Trade Round Up: Breaking Down The Two Big Trades Of This Week

Welcome to the Truda Report everybody. I've been gone for about a week due to a lot of work at school, but the past couple of days have been insane. I'm going to spend a little time today breaking down the trade of Blake Griffin to the Detroit Pistons, and the trade of Alex Smith to the Washington Redskins. Make sure to share this article as it helps TTR grow. 

The Trade:
To Detroit Pistons: Blake Griffin
To Los Angeles Clippers: Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, Boban Marjanovic, 1st Round Draft Pick
Reaction:
A lot of people overreact when big name players are traded for what looks to be a bag of potato chips, and although I spent three days this summer trashing the Jimmy Butler trade, this is not a situation to freak out about. Jimmy Butler is a top 10 player in the NBA; Blake Griffin was top 15 at his best, which was four years ago. That's why I was not on board with what the Bulls got in return for Butler, because none of what they got, in my eyes, has the potential of being that good. Blake Griffin right now is borderline top 20, and he can't even stay healthy. For a Clippers team that looks to have no future, blowing things up seems like the right idea. When you look at the pieces that the Clippers got in return, they gained Tobias Harris, a talented big man of the same position as Blake Griffin, and he's about 5 years younger. They also got Avery Bradley, who is a valuable trade asset if the Clippers try and move on from DeAndre Jordan before the trade deadline. The Clippers also got a first round draft pick, which is obviously important for a team that looks to be heading for a rebuild.

For the Detroit Pistons, I think that this trade makes some sense. Teams need to take risks in order to become great, and acquiring Griffin is a risk. I already mentioned that Griffin is not as good as he used to be, and he struggles with injuries, but this move gives Detroit one of the best big man duos in the NBA. That could help them dominate, and puts them really only one or two pieces away from being a contender in the Eastern Conference. Also, the acquisition of Griffin makes Detroit more of a free agent destination, and with the possibility of LeBron James leaving the Cavs soon, Detroit could end up being one of the top in the East.

Overall I think that the L.A.C. won this trade because I'm not a huge fan of Blake Griffin right now, because I don't think he is consistent enough to be considered a top caliber star. Like I said earlier though, this move is a risk, and if it pays off this trade will end up looking like a major W for Detroit.

The Trade:
​To Washington Redskins: Alex Smith
To Kansas City Chiefs: Kendall Fuller, 2nd Round Pick
Reaction:
This trade completely turns the quarterback market upside down this off season (I can write more on this later on if that' something you guys would like). The Washington Redskins basically said that after years of franchise tagging Kirk Cousins, they still didn't trust him and couldn't justify paying him a big contract. That led them to go get Alex Smith who just had one of the best years of his career. The Redskins were willing to pay Smith though, as they immediately signed him to a four year $94 million extension. Anyways, concerning just the two sides of this trade, I have to give Kansas City some props here. They already knew that they wanted to start Patrick Mahomes this upcoming season, and they were able to get a draft choice and an up and coming cornerback (who I really like) in return for their old QB. They get a thumbs up from me.

The Redskins side of things I'm a little more concerned about. They just traded for an older QB than what they had rights to in Kirk Cousins, and Smiths production was close to Cousins when he had way more weapons around him. The lack of talent on the Washington offense is a cause for concern for me, and I think that's going to cause regression for Smith, and make him not worth his enormous contract. He is still obviously a way better option that most quarterbacks that the NFL has to offer, so I'm not trashing their side of the deal. I'm just saying that they have some cause for concern. 

Overall I was very surprised by this deal, and I think its affects on the rest of the QB market and QB draft stock is going to be interesting. I'll try and get an article on that out as soon as I can, since it is a really interesting topic. For now though, I want to leave you with something that'll make you smile: The Browns tried to trade for Alex Smith but couldn't finalize a deal before the Redskins swooped in and completed one with Kansas City instead. I know...Cleveland is a mess.