NBA Trading Deadline
Wow. So nothing was going to happen at this trading deadline, huh? That's what all the experts told us. Supposedly, the Cliff Robinson trade was the biggest thing that was going to hit. Proving once again my theory that anyone who wants to be a pro and/or college coach when they are an announcer/analyst/insider in the sports world is insane. Yeah, I want to join a profession where I have to work really hard for ridiculously long hours, every single move I make is second guessed by everyone in the WORLD, and my entire fate is in the hands of egomanical morons (and yes I can say that; I used to be/am one), when I can be the guy who sits in a cushy studio for an hour a day being the second guesser, while being accountable to no one. I know which job I'm choosing!
Anyway, here are the trades.
* Baron Davis to Warriors for Dale Davis and Speedy Claxton from Hornets: Good trade for Golden State. They got a true All Star for nothing. Sure, The Baron has a max deal and injury problems, but he's one of a very small number of players who actually kind of wanted to play for Golden State (insert joke of "anything would be better than playing for the Hornets, right?" here). He's a hometown star (went to UCLA), and actually has talent. The Warriors aren't going to sign any big name free agents, anyway, especially after the ridiculous contracts Chris Mullin gave up last off season, so they might as well take a risk on Baron. It's not like they gave up anything to get him. As for the Hornets...come on...couldn't you at least have gotten SOMETHING for Baron? Anything?
* Jamal Mashburn and Rodney Rodgers to Sixers for Glenn Robinson from Hornets: Great trade for the Sixers. I love Rodney Rodgers; I think he's got a great game, he's always been one of my favorite role players. He also had some of his best years while playing for Jim O'Brien in Boston, so he's going to a coach that knows how to use him. So they trade an expiring contract (Robinson) for an expiring contract (Mashburn) and Rodgers...um, New Orleans, you're 0 for 2 so far.
And by the way...I wrote this entire column out, and the stupid blogger lost it as we were trying to post. I'm angry now.
* Keith Van Horn to Mavericks for Alan Henderson and Calvin Booth to Bucks: God I hate you Don Nelson. Please go away. Just go. Retire, get another rotator cuff surgery, I don't care. Just go. Why do the Mavericks refuse to acknowledge that you need players who do the dirty work? You need your indians as much as you need your chiefs. It's so frustrating. Alan Henderson had provided good minutes of the bench as a backup PF/C; he rebounded, played good defense, and could even throw the ball in the bucket if he was left open. Hell, Booth was even useful because Booth kept Shawn Bradley on the bench--always a good thing. So now we have a $16 mil scrub who's going to keep us from picking up free agents the next 3 years. Great.
That being said, the Bucks have waived Alan Henderson, and there is a chance the Mavs will get him back. If that happens, this goes from "bad trade" to "okay". Cross your fingers.
* Mike James to Rockets for Reece Gaines: And I quote (myself): " As far as I’m concerned, the Rockets have three (Ming, McGrady, Jim Jackson) and a half (Howard) starters, and the rest of the team is nothing but backups. The desperately need a good starting point guard. They also desperately need a good outside shooter, preferably at shooting guard. It’s hard to win with 3.5 starters, no matter how good those 3.5 are. "
Well, Houston has gone out and added Mike James, David Wesley, and Jon Barry--all veteran shooting guards/point guards who play hard, do what they can do and don't do what they can't, and know how to win--while losing only one person of consequence (Jim Jackson). They've also taken the reigns off of Little Bobby Sura (I told you he could ball) to outstanding results. Houston, excellent work.
* Maurice Taylor to Knicks for Vin Baker and Moochie Norris to Rockets: I only bother to mention this trade because it is ANOTHER undersized, poor rebounding and poor defending power forward that Isiah Thomas has decided to add. Isiah, you keep proving that you are an idiot. Seriously, could Thomas win a single fantasy league at this point?
* Nazr Mohammed to Spurs for Malik Rose and 2 1st round picks: It keeps getting better and better! Marc Stein said it best: "One of these days, Thomas is going to get the memo that this ain't no 6-foot-8-and-under league." What a moron! He has 8 players on the roster who are all exactly the same type of player, and that kind of player isn't even good! Good move for the Spurs though; they now have a backup center who would start for most teams. The rich get richer.
* Antoine Walker to Celtics for Tom Gugliotta, Gary Payton, and a 1st round pick: Hawks, is this really all you could get for Toine? A future first round pick? And a mediocre one at that? He's having a good statistical season; I mean, I wouldn't give you anything else for Toine, but NBA execs are supposed to love him. Some people wanted him to be an All Star!
As for Toine going back to the Celts, which was an ugly divorce at best...Hell, why not. The Celts desperately needed to add someone after the Sixers trade, and as long as Toine and DannyAinge aren't in the same room, he should be okay. This is the old "we'll give him a shot, and if it doesn't work, we'll shitcan him (again)".
