"Last month, ESPN's Brian Windhorst said on the "Hoop Collective" podcast that when he has talked to team executives, "The mood in the NBA right now is not to give up four first-round picks for anybody." Due to concerns about the new salary aprons and previous star returns, Windhorst said, the notion of bundling so many picks in a trade "is not matching what people in the league are telling me the value is, even for a superstar player.""
"Such deals are a relatively new phenomenon in the NBA. Other than the Brooklyn Nets' memorable trade for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett in 2013, typical superstar swaps involved a couple of picks at most. But that changed in 11 days in 2019, when Anthony Davis, Paul George and Russell Westbrook all moved for massive hauls. In every year since, at least one blockbuster trade has been completed that involved four or more first-round picks and swaps."
Trade prices for NBA superstars have climbed sharply, but front offices are beginning to reassess that inflation amid cap rule changes and mixed returns on costly acquisitions. Team executives express reluctance to surrender four first-round picks for any player, citing new salary aprons and underwhelming outcomes from previous star trades. The modern surge in mega-deals began in 2019 when Anthony Davis, Paul George and Russell Westbrook each moved for massive hauls, and at least one trade each year since has involved four or more first-round picks and swaps. The recent sample enables evaluation of whether going all-in for a star justifies the long-term cost.
Read at ESPN.com
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