NBA Trade Grades: Sacramento Kings get Kent Bazemore for veteran, 2 young bigs
By Phil Watson
Here are the NBA Trade Grades on a reported 5-player deal. The Sacramento Kings and Portland Trail Blazers will swap Kent Bazemore for Trevor Ariza.
The Portland Trail Blazers have reportedly made a deal that will bring a couple of big bodies to their depleted roster, with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reporting the Blazers will trade veterans Kent Bazemore and Anthony Tolliver along with two second-round picks to the Sacramento Kings for Trevor Ariza, Caleb Swanigan and Wenyen Gabriel. We’ll explore the NBA Trade Grades here.
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Swanigan and Gilbert will give Portland some depth in their frontcourt, which has been decimated by injuries to Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins, while Skal Labissiere is out until at least early February with an articular cartilage lesion in his left knee.
The Trail Blazers will also get veteran wing Trevor Ariza in the trade, while the Kings will pick up $20.89 million in expiring contracts by acquiring Bazemore ($19.27 million) and Tolliver (veteran’s minimum of $1.62 million), per Jeff Siegel of Early Bird Rights.
Ariza is making $12.2 million this season and has a $12.8 million salary for next season, of which only $1.8 million is guaranteed. Portland will have to decide by June 30 whether to exercise the option, which would fully guarantee Ariza’s 2020-21 salary, or decline it and take the $1.8 million cap hit for next season, according to Wojnarowski.
Injuries have hurt both teams this season, with Portland — which reached the Western Conference Finals last season — 11th in the Western Conference at 18-26.
The Kings are tied for 13th at 15-27, having dealt with extended injury absences by Marvin Bagley III and De’Aaron Fox, while Bogdan Bogdanovic has been in and out of the rotation with nagging hamstring and ankle problems.
The Blazers trail the eighth-place Memphis Grizzlies in the West by three games,with the San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns in between Portland and the Grizzlies. Sacramento is five games behind, with the Spurs, Suns, Blazers and New Orleans Pelicans standing in the way.
According to Jason Quick of The Athletic, the deal can’t become official until Tuesday because Gabriel’s contract was converted from a two-way deal to a regular NBA contract on Oct. 21, meaning Gabriel can’t be traded for 90 days. That moratorium expires Tuesday.
Here are the NBA Trade Grades, beginning with the Trail Blazers.