- Despite a Nuggets executive saying “We feel like we got killed,” Denver got a ton of talent out of Carmelo Anthony. If nothing else, Felton, Gallinari, Mozgov and Chandler will make excellent bargaining chips down the line, since the only way Denver’s going to get anything outside of the draft is by pulling off another monster trade. Chauncey Billups may have the been the only relevant player longing to play in Colorado, and they just dealt him away.
- It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a team knee-deep in the playoff race willingly dispose of its best player in the middle of the season. Denver and Utah will probably make the playoffs, but it’s rare to see “just traded away its best player” on the resume of any postseason team.Don’t listen to Dan Shaughnessy; the Boston Celtics are significantly better today than they were yesterday, and are probably now the most complete team in the NBA. The Celtics have survived without James Posey, but there’s no question that the team had missed his ability to not only stretch the floor, but to back up Pierce and Allen without there being a tremendous drop-off in skill. Green can fill the Posey role admirably; Delonte West, when healthy, is a much better backup guard than Nate Robinson; Shaquille O’Neal is 90 to 95% of what Kendrick Perkins is, and Glen Davis is still Glen Davis. As long as only half of the O’Neals are healthy, the Celtics should be the prohibitive favorites in the Eastern Conference.Two weeks ago, the Portland Trail Blazers were supposedly going to go on a fire sale. Not only did Andre Miller, Marcus Camby or Nicolas Batum not get traded, the Blazers actually bolstered their roster, adding Gerald Wallace to the front line for the rarely-seen Joel Pryzbilla. With Camby coming back, Roy semi-sorta healthy and the addition of Gerald Wallace, suddenly the Blazers don’t look so bad in the Western Conference.
- The Kings shipped Carl Landry to New Orleans for Marcus Thornton and cash. It’s honestly hard to figure out what the Kings’ plan is, or if they even have one. They’re quick to get rid of any excess talent they have, but then they go out and give Francisco Garcia a big contract. Plus as good as Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins may be, it’s hard to see that combination doing anything in Sacramento, though they’re likely to earn big money from them anyway.
- The Rockets dealt Aaron Brooks to the Phoenix Suns for backup point guard Goran Dragic. What a fall by Aaron Brooks, who went from one of the premier up-and-coming point guards in the league to getting hurt, getting stuck on the bench, feuding with Rick Adelman for minutes and shooting a horrendous 34.6% before getting traded in the span of only a few months. And now he’s liable to wilt away on the Suns’ bench behind Steve Nash. Dragic, meanwhile, is a pretty good point guard who has a decent opportunity to battle Kyle Lowry for the starting point guard slot.
- Richard Hamilton and O.J. Mayo came dangerously close to getting traded to cellar-dwellers. Hamilton was set to go to Cleveland, and Mayo was in line to head off to Indiana, but neither deal was consummated. Mayo still has some life left in him, as Rudy Gay could miss close to the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury. Hamilton, if he isn’t bought out, will likely rot on the Pistons’ bench the rest of the year.
- The Orlando Magic chose to decline a trade that would’ve sent Zach Randolph to Florida and Jason Richardson and Brandon Bass to Memphis. This would have been an ultimate desperation ploy by Orlando, who besides running of players would have locker room suddenly crowded with malcontents including Gilbert Arenas. If nothing else, the Magic weren’t so desperate to appease Dwight Howard that they didn’t make the move; of course, this doesn’t guarantee that Howard will be with them in 2012.
Spare thoughts on the NBA trade deadline
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