SUNS Trade Butler to BUCKS for Ish Smith and Kravtsov
Wed Sep 04, 2013 5:53 am
LINK: http://www.nba.com/suns/news/suns-trade ... mith-bucks
The Phoenix Suns announced that the club has acquired center Viacheslav Kravtsov (Vee-A-cha-slav KRAV-stov) and guard Ish Smith from the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for veteran forward Caron Butler. Butler, along with Eric Bledsoe, had been acquired by the Suns from the Los Angeles Clippers earlier this summer (July 10) in a three-team trade also involving Milwaukee.
“We would like to thank Caron for his professionalism and wish him the best with the Milwaukee Bucks,” said Suns General Manager Ryan McDonough. “This deal gives us significant cap space as well as the flexibility to trade for another exciting player, which is how we were able to acquire Eric Bledsoe. It also provides us with two young players in our efforts to build a team capable of sustainable success.”
Kravtsov, a 6-11, 254-pound center, played five seasons professionally in his native Ukraine before signing with the Detroit Pistons last summer. Kravtsov joins his countryman and 2013 first-round draft pick Alex Len, giving Phoenix both of the only two Ukrainians currently on an NBA roster.
A rookie in 2012-13 with Detroit, Kravtsov played in 25 contests and improved over the course of the season, making 17 of those appearances after the All-Star break including his first career double-double effort. Earlier this summer, he played on the Pistons summer league squad in Orlando and averaged 10.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks while shooting 54.5 percent (6-11) from the field in two games. Kravtsov was dealt to the Bucks on July 31 as part of the trade that sent Brandon Jennings to Detroit.
Smith, a three-year NBA veteran with five teams, played in a career-high 52 games in 2012-13; the first 36 with the Orlando Magic before being traded to the Bucks where he played in 16 games, in addition to appearing in each of Milwaukee’s four playoff contests against the Miami Heat.
A four-year collegiate performer at Wake Forest University, Smith finished his career ranked second all-time among Demon Deacons in assists with 612 and became the first player in program history to post over 1,000 points and 600 assists. As a senior, he averaged 13.2 points, 6.0 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.7 steals to earn Second Team All-ACC honors.
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What ESPN said of the trade:
With that in mind, here's what ESPN.com had to say about the Suns' part in Thursday's trade:
"...the move puts [the Suns] a little more than $5 million below the salary cap. New general manager Ryan McDonough will have that space available to take on a contract from a team trying to shed payroll at the deadline and willing to give up assets in return. For example, the Suns could swallow Steve Blake's $4 million salary to lessen the Lakers' luxury-tax bill.
Because Butler was only going to block Phoenix from giving younger players an opportunity on the wing, the real cost of this deal is merely forgoing the chance to trade Butler to a contender for a draft pick midseason. As a result, we can't completely evaluate the trade until we see how the Suns use their cap space. If they manage to net a first-round pick or equivalent prospect, retroactively bump this grade up to an A."
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Well... Butler could have been a god mentor in a young team... but the trade allows the Suns to have more cap space... maybe we can waive Beasley now
The Phoenix Suns announced that the club has acquired center Viacheslav Kravtsov (Vee-A-cha-slav KRAV-stov) and guard Ish Smith from the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for veteran forward Caron Butler. Butler, along with Eric Bledsoe, had been acquired by the Suns from the Los Angeles Clippers earlier this summer (July 10) in a three-team trade also involving Milwaukee.
“We would like to thank Caron for his professionalism and wish him the best with the Milwaukee Bucks,” said Suns General Manager Ryan McDonough. “This deal gives us significant cap space as well as the flexibility to trade for another exciting player, which is how we were able to acquire Eric Bledsoe. It also provides us with two young players in our efforts to build a team capable of sustainable success.”
Kravtsov, a 6-11, 254-pound center, played five seasons professionally in his native Ukraine before signing with the Detroit Pistons last summer. Kravtsov joins his countryman and 2013 first-round draft pick Alex Len, giving Phoenix both of the only two Ukrainians currently on an NBA roster.
A rookie in 2012-13 with Detroit, Kravtsov played in 25 contests and improved over the course of the season, making 17 of those appearances after the All-Star break including his first career double-double effort. Earlier this summer, he played on the Pistons summer league squad in Orlando and averaged 10.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks while shooting 54.5 percent (6-11) from the field in two games. Kravtsov was dealt to the Bucks on July 31 as part of the trade that sent Brandon Jennings to Detroit.
Smith, a three-year NBA veteran with five teams, played in a career-high 52 games in 2012-13; the first 36 with the Orlando Magic before being traded to the Bucks where he played in 16 games, in addition to appearing in each of Milwaukee’s four playoff contests against the Miami Heat.
A four-year collegiate performer at Wake Forest University, Smith finished his career ranked second all-time among Demon Deacons in assists with 612 and became the first player in program history to post over 1,000 points and 600 assists. As a senior, he averaged 13.2 points, 6.0 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.7 steals to earn Second Team All-ACC honors.
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What ESPN said of the trade:
With that in mind, here's what ESPN.com had to say about the Suns' part in Thursday's trade:
"...the move puts [the Suns] a little more than $5 million below the salary cap. New general manager Ryan McDonough will have that space available to take on a contract from a team trying to shed payroll at the deadline and willing to give up assets in return. For example, the Suns could swallow Steve Blake's $4 million salary to lessen the Lakers' luxury-tax bill.
Because Butler was only going to block Phoenix from giving younger players an opportunity on the wing, the real cost of this deal is merely forgoing the chance to trade Butler to a contender for a draft pick midseason. As a result, we can't completely evaluate the trade until we see how the Suns use their cap space. If they manage to net a first-round pick or equivalent prospect, retroactively bump this grade up to an A."
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Well... Butler could have been a god mentor in a young team... but the trade allows the Suns to have more cap space... maybe we can waive Beasley now
Re: SUNS Trade Butler to BUCKS for Ish Smith and Kravtsov
Wed Sep 04, 2013 10:47 am
Good acquisition for the Bucks. I guess the Suns are getting what they wanted too, though I don't think taking on a salary dump around the deadline (say Steve Blake, as in the example) is going to benefit the rebuilding effort much.
Re: SUNS Trade Butler to BUCKS for Ish Smith and Kravtsov
Wed Sep 04, 2013 3:16 pm
I guess that they used that cap space to swallow the contract of Beasley now that he was waived (They agree to pay 7M instead of the 9M that were guaranteed)
Re: SUNS Trade Butler to BUCKS for Ish Smith and Kravtsov
Wed Sep 04, 2013 10:03 pm
No, it has nothing to do with that.