Trade Deadline: Winners and Losers
Lakers and Cavs make solid additions before postseason
Big men prove to be the center of the trade deadline. Lakers and Cavs make solid additions that could make them real contenders in the playoffs.
The trade deadline has come and gone. We saw a lot of star power change sides, and some really large contracts dumped off. However, there are clear-cut winners, and losers, here they are.
Winners
Los Angeles Lakers
Since acquiring Pau Gasol from the Grizzlies on February 1, the Lakers have only lost one game, while winning ten. The one loss was to the Atlanta Hawks, go figure, but only because Kobe’s injured pinkie didn’t hold up. However, with a healthy Kobe, Gasol clogging up the middle, and a young and blossoming Andrew Bynum due back in the next few weeks, the Lakers appear to be the best team in the West. The post-Shaq era is starting to look a lot brighter.
Cleveland Cavaliers
LeBron James showed us last year that he doesn’t need much of a supporting cast to take the Cavs to the championship. But Danny Ferry got the picture after James spoke out about getting veteran guard Jason Kidd. They didn’t get Kidd, but instead traded Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, Shannon Brown, Cedric Simmons, Donyell Marshall and Ira Newble for Ben Wallace, Joe Smith, Delonte West and Wally Szczerbiak in a three-team, 11 player trade. The fire sale didn’t land them a point guard but instead improved their defense and outside shooting. There are many critics who believe the trade was a failure because they needed a guard, not Big Ben. However, the critics fail to realize that despite being six-foot-eight, James is not only a scorer, but a distributor as well. Besides, Ilgauskas is old and unreliable inside, but with the presence of Anderson Varejao, Wallace, and Smith, the Cavs are able to contend with the likes of Tim Duncan and Shaq.
New Jersey Nets
Sure, the Nets lost Jason Kidd, the cornerstone of their franchise for the last decade. However, there is no way they were going to compete with Cleveland, Detroit or Boston this postseason. They did lose a big part of their team, however, Kidd is soon to be 35 years old, and the skillful, speedy Devin Harris is only 25. He also happens to be the kind of guy you would build a team around for the next five years, by then, Kidd will be coaching his son’s town league team. Not to mention, they also got money and draft picks.
San Antonio Spurs
They didn’t have to make a trade, despite all the movement in the West. However, they managed to pick up Damon Stoudamire and Kurt Thomas while losing nothing. Thomas’ best days are most definitely behind him, however, he is a veteran who can score and play defense, but more importantly, give Duncan a breather. Spurs were the favorites to win the West before, they now have only solidified themselves.
New Orleans Hornets
They are only one game behind the Lakers in the West, but who are they? Well, they might possibly be the best kept secret in the NBA and have arguably the best young point guard the league has seen in years in Chris Paul. You may not have heard because there weren’t any all-stars involved, but the Hornets obtained Bonzi Wells and Mike James, two veterans who can come off the bench and make a difference. All they really lost was Bobby Jackson who certainly never lived up to his high potential years ago. Look out for the Hornets to possibly pull a 2004 Red Sox or this past year’s New York Giants in this season’s playoffs.
Losers
Seattle Supersonics
You can’t blame the Sonics for re-building considering they have only won 15 of their 55 games. Kevin Durant isn’t LeBron James, yet, but he does show leadership ability and seems to be able to score. The Sonics lost Szczerbiak, Thomas, and West, and in return, received Donyell Marshall, Ira Newble and Adrian Griffin. Though the three probably won’t be on the team next year, all the Sonics did was lose their second leading scorer, and their leading rebounder and blocker. Seattle, you should be all for building around Durant, but in this case, there is no such thing as addition by subtraction.
Dallas Mavericks
Jason Kidd can distribute, rebound, and lead an offense. He is a triple-double machine, and can be really entertaining to watch. But he’s no longer on the Nets. Kidd’s assists will rise because he has so many more options, but the void that was filled was at guard. The most important hole for the Mavs to fill was at center. Dirk is a shooter, he is often behind the arc, or at least 15 feet away from the basket. Erick Dampier is not going to match up with Shaq, Duncan, Bynum or Dwight Howard. Dallas has an attractive starting five, but won’t be able to compete in the paint.
Chicago Bulls
At the beginning of the year, Chicago seemed to only get better by adding Wallace, but instead, they’ve lost a Head Coach, and Luol Deng, and now must start over. Wallace’s hefty contract was a relief to get rid of, but the Bulls unfortunately have inherited Larry Hughes’ 12 million dollar contract. Though Gooden and Hughes are both solid players who will contribute to the Bulls’, this deal doesn’t make them a much better team. But who knows, at only 22-33, Chicago is only two games out of the eight spot in the East, and if Hughes can score 15 a game, and Gooden can replace Deng for the rest of the season, the Bulls could be playoff bound in the lowly East.
Phoenix Suns
The Suns have been in the playoffs for the past few seasons and will continue to be for the next few. However, Shaq only has so much juice left in his knees, and this could be his last hoorah. Though Shaq is a big addition to a team that has lacked a true center, Marion is enough of a subtraction to cancel out the big man. What they have lacked at center, they now lack at small forward. Marion would hustle all over the floor, follow shots, and drain threes, things that Shaq cannot provide for Phoenix. If you are looking for Shaq’s next ring to come with the Suns, don’t hold your breath.
Memphis Grizzlies
Finally, Memphis lost it’s most reliable forward in Gasol. He has been there for years and in Vancouver appeared to be the man to build around above the border. But the move to Memphis brought a playoff run that ended abruptly, which made Gasol’s trade value rise. The horrible Grizzlies became even worse by dealing their star forward and getting Kwame Brown in return. They better hold on to Rudy Gay if the team wants to win more than five games next year.
The re-occurring theme of the trade deadline appeared to be the addition of big men in preparation for a playoff run. The Lakers, Cavs, Suns and Spurs have added big men that will improve play inside the key. You can even go back to the draft where the Celtics added Kevin Garnett. In order to compete with beantown’s big three, those four teams have added what they believe are essential pieces who will take them over the top. With all the new additions, it will certainly make for one of the most interesting postseason’s to date.
Source: http://www.nba.com/transactions/current_month_transactions.html
