NBA Trade Deadline Recap (pt 2 of 2)
The Grizzlies picked up Ronnie Brewer for the price of a protected 2011 draft pick. He should provide good depth for a team that leaves its starters in the longest. This team was rumored to be in on some intriguing deals. One was offering a trade of O.J. Mayo and Hasheem Thabeet for Monta Ellis. Luckily for them, this one did not go through. The team should have instead considered trading Rudy Gay. Gay will be a free-agent this summer and Memphis will likely be unable to match offers extended to him this summer, as he will likely be offered close to a maximum deal. With players such as Tayshaun Prince on the market, the Grizzlies could have acquired a player that would fit their team as they continue to build on their momentum to the playoffs.
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Wolves traded Brain Cardinal for Darko Milicic. The only team with any success of getting production out of Darko was the Magic. If Coach Kurt Rambis and GM David Kahn are able to make the infamous bust into a formidable starting center, this could be a steal. As things stand, this is a low risk high reward trade.
New York Knicks-
The Knicks cleared $9.4 million off the 2010-11 payroll by sending Jared Jeffries and 2009 top pick Jordan Hill to the Rockets and sent Larry Hughes expiring contract to the Sacramento Kings. In return, they got Sergio Rodriguez and Tracy McGrady. Both should be good fits in Coach Mike D’Antoni’s uptempo system. The Knicks also traded mercurial backup guard Nate Robinson to the Celtics for Eddie House, Bill Walker, and J.R. Giddens. House has experience in D’Antoni’s offenses from his days in Phoenix, and Giddens and Walker are athletic enough to see some time as well. Though the deals, did not incrementally improve the Knicks, and sacrificed a good amount of their future with 2009 top 10 pick Jordan Hill, a swap of 2011 picks and a top-5 protected pick in 2012. GM Donnie Walsh did exactly what he wanted to do: Clear space and make a run at superstars LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh. The Knicks potentially will have almost 32 million in cap space this off season, which should be enough to get a max contract and another contract very close to the max.
The big problem will happen if/when none of these superstar choose to join the Knicks this Summer. Should this occur, the Knicks will have to be very fiscally responsible in free agent spending. One should not forget the moves Scott Layden and Isaiah Thomas made in the previous decade like Alan Houston and the errors Joe Dumars made last year such as Stephon Marbury. Joe Johnson, Rudy Gay, Amare Stoudemie, Carlos Boozer, and David Lee all should get nice deals, but none are worth max deals. This situation will be worth monitoring this summer, but the Knicks can get 2 capable free agent stars
Portland Blazers-
The Blazers made the early speculated move of adding Marcus Camby for Steve Blake and Travis Outlaw. It seems that they probably could have made this deal at any time, but waited for Andre Miller and Brandon Roy to mesh. As we have stated earlier, this deal probably should have happened a couple months earlier, but the Blazers waited on some internal development. Camby, a free agent at the end of the year, should be an option to return next year on a cheaper deal.
Philadelphia 76ers-
Jodie Meeks is a nice young prospect who really knows how to score. Still, Meeks is a little similar to Lou Williams, and Royal Ivey, whom they traded him for. Francisco Elson won’t likely be a factor, then again Primoz Brezec wasn’t much of a factor either. The 76ers were unable to get involved in any major deals, which should be alarming, Their current roster is stuck in mediocrity. While Sam Dalembert and Andre Igoudala were the most actively shopped names, I think Elton Brand should have also been shopped. The uptempo pace of the young 76ers doesn’t quite fit with the former Clipper and Duke star forward. Teams like Charlotte, Toronto, Miami, Utah, or San Antonio could have used his services, as a frontcourt offensive threat.
Phoenix Suns-
The Phoenix Suns, in the opinion of most experts, are the biggest losers off the trade season. The Suns had 1 very big asset in star Amare Stoudemire, and his expriring contract. Assuming, that they would not be able to retain him, they marketed him very openly. His expiring contract would have appealed to struggling luxury tax teams like the Hornets, Knicks and 76ers, while teams like Miami, Cleveland, and Spurs would have liked him to push for a Championship run. The big flaw in the Suns plan is that they let it be widely known that they were openly shopping Stoudemire. As much as players like Amare might say that trade talk doesn’t affect their performance, it certainly does, as the bigman struggled in the weeks leading up to the deadline. The day before the deadline, the Suns front office informed Stoudemire, that they would not move him. So why does this make them a loser? First, the past failures in negotiating talks of an extension and the open trade dialogue give the player an idea that they have a limited sense of his value. Since the trade deadline, Amare Stoudemire has stepped his play up to a phenomenal level, because in part, he believes he is playing for a new contract. This all but guarantees his exodus from Phoenix this summer. Phoenix will not get anything if and when the scenario occurs this summer, making them a big trade deadline loser.
The Kings were going nowhere and needed to find a way to get an asset for Kevin Martin, as he and rookie of the year front-runner Tyreke Evans didn’t mesh together.
The fact that the Kings got cap relief in dealing the shooting guard with Sergio Rodriguez, and Hilton Armstrong. Even better, acquiring Carl Landry and his very reasonable salary is a move in the right direction. He is perfect for Sacramento, adding to the tough mentality of the new-look Kings. The 3 man frontcourt rotation of Thompson, Landry and Hawes should be effective for years to come. The Kings could have dealt for Jose Calderon or added some more to the deal to acquire Nate Robinson, Chris Duhon or Kyle Lowry. So while this is a good deal for the Kings, it is a glass half-empty deal in that they should have gotten involved more aggressively. The Kings would have been better suited taking on Jared Jeffries' contract and reaping the benefits (Jordan Hill plus picks) that Houston got. Sacramento, though they have about 16 million under the cap next summer and could be real players in the free-agent market, likely will not be able to lure any big time free agents. They can still land a guy like Randy Foye, Nate Robinson, Jordan Farmar, Steve Blake or Kyle Lowry to pair with Evans.
San Antonio Spurs-
The Spurs saved a little money by trading Theo Ratliff or a future 2nd rounder. They remain a puzzling team going in to next season. They haven’t signed star 6th man is still unsigned going in to next season, and seems rattled that the team has not extended him an offer. Meanwhile, Richard Jefferson was brought in last Summer to add another young option to the aging Spurs, but he has struggled to find his role on the team. San Antonio was in on talks with Amare Stoudemire and Corey Magette, but didn’t pull a trigger. More than likely, Jefferson opts-in on his contract and should be a trade candidate next year
Utah Jazz-
Once the luxury-tax savings are factored in, the Jazz saved millions by moving Ronnie Brewer for a. potential future #1 pick. The Jazz did get return, but I think it should be that this move may not have been the right one. Though Wes Matthews and CJ Miles have emerged, Brewer was still a good prospect and their second best perimeter defender, though he has had a down year. Given that his salary was less than that of CJ Miles and Kyle Korver it is interesting that he was moved. Maybe it was more than they thought he was worth. However, this move has angered point guard Deron Williams, who said of the trade “I think if we’d make a trade it would be something a little different than that, You look at all the teams that are getting better around the West and we essentially get worse, if you ask me” and “That’s why I signed a three-year deal.” The deal likely should have been a trade of impeding free agent Carlos Boozer, as the team has already decided Paul Milsap is their power forward of the future. With Boozer’s impeding free agency, and Kirilenko’s big deal up at the end of summer 2011, the Jazz must make the team appealing to their star Williams.
0 comments:
Post a Comment