OK, it's been a really, really long time since I've posted anything here.
A lot of things have happened since I've posted last. Orlando traded away Rashard Lewis, Vince Carter, and Marcin Gortat and got back Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu, and Gilbert Arenas. The Heat figured out their chemistry issues and have become a good team (how good is still up for debate). The league took over the Hornets. Javale McGee dunked on two baskets in the same dunk, and then followed that up with a three ball dunk and still lost the dunk contest to Blake Griffin. The Utah Jazz completely lost their identity when Jerry Sloan retired within days of accepting a contract extension. I may even write about that one of these days.
Of course some things haven't changed at all. The players and owners are no closer to reaching an agreement for when the current collective bargaining agreement expires this summer.
There's a lot of things that I could write about, but today I'm going to focus on the trade deadline deals.
Details of all trades below are from nba.com
New York acquired forward Carmelo Anthony, guard Chauncey Billups, guard Anthony Carter, forward Renaldo Balkman and forward Shelden Williams from Denver for forward Wilson Chandler, forward Danilo Gallinari, guard Raymond Felton, center Timofey Mozgov, a 2014 first-round draft pick and a 2012 and a 2013 second-round pick and cash. Traded center Eddy Curry and forward Anthony Randolph to Minnesota for forward Corey Brewer.
This is obviously the big one. To tell you the truth, I like this trade better for Denver than I do for New York. Since the trade, the Nuggets have played pretty well. With Billups gone, Ty Lawson has shown that he can run the show. Don't forget that they still have plenty of depth at the point guard position with Felton coming off the bench. The Nuggets were probably going to lose Anthony one way or the other, so while Chandler/Gallinari obviously doesn't completely replace him, it's really not a bad haul. The Nuggets may no longer have a star, but they're deeper than ever. The Nuggets had a chance to get out of the first round in the West before the trade, and while I think it's not as likely now, it still wouldn't surprise me to see them beat a young team like OKC.
OK, New Yorkers, I know, you're excited. The Knicks have gone from a completely craptastic team to a playoff bound team with two all-stars. That's great, but don't get too excited. You're still not going to finish this season with anything better than the fifth seed in the East, and you're only chance of making it out of the first round is if you play Atlanta. For that to happen, both the Knicks and Atlanta would have to play near perfect basketball for the remainder of the season, and Orlando would have to completely collapse. It's not going to happen. In reality, the Knicks will most likely be the sixth or seventh seed (Philly is right on your tails New York), and you're going to play the Heat, the Magic, or the Bulls. My prediction is that the Knicks would lose the series 4-2 to any of those three teams. Amare and Carmelo aren't bringing a ring to the Knicks any time soon.
Denver acquired center Kosta Koufos from Minnesota.
You didn't really think I'd have anything to say about Kosta Koufos, did you?
Chicago traded forward James Johnson to Toronto for the 2011 first-round draft pick Toronto acquired from Miami.
Chicago opens up a roster spot and gets a late 1st round pick in return. Yes, it's a boring transaction. But it gave Chicago the space to sign Rasual Butler, which of course is also a boring transaction. But if it's game 7 of the NBA Finals, the Bulls are down by three with only a couple of seconds left on the clock, and there's a Bulls player spotted up behind the three point line, would you rather that player be James Johnson or Rasual Butler? I'll take Butler any day. Of course the Bulls should really be getting the ball to Korver in that situation, but I think you get my drift.
Houston traded guard Aaron Brooks to Phoenix for guard Goran Dragic and a future first-round draft pick. Traded forward Shane Battier and guard Ishmael Smith to Memphis for center Hasheem Thabeet, forward DeMarre Carroll and a future first-round draft pick .
I think the Brooks-Dragic swap looks better for Phoenix than it does for Houston, but I guess you never know who that first round pick will be. I think it looks like Phoenix is starting to prepare for the day when Nash finally retires. Of course right now it looks like Nash could play well into his 40s, so who knows.
I also don't understand why Houston would trade away Battier for Thabeet. You can say he's still young, but I say Thabeet is a bust. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think Battier would have re-signed with Houston if given the opportunity.
I don't claim to understand what Houston was thinking about when they made either of these trades.
