The Force Awakens

After vowing to better manage his team this season, Lum has made good on his promise, throwing his team into 2015's first blockbuster. With a roster full of interesting parts, it was high time GM Lum started to shape his pieces into a cohesive unit. Toward that end, Lum moved rising star Jimmy Butler and the still injured David Lee to Sour Snails in exchange for Monta Ellis and Wesley Matthews. That immediately upgrades the offense, as Ellis and Matthews combine to average 37.3 PTS. The new backcourt will give this second-to-last ranked offense an infusion, and give greatly improve their 3PT shooting to the tune of 3.9 3PT per game.

The new look Jedi will have a bounce back Deron Williams, a returned from injury Michael Carter-Williams, plus Ellis and Mathews on board. Not to mention there’s Arron Afflalo and Chandler Parsons for the swing positions. The frontcourt seems to be a bit soft with Thaddeus Young playing power forward next to DeAndre Jordan, but it’s not like David Lee was providing anything this season. We like the new run-and-gun Jedi, and well, let’s see if they can pick up a few extra wins this year!

As for Sour Snails, this is their third move of the season, after shipping off extra keepers Tyreke Evans and Trevor Ariza for draft picks — both of whom are having excellent seasons. We already knew that this backcourt was crowded with talent, and consolidating Ellis and Matthews into an up and coming All-Star like Jimmy Butler is exactly the type of move Trieu has consistently executed. Butler has taken over the main offensive duties in Chicago and is averaging 21.0 PTS, 5.7 REB, 1.5 STL, and 48.7 FG% in a long awaited breakout year. He’s not a 3PT threat, but the top ranked Snails hardly need anything in that category. And when David Lee comes back, he’ll add additional scoring, and most importantly, rebounding to help out DeMarcus Cousins. Lee should be an upgrade, or at least a nice complement, to Taj Gibson and Ed Davis. All in all, a trade that looks like a winner for both sides!

• ID#47: Jedi Knights trade Jimmy Butler and David Lee to Fob Stars for Monta Ellis and Wesley Matthews.