* Chris Webber to Sixers for Brian Skinner, Kenny Thomas, and Corliss Williamson: Great trade for Philly. Allen Iverson gets not only a big man, but a big man who can score, rebound, and LOVES TO PASS. That last part is the most important. He finally has the "other" great player to keep defenses from collapsing on him. When you team the two of them with the young but promising group around them...hey, why not? In the East, they'll be an elite team. Good move Philly.
Now this isn't near as bad of a trade for the Kings as most people think. I like all three of these players; they're all really good role players/solid starters for a team. Now of course I always subscribe to the "never trade a superstar for any number of role players, no matter how good the role players are", but this doesn't apply here, because Webber is not a superstar. I don't think he was even before he tore his ACL and he had two good legs to run around on. Besides, every time Webber went down, the Kings ALWAYS did better. Always. So add some good players, and you're telling me they won't be fine?
My only problem with this trade is this makes it Pedja's team. Well Kings fan, I've got bad news for you: YOU DO NOT WANT PEDJA TO BE THE MAN. Does no one remember Pedja airballing a wide open three pointer against the Lakers in the Conference Finals, after trying his best to avoid eye contact with Mike Bibby so he didn't have to take the shot in the first place? You want Pedja to be the second banana on your team, definitely not your first. He doesn't have the cajones. Now, Webber didn't either, but still...if I were the Kings, sure I'd want to sign Pedja, but I'd be trying to go get someone, too. Otherwise, this will be a team that continues to do well in the regular season, but dies early and often in the playoffs.
So in other words, it will be business as usual for the Queens.
Anyway, here are the trades.
* Baron Davis to Warriors for Dale Davis and Speedy Claxton from Hornets: Good trade for Golden State. They got a true All Star for nothing. Sure, The Baron has a max deal and injury problems, but he's one of a very small number of players who actually kind of wanted to play for Golden State (insert joke of "anything would be better than playing for the Hornets, right?" here). He's a hometown star (went to UCLA), and actually has talent. The Warriors aren't going to sign any big name free agents, anyway, especially after the ridiculous contracts Chris Mullin gave up last off season, so they might as well take a risk on Baron. It's not like they gave up anything to get him. As for the Hornets...come on...couldn't you at least have gotten SOMETHING for Baron? Anything?
* Jamal Mashburn and Rodney Rodgers to Sixers for Glenn Robinson from Hornets: Great trade for the Sixers. I love Rodney Rodgers; I think he's got a great game, he's always been one of my favorite role players. He also had some of his best years while playing for Jim O'Brien in Boston, so he's going to a coach that knows how to use him. So they trade an expiring contract (Robinson) for an expiring contract (Mashburn) and Rodgers...um, New Orleans, you're 0 for 2 so far.
And by the way...I wrote this entire column out, and the stupid blogger lost it as we were trying to post. I'm angry now.
* Keith Van Horn to Mavericks for Alan Henderson and Calvin Booth to Bucks: God I hate you Don Nelson. Please go away. Just go. Retire, get another rotator cuff surgery, I don't care. Just go. Why do the Mavericks refuse to acknowledge that you need players who do the dirty work? You need your indians as much as you need your chiefs. It's so frustrating. Alan Henderson had provided good minutes of the bench as a backup PF/C; he rebounded, played good defense, and could even throw the ball in the bucket if he was left open. Hell, Booth was even useful because Booth kept Shawn Bradley on the bench--always a good thing. So now we have a $16 mil scrub who's going to keep us from picking up free agents the next 3 years. Great.
That being said, the Bucks have waived Alan Henderson, and there is a chance the Mavs will get him back. If that happens, this goes from "bad trade" to "okay". Cross your fingers.
* Mike James to Rockets for Reece Gaines: And I quote (myself): " As far as I’m concerned, the Rockets have three (Ming, McGrady, Jim Jackson) and a half (Howard) starters, and the rest of the team is nothing but backups. The desperately need a good starting point guard. They also desperately need a good outside shooter, preferably at shooting guard. It’s hard to win with 3.5 starters, no matter how good those 3.5 are. "
Well, Houston has gone out and added Mike James, David Wesley, and Jon Barry--all veteran shooting guards/point guards who play hard, do what they can do and don't do what they can't, and know how to win--while losing only one person of consequence (Jim Jackson). They've also taken the reigns off of Little Bobby Sura (I told you he could ball) to outstanding results. Houston, excellent work.
* Maurice Taylor to Knicks for Vin Baker and Moochie Norris to Rockets: I only bother to mention this trade because it is ANOTHER undersized, poor rebounding and poor defending power forward that Isiah Thomas has decided to add. Isiah, you keep proving that you are an idiot. Seriously, could Thomas win a single fantasy league at this point?
* Nazr Mohammed to Spurs for Malik Rose and 2 1st round picks: It keeps getting better and better! Marc Stein said it best: "One of these days, Thomas is going to get the memo that this ain't no 6-foot-8-and-under league." What a moron! He has 8 players on the roster who are all exactly the same type of player, and that kind of player isn't even good! Good move for the Spurs though; they now have a backup center who would start for most teams. The rich get richer.
