Toronto Receives: Justise Winslow, Chris Bosh, 17th Overall Pick
Milwaukee Receives: Serge Ibaka, Delon Wright, 14th Overall Pick
Miami Receives: Greg Monroe, DeMarre Carroll, 23rd Overall Pick
Why Toronto Trades:
| Raptors Depth | ||
| Jonas Valanciunas | Lucas Nogueira | Jakob Poeltl |
| Patrick Patterson? | Pascal Siakam | Chris Bosh |
| Justise Winslow | P.J. Tucker? | Bruno Caboclo |
| DeMar Derozan | Norman Powell | 17th Overall Pick |
| Kyle Lowry | Cory Joseph | Fred VanVleet |
Most don’t even realize that Chris Bosh is still in the NBA, but yes, Chris Bosh is still on the Miami Heat’s payroll and roster. He hasn’t played in an NBA game since February 9th of 2016, but the twelve-time all-star is immensely talented if he can play. If he can’t, then there is no better place to retire for him than the place his career started: Toronto.
Of course, in a basketball sense, the Raptors make this trade because they are betting on Justise Winslow’s potential – something he has yet to show. Winslow is a very good athlete, however, and there is no better place for him to showcase his athleticism than in the high paced Raptors starting line-up. For Toronto, Winslow can be the guy who guards the opponent’s best perimeter player because they do not have much production from DeMarre Carroll right now, who’s upside is also vastly more limited than that of Winslow’s.
Why Milwaukee Trades:
| Bucks Depth | ||
| Serge Ibaka? | John Henson | 14th Overall Pick |
| Jabari Parker | Spencer Hawes | Mirza Teletovic |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | Thon Maker | Michael Beasley? |
| Khris Middleton | Tony Snell? | Rashad Vaughn |
| Malcolm Brogdon | Delon Wright | Matthew Dellavedova |
Milwaukee trades because they get rid of a player who failed to make an impact defensively for a high level defensive player. Ibaka has a career 103 defensive rating, was a three-time all-defensive first team member, and he was a four time blocked shots leader. Ibaka is a rim protector and a shot blocker. He also contributed on offense. Ibaka averaged 14.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game last playoffs. Ibaka has corner three range, and contributes in many ways as a catch and shoot offensive player and stout defensive player.
Delon Wright is interesting. The Raptors’ back-up guard is very athletic, good at finishing, and he has some range too (.357 from three post-all-star break.) The Utah product hasn’t gotten too many minutes, but he has produced .120 win shares per 48 minutes. Wright is a much better option as a back-up for Malcolm Brogdon than Matthew Dellavedova or Gary Payton II.
Greg Monroe could score well in the post, but Ibaka has more potential on both sides of the basketball with his rim protection and range. Also getting the last pick in the lottery is a great bonus for Milwaukee.
Why Miami Trades:
| Heat Depth | ||
| Hassan Whiteside | Willie Reed | Udonis Haslem? |
| Greg Monroe | James Johnson? | Josh McRoberts |
| DeMarre Caroll | Wayne Ellington | Luke Babbitt? |
| Dion Waiters | Tyler Johnson | Rodney McGruder |
| Goran Dragic | Josh Richardson | 23rd Overall Pick |
Miami trades because they get two great players for the price of none. Justise Winslow has potential, but he has not shown much in regards to living up to it. Winslow, still just 21, is a great athlete, but he only shot 35.6% from the field last season, and the Heat went just 3-12 with him in the starting line-up vs. 38-29 with him out of it.
With this trade, Miami nets Greg Monroe, who fits in perfectly there. Whether in the starting line-up or off the bench, Monroe is an efficient scorer who can create his own shot. Last season, he finished with 5.6 win shares off the bench, a 21.1 PER, and he averaged 18.8 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.8 steals per 36 minutes on 53.3% shooting. His defensive limitations are there, but those won’t be on display as much with Hassan Whiteside along side Monroe in the starting line-up on the 5th best defensive team in the league last season.
Miami also gets DeMarre Carroll. Carroll hasn’t been the same since his injury in 2015-16 limited him to 26 played games in the regular season, but the 2014-15 version of DeMarre Carroll, that at 30 years old for a three and D player, can definitely average the 12.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game on 48.7% field goal shooting and 39.5% from three he put up in his last year on Atlanta. Miami definitely gets two core players with this deal, and they only move down nine spots in the draft.
