The move closes the books on Parker's disastrous homecoming, which featured first Fred Hoiberg shelving the Parker-at-small-forward experiment and moving him to a reserve role and later Jim Boylen moving Parker completely out of the rotation for a stretch. But Parker, as he did throughout time in Chicago after signing a two-year, $40 million free-agency deal as the Bulls' main offseason acquisition, took the high road. "It's growth," Parker told the Tribune. "I'm a positive guy. I never have regrets. I grew from this experience, me personally. From a situation that was tricky, I did what I could to grow. I came here because I'm a city kid. I do it for the fans. I tried to do everything I could to show them that I appreciated the city." Parker, who had been hoping for a new home since Boylen pushed him out of the rotation in mid-December, wasn't surprised by the move. "I'm grateful for a chance to play somewhere, good minutes," he said. "I hope I can be used the way I'm capable of playing.'' Parker is no longer a Bull. But he witnessed this season of upheaval up close. Asked for his advice on what the Bulls should do, he used present tense one more time.<doc-sep>After weeks of blind-item intrigue, leverage-seeking leaks, and a cavalcade of rumors—plus, you know, some actual transactions—the 2019 NBA trade deadline is finally at hand. As teams make their moves, we will sit here, like Frank “T.J.” Mackey, quietly judging them. What follows are as-they-happened, first-draft-of-history impressions of who came out on top in this year’s swap meet and who got left behind. Check back throughout the day—up to the noon PT deadline buzzer and beyond—for updated takes on the latest happenings from around the league. Winner (? ): Toronto Raptors Well, it wasn’t the big swing some of us were hoping Masai Ujiri would take. But in a world where the Sixers and Bucks just added even more firepower, the Raptors trading Jonas Valanciunas, Delon Wright, C.J. Miles, and their 2024 second-round pick for Marc Gasol is still a Dave Kingman–ass cut. Now, we need to wait and see if that swing results in a moonshot or a strikeout. First, the pros. Gasol isn’t quite the same player he was in his prime; 10-plus seasons of NBA mileage and a surgically repaired right foot can do that to a 7-foot-1, 255-pound 34-year-old. But after struggling mightily with a sprained left ankle on which he then played 47 minutes for the scuffling Grizzlies, Gasol has looked healthier of late, averaging 19 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 4.8 assists in 33.5 minutes per game over his final eight appearances in Memphis. Gasol is a viable 3-point shooter, knocking down 34.4 percent of his deep tries on 4.2 attempts per game; he can both stretch and punish defenses. He’s also one of the best playmaking big men ever. Only four centers in league history to log at least 5,000 minutes have a higher assist rate than Gasol, who can act as an offensive hub at the elbows, hit cutters with high-low feeds from the high post, and free up guards to get going downhill off of dribble handoffs. Gasol lacks lateral quickness, but he remains one of the league’s most cerebral interior defenders; he looked like a Defensive Player of the Year candidate through the first 20 games. While his defensive impact cratered as he hobbled around through December, it has seemed to rebound of late. Over his final 10 games as a Grizzly, Memphis allowed 5.8 fewer points per 100 possessions with Gasol on the floor than when he was on the bench. That said, he’s not nearly the rim-protecting force you might expect given his size and defensive reputation. Opponents are shooting 61.7 percent at the basket when Gasol’s defending on the play, the fifth-worst mark of any big who sees at least five such shot attempts per game. They were shooting just 48.9 percent against Valanciunas, who is finally healthy again after dislocating his left thumb in mid-December. The step Gasol has lost could matter a lot in the kinds of games Toronto aims to be playing this spring. Teams like Milwaukee and Boston—and, if the Raps get that far, Golden State—will run out the likes of Brook Lopez, Nikola Mirotic, Al Horford, and Draymond Green as stretch 5s, daring Gasol to chase them into the deep end of the pool … or daring head coach Nick Nurse to park the proud Spaniard on the bench. On that note: It ought to be very interesting to see how Nurse, Serge Ibaka, and the Raptors in general handle the arrival of Gasol. Ibaka and Valanciunas had both come to agree with Nurse’s preferred platoon system in the middle, alternating which one started depending on matchups and form. Will Gasol, who hasn’t come off the bench in more than a decade, be similarly cool with that arrangement? Will the trade move Ibaka more frequently back to power forward, even though he’s played his best ball in years this season as a center running pick-and-pop two-man games with Kyle Lowry? (One thing that could help matters: Ibaka and Gasol have a relationship, and experience playing together, from their years on the Spanish national team.) Will Gasol be OK with what could be a dramatically reduced share of minutes and touches on a team where the playmaking power resides with Lowry, Kawhi Leonard, and, to a lesser extent, Pascal Siakam? Maybe he will be. A product of the Barcelona club system, Gasol has always been a player who has prioritized collective execution and a “play the right way” approach. Maybe the chance to get back to competing at the highest levels in that sort of dynamic overrides any concerns over receding individual opportunities, and maybe that will help Gasol become precisely the sort of