The 2009 NBA trade deadline will forever be remembered as yet another missed opportunity.  For the second straight year, there were plenty of big names on the block and too many frugal GMs unwilling to make the big score.  The deadline was somewhat uneventful and was more of a forum of penny pinchers more focused on the bottom line than the hearts of the fans.  

One year ago, I wrote an uptempo piece critiquing my First Impressions of The Deadline Deals that denounced certain teams for hiding away from the phones while other deals that were made have now set their teams up for ultimate success this season ? see Cleveland Cavaliers.  This year, I decided to sleep on the handful of trades to provide a fresher look, with clearer perspective on each side of the deal, and now these reflections are coming at you starting with the Shawn Marion/Jermaine O?Neal swap that got things kicked off just in time for Valentine?s Day.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Toronto Raptors acquired forward Shawn Marion, guard Marcus Banks and cash considerations from the Miami Heat for forwards Jermaine O?Neal, Jamario Moon, and a conditional first-round pick.

This was a deal that was discussed for weeks, put on hold by both of these teams trying desperately to put together a package for then-disgruntled Phoenix Suns power forward, Amare Stoudemire.  Now that a week has passed and Amare appears out for the season, I bet both parties are somewhat happier that this deal was made instead.

After having a week to reflect, I still can?t convince myself that the Raps weren?t taken out back by Pat Riley on this one.  As much as I will regret saying so because of the heat I will feel ? no pun intended ? every time I enter the Air Canada Centre, Shawn Marion is just not the answer for Toronto in the short term or the long term.

Miami is a team that is better suited for a structured system where everyone on the roster has a specific role.  Prior to this trade, Marion was just a stopgap for the team that was standing in the way of number-two overall pick, Michael Beasley.  Now that Marion and his similar skill set has been sent packing to Canada, Beasley fits perfectly into his role at small forward.  Desperately needing a step up from Joel Anthony at the center position, Jermaine comes in and fills this role perfectly.  Now a starting five of Mario Chalmers, Dwyane Wade, Beasley, Udonis Haslem, and JO looks intimidating.  

But what about 30-year old JO?s health?  Isn?t he a shell of his former self?  While that was the case while he was playing in frigid Indiana or Toronto on losing teams, he will surely be rejuvenated now that he is heading to South Beach on a fresh young team poised to break out.  Look at what the Miami beaches did for Shaq when he headed to the Heat at an even older age (32).

Plus, the Heat also grabbed a young athletic defender on the wing in Jamario Moon, and hilariously even got a conditional first round pick out of this?  And for what?  To jettison a guy they didn?t even want in the first place, all while dumping Marcus Banks? absurd contract.  This deal even saved the Heat nearly $5M for the Summer of 2010, now that they don?t have to waste that money on a guy who can?t hold Blake Ahearn?s jock strap.

True, the Raps get to trim $17.1M off the books by letting Marion walk after the season, but how will that look in the eyes of franchise cornerstone, Chris Bosh?  Do you think he will say, ?Sweet, I get to play with Jose Calderon and Andrea Bargnani in hopes of reaching the first round of the playoffs.?  No.  He will now almost definitely bolt for Chicago, New York, or anywhere else in the United States now that his team is not equipped to be a legitimate contender to play meaningful basketball in April.  They might as well have packaged Bosh this week while they were at it.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Los Angeles Clippers acquired guard Alex Acker and a 2011 second-round pick from the Detroit Pistons for a 2013 second-round pick.

In yet another deal made with the sole intention of dumping salary and having absolutely no effect on the NBA season, the Pistons sent little used guard Alex Acker to Los Angeles so they could avoid paying the luxury tax for a guy that has no future on the team.  Acker must have been fired up because 1) he gets to move from Detroit to Los Angeles, and 2) might actually get to play now since the Clips are pitiful.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

1) Sacramento Kings acquired guard Sam Cassell from the Boston Celtics for a conditional 2015 second-round pick.

Yes, that says 2015.  This deal was done only so that the Celtics can save a bit of dough on the luxury tax bill and clear a roster spot for the now-inevitable Rich Get Richer For Absolutely Nothing move where they will inevitably get to sign Stephon Marbury, Joe Smith, or Mikki Moore for a salary equivalent of a bellboy.  Yea, that?s fair.  Instead of having situations where Cuttino Mobley will count on the Knicks cap figure this year and next year despite the fact that he said "Yes, I have retired from the NBA," why not amend the Collective Bargaining Agreement to eliminate that absurd truth while creating some way of preventing contending teams from signing former All-Stars for chicken scratch.  It just doesn?t seem fair to the competitive balance of the league if the Celtics get to add a big man to the roster for nothing every year, while teams just fighting to reach the playoffs ? like New Jersey and Chicago ? get to choose from Chris Hunter and Courtney Sims of the NBDL All Stars.

