It’s sign-and-trade season in the NBA, that special time of year when teams fear for the loss of their restricted free agents and, rather than shower them with Benjamins, opt to squeeze their new suitors for players and draft picks.
You know, just like the Orlando Magic did when they flipped Ryan Anderson to the New Orleans Hornets for Gustavo Ayon.
Or, you might identify sign-and-trade season as that part of the summer when capped-out teams move swiftly and (in some cases) surreptitiously to secure reinforcements, as the Los Angeles Lakers did when they used a slew of draft picks to convince the rival Phoenix Suns to send Steve Nash further west.
Whatever your preferred sign-and-trade scenario may be, there’s no denying how nifty a maneuver it is, particularly for teams hoping to screw one another over for valuable assets. If these five teams are smart, they’ll do what the Magic and the Lakers did to get the most bang for their respective bucks.