There’s a ton of news flooding the blogosphere about both the long and short-term implications of every team involved in the trade deadline frenzy. I’ll try to avoid most of that and merely focus on the major players coming and going to teams who are not caught up in the Summer of LeBron.
Boston – Gets: Nate Robinson, Loses: Eddie House
Not sure what I’m missing here, but the Celtics seem to have an affinity for volatile unreliable point guards from the Knicks. The Starbury experiment failed miserably last year and now he’s playing overseas in China. House always seemed like a Celtic to me, he played hard, never overstepped the boundaries of his role, and he could catch fire in a hurry.
Now while I won’t argue that Nate is a superior scorer, he’s virtually the polar opposite of House. He uses too many possessions on pull-up threes and wild drives to the rim. He can shift the momentum in his team’s favor much like House could, but unlike him he doesn’t seem to have an “off” button. The only way to turn him off is to take him out of the game which is exactly what Mike D’Antoni did. For the entire month of December. One whole month free of injury. I’ll let that settle in for a bit. He can certainly help the Celtics, but I’m not sure his net upside in regards to House is worth the potential downside he poses. Why are the Celtics not wary of this? I’m not sure, but I don’t see a dynasty spawning from this.
Charlotte – Gets: Tyrus Thomas
I’ve always been hesitant, as most people are, to stay high on Thomas. He’s got the physical tools to be great defensively, blocking shots and grabbing boards, but he lacks the consistency and to me that translates to a lack of effort. He doesn’t consistently box out, he takes too many jumpers and he’s too eager to provide helping defense leaving his man open for an easy bucket.
Hopefully a new beginning for TT will bring him some consistency via Larry Brown. If he can get it together then he’ll bring much needed rest to Gerald Wallace who has been logging an NBA-high 42mpg. If the Bobcats expect to challenge the elite teams of the East they need Wallace to be rested come playoff time.
Cleveland – Gets: Antawn Jamison, Loses: Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Probably the biggest of all the trades merely because of the impact this could have on LeBron’s future. If they win it all this year, it’ll be hard for him to walk away. If they lose, we can all start writing Cleveland letters of condolences. While Amar’e was the real gem on the market Jamison’s a pretty good consolation prize. He’s a solid, high-efficiency player in my eyes who rarely turns the ball over(1.7 TOs on his career), can score in the post and rebound well for a stretch four. He also shoots 35% from three for his career which should improve slightly with LeBron running the floor now.
Big Z will be missed, but if the Wizards buy him out like they’re expected to then the Cavs can pick him back up after thirty days. Will this move put them over the top? I’d say the Lakers are still the team to beat mostly because their championship roster is largely unchanged. The Cavs had the best regular season record last year and are on pace to repeat, but they were knocked out fairly convincingly in the ECF. They’ll reach the finals this year in part to their improved roster and the struggles of Orlando and Boston, but their ultimate challenge comes from the West.
Dallas – Gets: Caron Butler, Loses: Josh Howard
Butler always seemed to have the heart to play hard and win, but in Washington he either deferred to pre-gun-toting Arenas or was asked to do too much. Here in Dallas he’ll be play second, sometimes third, fiddle to Nowitzki and Terry which is just about right for him. Kidd should also help him get settled quickly because even though he can create for himself(sort of) it doesn’t mean he has to. The less the Mavs need Butler to do on the offensive end the better. Defensively, he’s a slight upgrade from Howard in my view. He won’t be the defensive stopper à la Bowen or Battier, but he’ll carry his load on that end.
Josh Howard was a great fit when he wasn’t playing hurt and by ditching him now the Mavs seem to be in full win-now mode much like when they acquired Kidd. Sadly, this deal doesn’t vault them into the top half of the western playoff seeds. I would even say the Thunder would take them in a best-of-seven series.
Houston – Gets: Kevin Martin, Jordan Hill Loses: Carl Landry
This one caught me by surprise since it went down in the waning moments of the night. I absolutely love this trade for the Rockets and mostly because of its potential long-term effects. I know I said I would not stray from the immediate future, but while all of the moves I’ve discussed so far are concerned with the here and now, the mastermind, Daryl Morey, has done it again. Martin slides Ariza and Brooks down a notch which they desperately need because we now know that Ariza cannot be the #1 option, or even #2 really. Hill, a disappointment so far can still be a productive player as he has shown in flashes this season, albeit in limited minutes. As a bonus the Rockets also receive two first-round picks from the Knicks which Morey will turn into gold.
The real stinker here is the loss of Landry as he was easily the most productive player on the team. He’ll be sorely missed, but Martin sufficiently fills the void of a sweet-shooting guard to keep the offense churning. For now, the Rockets stand pretty much pat since Martin merely makes up for the loss of Landry. I suppose that is where the true genius in Morey lies: investing on the future without giving away value now.
Portland – Gets: Marcus Camby, Loses: Steve Blake
Camby is a brilliant addition to a team that saw two great centers go down in a bizarre twist of fate. He’ll anchor the inside defensively much like Oden and Pryzbilla did and pick his spots on the other end. He can hit the spot-up jumper and pass better than the other two combined. That’s all Camby really needs to do and I’m certain he will, but with contenders loading up in the already stacked West I’m not sure this move is that significant.
Losing Blake will hurt a little more than people realize because behind Miller we have Bayless. I wouldn’t doubt his potential at this moment, but that’s exactly what he is, potential. Blake wasn’t flash and he won’t dominate games, but you knew you could rely on him to sop up some minutes from the bench while Bayless can be a bit unpredictable. I am also a bit concerned about the age of Camby and Howard, 35 and 37, but at this point the Blazers didn’t have many options if they wanted to contend this season. Even if this blows up in their face Camby comes off the books at the end of the season so they don’t have to deal with 3-way mess at center.