2) Oklahoma City Thunder acquired center Tyson Chandler from the New Orleans Hornets for Joe Smith, Chris Wilcox, and the draft rights to Devon Hardin.

Note: Trade was rescinded by Oklahoma City on Wednesday, February 18, 2009.

Never before have we had a deal collapse where two entire fan bases swayed like a pendulum so violently over the course of two days.  Every fan in New Orleans was prepared to burn down the house of Jeff Bower after they gave away Tyson Chandler for expiring contracts.  On the flip side, the Thunder had immediately made themselves into one of the scariest young teams we have seen in quite a few years.  Imagine if the Thunder had kept Chandler and then won the draft lottery and selected Blake Griffin first overall.  They?d have a young wildly athletic core of Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Griffin, and Chandler.  Wow.  Just wow.  And now, they may be on the reverse end of lottery fortune, tumble toward the ninth pick and stupidly take a guy like B.J. Mullens out of Ohio State.  What I just described is basically a worst case scenario for OKC.  

Instead, the deal was pulled back because of one infamous missing doctor?s note, and now the city of New Orleans is alive again, while the followers in Oklahoma are stunned.  Fans blacking out from post-trade celebration were forced to once again blackout the next night due to depression.  It was the evilest tease in the history of pro sports, and the rookie fan base was given its first real dose of what its like to be a fan of the now-defunct Seattle Supersonics.  

Even worse for the Thunder, they immediately turned into Who Cares Whatsoever About This Season mode when they sent Wilcox to New York for negative value ? yes, that?s possible when you see who they got in return, and are likely on the brink of cutting Joe Smith so he can go fight for a title in Boston on the Thunder?s dime.  Is ?Thunder?s? actually legal English?

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

1) Chicago Bulls acquire guard/forward John Salmons and center Brad Miller from the Sacramento Kings for forwards Andres Nocioni, Drew Gooden, and Michael Ruffin.  Sacramento then trades Ruffin to the Portland Trail Blazers for Ike Diogu.

While this was the first trade for both the Bulls and the Kings, it surely was not the last move that these two teams would make over the 2009 trade season.  Stay tuned for a more detailed analysis of those two teams in the upcoming text.  But on the surface, this looks like a rather ho-hum deal for both teams.  Let?s break it down and see what each team got out of it and try to see who came out on top.

First of all, I won?t even consider discussing the Portland aspect of this deal.  They traded a guy who never plays for another guy who will never play. I hate that I even had to type in that last sentence explaining the Ruffin-Diogu link that no one cares about outside of the Ruffin and Diogu households.

Moving along, the Bulls got rid of an under-appreciated and under-utilized Argentinean role player and an underachieving guy with damaging hair insecurities.  In return they got a wing scoring machine and an aging big man who has not only already made the rounds in The Chi, but also cried on the podium while saying goodbye to his former team and city.  Whenever a guy gets traded from an awful team to a playoff contending team and ends up crying about it publicly, it can?t possibly be a good sign.  That?s about all I will say about the Bulls at this time.

As for the Kings, we know why they did this.  They get rid of a whiny ball-hog and finally hand over playing time over from The Real Brad Miller to Brad Miller Jr. (Spencer Hawes).  Plus, they get back Gooden?s $7.2M expiring deal and a tough dirty workhorse that the fans will grow to love at the small forward position with a reasonable deescalating contract that ends at $6.6M in 2012.

2) Memphis Grizzlies acquire center Chris Mihm from the Los Angeles Lakers for a conditional second-round pick in 2013.

For some reason, the Lakers are cutting costs too.  But was this deal made just for money?  Or was it because of the fight between the lanky Mihm and the refugee escapee DJ Mbenga?  Or perhaps it was because the Lakers thought it would be hilarious to send Mihm and his lack of sound basketball talents and abilities to Memphis to form one of the most unusually comedic front lines in the history of the game with Mihm, Marc Gasol, Darko Milicic, and D-Leaguer Hamed Haddadi.    

Thursday, February 19, 2009 ? Trade Deadline 3PM EST

1) Minnesota Timberwolves acquire forward Shelden Williams and guard Bobby Brown from the Sacramento Kings for guard Rashad McCants and forward Calvin Booth.  

Obviously the main story here is that both teams got rid of guys who didn?t fit at all and maybe a change of scenery will do both guys some good.  McCants has shown flashes of brilliance and will now be able to immediately fill the void left by the departed John Salmons.  Shelden gives the Wolves another big body to fill the void left by the injured Al Jefferson.  But the most important thing to keep note of will be this:  Will Shelden get season tickets to the Minnesota Lynx this season?  Is the WNBA?s biggest fan currently making calls to see if the Lynx can set up a deal that would send Candace Parker up to Minnesota to be by his side during these final months of the cold Minnesota winter?  An otherwise ho-hum deal while excluding the impact on the Shelden/Parker pregnancy.

