NBA Trade Deadline 2010 is all about the Benjamins! We knew that going in though.
Instant Analysis: Cavs get Jamison, Mavs get Butler and Haywood
Wizards: Big winners. They suddenly only have $28 million in commitments for next summer... meaning they could theoretically sign TWO max players. If they somehow void Arenas contract, they'd only have $11 million committed! It's unreal, they could become the top destination suddenly. Of course, they could also end up with nothing and with Al Thornton being the top player, but they want to be players this summer.
Mavs: Big winners. They got two solid starters (Caron Butler, Haywood) for a bunch of crap (an expiring Josh Howard, Drew Gooden, and spare parts). Excellent. Should push them to win at least 1 round in the playoffs.
Cavs: winners, maybe? If Z gets bought out (as expected), and he returns to the Cavs (big if?), then the Cavs only gave up a 1st round pick and a Euro prospect... for Jamison! If Z goes elsewhere, or stays put, not really sure what to say. Shaq can't play 35 minutes per night and Varejao isn't nearly as effective at center as he is at PF (especially against Orlando and Lakers - see last season's evidence). Ultimately, the Cavs will only be looked at as winners if they win it all... and there's no way LeBron will EVER have as stacked a team as this one (Mo, Shaq, Jamison, Varejao, Delonte, J. Moon, ... and don't forget Leon Powe among others). Plus, they picked up an extra emergency PG (Sebastian Telfair). I give Danny Ferry an "A"... he got a spare PG and Jamison for almost nothing. Now, if Z returning to Cleveland is a 70% chance, Ferry just has to keep his fingers crossed for 30 days.
T-wolves: They traded for Darko! I love Darko stories.
Bucks: Suddenly became SPENDERS (not savers) and traded two expiring contracts for SG John Salmons. Verdict: Unclear
Biggest winner: the one that gets McGrady's huge expiring contract!
It will still be interesting if the Celtics or Spurs are actually able to do anything... and if the Orlando Magic will actually use their trade exception. One more day left!
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7 comments:
The Magic have publicly stated they are going to sit pat. They're still trying to integrate all of their parts.
Free Darko!
Rumor of the day has Houston picking up Kevin Martin for McGrady's contract....
1) I totally don't understand the Knicks-T'Wolves trade involving Darko. If the Knicks receive Brian Cardinal and then waive him, why not just either let Darko's contract expire or waive him? Why go through the trouble of trading him for a player they're just going to cut? But to understand this, I'd also have to understand why the Knicks traded Quentin Richardson's expiring contract to get Darko in the first place.
Anyone that wants to argue that Donnie Walsh is a good GM can step right up and give it a shot.
2) In a vacuum, yes, anyone that gets McGrady's expiring contract is the so-called biggest winner. In speaking only for the Knicks, however, I don't think getting McGrady's expiring contract really matters much in the long run. There is absolutely 0.0% chance that Lebron signs with the Knicks this summer, whether by himself or with another free agent (Stoudamire, Bosh, Wade, Johnson or anyone else) so the Knicks will have gotten well under the salary cap (good) but will have forked over another two years of lottery picks (bad) and won't be able to sign the premium free agents required to make those draft picks worthless (also bad). In effect, getting under the cap becomes the only good aspect of this trade for the Knicks but is offset by both a talent drain and a further-depleted roster that makes the team unattractive for free agents
Quite frankly, I don't see this as the "big win" everyone else does because I'm realistic about the team's chances at attracting James or Wade to play here. As such, the Knicks won't have a lottery pick until 2013 which means at least three more seasons of total misery and at least five more seasons of sub-.500 records before a young team can start to improve. And that's assuming the Knicks don't botch the draft as they have done for their entire franchise's history.
In short, getting McGrady or not getting McGrady really doesn't matter to the Knicks. They're doomed until 2015 anyway.
The reason for the Darko-Cardinal trade-waiver is that they save money (something about the contracts/buy-outs) and clear space to bring in players for the Robinson and/or McGrady trades. So there is a logic to it. In theory...
I also heard a rumor that the Knicks will trade Al Harrington to Chicago for Tyrus Thomas and Jerome James. I suppose it's the same thing? The Knicks get marginally more cap space by trading for, and then cutting, Jerome James?
Tyrus Thomas sucks but it would be ironic if he were reunited with Eddy Curry, the guy the Bulls traded in order to get the pick that landed them Thomas. Now the Knicks could have every lousy Chicago draft pick of the last decade: Jamal Crawford, Eddy Curry, Tyrus Thomas...
wow, the knicks could have every lousy pick of the Bulls! Too bad you can't take on Hinrich. he's washed up now too!
as for McGrady... it's true that if you end up w/ all the cap space, and no one signs, then playing poorly for multiple years ends up being a complete waste of time.
All I can say at this point is that Donnie Walsh and Mike D'Antoni suck at their jobs. The Knicks were always going to lose but they're not even entertaining in their losses. This is now hands-down the worst franchise in the NBA.
At this point, I can't even blame Jim Dolan. It's not the owner's fault that the coach can't get players to play hard or that the coach's approach to defense is to not worry about it. The GM may be more of the owner's fault but since so many people other than myself thought Donnie Walsh was a good move, it's hard to fault the owner for subscribing to group-think.
I assume the Knicks are providing some sort of public assistance in that when washed up players leave Knicksville they play well. Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford are oddly playing really well now. So I can only assume after Tyrus Thomas leaves the Knicks he will become an all-star.
The cutting of Jerome James/Cardinal isn't cap space as much as just bottom line this year. They just don't owe as much money this year given that bought out players settle for less than their contract. I assume that money goes into Dolan's pocket but maybe he's going to throw a giant parade.
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