Thursday, February 24, 2011

Grading the NBA Trade Deadline


HAWKS GET: Kirk Hinrich, Hilton Armstrong
WIZARDS GET: Mike Bibby, Mo Evans, Jordan Crawford, 2011 first round pick

Nice deal for the Hawks. Hinrich brings leadership, defense and stability to the point guard spot. He and Armstrong will come in and help. This trade should make people happy since it is one of the few trades that was made purely for need (Hawks B+). For the Wizards, this was mainly a money and draft pick thing. They'll most likely buyout Bibby and probably Evans which makes the trade essentially for a late first round pick (Wizards C).

CELTICS GET: Jeff Green, Nenad Krstic
THUNDER GET: Kendrick Perkins, Nate Robinson

Wild deal, here. The Celtics get younger but less physical. I can only see this as a down-the-road trade. Green is a nice young piece for the future but really has no place in Boston right now. And the Celtics dealt Perkins, who is one of the best defensive paint guys in the league for a pretty soft Krstic (Celtics C-). The Thunder will have a pair of lightning bugs in the backcourt with Robinson coming in. Perkins gives OKC a huge inside presence which they haven't had who has a ton of playoff experience (Thunder A-).

KINGS GET: Marquis Daniels, cash
CELTICS GET: 2017 second round pick

They don't need the injured Daniels now that they have Jeff Green. I'm sure you won't remember this trade when the Celtics cash in their 2nd round pick in 2017 (Celtics C). The Kings had to take on somebody to reach the minimum salary cap for the year, even if Daniels is out for the season with a neck injury (Kings C).

CELTICS GET: 2013 second round pick
CAVALIERS GET: Luke Harangody, Semih Erden

Another talent dump for the Celtics. They are planning on using the roster openings to sign some of the players that will receive buyouts in the next few days (Celtics C). Cleveland gets warm bodies ... which is nice (Cavaliers C).

GRIZZLIES GET: Shane Battier, Ish Smith
ROCKETS GET: Hasheem Thabeet, first round pick

Solid trade. Memphis is making a playoff push and will be without Rudy Gay for a month. This deal for Battier fits that void. They really weren't playing Thabeet anyway so they didn't lose anything (Grizzlies A-). Houston is pretty much conceeding two things. One, they aren't a playoff team. Two, Yao Ming may not be walking back through that door. Thabeet is very raw but he brings the size this team just doesn't have. If he pans out, bully! If not, they at least have an extra mid-round pick (Rockets C).

SUNS GET: Aaron Brooks
ROCKETS GET: Goran Dragic, first round pick

This goes with the above deal. Houston is closing up shop on this year. Brooks was unhappy and wanted out. Dragic is spunky and the Rockets again picks up another first rounder. This team is all about the future (Rockets C+). It will be interesting to see how this impacts Steve Nash. Is this a deal made to move on from the Nash era? Maybe we'll see Steve Nash gone near the draft (Suns C+).

BLAZERS GET: Gerald Wallace
BOBCATS GET: Joel Pryzbilla, Dante Cunningham, Sean Marks, two first round draft picks

Good get for Portland. Wallace can do everything on the floor. He gets after it on defense and pounds the boards. They do give up their size which they already were low on, but the deal works (Blazers A). Bobcats wanted to get Wallace's contract off the books and he has struggled a bit when they acquired Stephen Jackson last year. Pryzbilla could be bought out (he threatened to retire if he was dealt), so this deal was mainly about obtaining draft picks (Bobcats C+).

THUNDER GET: Nazr Mohammed
BOBCATS GET: D.J. White, Mo Peterson

For Charlotte, this is obviously a salary dump. Talent wise it makes no sense (Bobcats C). Oklahoma City just added Mohammed to go along with Kendrick Perkins. They may be the big winners on Deadline Day (Thunder A-).

PACERS GET: O.J. Mayo
GRIZZLIES GET: Josh McRoberts, 2011 first round draft pick

Memphis obviously is done with Mayo. They get a tough guy in McRoberts and a draft pick for their troubles. Stings even more that the traded the draft rights of Kevin Love to Minnesota for Mayo a couple of years ago (D+). This is a great deal for Indiana, in my opinion. Mike Dunleavy is hurt and Mayo can step right in there. Also, Tyler Hansbrough's emergence has allowed Indiana to deal away McRoberts, who is the same sort of player. If Mayo pans out, this will be a steal (Pacers A).

NOTE: THE DEAL HAS BEEN CANCELLED BY THE NBA SINCE IT WASN'T PROPERLY RECEIVED BEFORE THE DEADLINE.

CLIPPERS GET: Mo Williams, Jamario Moon
CAVALIERS GET: Baron Davis, 2011 first round draft pick

I think this is a win-win for both teams. The Clips got Mo Williams to replace an expensive guy they couldn't trust to suit up on a daily basis. Williams brings experience. The hard part is giving up a first rounder that will be in the lottery (Clippers C+). The Cavs did this deal for the draft pick as they know that they need to rebuild this team back up. Not only will they have a lot of ping pong balls for their own crappy record, they'll get a lot for the Clippers crappy record as well (Cavaliers B+).

WARRIORS GET: Troy Murphy, 2012 second round pick
NETS GET: Dan Gadzuric, Brandan Wright

Golden State gets some salary flexibility and not much else (Warriors D+). New Jersey deals a guy they really didn't need for Wright (expect Gadzuric to be bought out. Wright is still raw and young and could pan out with some proper coaching. Not much risk (Nets C).

HORNETS GET: Carl Landry
KINGS GET: Marcus Thornton, cash

The Kings did okay in this deal. Landry is on an expiring contract and wasn't coming back. They got a young guy who could be groomed as a backcourt mate for Tyreke Evans (Kings B). The Hornets will rent Landry for a playoff push. He brings some beef in the paint to go against the Lakers, Thunder, Mavs and Spurs (Hornets A-). By the way, this deal turned heads around the league, most notably Mark Cuban, who see the NBA-owned Hornets actually taking on salary.

NETS GET: Deron Williams
JAZZ GET: Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, two first round picks, cash

This is a tough trade to grade. New Jersey gets that "star" they've been trying to acquire for months. But unlike the Melo deal, there is no extension in place. D-Will still could bolt after 2012 and Jersey gets nothing. Tough price to pay for two first rounders, former All Star Harris and Favors, the No. 3 pick in the most recent draft (Nets A or F). Utah moved ahead of the curve and dealt D-Will before the "Melo-drama". If you believe that they wouldn't be able to extend Williams, then they did well to get Favors and Harris who should thrive in Utah. The two first round picks could really pan out as well. Utah may have stumbled a bit, but the future looks good (Jazz A-).

RAPTORS GET: James Johnson
BULLS GET: 2011 first round draft pick

A wash, really. The Bulls didn't need Johnson and get what will be Miami's first round pick (acquired in the Bosh deal). Salary dump (Bulls C). Toronto did okay, getting Johnson for a late round pick (Raptors C+).

KNICKS GET: Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Sheldon Williams, Anthony Carter, Renaldo Balkman, Corey Brewer
NUGGETS GET: Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov, Kosta Koufas, 2014 first round pick, 2012 second round pick, 2013 second round pick, cash

TIMBERWOLVES GET: Eddy Curry, Anthony Randolph, 2015 second round pick

Knicks get the superstar scorer they desired. They did give up a lot considering they were essentially bidding against themselves (Knicks A-). The Nuggets did pretty well considering the market was essentially just the Knicks and Nets. They got some keeper pieces as well as some tradeable ones (Nuggets B-). Minnesota gets Randolph for their trouble (Wolves C).

No comments: