Rating the Trade Deadline Deals

As a change of pace, Zee and I have decided to post our first debate blog entry. We've selected a handful of the most significant trade deadline moves, and we are going to argue back and forth on which side got the better deal. We flipped a virtual coin to determine who would get each side to minimize any bias that we might have. Feel free to chime in with your comments and let us know who threw down the stronger argument, or whether you disagree with both of us.



1) Alston to Orlando Magic
Lowry/Cook to Houston Rockets
Foyle/Wilks/1st-Round Draft Pick to Memphis Grizzlies

Houston Rockets: I suspect that part of the reason Houston pulled the trigger on this trade was because Alston had openly called out his teammates. He's been a surprisingly solid point guard for this team, but I think they needed to get younger and faster. This trade allows them to start Aaron Brooks who had been a beast when given the minutes. He provides them with more athleticism and quickness than Alston. He's an explosive scorer and can hit the open 3 as well. Lowry as the backup PG provides them toughness and defense. Both are capable passers, as well. It should be a fun point guard battle to watch in the future. As a Rocket fan, it was painful to watch Alston jack up so many bad shots. And he's horrible from the charity line. I don't think that Cook will play much on this squad, if any. I like the Rockets as a dark horse team. Losing T-mac is addition by subtraction. (Kay)

First off, Houston is going nowhere fast, and I think everyone but Kay understands that. Houston is not a dark horse, they are a DEAD horse. Between injuries to Artest, Yao, T-Mac, and Battier, this team is destined to continually look good on paper but never live up to the expectations that people have set for them. When this trade went through, I was excited for Rafer simply because he'll be in a position to influence how far the team he's on can go. And for the record Kay, Skip's FT% over the course of the season was a solid 78%. This moves makes so much sense for the Magic, as they couldn't think Anthony Johnson was an adequate replacement for the injured Jameer Nelson. by acquiring a savvy veteran point guard in Alston, the Magic have added to their collective team strength: the 3 pointer. Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu will continually have wide open shots as defenders sag off to prevent Skip from getting inside and dishing the ball to Dwight Howard. All you need to do is look at Rashard and Turkoglu's numbers when Anthony Johnson was at the PG position, and look at the numbers now that Alston is running the point. Also look at Skip's first game with the Magic: 12 pts on 4-9 shooting, 9 ast, and two 3pt's for good measure. The Magic are trying hard to make sure they can compete with the top dogs in the east, especially now that Detroit is showing that for the moment, they are not among the eastern elite. This trade adds to that push they are trying to make in a big way. (Zee!!)

2) Salmons/Miller to Chicago Bulls
Gooden/Nocioni/Simmons/Ruffin to Sacramento Kings

Chicago Bulls: Hah! Brad Miller back in a Chicago Bulls uniform again. How ironic. But Miller gives them a legit post presence finally. He'll be a solid pick-n-roll partner with Rose, and can hit the open shot. He's also one of the best passing big men, and an underrated rebounder. He should eventually be able to force his way into the starting lineup. Salmons is insurance in case Ben Gordon leaves the team during the summer. He's a legit scorer, and can play either the SG or SF position. He's a bigger body than Gordon or Hinrich at the SG. And as an added bonus, he has a shorter contract than Nocioni. Trading Gooden away shows that the Bulls have faith in Tyrus Thomas, who is finally showing some signs of consistency. He could be the difference maker for this team. I think this trade should enable the Bulls to make a charge for one of the last remaining playoff spots in the Eastern Conference, where they will lose in the 1st round. (Kay)

Ahh the Sacramento Kings. Seems like yesterday, the Arco arena was abuzz with cowbells and rowdy anti-Laker fans. Then we spanked you a few times, got some pretty rings and a couple shiny trophies. My how the semi-mighty have fallen. Now the team is in danger of being moved to another city, any links to the fun & gun teams from the early 2000's are gone, and Reggie Theus was a coach for like 5 minutes. Now that I've gotten out of the way, I'll say this, we're in a recession and the Kings are really having crappy attendance the last few years based largely on the economic situation in Sacramento, and also because of the product that is being trotted out onto the court and shamefully being passed off as a NBA team. The players that were moved, were sent packing simply because of money. If you look at the Kings roster, you'll see that the youth (read:cheap) movement is underway. The Kings are doing two very good things, they are giving young skilled players like Spencer Hawes and Jason Thompson a chance to play. Also, they are sending away skilled, but expensive players in Miller ($11,375,000) and Salmons ($6,077,151) and were able to position themselves to get 3 decent players in return. (Gooden, Nocioni, Simmons) Not exactly earth shattering, but it's a start in the right direction. (Zee!!)



3) O'Neal/Moon/1st-Round Draft Pick to Miami Heat
Marion/Banks/Cash to Toronto Raptors

Miami Heat: Like the above picture, I'm not overly excited about this trade. It's clear that Marion was not in their future plans, though. What I like about this trade is that the Heat were able to unload Banks contract and also pickup a future 1st-Round draft pick from Toronto. Jermaine is paid a ton, but his contract expires in the summer of 2010. If he can stay healthy, he provides Wade a legit big man. He can blocks shots, intimidate the opposition, and grab some rebounds. Also he's a much more capable scorer than any of the other C's on their roster: Magloire, Anthony or Blount. Ugh. Moon has struggled this year, but he's like a super-lite version of Marion. He has the potential to contribute in many different categories, and could play a nice role for this team. His contract expires this summer, and he's literally paid peanuts. This trade should allow the Heat to play Beasley more minutes. And allow Haslem to slide back to his natural PF position. (Kay)

This was the epitome of a meh trade. I'm sure Toronto didn't want to admit that picking up O'Neal was a knee jerk reaction to try and convince Bosh that they were trying to build a solid team around him, but nothing ventured, nothing gained right? (Riiight) Anyhow, good thing they were able to pawn J.O. off on the Heat, works out for them by receiving Marion because he has a veteran Point Guard who can feed him the ball in the right positions, which he has shown is the only way he can thrive offensively as he is incapable of creating his own shot. Losing Moon sucks, but he was under-producing in T-dot and was pretty much a lock to get moved outta town. I really can't comment on Marcus Banks as he has been a question mark his whole tenure in the league. and cash is always good right? Regardless, Bosh is bolting as soon as his contract is up, so this is merely a temporary fix until the real tragedy begins. (Zee!!)

4) Hughes to New York Knicks
Thomas/James to Chicago Bulls

New York Knicks: Amazing! I thought they'd never get rid of Jerome James. That automatically makes the Knicks the winner in this trade in my mind. Haha. Hughes is horribly overpaid, but is a decent talent. He may see a slight career resurrection playing for D'Antoni. He'll provide the Knicks with a backup PG, and allow them to rest Duhon finally. He's a decent playmaker, will gamble for steals, and can score in the open court. His jump shot is a little suspect, however. He's more a volume scorer than an efficient scorer, so that means David Lee will help more rebound opportunities. Haha. This will also allow Nate Robinson to move to backup SG where he is more comfortable. Losing Tim Thomas, the chronic underachiever, is no big deal. Walsh has done a fine job at cleaning up the Knicks roster. (Kay)

Fire Both Chicago and New York's GM's. (Zee!!)



5) Wilcox to New York Knicks
Rose to Oklahoma City Thunder

New York Knicks: Malik Rose had been collecting DNP like they were doing out of style. So shipping him off for Wilcox can only benefit their team. Both players have expiring contracts at the end of 2009. So it's not a risk for them either. Best case, Wilcox proves to be a valuable role player and he helps the Knicks make the playoffs in the East. If the gamble does not pay off, they can just let Wilcox go. The Knicks are preparing for the summer of 2010, so if they do resign Wilcox it will be for a 2-year deal only. The Knicks needed some depth at the frontcourt positions desperately. He's a decent scorer, but weak rebounder and defender. Which means he will fit in with this Knicks team. Haha. I don't think we'll be seeing Eddy Curry at all. And Jared Jeffries is both injury prone and a non-factor on offense. So don't be surprised to see Wilcox get some decent burn on occasion. (Kay)

Do we really need to cover this one? Oklahoma got rid of a cancer in Wilcox who was known to whine about playing time and also had a horrible work ethic ever since the thunder were in Seattle. (I still can't believe they moved!!) The Knicks continue to cement their reputation as one of the worst decision making teams in the NBA. (Zee!!)

6) Sefolosha to Oklahoma City Thunder
First-Round Draft Pick to Chicago Bulls

Oklahoma City Thunder: Sefolosha fills a need of OKC at the SG spot, with Desmond Mason out for the season. He's a nice young talent that has shown flashes of brilliance. And should eventually replace Kyle Weaver in the starting lineup. He's a solid defender and his all-around game should be a nice compliment to Westbrook and Durant. He'll need to improve on his range to really thrive on this team, however. It's too bad they rescinded the Chandler trade. A lineup of Westbrook-Sefolosha-Durant-Green-Chandler sounds pretty potent. They'll have to rely on Krstic returning to form to man the C position. He's a much better scorer than Chandler, but not nearly as efficient of a defender. It's a nice low-risk move. Sefolosha has a cheap contract, too. OKC has 3 draft picks this summer, and the bulls are getting the lowest one; which will probably the pick DEN owes them. (Kay)

Ummm.....I bet George Karl likes it!!! I'm just assuming Chicago is just trying to move money around in their much publicized attempt to land Chris Bosh in 2010. If they somehow can manage to move Kirk Hinrich, then they may be ahead of the game. And isn't that all any of us want to be? (Zee!!)