The Emerald Bears are searching for answers after a dismal start to the season. The Toucans are not far ahead. Both teams have started far below what they consider par for this season.
The Bears, 1-3, while the Toucans 2-2 seem like they could both use an adjustment to their line ups. In our comp, there are no future draft picks, no cash considerations, only trades. No team is going to give up more than they see as fair. Both teams here seem to have checked their boxes in terms of a re-tool.
The Bears trade - Brady Hermens, Stefan Harris
The Toucans trade - Mitch Ryal, Jayden Hamilton
We will be the first to say that we really like this trade. Like...Really. Both GMs should be applauded here. Why?
The bears
The bears have a few offensive weapons with Lee, Greg and Kem all able to apply points in bunches. Most of which have been absent in the Bears first few outings. Brady Hermens has proved a more than capable scorer for this team. Viewed as a steal in the 4th round, Brady's value is high, and rightly so. Selling high for the bears for a big man who can rebound & finish around the rim with the best of them makes sense. Bears have lost the rebounding most nights, so adding a player like Ryal makes sense.
What they are also adding is a deceptively good three point shooter, as well as someone who can make a decent mid range jump shot in Jayden Hamilton. Coming of a successful season with the Matadors last season, Jayden is someone who will keep the defense honest and someone who is willing to leave it all on the floor
The Toucans
The Toucans already had one of the Leagues most potent offenses. Why add to it? We love the move for the Toucans all the same, as this moves them in to a category that no other SL team is currently in. This team has so many go-to scorers now that it will not matter which line-up they put out, they will always have an elite level bucket getter. Brady's numbers may suffer a little, but the team's gain will be huge with the depth that is injected. Creating shots, distributing and rebounding are all things Brady has done well and we think will continue to do well moving forward
Stef Harris will bring high value, elite level ball handling to the team also. A smart player who is capable of running an offense is never something to pass up, which is not doubt why he was requested as a piece in this trade.
We asked The Stats Don't Lie to evaluate the trade from a purely stats point of view. Here's what they had to say:
On paper, this looks to me like the Toucans win this trade. Despite giving up the higher ranked draft pick (Mitch Ryal taken with pick 32), they are receiving players which generate more points per game, better shooting efficiency, and more steals per game.
Rebounding power appears to be evenly distributed with no team benefiting there. Between the 2 players the Bears are giving up 18.5ppg to the Tornadoes 3.3ppg.
The assist count favours the old Bears pairing 13 to 2, whilst the steals are 14 to 1, once again in favour of the Bears. Hermans and Harris do however turn the ball over more so that is one stat in favour of the Toucans.
Based purely on the statistics generated in the first 4 rounds, the Toucans are the winners in this trade in most categories. Of course, this does not guarantee that it will play out this way as the season unfolds. It is possible that Mitch has had a slow start to the season and the Bears GM is expecting his output to increase. It is also plausible that Brady Hermens, has had a fantastic start to the season and the Bears are trying to make a trade whilst his perceived value is at a high. Time will tell.