I break down most of the trades that happened before the deadline.

As the NBA trade deadline passes, players are moved around a lot, here are my thoughts on the trades.

Gerald Wallace is traded to Portland for two first round draft picks, Joel Przybilla and Dante Cunningham. Portland A Bobcats B+
The Bobcats can still make the playoffs, but getting rid of Gerald Wallace wont get them there this season. I like this trade for Charlotte because they are looking for a future. the draft picks will help bring in young talent, I do not think that Wallace will be an elite player and the Bobcats have saved money to bring in other talent.

As for Portland, they get another helper in Wallace and they didn’t give up too much. They needed work at the three and Wallace will be able to do that. I think Wallace is a little underrated, and he can come in and help the Trailblazers.

James Johnson was traded to Toronto for the Miami Heat’s 2011 first round draft pick. Chicago D- Toronto A
James Jones was a pretty good player and helped out the Bulls, I do not like this trade. Miami is having a great season and the Bulls are not getting very much, the pick probably will not be as good a player as Jones.

Toronto might not be adding much to their roster,but Jones can come off the bench and help out. The Raptors weren’t giving up too much either.

Aaron Brooks is going to Phoenix for Goran Dragic. Houston D- Phoenix A-
The Rockets gave up their starting point guard for a player who is not nearly as good as Brooks. I’ll admit, Dragic is a good point guard, but I do not want him starting if I am a team. The Rockets needed to trade somebody, but this was not the trade they needed.

Phoenix knows that star Steve Nash is getting old and they need to get ready for when he retires. Brooks is a young and talented point guard who will be able to take his spot. The problem for Phoenix though is that he becomes a free agent at the end of the season, though he is restricted.

Shane Battier goes to Memphis for Hasheem Thabeet. Houston C+ Memphis B-
Battier is a solid player and he will be able to help the Memphis Grizzlies. Thabeet is not a great NBA player. Now that Rudy Gay is injured, Battier can come in and help out Memphis until he is back.

Houston all ready made a mistake by shipping Brooks, I didn’t like this trade all that much either. Battier was starting for Houston and they are not even given a small forward in return. Thabeet is younger than Battier, and Battier does become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, but I am not buying this tradeall that much.

Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic traded for Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson. Oklahoma City A+ Boston F+
Green and Krstic are not bad players, but Robinson and Perkins are even better. Coach Doc Rivers said that the Celtics needed Robinson to win a series in the playoffs, and as for Perkins, some say not having him was the reason Boston lost the championship. These two were the best younger players on the Celtics, now I would pick the Miami Heat in a seven game series.

OKC is a good team but could use some more talent to go to the finals. Perkins and Robinson are a great fit. Robinson adds some depth at point guard and Perkins adds a big guy. I love this addition for the Thunder.

Semih Erden and Luke Harangody are sent to Cleveland for the Cavaliers second round pick. Boston B- Cleveland C
Boston didn’t lose much, two players, but the Cavaliers should have a high pick in the draft. Though it’s a second round players, they could find a talented player.

Cleveland needs help, but not this help. Harangody and Erden haven’t done anything so far in the NBA, Cleveland could have done better.

Hilton Armstrong and Kirk Hinrich are traded to Atlanta for Mike Bibby, Maurice Evans, Jordan Crawford and the Hawks 2011 first round pick. Washington B Atlanta D
Armstrong and Hinrich for Bibby is bad enough, then they have to throw in other players? Atlanta could grab a good player in the draft but that’s now gone, they could have developed Evans and Crawford. Hinrich is getting older and Bibby is a better player than him. Armstron won’t do anything.

Washington all ready has a young point guard in John Wall, getting 32 year old Bibby won’t hurt the team. The other additions can help their roster as well.

Baron Davis and the Clippers 2011 first round pick go to Cleveland for Mo Williams and Jamario Moon. Los Angeles A- Cleveland B
Davis is 31. Not too old, but older than Williams. Jamario Moon will be a role player in L.A. The Clippers were hitting a few bumps in the road and Williams and Moon should help them get back on track.

Cleveland was having plenty of problems. They wanted to trade Williams and getting a first round draft pick from the Clippers means they will probably have two high draft picks now.

Carl Landry is headed to New Orleans for Marcus Thorton. Sacramento B New Orleans B+
Landry has better stats than Thorton but he also averages 10 extra minutes. I do think Landry will play better than Thorton for the Hornets though.