2) New York Knicks acquire forward Chris Wilcox from the Oklahoma City Thunder for forward Malik Rose and cash considerations.

Any human being that has ever watched a game involving Malik Rose knows that the Knicks won this deal in an absolute landslide, to the point of comic proportions.  The Knicks somehow turned one of the league?s absolute definitions of overpaid wasted roster spot into a 26-year old power forward who is a beast on the block with toughness in the paint.  I am having difficulty containing myself here because I am convinced the Sam Presti was severely intoxicated after his doctor refused to ?okay? the Tyson Chandler trade, and instead made this exchange with the Knicks as a move to spite the Thunder franchise for crushing his dream core.  More on the Knicks in a bit.

3) New York Knicks acquire guard Larry Hughes from the Chicago Bulls for forward Tim Thomas, center Jerome James, and guard Anthony Roberson.

When reading the sentence that defines the terms of this trade, one cannot help but take a double-take and re-read.  Did the Knicks just really pull this off?  What are the Bulls thinking?  Now that we have the terms of the Knicks and Bulls deal, let?s evaluate how they each did overall.

When taking a step back and looking at the deals of the day, not only was Donnie ?God? Walsh able to get rid of Malik ?Absolutely bad at basketball? Rose along with Jerome ?Thank You Isiah? James, but he also brought home Chris ?The Knicks wouldn?t have made only one playoff appearance in the past decade if they would have picked me instead of packaging Nene with Mark Jackson and a then-26 year old Marcus Camby for one month of preseason Antonio McDyess and a now-bagging groceries Frank Williams? Wilcox to go along with Larry ?I was created for Mike D?Antoni? Hughes.  

Wilcox and Hughes both fit the system perfectly.  Hughes gets teary-eyed when he doesn?t get to shoot and play big minutes.  Since the Knicks only have two real guards in Chris Duhon and Nate Robinson, he will get plenty of time on the floor and D?Antoni loves it when his players shoot.  Loves it.  While Wilcox doesn?t have a strong jump shot, big deal.  His big tough body in the paint is just what the team is missing and his transition game and ability to finish at the rim will go perfectly on the pick-and-roll with Duhon.  

What?s funny is that if you ask any Knicks fan who they hate the most on the roster (besides Marbury), all of them will say Jerome James, Malik Rose, and probably now Eddy Curry.  All of them have made piles of money and, besides a year or two of Curry, done absolutely nothing during their time in New York.  All of them are fat slobs who have constantly infuriated a knowledgeable fan base.  But what?s weird is the fact that James and Rose both possess the surnames of the two most sought after names that Knick fans crave ? LeBron James and Derrick Rose.  How weird is that?  

All in all, Walsh was able to get rid of two hated slobs, their worst rotation player in ?Whiny Tim,? and a guard who shouldn?t even be in the league for two guys who can come in, fit D?Antoni?s system perfectly, and eventually be starting for the Knicks in this year?s postseason.  And, they did all of this without adding salary to the Summer of 2010, and they opened up two roster spots to add NBDLers like Patrick Ewing Jr. or Blake Ahearn, waiver wire cuts like Quincy Douby, or maybe even the potential return of Jason Williams to the NBA.

As for the Bulls, sure, they got rid of a redundant cancer in Hughes, but they actually didn?t get anything at all in return.  They?ve already paid Thomas $15M to leave the team once before, will they do it again?  James and Roberson won?t ever play for them and they are still going to be on the hook for the same $12+M next year that they would have been paying Hughes.  So they save absolutely no money next year on their cap (unless James retires for medical reasons, insurance will foot most of the bill), and they get nothing in return.  Weird strategy.  But it gets even funnier from a Bulls perspective?

4) Oklahoma City Thunder acquires forward Thabo Sefolosha from the Chicago Bulls the worst of Denver?s and San Antonio?s 2009 first-round picks.

So let?s recap the moves made by the Bulls:

Incoming: John Salmons, Brad Miller, Tim Thomas, Jerome James, Anthony Roberson

Outgoing: Andres Nocioni, Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, Thabo Sefolosha, Michael Ruffin

So they basically replaced a timid rebounding big man who falls in love with shooting from 18 feet (Gooden) with a timid rebounding big man who falls in love with shooting from 18 feet (Miller), replaced a shoot-first whiny egotistical shooting guard (Hughes) with a shoot-first whiny egotistical shooting guard (Salmons), replaced a hard-nosed big shot-hitting workhorse (Nocioni) with a guy who either hits five of six three?s in a game or goes invisible for a month (Thomas), and swapped an athletic wingman who can provide a spark (Sefolosha) for a fat slob who will never play (James) and a D-Leaguer who will never play (Roberson).  And why is John Hollinger ready to move to Chicago to propose to John Paxson?  I don?t get it.

