Rating the Latest Flurry of NBA Trades

The NBA trade deadline has come and gone. In the coming weeks we will come to understand which GMs were proactive and which were reactive. And in the coming weeks we will know which moves brought their teams greater success and which moves were busts.

It is going to be a very interesting stretch run.

1. The Lakers go —- Pau!

The Los Angeles Lakers trade for Pau Gasol was so good it invited conspiracy theories. It was so good that San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich advocated for the league to have the ability to determine that a trade was “stupid” and have it rescinded.

LA got Gasol for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittendon, two draft choices, and semi-retired Aaron McKie – the equivalent of as song. Immediately members of the NBA media from other teams began to float the idea that somehow ex-Memphis Grizzlies GM, Jerry West, was working behind the scenes as an influence peddler to make the trade go. In smaller circles it was suggested that David Stern had something to do with the trade in order to restore the importance of the Lakers franchise and keep Kobe Bryant happy.

Actually the trade was made simply because young center Andrew Bynum went down on January 10 with an injury to his kneecap. Through his play on both ends of the floor, Bynum became indispensable to the Lakers’ efforts. GM Mitch Kupchak surveyed the team’s roster and realized that no combination of backup centers on the Lakers roster could make up for Bynum’s loss. So he went out and got Pau, who had been the subject of trade talk for almost a year.

After starting a nine-game road trip 1-1, Pau joined the team. Los Angeles finished the trip 7-2, came back home for one game and drubbed Atlanta in Gasol’s first home game as a Laker, and then defeated Phoenix 130-124. Kobe Bryant is happy, Bynum is scheduled to return until March 10, and thanks to Mitch Kuchak’s move, LA is one of the favorites in the west, just one game behind New Orleans for the best record in the Western Conference.

2. Thomas takes over Spurs (Kurt, not Isiah); plus a Stoudemire sighting (Damon, not Amare)

So who is checking out Gregg Popovich’s heist of Kurt Thomas from Seattle for Brent Barry, Francisco Elson and a 2009 draft choice? The thought of Bynum and Gasol turned Pop’s stomach. The thought of Shaquille O’Neal and Amare Stoudemire and on the floor gave Pop nightmares. So, to ensure that Tim Duncan and Fabricio Oberto would not be manhandled in the playoffs, Spurs GM RC Buford went out and got Thomas.

However, to set up the trade Buford knew that Popovich would need a three-point shooter as Brent Barry would be offered as trade bait. So first Buford took advantage of the Grizzlies veteran player fire sale procured Damon Stoudemire on the cheap. Stoudemire will back up point guard Tony Parker and act as secondary three-point marksman.

In last year’s Western Conference playoffs Thomas showed how valuable he is. Of all the Spurs competition on their way to the Larry O’Brien trophy, no one gave Duncan a harder time than the then Phoenix Suns center, Kurt Thomas. He is versatile enough to defend O’Neal or Stoudemire, Gasol or Bynum. He will give someone like Utah’s Carlos Boozer fits. Thomas can spell Duncan or play center allowing Duncan to play against smaller power forwards. On offense Thomas can play on the low block but can also can the elbow jumper with regularity. Since Robert Horry appears to finally be showing his age, Thomas is an excellent pickup for San Antonio.

With the addition of Stoudemire and Thomas the Spurs roster is set. And San Antonio appears ready for another deep run in the playoffs.

3. Attack of the Big Cactus

This season Phoenix Suns GM Steve Kerr watched his team play Mike D’Antoni’s wide open but very efficient offense and equally wide open and conversely inefficient defense. All the while Kerr was dreaming of something more traditional, a playing style that could, in a critical playoff situation, take the pressure off Steve Nash to create something magical on his own and translate to a Suns Finals appearance.

So Kerr plotted, set his eyes on four-time NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal and hit the jackpot by trading Shawn Marion, Marcus Banks and trade picks for Miami’s center.

The problem with this trade is that D’Antoni’s offense will not change appreciably to fit O’Neal’s main requirement on offense – touches. And because O’Neal will probably not play more than 30 minutes a game there will be 18 minutes where Phoenix will m is Marion’s ability to slash to the basket, shoot spot up threes and outrun his defender in the Suns transition offense.

What O’Neal will do for Phoenix is allow Amare Stoudemire to showcase his expanding offensive skill set, swoop in for offensive rebounds, and take Marion’s wing spot in transition. Shaq is an excellent passer from the low block. His size allows him to have automatic passing sight lines when he is double teamed on the block, so if the Suns do not become enamored with watching O’Neal operate in the lane, they will be the recipient of Shaq’s passing largesse.