Deron Williams was traded to the New Jersey Nets

The East just gets better and better. As the NBA trade deadline gets closer more and more trades are coming up. After former Nuggets superstar, Carmelo Anthony, was traded to the Knicks, the Utah Jazz traded point guard Deron Williams.

The Nets made it clear they wanted to trade point guard Devin Harris before the trade deadline, and they found a good trade. The trade sends Harris and third pick in the 2010 draft, Derrick Favors to Utah along with a pair of first round picks. The Nets receive Williams.

Devin Harris is on of the players in the deal

I was not surprised at all when I saw the trade, knowing that New Jersey was looking to get rid of Harris and wanted a superstar in return. It wasn’t working out in Utah with Williams after some believe he was the reason head coach Jerry Sloan retired.

One trade wasn’t enough for the Nets as they sent forward Troy Murphy back to Golden State for center Dan Gadzuric and forward Brandan Wright.

The trade with Golden State has the ability to be great because Murphy leaving clears some cap space and they could pick up stars in free agency with their cap room. The Nets are excited about Wright and happy to get rid of Murphy and Harris.

Caremelo Anthony might have played his last western conference All-star game Sunday as he is traded to the Big Apple

ESPN NBA analyst Chris Broussard said Monday night that the New York Knicks traded for Carmelo Anthony. The trade included The Nuggets, Knicks and Timberwolves, and now the Knicks are a whole new team.

After months of pain and suffering in Denver, Carmelo Anthony has made it clear he wanted to play in the Big Apple, and now it has happened. The trade sends Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Shelden Williams, Anthony Carter, Renaldo Balkman and Anthony Carter to New York.

New York is giving up Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danillo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgof, 1 first round pick, two second round picks and 3 million dollars to Denver.

The Timberwolves gave up Corey Brewer and they acquire Eddy Currry and Anthony Randolph.

I am not a fan of this trade for New York. They were building a dynasty but they gave up their whole team it seems like. All their role players are now gone for two good players.

Denver got a good trade, they get rid of their drama and get rid of aging point guard Billups while they get lots of role players and young talent. Though now Denver does not have superstar.

Minnesota got a great trade because Anthony Randolph alone is better than Corey Brewer and Eddy Curry is also coming along.

I think it is great that the trade is done though because now the mess in Denver is over and hey can begin to re-build. It should be fun to see Stoudamire and Anthony, but then again, they have only played with each other in the All-Star game. No chemistry.

For the trade to work out in New York, Anthony and Stoudamirre need to build a chemistry between each other.

Larry Brown has stepped down as the Charlotte Bobcats head coach

After coaching Michael Jordan’s Bobcats to their first playoff appearance in franchise history last season 70-year old Larry Brown has decided to step down as the head coach in Charlotte.

Charlotte started the season 9-19 and Brown must have given up with the team. When coaching the team they went 88-104. Now what for the Bobcats?

They will be looking for a new coach and I wouldn’t be too surprised if they chased a coach like Mike Brown (former Cleveland Cavaliers coach) or they might even look at the college level for coaches like Tom Izzo (Michigan State head coach). College coaches might not want to go there because the Bobcats are not very good and they could be winning in college. A lot of times college coaches are not very good in the NBA so bringing in Tom Izzo or John Calipari might not be too good of an idea.

Whatever the Bobcats do they need to do it soon and try to re-build before the franchise falls apart. If the NBA has to get rid of some teams they might get rid of a young team who is no good like Charlotte so Jordan needs to turn the team around.

The Magic made 2 trades and Hedo Turkogluu is coming back along with some other players


The Orlando Magic agreed to 2 trades including Washington and Phoenix. Orlando starters Rashard Lewis, Mikael Pietrus and Vince Carter are packing their bags along with back-up center Marcin Gortat. Forward Lewis is going to Washington for guard Gilbert Arenas. Carter, Pietrus and Gortat are going to Phoenix along with a 2011 Orlando Magic first round pick and cash considerations in exchange for Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson and Earl Clark.

When I look at this trade it is obviously the biggest move since Lebron James decision in July. It would help the Washington Wizards who needed to trade Arenas with the worst

Gilbert Arenas is among the names headed to Orlando

NBA contract. John Wall could play the point, Kirk Hinrich could play shooting guard, Lewis and Andray Blatche would play the 3 and the 4 while McGee could play center. Phoenix could benefit because Turkoglu hasn’t helped too much coming off the bench. Steve Nash and Carter would play the guards, Grant Hill would be the 3, Channing Frye and Robins Lopez would stay as the bigs.

