There’s a quiet algebra underneath the NBA’s trade deadline. Front offices scout on-court talent and evaluate skill sets and conduct background intelligence, yet many players sent to a new team, halfway through each season, get included simply because their contracts’ values can be substituted for X. Their salaries balance the equation so their life becomes uprooted and a career can get left behind.
That’s how and why Tony Snell was traded to New Orleans in February 2022, a necessary variable to help the Pelicans acquire C.J. McCollum from the Trail Blazers. Snell held a role in Portland, playing 14.