Trade grades: Brandon Ingram, Mark Williams, De'Andre Hunter, and more!
Catching up on all of Thursday's trade deadline action
I’m starting to develop some carpal tunnel in my hands, but it’s been worth it! The craziest trade deadline ever continues to craze. I’m thoroughly enjoying writing about the carnage, and hopefully, you’ve enjoyed reading about it! As a reminder, all my previous grades are here:
TRADE GRADE CENTRAL
If you missed out on my Doncic/Davis, Butler/Wiggins, or even KAT/Randle grades, you can find them at the link above (along with many others!)
Let’s move on to some new grades! Please forgive any typos; my fingers are falling off after 10K+ words this trade season about second-round swaps and Vasilije Micic.
SACRAMENTO KINGS-WASHINGTON WIZARDS
Sacramento Kings receive: Jonas Valanciunas
Washington Wizards receive: Sidy Cissoko, two seconds (‘28, ‘29)
The Kings desperately needed a backup big man, and Valanciunas has a somewhat similar skill set to All-Star snub Domantas Sabonis. He’s monstrous, dominates on the glass, has touch around the basket, and sets some bone-melting screens. Like Sabonis, he’s also not particularly agile defending in space or blocking shots at the rim, but those flaws are acceptable for a backup big man.
I’m torn here. I’d rather the Kings have chased a shotblocker to spell Sabonis in high-leverage defensive minutes, but Valanciunas will immediately become one of the best backup centers in the league. For the price, I think it’s a good move.
I’m excited to see if new coach Doug Christie tries any two-big lineups. Neither Sabonis nor Valanciunas has a prayer of chasing speedier power forwards around on the perimeter, but opponents also might never get a rebound again. I don’t think it would work, but it would be interesting. As a neutral observer, interesting is all I want.
Regardless, this Kings team is quite compelling now! Malik Monk, Zach LaVine, Keegan Murray, DeMar DeRozan, Keon Ellis, Domantas Sabonis, Valanciunas, Trey Lyles, and rookie Devin Carter form a potent offensive grouping with a handful of sharpened defensive weapons. If things work out, they could post a top-five offensive rating going forward.
Kings grade: B
Washington likely hoped to get a low-level first or more (or at least better) seconds for Valanciunas when they signed him, but two feels fine in a year when seconds haven’t been flowing as freely as usual. I have no feelings about this, positively or negatively.
Washington has already waived Cissoko.
Wizards grade: C
LOS ANGELES LAKERS-CHARLOTTE HORNETS
Lakers receive: Mark Williams
Hornets receive: Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, 2031 unprotected first from LAL, 2030 first-round swap
Funnily enough, I’ve had a Mark Williams piece in the hopper for quite some time but never got around to finishing it. Frankly, I liked him more before I really dove in, but there is some tremendous upside here.
The physical tools are tremendous. Williams has arms that can reach up and rip a piece of cheese right off the moon.