Last night was full of drama as the draft gave fans a preview of what this offseason will be looking like.
Brooklyn was the place to be as some high quality trades were made that had a lot of fans shaking their heads in disbelief or like a Migos song, clubhouse jumping like Jordan. Some of the major draft day trades that had people surprised was the New York Knicks trading away Tim Hardaway Jr. to the Atlanta Hawks for the rights to Jerian Grant. Just in case you need a reminder of who the Knicks have acquired, Grant is a 6″4 combo guard who was just dropping buckets for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The son of former NBA pro Harvey Grant, Jerian provides the ability to defend multiple positions while providing some potential highlight reels on the offensive side.
Other than Phil adding some talented and experienced youth to his roster, point guard Luke Ridnour went on a virtual world tour as he played the role of a human basketball as teams were just passing him around as if they was trying to break a 2-3 zone. The former Oregon product was traded from Orlando to Memphis for Jannis Timma. Then on the same day, Grizzlies decided to trade Ridnour to the Charlotte Hornets for Matt Barnes. MJ decided to let him go then ship him to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Jeremy Lamb and a 2016 2nd round draft pick. As late, there hasn’t been any news of the Thunder letting Luke go. Let’s just hope OKC will be Ridnour’s final home before the upcoming NBA season begins.
Lastly, Portland and the Brooklyn Nets made a move that could be win-win for both clubs. Both teams were able to come up with a deal that sent Mason Plumlee and their 41st pick that they acquired from a deal with the Hawks from the Joe Johnson deal in 2012 with the Blazers for Steve Blake and Arizona Wildcats high flyer Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. By losing Plumlee, the Nets were able to add youth to the front court while picking up a veteran savy guard who knows how to step in crunch time, in Blake. The Bucks were able to add veteran Greivis Vasquez from a deal with Toronto that consists of Milwaukee giving up their 46th pick and a 2017 1st round pick. By adding Vasquez to the roster, Coach Jason Kidd has a guard with playoff experience who can knock down the three ball. Greivis can be a major help for a youthful Bucks team, adding some major assistance to on the ball duties for former rookie of the year winner in Michael Carter-Williams.
As draft day ended with a big bang, it’s time for fans to stay tune into the most important date of the summer: July 1, 2015. That day marks the official start of NBA free agency. With rumors like Ty Lawson going to Sacramento, LaMarcus Aldridge interested in signing with the Lakers and Kevin Love opting out of his contract, this is going to be a real intriguing summer for all 32 NBA teams.
Omari White
Follow Omari on Instagram/Twitter (@SmooveGuyO).