted to keep all that money on their books next year, but turning Bazemore and/or Whiteside into players with smaller salaries under contract gave the Blazers more spending power for 2020-21 than letting both deals expire. In that case, they'd have only slightly more cap space than the non-taxpayer midlevel exception they could use by staying over the cap.
From that standpoint, Ariza's deal is even more favorable than Bazemore's. His $12.8 million salary for 2020-21 is just $1.8 million guaranteed through June 30, giving Portland a choice between keeping Ariza at that price, letting him walk for cap space or trading him up through that date for a player under contract for next season. Additionally, the Blazers will create a $7 million trade exception because of the difference in salaries between Bazemore and Ariza.
Sacramento Kings: C
From the Kings' standpoint, the appeal of this trade seems to come down to the draft picks. Sacramento's hopes of ending a 13-season playoff drought have dwindled with the team battling injuries and losing all three games on a homestand that just concluded. The Kings are now tied for 13th in the West, and while they're only two games back of Portland, passing so many teams will be difficult.
If Sacramento is out of the playoff picture, the difference between Ariza and Bazemore the rest of the season is largely irrelevant, meaning the Kings have paid about $2.5 million in extra salary for the picks and to free themselves of the $1.8 million owed Ariza in 2020-21. With impending restricted free agent Bogdan Bogdanovic due a big raise this summer, Sacramento was less likely to either keep Ariza on the books or trade him for a player under contract.
I'm less inclined to give the Kings credit for clearing a roster spot by trading three players for two. If they were willing to add salary to do so, as this deal does, Sacramento could have opened up a spot by simply waiving Swanigan.