The Orlando Magic could take the opportunity to help their team playing Arenas at their point, Richardson at their 2 and Turkoglu and Bass playing the 3 and 4 while all-star Dwight Howard would play center. It looks like a really good trade for Orlando. Carter was getting old and Jason Richardson is still a good guard while Jameer Nelson would come off the bench to Arenas. Howard will be the guy down low and Turkoglu can come back to Orlando and help.

Washington benefits from the trade because they got rid of Arenas for Lewis and now their Arenas problems can vanish.

The trade might help Phoenix because they got a lot of helpers but most of the incoming players will be coming off the bench. Phoenix could use Gortat though because they need a big man. Overall I would say Orlando was helped the most while Washington comes in second and I really don’t know if Phoenix benefits too much from the trade.

There was a 5 player deal between the Toronto Raptors and the New Orleans Hornets

The Toronto Raptors are off to a 4-9 start while the New Orleans Hornets are starting their season with the best record in the NBA 10-1. Now a little bit of movement is going on in the NBA. Peja Stojakovic and Jerryd Bayless are headed to Toronto while Jarrett Jack, Marcus Banks and David Anderson are going south to join Chris (CP3) Paul and the Hornets.

The Hornets were apart of the big trade earlier this year that gave them Trevor Ariza, that helped make CP3 happy in New Orleans. I am scared that this trade will hurt the New Orleans Hornets. It might be a better trade for seasons to come but the franchise should be looking to win a championship soon. Stojakovic could play well for a few more seasons and Bayless is a solid back-up to CP3. The only good I really see in this trade for the Hornets is that Jack is heading to town.

Toronto lost Chris (CB1) Bosh this off-season in free agency. Now Toronto is dead. Their chances at making the playoffs have vanished, or have they? Jose Calderonwas a back-up point guard guard for Jack. Calderon is a solid player who will be just fine if he is starting. Leandro Barbosa is a good shooting guard who has talent while Reggie Evans and Andrea Bargnani are the 4 and the 5. their small forward was Linas Kleiza but Stojakovic will come and get the start. The Raptors still don’t look like a playoff contender to me but they still have a chance.

McGrady tries to dribble around future teammate Rip Hamilton

Tracy McGrady, a 2x scoring champ, and former MIP has signed a 1 year contract with the Pistons worth 1.3 million dollars getting the 10 year veteran minimum salary.

Tracy McGrady says he is headed to Detroit for the veteran minimum

T-Mac gets injured a lot now, but if he can get past that I think he can be a good player. Last year he averaged 8 PPG (points per game) and 4 RPG (rebounds per game). The former all-star can help Detroit who were killed by injuries last season. they have Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva on the court. I like those to and T-Mac might have a great game or two, if he gets the chance to play enough without an injury. But I have a feeling that even if he plays in 2 years, he will not be on the Pistons. I like Tracy, but I don’t think he lasts in Detroit.

Rasheed Wallace announced he has decided to retire

After 15 years the former NBA champion and 4x all-star Rasheed Wallace has decided to retire. Last season the Boston Celtics went all the way to game 7 of the finals to lose to rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers. Rasheed Wallace’s stats of 9 points per game and 4 rebounds per game may not look too nice, but he had some great games and helped the C’s. The loss hurts them and I now have no idea who goes to the finals in the east. Miami is convincing, but Sheed might not be too big of a loss. Rasheed Wallace tends to foul and may not be the best player in a close game. though he does bring veteran talent and can rebound, they have Shaquille O’Neal for that now. As far as I can see, Boston might be headed back to LA in the post-season, though I doubt it.

Shaq betrayed the Lakers to go to Boston and wear green.

For so long center Shaquille O’Neal was an elite NBA center. 4 time champion, 1 time MVP and 3 time finals MVP Shaq is going to the NBA hall of fame. Shaq might not be the same as he used to be, but he can still help the eastern conference champs. Shaq won 3 championships with the Lakers, and he is betraying them by going to help their rivals. I liked him in San Antonio with Duncan, but he went to Boston with KG and Rondo. I still don’t see the Celtics going back to the finals with that roster but who thought they were going there a year ago? Rondo is a great point guard and Ray Allen is a good shooter. I also like Paul Pierce but KG and Shaq won’t give solid minutes. Sheed is old and not any good, but Big Baby might be able to play well. Jermaine O’Neal is not elite anymore and Perkins might miss half the season. I think they can get far through the playoffs with Doc Rivers, but with LA, Miami and Chicago, I don’t think banner 18 is theirs.

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