talent jolt the Raptors need to keep pace with the other beasts of the East. It’s not the cleanest fit, though. The reward could be huge. But the risk—losing Valanciunas, who has always been better than people realized; losing Wright, who could’ve been an asset worth keeping in restricted free agency this summer; watching Gasol opt out of his $25.6 million contract for next season and leave for nothing; stumbling down the stretch, and losing Leonard, too—could be even bigger. Loser: Anthony Davis This was it—the power play Davis had set into motion when he hired Rich Paul to represent him back in September. Here was Davis’s chance to establish himself as one of the NBA’s true megawatt-marquee superstars, to push himself to a glamour market where his public profile and marketability would rise to a level befitting his all-time talents. “I gave the city [of New Orleans], [the Pelicans] organization, fans everything I feel like I could,” Davis told reporters last week. “I don’t know how long I’m gonna play this game. People’s careers are short. And I feel like it’s my time to move on.” It wasn’t, though, because the Pelicans didn’t want it to be. They didn’t like what the Lakers had to offer, and they didn’t feel pressured enough by L.A. or Klutch to rush into a deal that didn’t bowl them over. Nearly 3 hours away from the NBA's trade deadline and ... the Lakers-Pelicans talks on Anthony Davis are dormant, league sources tell ESPN. No communication, nor an expectation that they'll even speak today. Pelicans seem content to run out the clock. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 7, 2019 So Thursday came and went, and Davis is still in New Orleans. He’s reportedly healthy after missing time with an injured left index finger; the Pelicans were reportedly unwilling to reintroduce him to the lineup before the trade deadline, but he evidently intends to play “every game” down the stretch for New Orleans. Might as well find a way to pass the time if your flight out of town has been delayed, I suppose. If the Pelicans relent and do let Davis return to the floor—which, as I have written, seems like an extremely bad idea for all parties involved—you’d have to imagine that things are about to get uncomfortable. I don’t doubt that Davis has given the people of New Orleans everything he’s got since his arrival in 2012, but I also wouldn’t expect them to welcome him back with open arms after he, through his emissary, essentially tried to force his way out of town. Maybe the Pelicans wind up sending him to one of his preferred destinations this summer after all. Before he gets there, though, Anthony Davis will have to spend the next few as persona non grata in a place he was done with but that wasn’t done with him. Winner: Milwaukee Bucks As a great philosopher once said, “Real Gs move in silence, like lasagna.” Guess which letter you need to spell “Giannis Antetokounmpo,” “general manager Jon Horst,” and “The Bucks are a massive goddamn problem.” Milwaukee sat back as Philadelphia moved its future for Tobias Harris and Boston strained against its golden handcuffs in a Rose Rule–mandated timeout awaiting the chance to bid for Anthony Davis. Then, the Bucks pounced like a damned mountain lion on Nikola Mirotic.<doc-sep>The Philadelphia 76ers have acquired Malachi Richardson, a 2022 2nd round pick and the draft rights to Emir Preldzic for cash considerations in a trade with the Toronto Raptors, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer: Sixers acquire Malachi Richardson, Toronto’s 2022 second-round pick and the draft rights to Emir Preldzic in exchange for cash considerations in trade with the Raptors, according to sources - @PompeyOnSixers In the midst of writing this post, the Sixers published a press release making the trade official:<doc-sep>
The Pelicans are in turmoil with Anthony Davis asking out. The Bucks want to avoid that situation with Giannis Antetokounmpo. So, Milwaukee is vulturing the wreckage in New Orleans for Nikola Mirotic. To do so, the Bucks will turn their not-yet-official Thon Maker–Stanley Johnson trade with the Pistons into a three-way deal involving the Pelicans. Tim Bontemps of ESPN: Sources: Pelicans are receiving Denver's 2019 second rounder, Washington's 2020 and 2021 second rounder and Milwaukee's 2020 second rounder, along with Jason Smith and Stanley Johnson, for Nikola Mirotic. — Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) February 7, 2019 The team with the NBA’s best record and best net rating just improved. Mirotic is a high-quality stretch four. His outside shooting and defensive competitiveness will fit Milwaukee perfectly. Essentially, the Bucks upgraded on Ersan Ilyasova, who was their top free agent last offseason but has underwhelmed. Mirotic is on an expiring contract, and New Orleans was unlikely to get much value from him the rest of this season or retain him. Four second-rounders are a nice haul and will help into a post-Davis future. Mirotic’s impending free agency will soon become the Bucks’ problem. They already have four starters – Khris Middleton, Eric Bledsoe, Brook Lopez and Malcolm Brogdon – heading into free agency. Keeping all four could be difficult, and re-signing Mirotic now adds another challenge. On the other hand, Milwaukee gains leverage in negotiations if it tries to keep four of the five. Previously, that would have been four of four, giving the players an upper hand. Stanley Johnson and Jason Smith, also on expiring contracts, were likely included primarily for salary-matching. At least Johnson is a decent flier. The Pelicans can make him restricted this offseason. Thon Maker is still headed to Detroit.