5 Things to Learn from the Finals
3. Use Trades and Free Agency Wisely
It is always enticing to sign the big-name free agent or trade for the biggest star on the trading block. However, if you believe in your core going forward, try to sign or trade for pieces that complement them well.
Golden State traded Monta Ellis for Andrew Bogut. In doing so, the Warriors found rim protection and room for Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to control the backcourt.
They signed Andre Iguodala in 2013 to serve as a do-it-all wing who can defend the likes of Kevin Durant and LeBron James.
Cleveland primarily used trades to find complementary pieces for core members LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.
They flipped draft pieces Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett to acquire All-Star big man Kevin Love as a pick-and-roll (or pop) player who can operate in the post and rebound.
Last season, they traded Dion Waiters for a 3-point shooter with a scorer’s mentality in J.R. Smith and a 3-and-D wing in Iman Shumpert. This trade deadline, they acquired Channing Frye to serve as a stretch 4 or 5.
The Memphis Grizzlies have done an admirable job with trades. Courtney Lee was a great shooting option that didn’t shoot the ball often. Jeff Green could not gel with their core of Gasol, Conley, and Randolph.
Mario Chalmers filled that backup point guard role tremendously until until he tore his Achilles.
Where the Grizzlies mess up is finding complementary free agents. They find solid players, but they are too old. They tried to solve their shooting woes by signing talent on the wrong side of 30: Mike Miller (2013) and Vince Carter (2014).
Miller and Carter are solid pieces; however, with their core getting older, they need younger talent with similar skill sets to complement them.
Next: 2. Draft Smart