5) Toronto Raptors acquire Patrick O?Bryant from the Boston Celtics.  Sacramento Kings acquire Will Solomon from Toronto and cash from Boston.  Boston receives a conditional second-round pick from Sacramento.

This deal is made all the more interesting following my recent Midseason Reports: Atlantic Division where I cited Will Solomon as the biggest surprise of the lingering Raptors.  Much to my surprise, I received piles of emails from loyal fans in Toronto calling me out for giving this ?award? to the little-used point guard.  That was more of a statement of how poorly their other moves turned out.  Was I correct?  Jermaine O?Neal was shipped out and now Marcus Banks will fill the role of backup point guard.  So the Marion trade made my boy Solomon expendable.

Whether that means dealing him for Patrick ?Thank you to scouts that showed up to watch me inexplicably play out of my mind against Kansas and Pittsburgh in the 2006 NCAA Tournament that enabled me to get paid more than I ever deserved? O?Bryant is a good idea or not, remains to be seen.  More likely, O?Bryant will ride the pine and possibly get some valuable minutes in April when the Raptors are desperately pitching PowerPoint charts to Chris Bosh?s agent on why he should stay in Toronto.

6) Orlando Magic acquires Rafer Alston from the Houston Rockets.  Houston acquires Kyle Lowry from the Memphis Grizzlies and Brian Cook from Orlando.  Memphis acquires Adonal Foyle, Mike Wilks, a first-round pick and cash from Orlando.

Great trade by the Magic.  They lose Jameer Nelson for the season and replace him with another talented point guard.  While this makes great sense for the Magic, I?m having trouble trying to figure out why the Rockets pulled this off.  Kyle Lowry helps them if they are trying to pair him with Aaron Brooks for the speediest, smallest point guard tandems in league history, but if they want to think about winning games with their aging starting lineup, I just don?t get it.  Memphis does it because it gets NBA writers to stop saying that all they have are point guards plus it gives them a couple million dollars in expiring deals ? not to mention the late first round pick.  

But with the Rockets ?core? of Yao Ming, Shane Battier, and Ron Artest, how can dealing Alston for Lowry make any sense for them?  It?s not like he makes them any better.  They should have been true to themselves and realized this team was never going to make it to the Finals (aka the second round to them), and just started shipping out pieces like Yao and Artest to try to rebuild now while T-Mac appears headed for a career-ending injury.  Instead, they are going to hope that their stellar bench can carry them into the playoffs and watch as Yao goes down in the second week of March with a season-ending knee injury.  Watch.

As for the teams that should have made moves and didn?t, let?s look at two big losers of the deadline in particular ? the Portland Trail Blazers and Cleveland Cavaliers.

Once the Blazers were back on the hook for Darius Miles on their cap next year, they knew that they would no longer have the massive cap space that they coveted.  So at this point, they had Raef LaFrentz?s Expiring Contact to dangle to make a strong push for challenging the Lake Show in the West Finals.  They are weak (Blake/Rodriguez) and young (Bayless) at the point and very weak at small forward.  Why not make a trade for a guy like Shawn Marion, Richard Jefferson, or Gerald Wallace?  Because they were unwilling to give any of the players they like too much and held onto RLEC too long and now he will walk away at the end of the season for absolutely nothing.

And Cleveland?  Wow.  They had Wally Szczerbiak?s $13.2M and Eric Snow?s $7.3M expiring deals and had to think that this was the time to make a push past the Celtics.  But they sat on their hands and now will enter the postseason the same old tired team down low (Zydrunas Ilgauskus is 33, Ben Wallace is 34) and will look to LeBron to Michael Jordan them to the Finals.  Sure, Shaq is old too, but Shaq is having a great season and the spectacle of LeBron and Shaq together would have been absolutely incredible going up against Boston?s Big Three.   And Shaq?s contract runs out after next season, so they?d still clear the money to (attempt to) retain LeBron and pair him with a guy like Amare or Bosh.

But they didn?t.  I guess they think Wally is a better option than Shaq.  Or anyone else.

While most of the deadline was focused on saving money, there were some deals that could alter the playoffs in the East.  Watch how Orlando, Miami, New York, and Chicago fare with their new mates and get ready for the final stretch of this great NBA season.  


Feel free to contact Jason M. Williams with your thoughts.  He can be reached at Jason.Williams@RealGM.com for comments or questions.  You can also read Jason?s Online Basketball Blog if you want to read more of his work.