NBA trades: Grading each trade-deadline deal

*: Not originally included in this analysis: Haddadi also has a $200,000 buyout for next season.

I guess the Raptors think that Telfair is that much better than a point guard off the scrap heap, but I’m not so convinced.

GRADE: C+

GRADE: A

The Hawks ended up dealing Morrow, who makes $4 million this season, for Jones, who makes $2.9 million. For a team that was barely over the tax line last season and risked being docked for repeater penalties in the future, this was a huge coup. Atlanta didn’t even have to surrender any additional assets to make the deal work.

Morrow is an elite shooter that can’t do anything else and wasn’t playing. Jones won’t play either, but the Hawks lose nothing on the court and gain a lot on the books.

I also think we’ll see better days from Maynor going forward. His production fell in his first season back after tearing his ACL, and his knee will be stronger next year. The Blazers will have to tender him a qualifying offer, but assuming Maynor gets no real offers in free agency, his salary is still manageable at $3.4 million.

GRADE: A-

Let’s consider this for each side.

In the end, the Magic didn’t get the first-round pick they wanted. Instead, they get an expiring contract, one OK prospect in Harris and one that probably won’t amount to anything in Lamb.

Crawford is signed for a little more than $2 million next season before he hits restricted free agency and is a low-cost rotation player. The Celtics are a little bit better than they were yesterday, which was one of Ainge’s goals this week.

Barring another crushing injury the Celtics are headed back to the playoffs where Pierce and Garnett will get one more chance to do their thing this spring. Neither player wanted to leave and they get their way. For now. It wasn’t the huge franchise-altering move many were hoping for, but on its merits the Celtics came out ahead in this transaction.

Figuring out the motivation for one team here is easy. Figuring it out for the other is trickier. Let’s assess this deal from each team’s perspective.

The motivation here is simple: money. Sacramento is sending out $10.3 million of salary for 2012-12 and taking only $6.6 million back, which was made possible by the Rockets having nearly $7 million in cap space. (Note: these numbers must be pro-rated for the rest of the season, so the Kings won’t save as much as one would think. Still, they will save.)