Kerr is also counting on O’Neal to clog the lane on the defensive en d of the floor and play decent enough defense to allow Stoudemire to use his athletic ability to play help side defense like Andrei Kirilenko on PEDs. However, if the first game is ant indication of what is to come, Shaq has lost enough quickness to be unable to stop top-flight slashers like Manu Ginobili, Kobe Bryant, Deron Williams, Tony Parker, Baron Davis, and Stephen Jackson among others in the Western Conference.

Yet if O’Neal can, through conditioning for the next 30 games, regain enough of his form from two years ago Phoenix will suddenly become the favorite to represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals. It is a gamble to be sure, but for Kerr. The Suns GM know in his heart that for the pre-Shaq Suns to get to the Finals and win a championship every break had to go their way, with a rejuvenated O’Neal things can get out-of-kilter and between Nash and the Big Fella, the team can restore its balance.

Yes it is a gamble, but for Kerr and the Suns it is a gamble worth taking.

4. Bibby finally moves

Atlanta Hawks GM Billy Knight can see that his team is on the verge of making the postseason. He knew he needed a point guard plus another reliable jump shooter so defenses cannot hone in on Joe Johnson. To accomplish all of this Knight went out and got ex-Sacramento point guard Mike Bibby for Anthony Johnson, Tyronn Lue, Shelden Williams, Lorenzen Wright and a second-round draft pick.

Did Atlanta lose much? Surprisingly, no. Johnson and Lue are back up guards, at best. Al Horford made Williams expendable, and Wright is nothing more now than a veteran underachiever.

Atlanta is presently mired in a six-game losing streak. Fortunately that streak has dropped them only to the number nine spot in the East, just on game out of the playoffs if the season was to end today. Whether the acquisition of Bibby is enough to get Knight’s Hawks to the playoffs remains to be seen. But it is enough for now that Knight made a move in the right direction. Now it is up to head coach Mike Woodson and the players to right the ship and bring the playoffs to Atlanta for the first time since the 1998-99 season.

5. Are you Kidd-ing?

Dallas got Jason Kidd, but at a heavy cost. They gave up their future at point guard in Devin Harris. They gave up their only reliable interior defender in Desagana Diop. And they got Jason Kidd.

This is going to be a tough sell as the Mavericks sink in the Western Conference standings. Both Atlanta and Dallas are replacing the most demanding position in basketball with about 30 games remaining in the season. And for the Mavs, this could spell doom. It will take Kidd and his new teammates at least 10 games to begin to be comfortable with each other. Should Dallas go 5-5 or 4-6 in these games they might find themselves in seventh or eighth place in the Western Conference standings with just a handful of game remaining.

If this move was made 20 games ago it might have an opportunity to pay off, but Kidd will add rebounds to the team but that is countered by the fact that he will not add points to the Mavs. He is an adequate defender who is replacing Harris who was a very good defender.

The thought of Erick Dampier holding down the middle against an onslaught of Western Conference centers is laughable – unless you’re a Dallas Mavericks fan. Let’s just hope this doesn’t land Avery Johnson on the coaching hot seat.

6. Cleveland did wha—-?!

This Danny Ferry move will make him into a genius – if it succeeds. If it fails, it might cost him his job. And if it doesn’t it will certainly cost him credibility.

Ferry sent guard Larry Hughes, forwards Drew Gooden and Cedric Simmons and guard Shannon Brown to Chicago while Seattle gets forward Donyell Marshall and guard Ira Newble from Cleveland and forward Adrian Griffin from the Bulls. There are a couple of future second-round picks involved as well.

What did the Cavs get in return? They added Ben Wallace and power forward Joe Smith from Chicago and forward Wally Szczerbiak and guard Delonte West from Seattle.

Now, is Delonte West the guard Cleveland needs?

Though popular opinion says no, West might just be the guard Mike Brown needs in his scheme. He wants to control possessions on the offensive end of the floor and play tough defense. West can control a team and he enjoys playing defense; West is, if nothing else, an effort player, just the type that Brown likes.

Szczerbiak is a very good standstill shooter who is going to get shots when LeBron James or West drive and kick. Of all the players, the question mark is Ben Wallace. It looks for all the world that Wallace’s skills are declining and this might be the final chance for him to prove that he has some of his rebounding and defensive prowess left. If he does, he will be a tremendous asset to Cleveland come playoff time.

This is definitely not the trade James was looking for. It appeared that Hughes was finally stable in Brown’s system as he had recently begun to flourish in it. And the trade does not appear to address Cleveland’s primary need: more reliable scorers.

Ferry did not need to replace points with points, he needed to add points.

It can be said that if this trade does not work James will definitely leave Cleveland for a bigger market come contract time in a couple of years. Cleveland needs to win now. And this is Ferry’s gamble to make that happen?

Time will tell and we won’t have long to wait.