* Antoine Walker to Celtics for Tom Gugliotta, Gary Payton, and a 1st round pick: Hawks, is this really all you could get for Toine? A future first round pick? And a mediocre one at that? He's having a good statistical season; I mean, I wouldn't give you anything else for Toine, but NBA execs are supposed to love him. Some people wanted him to be an All Star!
As for Toine going back to the Celts, which was an ugly divorce at best...Hell, why not. The Celts desperately needed to add someone after the Sixers trade, and as long as Toine and DannyAinge aren't in the same room, he should be okay. This is the old "we'll give him a shot, and if it doesn't work, we'll shitcan him (again)".
* Chris Webber to Sixers for Brian Skinner, Kenny Thomas, and Corliss Williamson: Great trade for Philly. Allen Iverson gets not only a big man, but a big man who can score, rebound, and LOVES TO PASS. That last part is the most important. He finally has the "other" great player to keep defenses from collapsing on him. When you team the two of them with the young but promising group around them...hey, why not? In the East, they'll be an elite team. Good move Philly.
Now this isn't near as bad of a trade for the Kings as most people think. I like all three of these players; they're all really good role players/solid starters for a team. Now of course I always subscribe to the "never trade a superstar for any number of role players, no matter how good the role players are", but this doesn't apply here, because Webber is not a superstar. I don't think he was even before he tore his ACL and he had two good legs to run around on. Besides, every time Webber went down, the Kings ALWAYS did better. Always. So add some good players, and you're telling me they won't be fine?
My only problem with this trade is this makes it Pedja's team. Well Kings fan, I've got bad news for you: YOU DO NOT WANT PEDJA TO BE THE MAN. Does no one remember Pedja airballing a wide open three pointer against the Lakers in the Conference Finals, after trying his best to avoid eye contact with Mike Bibby so he didn't have to take the shot in the first place? You want Pedja to be the second banana on your team, definitely not your first. He doesn't have the cajones. Now, Webber didn't either, but still...if I were the Kings, sure I'd want to sign Pedja, but I'd be trying to go get someone, too. Otherwise, this will be a team that continues to do well in the regular season, but dies early and often in the playoffs.
So in other words, it will be business as usual for the Queens.
posted by Michael Pondrom at 11:07 AM
5 Comments:
I think the Walker trade has the biggest playoff impact of any of the deals. The Celtics have made the Eastern Conf finals with Pierce and Walker before, and now they also have a ton of decent youth with some game experience. If rumor holds true and Payton resigns with the Celtics now, I think this team has serious potential to make it to the NBA Finals. And yes, I am partially insane.
As for the Sixers... maybe NBA execs need to be copying Billy King like MLB execs try to copy Billy Beane. This was probably the best work for immediate and future consideration that's been done in a long time. I'm still in shock that they retained their youth and an expiring contract. I don't know if Webber and AI will gel into a dominating force in time for this year's playoffs, but next year could be a year where they make a tear -- almost all the pieces are in place, it's too bad they got rid of Ratliff way back when, he'd be a perfect fit.
And Bob Sura might be the best white American basketball player in the NBA not named Brad Miller. I'd take him before Hinrich, Ridnour, Szczczczcerbiak, and Mihm. (BTW, is this the state of white American basketball? Luke Ridnour and Chris Mihm get mentioned in a list of the best?)
Nick
Why isn't Kelvin Sampson on your most hated list?
Ray
I'd put Bibby on that list. He's pretty light skinned.
One of the funniest things I ever saw watching college basketball was shortly after Bobby Knight started coaching at Tech. (And on that note, I believe Knight has changed a lot of his way. Trust me and watch him on the bench these days. He's very different than when he was at Indiana.) Anyway, Tech is playing OU and the announcers are going on and on about how great a coach Sampson is and how horrible Knight is. They are really dogging Knight for physically and mentally abusing his players. The whole time they are talking Knight is calmly watching the game and yelling some commands to his players, but acting very civilly. One of his players makes a mistake and he subs him out and has nice, quiet conversation with the player. He doesn't yell and never gets out of control.
Then, one of OU's guards does something stupid and he is immediately subbed out. Sampson goes bonkers. He's yelling and jumping up and down, totally out of control. He sits the player right next to him and continues to berate him. And while the announcers are talking about how Knight abuses his players, Sampson is physically slapping his player on the thigh as he continues to rant and holler in his ear. And the announcers never said a word about Sampson getting out of control. It was amazing, you had to have seen it live. I guess Sampson could do no wrong. This was after OU had had those great tournament runs with White and Price and Sampson was considered the next Coach K. I always think its funny how an average coach can get one team far into the tournament and then they are christened as "Great coaches". Look at Sampson, Billy Donovan, Tom Izzo. Other than a few lucky March runs, they have been very average coaches.
A THOUSAND APOLOGIES TO YOU ALL. I also cannot believe I left him off of that list. And I love your story Bo. I agree with you; I think Bob Knight has changed since he left Indiana. However, I think he's still shell shocked that they dared to kick him out, and he's basically just punching the clock, but whatever, at least he behaves himself finally. But Sampson is an ass. I'm fixing the list now.
Michael
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