NBA TRADE DEADLINE WRAP-UP
The NBA trade deadline has passed as some teams spent the last week trying to add that one missing piece while others simply focused on reducing costs in anticipation of the 2010 free agent class. Several contenders really helped themselves while others failed to make a move so here's a look at the winners and losers of the NBA's annual trade festival.
Winners
Houston Rockets
I really liked what the Rockets accomplished today and it is not surprising that the Rockets were the big winners - Daryl Morey continues to prove he is one of the league's best general managers. Morey turned Tracy McGrady's $22.8M expiring contract and forward Carl Landry into Kevin Martin, Jared Jeffries and two first round draft picks from the New York Knicks (a top-1 protected selection in 2011 and a top-5 protected selection in 2012). Martin is a very good player who just did not have a spot anymore in Sacramento's rotation and is exactly the kind of back-court outside presence the Rockets desperately need. He is under contract through 2013 for a very reasonable $11.8M average. Jeffries provides depth and his $6.8M cap number next year (assuming he picks up his player-option) will be a nice piece come next year's trade season. And with uncertainties in New York, both of those picks could turn into top-8 selections. On the other side of things, McGrady has been done in Houston for a long time so his loss means nothing (he was not even playing). Landry is a solid player at a very good price but Houston is deep in the front-court and could afford to move one player.
Dallas Mavericks
Dallas made their big move last Saturday but that does not mean they should not be mentioned. Adding Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood for Josh Howard and change was a great swap for Mark Cuban's squad. Butler gives the Mavericks a more consistent version of Howard who is still relatively young and is a hard-nosed player. Haywood adds depth to a front-line that needs it and should get big crunch-time minutes while Erick Dampier comes back from injury. Dallas is surprising a lot of teams this year with their consistent play and this move propels them past Denver and Utah as the West's second best team, in my opinion.
Chicago Bulls
For the second straight year, the Bulls improved their salary-cap situation without sacrificing the current product on the court and that has to be considered a big win for Chicago. In two separate moves, the Bulls traded John Salmons (and his $6.5M player option for 2010) and draft-bust Tyrus Thomas for Hakim Warrick and Joe Alexander from Milwaukee and Acie Law, Flip Murray and a protected first-round pick from the Charlotte Bobcats. Murray, Law and Warrick add depth to a very short bench but the real story is that the Bulls will be about $20M under the salary cap entering free agency, allowing them to offer a max-contract to LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh or any other big-time free agent. With Miami's failures on trade-day (more on this below), Chicago may be the top destination for a max-contract player come this summer.
Ehhhhh....
New York Knicks
After years of speculation, the Knicks had to wait until the final minutes of the trade deadline to finally find the cap-relief they need to offer a max-contract this summer. McGrady sounds very excited to be headed to New York and he is auditioning for one more deal so he should play well for the Knicks down the stretch. As for free agency, New York is undeniably a top destination for obvious reasons but unfortunately none (except Madison Square Garden) have anything to do with basketball. The Knicks are banking on a guy like James or Wade wanting to play in New York because it's New York - and they are asking these same guys to forget the fact that the team has no talent (outside of David Lee who will probably sign elsewhere this summer), has no young pieces (you can keep Danilo Gallinari) and will not have a top draft pick in 2011 or 2012. If the Knicks can land a top-3 pick in this year's draft and convince James (or maybe Wade) to sign, the future will be bright. If not, the Knicks may be headed for another insufferable decade.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Look, there is no denying the fact that Antawn Jamison makes the Cavaliers better this season and the next two. But I still do not like what they have done to keep LeBron happy and in a Cleveland uniform. To illustrate this point, let's look at perhaps the league's next-best young superstar, Kevin Durant. Durant is currently the alpha-player on an Oklahoma City team where the next four guys in minutes per game are 25 or younger. This means Durant(chula) is going to grow as a NBA player with a group of core players that he has been with for years. Cleveland has not given LeBron this opportunity. They have decided to walk through door #2: win a championship and hope LeBron wants to stay. Jamison may help accomplish this goal but he is not the guy LeBron can grow old with, for lack of a better term. Maybe Amare Stoudemire would have been a better choice. Again, time will tell.
La-hew Za-her
Phoenix Suns
The Suns have been in limbo for the better part of the decade. They were serious title contenders a few years ago - one big suspension may have cost them a championship - and have been fighting to stay in the West's elite for the last few seasons. They currently sit in seventh place at 32-23 but probably cannot beat any of the four teams ahead of them in a seven-game series. General manager had a chance to start rebuilding while still fielding a competitive team but decided not to trade Amare Stoudemire today. Stoudemire could have brought Phoenix a good young player and draft picks but now the Suns have some major long-term questions. Maybe the offers for Stoudemire were not that great - I can defend Kerr if that was the case. But if the various reports are true, Phoenix missed the boat and will pay for it the next few years.
San Antonio Spurs
More often than not, trade deadline losers are contending teams that did not help themselves and San Antonio is the first of these teams in this analysis. The Spurs have some major problems and did nothing to help their team. San Antonio, while currently tied for fifth in the West, looks very old and the combination of Manu Ginobli, Tony Parker and Richard Jefferson just is not working. Rookie DaJaun Blair is being asked to do too-much as well. San Antonio would have been wise to add an athletic front-line player who can match-up with big-men like Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki and Stoudemire. Tyrus Thomas looked like a great option for that role.
Boston Celtics
Like the Spurs, Boston is old and does not have a lot of depth. They added Nate Robinson to try and get a spark off the bench but he is the kind of scorer who needs a lot of shots to get his points. Defense is also optional for Robinson so it's hard to imagine him fitting in too well on this roster. Maybe the Celtics should have taken a run at Kevin Martin by offering Ray Allen and his $19.7M expiring contract. The #2 spot in the East is still up for grabs and it's surprising to see Boston not try to make a run at it. I just don't think this current roster, given their age and injury concerns, can compete for another three months.
