The NBA trade deadline has come and gone, and with it, any hope of seeing Dwight Howard in Celtics green (sorry, Bill Simmons). While some folks are belaboring the lack of blockbuster trades, others are happy to have some of their favorite players move to better locations. I don't think I've ever seen Kristen Geil so excited about Orlando as when she found out Doron Lamb was traded there.
But while we were focused on being excited for former UK players in former destinations,
Sports Illustrated had to poo-poo on our excitement for seeing Demarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson together in
Sacramento Seattle.
"General manager Daryl Morey acquired the No. 5 pick in the 2012 draft, Thomas Robinson, in a six-player deal that didn’t require the Rockets to part with an A-list asset (player or pick) ... This was as clean a pilfering as you will see in the modern NBA, as if Morey helicoptered in to pluck Robinson off of the roof as flames engulfed the Sleep Train Arena."
That seems like a pretty high praise for a guy who is averaging less than five points a game like Robinson, but it's true he does have some potential.
But is it enough to say that the Rockets basically robbed Sacramento blind? Houston gave up a large portion of its frontcourt, including not just Patrick Patterson, but Cole Aldrich and Toney Douglas as well. Patterson alone was scoring almost 12 points per game in a starting role, and pulling in close to five rebounds as well. Not to mention his respectable 36.5% three-point shooting, and 50%+ overall field goal percentage, and this doesn't seem quite the windfall that Sports Illustrated is making it out to be. While the author did eventually acknowledge the stats that Patrick is able to put up, he did so in sort of a backhanded way:
"Parting with the
serviceable Patrick Patterson – who has one more year left on his rookie contract after this season – is a small price to pay for the chance to see whether Robinson can blossom into the game-changer some believed he would be coming out of Kansas."
"
ServiceableI?" That's what we're going with here? I hope PPatt makes an All-Star game in Seattle. Or I hope that Thomas Robinson gets traded to New Orleans where he can support Anthony Davis off the bench. Even if those things don't happen, though,
I'd argue that Sacramento did fairly well in this trade, especially if they can get Patrick to sign beyond his rookie contract. Not only will he only get better, but Kentucky fans feel confident that he can make Boogie better too, by being just the calming influence he might need.
Either way, I'm sure Boogie and Patterson will do well in Sacramento, and even better when they get to Seattle and have one of the NBA's best fanbases behind them. Go Cats.
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