2011 NBA Trade Deadline Breakdown

Its just a little past 7 here on the East Coast and now we can all breathe a sigh of a relief. For a hectic seven hours on this Thursday morning through afternoon, the NBA and its fans may have witnessed the wildest trade deadline, ever. All-Stars shipped and gone, beloved role players traded, low-relevance high-priced contract players become relevant again. It was magic watching everything develop. We thought Melo and Deron was only the tip of the iceberg and we were right.For the next few paragraphs, I’ll try to breakdown what just happened, why it happened and what will be the result of its happenings. I’ll discuss my favorite trades, winners, losers and everything in between. So, sit back, read, learn and soak in some NBA knowledge. Make sure you put your GM hat on too!

Let’s look at all the trades:

Cleveland acquires Baron Davis first-round draft pick from the Clippers for Mo Williams:
Poor Baron. You would think throwing alley-oops to the NBA’s best “rookie” would do him some good. Now, the journeyman must find a new home in sappy Cleveland, OH and try to turn water into wine with an unhappy Antwan Jamison and frustrated J.J. Hickson. Awesome. On the other hand, Mo Williams gets to leave his post-depression LeBron state and become Blake Griffin’s new Binky. Not so fast Mo, a rookie named Eric Bledsoe is a budding star in LA and don’t think you can just take the job. From a GM standpoint I understand what the Clippers were doing. They have a young team already, they don’t need anymore young players, but what you get in return is Mo Williams? Was a certified lottery pick not worth more than Mo Williams? They should’ve gave Denver a call. I’m sure they would’ve listened. As for Cleveland, they will now have two top 10 picks in the 2011 draft. Dan Gilbert might be on to something folks. Winner: Cavaliers Break Even: Clippers Loser: Baron Davis

Boston acquires Jeff Green and Nenad Kristic from the Oklahoma City for Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson:
Celtic nation is in remorse mode right now, KG just created five new curse words and Danny Ainge needs Presidential security to go anywhere. I feel for Celtics, because they just lost their enforcer and every great NBA dynasty needs an enforcer. Check the past 20 years. From Laimbeer to Perkins, you can find an enforcer. Instead the Thunder gain true grit in the middle, which they desperately needed if they wanted to contend with the Lakers, and Celtics get “younger.” Plus, Ainge felt that Perk would be lured away in the offseason by big contracts and not be a Celtic. Therefore, he wanted something in return. The Thunder now can make a serious case to win the West by gaining an enforcer and a player that has been through playoff wars. As for Nate Robinson, it seems he’s turning into a journeyman himself. Third team in six years is not cool by any standard. Winner: Thunder Break Even: Celtics Loser: Celtic Pride

Houston acquires Goran Dragic from Phoenix for Aaron Brooks:
What happens when you know a budding star is not coming back and you can’t do anything about it? Do a Carmelo! Sell him to the highest bidder, at the last moment. Brooks name was floating around a lot of circles as of 2:50 PM EST, but when it was all said and done, Brooks landed in Phoenix. He is set to be a restricted free-agent this summer and Houston knew he was a goner. Instead they traded him a similar yet more streaky player in Dragic. Dragic has a team option this summer and a low-contract. Cash Rules Everything Around Me. Winner: Rockets/Suns Break Even: Steve Nash Loser: Yao Ming

Memphis acquires Shane Battier from Houston for Haseem Thabeet and second-round draft pick:
Memphis dropped the ball on purpose in a trade we will talk about later, but refused to on this one. They cut ties with the 2nd overall pick in the 2009 draft and picked up one of the best perimeter defenders in the league to free up duties for their best perimeter player. (Sound familiar Lakers fans?) Again, the Rockets pretty much knew Battier was headed elsewhere this offseason and felt like this was the best deal. A lot of pressure will be placed on Thabeet, but I like him in Houston. Hopefully, Yao stays around a bit and teach the 7’2 mammoth a thing a two about low-post moves and Chinese cuisine. Winner: Grizzlies Break Even: Rockets Loser: Thabeet’s State of Mind

Portland acquires Gerald Wallace from Charlotte for Joel Pryzbilla and second-round pick:
Yep. That’s it. Joel Pryzbilla. You read it right. Michael Jordan and the Charlotte front office couldn’t find anything better. Pryzbilla’s 1.8 career PPG and 3.9 career RPG averages SCREAM at me when I see this. Quite amazing I think. This just reminds me of when LA traded baby Gasol, a few picks for Pau. No trade balance whatsoever. If this was 2K11 and you tried to “force trade” the computer still won’t let you. I don’t no where the Bobcats go from here but its not looking good. I understand that Wallace wasn’t returning to Charlotte but Pryzbila? You can do better Mike. On the other hand, expect the Blazers to be a tough out in the West playoffs. I like the Matthews-Wallace-Aldridge look. Quick, how many shots of Johnny Walker Blue did MJ take once he realized what he had done? Winner: Blazers Break Even: Stephen Jackson’s FG attempts per game Loser: Bobcats

Atlanta acquires Kirk Hinrich and Hilton Armstrong from Washington for Mike Bibby, Jordan Crawford, Mo Evans and a first-round draft pick.
Hawks needed a better defending guard and they got it. Hinrich has always been a a hawk, while Bibby has always been not so much of a hawk. Atlanta feels like they can contend with the East powerhouses and this is their chance. To be honest, they still won’t make it to the East Finals, lucky if they get to the East Semis. Too much talent awaits them in the top half. As for the Wizards, they lose one of their most consistent players this year and gain the streaky Mike Bibby. Bibby from Sacramento is long gone, but Bibby is a fighter. Should be interesting to see how he takes his reserve role in Washington. Wizards front office gain a draft pick which is much needed to the rebuilding of Washington. Winner: Wizards Break Even: Hawks Loser: Andray Blatche (just cuz)

Sacramento acquires Marquis Daniels for cash.
No words.

A few things that surfaced during the trading deadline:
– Grizzlies was traded O.J. Mayo for Josh McRoberts and draft pick to the Pacers. Problem is, the Grizzlies froze at the end and the deal didn’t meet the NBA trading deadline. Facts are still being worked out on this so keep an eye on it.
– Mavericks were close to obtaining Tayshaun Prince from the Pistons to take on the Manus and Kobes of the West, but the Pistons saw too much leadership value in Prince. Cuban wasn’t pleased.
– Johnny Flynn’s named circled trade talks in Kings, Bulls, Knicks, Clippers, Bobcats and Knicks. He’s still in Minnesota.

So that’s it. What do you guys think? Winners? Losers?

Let me know.

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