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Archive for February, 2011

Normally in the NBA when trades go down terrible teams are trying to trade away good players & get next to nothing in return, see the Memphis Grizzlies most recent trade of Pau Gasol to the Lakers as an example. The NBA seemed to be the same as the MLB, where the bad teams trade their good players to the already good teams for nothing much. All of that seems to have changed in the past week, as two mega trades went down.

An average Denver Nuggets team traded their only two good players to the Knicks for a bunch of players, while the abysmal Nets traded most of their team to acquire the average Jazz’s point guard Deron Williams. Two playoff contenders making a trade in Denver & New York is unheard of in today’s NBA. A playoff contender trading their best player to a lottery team is even more outrageous, but today’s NBA is very confusing, so let’s break down the trades.

Knicks Land Melo: The New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets & Minnesota Timberwolves completed a trade where only the Knicks win. The New York Knicks acquired Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Anthony Carter, Renaldo Balkman (who Isiah Thomas drafted while with the Knicks), & Sheldon Williams. The Nuggets acquired Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Raymond Felton & Timofey Mozgov from the Knicks & Kosta Koufus from Minnesota, in addition to draft picks from each team. The Timberwolves acquired Eddy Curry & Anthony Randolph from the Knicks for Corey Brewer to complete the trade.

The Nuggets got the most, but end up the biggest losers in the deal. They acquire guys who were starting in New York, but will be backups in Denver, except for Gallinari. They gave up their best player in Anthony & the heart & soul of the team in Chauncey Billups. Draft picks don’t usually matter in the NBA as drafts are usually two or three players deep, so unless you’re in the lottery they don’t help you.

The Timberwolves end up about even. They trade draft picks to the Nuggets for no reason & trade away a guy who was a headache in their locker room in Corey Brewer. They get back the expiring contract of Eddy Curry which will give them financial flexibility next year & a young decent player in Randolph who never saw the time of day in New York.

The Knicks made out like bandits in the deal. They end up with the player they wanted & a pretty good point guard in Chauncey Billups, which made trading Raymond Felton easy. The team only had to give up one player they didn’t actually want to give up in Gallinari but they had to live with that to make the trade. The team also, finally, got rid of the last remains of the Isiah era by trading Eddy Curry. This should give the Knicks the financial flexibility to sign Chris Paul when he eventually leaves New Orleans. In the short term the Knicks bench takes a hit, but their coach doesn’t use the bench much any way.

Nets Land Deron Williams: The Nets have been desperate to make a big splash under new ownership & they finally did something of merit. The Nets realized even with a good coach that can’t win because they only have one decent player. The Nets send to Utah Derrick Favors (proving my commentary that the NBA drafts aren’t very deep), Devin Harris (a guy they all of a sudden hate) & two first round draft picks. The Nets simply get Deron Williams.

The Jazz felt they had to make this trade because Deron Williams destroyed the team when he caused Jerry Sloan to quit. But they probably could’ve held the Nets up for a lot more than they received. The Jazz got Favors, who won’t be in the NBA a lot longer if he continues to play terribly & Devin Harris who not even the Nets want. Unless the draft picks are #1 overall picks the Jazz have crippled themselves as a team for years to come.

The Nets get the best point guard in the NBA for nothing. The team all of a sudden decided they hated Devin Harris & Derrick Favors has done nothing despite having all the opportunity in the world. So the Nets trade two players they don’t want for a top tier NBA player. It shows Utah’s hands may have been forced from Deron Williams costing them their Hall of Fame coach. Now the Nets can build towards next year & a possible #8 seed in the 2011-2012 playoffs.