Utah traded guard Deron Williams to New Jersey for guard Devin Harris, forward Derrick Favors, a 2011 first-round pick, a 2012 first-round pick (via Golden State) and cash considerations.
I'm not upset at Utah for trading Williams. I'm upset at them because they could have traded him before the Deron Williams-Jerry Sloan dynamic got so bad that Sloan walked out the door. Devin Harris is no Deron Williams, but he's certainly a capable point guard. Sloan could have made this work. Now that they're without the only coach they've known for over two decades, the Jazz are bound to become a perennial lottery team. I was a huge Jazz fan back in the Stockton and Malone days, and Jerry Sloan was the only thing left that made me care about this team. I guess that makes me a 100% Dallas Mavericks fan now.
Basketball-wise, I guess the real question is this: Will Deron Williams be a Net next year? I have no idea, but to tell you the truth I don't really care.
New Orleans traded guard Carl Landry to Sacramento for guard Marcus Thornton and cash considerations.
Landry always seems to do quite well with limited minutes, which is what he'll get if West and Okafor are both healthy. Good, but not great deal for the Hornets. Sacramento is so terrible that it doesn't really matter for them. They're probably not even going to be in Sacramento in a few years.
Sacramento acquired guard-forward Marquis Daniels and cash considerations from Boston for a future draft pick.
Daniels had a spinal injury and is done for the season anyway, and this gives the Celtics an extra roster spot. Why would Sacramento want Daniels right now? I have no idea, but it's not like giving up a 2017 second round draft pick is that big of a deal.
Cleveland traded guard Mo Williams and forward Jamario Moon to the L.A. Clippers for guard Baron Davis and a 2011 first-round draft pick. Waived forward Leon Powe.
Baron Davis to the Cavs? How long will it be before Davis fakes a season ending injury so he won't have to play for Cleveland? It sounds like this trade is all about that draft pick. Cleveland has to rebuild, and at this point the draft is the only way that will happen. If I was Cleveland I'd much rather have 3 years of Williams than three years of Davis though. I'm not sure that draft pick will be worth it.
Charlotte traded forward Gerald Wallace to Portland for center Joel Przybilla, forward Dante Cunningham, forward-center Sean Marks and a conditional 2011 and a conditional 2013 first-round draft pick. Waived guard Sherron Collins and forward Dominic McGuire.
Just when it looked like Michael Jordan might be figuring out how to run a basketball team, he trades away the fan favorite Gerald Wallace for Pryzbilla. I like Pryzbilla, I really do. But he hasn't even fully healed from knee surgery yet, and he's not going to make up for losing Wallace. Jordan may be the greatest player of all time, but he's one the worst front office guys.
Boston traded forward Luke Harangody and center Semih Erden to Cleveland for a 2013 second-round draft pick. Traded center Kendrick Perkins and guard Nate Robinson to Oklahoma City for forward Jeff Green, center Nenad Krstic, a 2012 first-round draft pick and cash.
Now that they managed to sign Troy Murphy, this trade doesn't look quite so bad, but I still don't like it. When healthy Perkins is one of the best defensive centers in the league. With no Perkins you have to rely a lot more on Shaq. Krstic and Murphy are both good big men, but neither one is exactly known for his defense. The only way this trade makes sense is if Boston knows something about Perkins' knees that we don't. Jeff Green is a good pick-up, and now that Glen Davis will be sitting out for a while, he'll even get quite a bit of playing time, as he can play both forward positions. However I do think this trade could hurt his career long term, as he's just not going to get the same playing time in Boston that he got in OKC.
I actually really like this trade for OKC as long as Perkins is healthy come playoff time. Durant, Ibaka, and Perkins? Now that's a scary front line.
Washington traded Kirk Hinrich and Hilton Armstrong to Washington for Mike Bibby, Jordan Crawford, Maurice Evans, and a first round draft pick.
Atlanta views Hinrich as an upgrade over Bibby, mostly for defensive purposes. But the real impact of this trade is that Washington and Bibby agreed to a buyout, and now Bibby is in Miami. Bibby isn't the player he used to be, but the point guard position was certainly one of Miami's weaknesses, and now they have a proven veteran point guard on their roster.
Those are my thoughts on the trade deadline deals. I'll try not to wait so long between posts next time.
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