Thursday, February 18, 2010

The 2010 NBA Trade Deadline Bonanza...

Greetings all... The situation warranted an appearance... simple as that... Here are my thoughts on the deadline-(ish) deals in the NBA... and no, I'm not commenting on the Royal Ivey to Milwaukee trade... stop it

  • Cleveland gets: Antawn Jamison, Sebastian Telfair
  • Washington gets: Zydrunas Ilgauskas' expiring contract, Cleveland's 2010 #1 pick, Al Thornton
  • LA Clippers get: Drew Gooden's expiring contract

First for the Cavs.... the biggest winner at the deadline (in terms of this season only) by a wide margin... they basically added a #2 scorer who can stretch defenses and give Lebron an outlet at the expense of potentially nothing... yes, Big Z is a valuable piece up front, but he may even be bought out and return to Cleveland, and if he doesn't, Shaq/Hickson/Varejao can handle it from here... a steal....

For the Wiz.... A blind salary dump... the #1 pick from Cleveland is fairly worthless and Al Thornton is about as inept/inefficient as they come on the wing... that being said, it saves them $7 million this year and the $28 million Jamison was going to make over the next 2.... and gives them $20 million of cap room to go after a secondary FA like Joe Johnson, Rudy Gay etc. this summer if they choose to do so....

For the Clips.... Again, a blind salary dump... but a pretty darn smart one (for once)... they rid themselves of Thornton (who was rendered even MORE useless with the Travis Outlaw addition that we'll touch on below), and Gooden is likely to be bought out anyway... saves them $5.5 million, and gets them enough cap room to get into the big-time FA sweepstakes in a semi-attractive spot simply b/c they're in LA....

Winner? Cavs... but a pretty savvy deal all around unless you think Washington shouldn't blow it up (and I think they should)

  • Houston gets: Kevin Martin, Jordan hill, Jared Jeffries, Hilton Armstrong (cap filler), The right to swap 2011 1st-round picks with NY, and a top-5 protected 2012 1st- rounder (from NY)
  • Sacto gets: Carl Landry, Joey Dorsey, Larry Hughes' expiring contract
  • NYK gets: Tracy McGrady's expiring contract, Sergio Rodriguez

For Houston... They get a #1 scoring option in Martin... something they haven't had since T-Mac in that he's an efficient scorer who is just that... a scorer... They also get a potential big-time pick in 2011 from NY, another #1 in 2012, and a 2009 lottery pick in Jordan Hill... Factor that in with getting under the luxury tax for 09-10 (huge), and getting a useful player in Jeffries (he defends... flat-out)... and they steal this deal from the outset... I love it... esp. considering they weren't going to lure a huge FA this offseason anyway (the only downside)

For Sacto... Apparently they felt led to give up on the Martin/Evans experiment... and I can see why... but they managed to land an underrated front-court piece in Landry (on the cheap no less), and also have enough money to be a free agent player this offseason (although they'll probably piece that $ together instead of trying frivolously to get a max guy)... I like the deal and it gives them a frontcourt scoring option they didn't have before.... now go get a PG in free agency...

For the Knicks... welp... you already know... T-Mac expires... they now have enough money to sign 2...count em 2.... max guys... the ultimate goal has been achieved.... for me though? This is only a success if Lebron is attached OR they get Wade AND Bosh... those are the only 2 things that make trading away 1 guaranteed 1st rounder and swapping another potentially high pick PLUS giving away your lottery big man from LAST year... I don't like it... but if it gets one of those scenarios... it's defensible....

Winner? Rockets... easily

  • Bobcats get: Tyrus Thomas
  • Bulls get: Flip Murray, Acie Law, and a future #1

For Charlotte... It takes a flier on a talented young big who is restricted this offseason and don't give up anything too meaningful even though Flip has been playing decent minutes... better basketball team now than yesterday

For Chicago... they want the cap space... and they're clearly punting this season... and I'm okay with that because they weren't signing Thomas after this yaer

Winner? Charlotte, but I like both sides

  • Chicago gets: Hakim Warrick and Joe Alexander
  • Milwaukee gets: John Salmons

For Chicago... Warrick fills the Tyrus Thomas void (along with rookie James Johnson) and Alexander is a former lottery pick that got buried under Scott Skiles but has considerable talent and potential, but the big win is getting out from under the final year of Salmons' deal and clearing cap space

For Milwaukee... Salmons gives them the wing scorer they've missed since Redd got hurt, and provides them with the "push" they think they need to make the playoffs

Winner? Chicago by a landslide... Salmons is a decent scorer but hasn't played well this year, and what is gained by making the #8 seed for Milwaukee? nothing...

  • Grizzlies get: Ronnie Brewer
  • Jazz get: Protected 2011 #1 pick from Memphis

For the Grizz... They get a productive guy who defends and doesn't need the ball to be effective... providing them with some much needed depth (they have none)

For Utah... This one was weird to me... in the middle of a push for serious contention the West, they trade what I think is their best wing on a pretty cheap contract for a future pick? There are luxury tax implications and the pick will likely be a mid-teens pick...but it doesn't send a good message for this year

Winner? Grizzlies

  • Boston gets: Nate Robinson, Marcus Landry
  • NY Knicks get: Eddie House, JR Giddens, Bill Walker

For the C's... They get what they've been desiring... a 3rd guard that is better than Eddie House lol... Nate can play with Rondo because Rondo can guard 2's, and he's a better ball handler than House who won't kill them at the point... Landry is a filler

For the Knicks... House is expiring and he's a D'Antoni guy... Giddens and Walker are cap filler but both guys have upside because of freakish athleticism...

Winner? Even...

So there it is... The deadline deals.... pretty common themes...8 teams now have max-contract level cap space with the Knicks leading the way with room for 2.... Cleveland got even better, and Houston made a great deal for the future... simple as that... here's my quick thoughts on the 2 trades PRIOR to deadline day....

  • Dallas gets significantly better with the Butler/Haywood additions... Enough to warrant 30 more million out of Cuban's pocket? Hey... it's not my money... but Haywood gives them the quality big they've needed for 2 years and he'll defend and fit in... Butler is better than Josh Howard, but he'll need to be significantly more efficient than he's been this year in Washington
  • Why would Portland NOT do the Camby deal? All deals expire... Outlaw isn't playing... they have a ton of wings... Webster is coming into his own... and they had a gaping hole in the middle... it makes them a legit contender to get to the 2nd round and they weren't that before...

That'll do it for now... Follow me on twitter @browismyhero