July 8: Nuggets Join Three-Team Trade
In a three-team trade, the Warriors send guard Brandon Rush, forward Richard Jefferson and center Andris Biedrins, first-round picks in 2014 and 2017, two second-round picks and cash considerations to the Jazz in exchange for guard Kevin Murphy. The Jazz sign-and-trade guard Randy Foye to the Nuggets in exchange for a 2018 second-round pick. The Nuggets sign-and-trade guard/forward Andre Iguodala to the Warriors.
• See the news story on the deal
Denver: C+
Iguodala's departure left the Nuggets in a tough spot trying to replace him on the wing. With most of the top free agents off the market, Denver was left to settle for the undersized Foye, who is a shooting upgrade but will represent a major defensive downgrade from Iguodala. Utah allowed 4.4 more points per 100 possessions with Foye on the court last season, per 82games.com.
At least, by participating in a sign-and-trade, the Nuggets created a $9 million trade exception that can help them improve their wing options at some point before the trade deadline.
Golden State: B+
No, the Warriors didn't land Dwight Howard, but they still made free agency work by dumping $24 million in salary and clearing enough space to sign Andre Iguodala to a four-year, $48 million deal. Jefferson and Biedrins had essentially no value on the court, and while Golden State will miss Rush, the upgrade to Iguodala should be worth the pair of first-round picks the Warriors sent out.
On top of everything else, the Warriors created two gigantic trade exceptions for the contracts of Biedrins ($9 million) and Jefferson ($11 million). That's important, because to pull off everything, they will have to renounce the rights to backups Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry, leaving them with only the $2.7 million room exception to use in free agency.
Barring another move -- and David Lee could be on the market with Harrison Barnes potentially replacing him at power forward -- Golden State has a bench of Barnes, Draymond Green, injured Festus Ezeli (out through at least the end of 2013 following knee surgery), defensive specialist/towel waver Kent Bazemore and rookie Nemanja Nedovic. The Warriors badly need another guard and a big man, especially given Andrew Bogut's fragility. So look for them to be aggressive with the trade exceptions to fill out their roster.
One quibble with the deal, above and beyond the risk of dealing unprotected first-round picks: Why did the Warriors give up their 2017 first-rounder and not either 2016 or 2018? Because teams are required to have a first-round selection every other year, barring another move to add a pick, Golden State now can't trade its choices in 2015, 2016 or 2018.
Utah: B-
There are two ways to evaluate trades, and they offer contrasting viewpoints on the Jazz's participation in this trade. One frame is to look at every trade based on whether it improves the team. From that standpoint, Utah is better off with two additional first-round picks and Rush, who could be flipped at the trade deadline. With the Jazz have committed to rebuilding around their young core and dealing with next season's growing pains in order to potentially make a top-10 pick in next year's draft, this is a positive move.
The other method is to analyze the value a team gets in return. That's where Utah seems to fall short. The $24 million in contracts is a remarkable amount to swallow, and the return for that seems relatively paltry. Historically, that's about twice as much money as teams have taken on for first-round picks. The Jazz seem to be banking on the chance that the unprotected picks will land higher than expected. Next year's pick looks likely to end up in the early 20s -- about the same as the pick Utah got from the Warriors this year, via the Deron Williams trade. The second pick has major upside because 2017 is too far out to predict. But if it ends up in the 20s, the Jazz will end up with relatively little to show for taking on so much salary.
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