2/24: The Trade Winds Blow....

Greetings all... let's open things up with the 2 biggest stories of the day in my world... both involving NBA trades...

• Deron Williams to New Jersey.... The Nets acquire the elite PG by sending Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, their 2011 #1 pick, and Golden State's 2012 #1 to Utah for Williams... tons of ramifications here... first of all, Deron Williams is a top-3 PG in the L, and he's a game-changing player... that's big in itself... secondly, the Nets had been in pursuit of Carmelo Anthony with a similar package for MONTHS, and, this just in, Deron Williams is a better basketball player than Carmelo Anthony... that may not be common knowledge for the casual fan, but it's the truth whether the hype surrounding this move will compare or not... for Utah, I can see both sides... on the one hand, there was writing on the wall that Williams would leave when he hit free agency after 2012, so they decided to flip him for good value... that being said, this screams panic to me... they could've easily held out until the summer and weighed additional offers, but apparently, they are in love with Derrick Favors (a questionable fit with their current best 2 players being bigs in Millsap and Jefferson) and he's the key... I think Devin Harris is a pretty nice player, but if the picks don't end up being elite ones, this deal will look worse... On a brighter note for the Jazz, the Nets pick should be a top-10 one and there's still significant talent on that roster... Overall, a steal of NJ and you have to be happy as a Nets fan...
• Kirk Hinrich to Atlanta.... a very rare occurrence on Wednesday night... the Atlanta Spirit Group and Rick Sund combined to make what I believe is a positive deal... Kirk Hinrich and Hilton Armstrong are on their way to ATL in exchange for Mike Bibby, Mo Evans, Jordan Crawford, and ATL's 2011 #1 pick... Hinrich is the best player in this trade... he can do everything Mike Bibby can do, except he's arguably better in every area (and markedly better in some areas)... Hinrich is a good defender, a career 38% 3-point shooter, and a better ball-handler/creator than Bibby is... the upgrade is clear... as far as the pricetag, it's a little dicey... the Hawks take on an additional year of salary in Hinrich, give up on their 2010 #1 pick in Jordan Crawford, and ship an additional #1 in the deal... the Mo Evans departure hurts depth a bit, but Damien Wilkins has been as good as Evans this year, and this will force Larry Drew to stop playing Evans and Wilkins together at times... there's no question that Horford-Smith-Williams-Joe-Hinrich-Jamal-Zaza-Wilkins-Jamal-Teague is a better 10-man rotation than the one operating previously with Bibby and Evans... but what does it actually mean?.... That part is debatable... Over a 25-game stretch, Hinrich is an upgrade, but probably not a game-changer, and while he'll definitely help the effort to potentially compete with Orlando in a playoff series, he's not pushing ATL past any of the East's elite... but the downside just isn't there for me... especially with Hinrich being easily moveable if necessary next year as an expiring... I love the deal...

Elsewhere....

• Adam Wainwright may in line for Tommy John Surgery... just a brutal potential outcome for the Cardinals and their ace... but it's not confirmed yet, and MRI's are ongoing... I'll go ahead and bury STL for 2011 if this is true, even if it's too early to do so...
• NBA Box Score Check - Sacto knocks off Orlando... in Orlando?... 111-105 win led by Jermaine Taylor's 21... Orlando dropped this one despite Dwight's 31/17 as well... random... San Antonio gets some clutch buckets from Tony Parker and beats OKC 109-105... Durant with 30 for the Thunder... Toronto ruins Joakim Noah's return for Chicago by beating up on the Bulls... 24 for DeRozan and 17 dimes for Calderon... on a bright note for the Bulls, Noah returned with 16 rebounds... Melo debuted for the Knicks in a home win... 27 and 10, and he seemed to be pretty comfortable knocking down 2 clutch buckets late... and the undermanned Hawks drop one in Phoenix by 8... only 8 guys for Atlanta, and they allowed 13 triples from Phoenix... finally, Brandon Roy returns from his double knee surgery for Portland in their home loss to the Lakers... Roy played only 14 minutes, but his return is obviously huge for that franchise... Kobe Bryant led the way for LAL with 37 points on 15 of 31 shooting to outlast Lamarcus Aldridge (29/14) and company...
• College Hoops - Marshon Brooks probably isn't a name you know... but the Providence swingman set the Big East record with 52 points (on 20 of 28 shooting, no less) in a loss to Notre Dame... the Irish got 32 from Ben Hansborough in the win... but Brooks is clearly the story... Duke gets a non-conference win over #24 Temple led by Kyle Singler's 28... they continue to impress even in the absence of Kyrie Irving... Cincinnati with a big-time road win at Georgetown 58-46... the Bearcats have a pretty impressive resume at this point with already 9 conference wins... and Michigan gets upended by a buzzer-beating bankshot triple by Wisconsin to lose by 1 in their potentially crucial game for at-large status... such a brutal loss...
• More trades from the NBA... Carl Landry to the Hornets in exchange for G Marcus Thornton and cash... I like this move alot for NO... Thornton is a bit of a tweener and I think they're at their best with Jarrett Jack in that slot... also, it gives them another front-court guy to help out David West... for Sacto, they get a little value for an expiring deal in Landry, but I'm not sure what Thornton's role is on a team with Tyreke... and Troy Murphy reportedly headed to Golden State... well... sort of... the Nets acquire Dan Gadzuric and Brendan Wright from GS in exchange for Murphy's contract, but Murphy is a prime buyout candidate and I expect to see all the contenders lining up to sign the double-double machine...
• Tiger Woods drops his 1st round match at the WGC Match Play... there aren't really any "upsets" in pro golf match play, but it's certainly a bit disconcerting for Tiger fans that he'd come out and drop his opening match... FWIW...

What to watch for on Thursday....

• Heat @ Bulls - TNT 8:00 - Great matchup.... Noah is back for CHI and I don't see alot of teams that can match up better defensively with the Heat than the Bulls... two of the East's elite...
• Celtics @ Nuggets - TNT 10:30 - It'll be interesting if nothing else... Boston is obviously loaded, but Denver is the real story here with how that rotation shakes out post-trade...
• West Virginia @ #6 Pittsburgh - ESPN 9:00 - Big East battle... I love watching Pitt play... what a grinding team... so many vets and they defend like crazy...
• #10 Arizona @ USC - FSS 10:30 - Arizona is the class of the Pac-10... and if you're up late enough... Derrick Williams is a must-see...
• Marquette @ #15 UConn - ESPN2 7:00 - Lots of turmoil in Storrs right now... Calhoun is on a hot seat, and won't be coaching in this one either due to family tragedy...